This coarsely poetic tale set in a “typical” suburban secondary school was inspired by comic strips written during the years 1990-1993 by Taiyo Matsumoto. It tells the story of a wild group of schoolboys in their last year who play a highly dangerous game on the roof of their school. The leader of the gang, who brutally torments his fellow-pupils and drives his helpless teacher to the edge of despair, is the cynical hooligan Kujo – the winner of a competition to see how many times they can clap their hands between letting go of the roof railing and catching hold of it again. The younger boy Aoki is full of admiration for Kujo and tries to go one better, which only leads to tragedy. The gang’s aggression intensifies, but evidently only because they see it as their way out of a tedious life lacking in worthwhile activities. This fact is also borne out by the heroes’ slightly absurd friendship with a dwarfish gardener and their serious interest in turning their empty, grey world green again.