Ginji Kusanagi

At the beginning of the story, Ginji meets Minako Sasebo, the girl of his dreams, and is on the verge of going professional as a boxer, only to die in a suspicious biking accident. Confronted by an angel (who seems to be half cherub, half Buddhist monk), he tells Ginji that he can reunite with Minako, but only if he lives out the natural life of another animal. When he remembers Minako's love for penguins, he decides to be reincarnated as an Adelie Penguin. Once his penguin life naturally ends—a life, he later learns, which may last for up to twenty years!—he will be able to return to his old body and be with Minako.