The year is 2021 and years of mismanagement have left Japan a broken society riddled with poverty and underemployment. Kenji is visibly disabled and has an inferiority complex. Shinji is released from prison and has time in his hands. They both coincidentally sign up at a club for boxing and soon become friends.
In the sequel, Shinji and Kenji join a boxing club. The former is just released from a prison for young offenders. The latter has a speech disability and suffers both physically and psychologically as a result. They meet and form a bond as Japanese society of 2021 breaks down around them due to the sins of capitalism and shortsightedness.