Takeo Ootsuka

One day, on his way to high school, student Junpei picks up an unusual looking rock. Thinking nothing of it, he heads to class. While in the middle of a session, the rock comes to life and transports him and four others to an animated world! To make matters more interesting, the group is introduced to a giant sphinx who is determined to take over the world! Now, to protect their world from invasion, the group must work together as anime characters and real-world humans!

Kakeru, a former elite runner at high school, is chased for stealing food. He is saved by a Kansei University student Haiji, who is also a runner. Haiji persuades Kakeru to live in the old apartment "Chikuseisou" where he plans to team up with fellow residents to enter Hakone Ekiden Marathon, one of the most prominent university races in Japan. Kakeru soon finds out that all of the residents except for Haiji and himself are complete novices.