Hoshinoko Gakuen is a combination group home/orphanage facility. The foster children of Hoshinoko Gakuen struggle with both the everyday issues of growing up and those specific of being abandoned or orphaned children. Their only way out from their situation is the Sunny, a dilapidated old car in the front lawn of the home.
Fujino, an elementary school student, enjoyed having her four-panel cartoons published in the class newspaper. Her cartoons were well received by her classmates, and she was proud to say that she had talent as a cartoonist. One day, however, she was shocked and felt inferior to a precise cartoon drawn by Kyomoto, a recluse in the next class. Fujino makes her first serious effort to draw pictures in order to beat Kyomoto, but she still cannot compete with Kyomoto's drawing ability and stops writing manga.
Tomoyo is a 26-year-old office worker. One day while she was having lunch at a ramen shop, the suicide of her best friend Mariko was reported on TV. Mariko had been Shino's childhood friend since junior high school. Shino is shocked by her best friend's sudden suicide. Distressed and wondering if there is anything she can do for Mariko even now, Shino heads for Mariko's house, where she takes an unexpected action.
Akiko grew up in the countryside and dreamed of becoming a girls' manga artist, believing that she was a genius at drawing. As a high school student, she made a plan to "enter an art college and make her debut as a manga artist while still in school," and entered the art college preparatory course at Hidaka Painting School in her third year of high school. This manga depicts her encounter with her strict but kind teacher, Mr. Hidaka, her entrance examinations, university life, employment, and her life as a manga artist.
Yatora has excellent grades and enjoys his high school life with his like-minded friends. Because he is able to handle everything with ease, he has never had a passion for anything and has never set a goal for his life. Then he stumbled upon the world of art. One of his senior girls drew a picture that inspired him to start drawing, and he eventually began studying in earnest to enter the most prestigious art university. This is the story of his journey from the school's art club to a preparatory school for art college entrance exams, where he meets people full of individuality and is inspired to move forward.
In the 2070s, human beings are advancing space exploration and resource development on a commercial scale, such as Helium 3 mining on the Moon. However, space debris created in the shadow of the long history of space exploration overflowed into orbit and actually caused frequent collisions with passenger spacecraft, becoming a social problem. Hachimaki, an extra-vehicular worker on a space debris recovery ship, spends his days picking up space debris of all sizes, working only to achieve his goal of one day buying his own spacecraft. One day, a call goes out for crews for the "Von Braun," a new type of spacecraft that aims to make a round trip to Jupiter and back.
Hanamichi, a delinquent high school student, joins the basketball club on the advice of Haruko, whom he falls in love with at first sight. Hanamichi, a novice though he has the aptitude, surprises everyone with his unexpected play due to his original unprecedented character, but he grows as a basketball player as he and his teammates aim to win the national championship at the inter-high school tournament.
Sakamichi, a new student at Sohoku High School, is an otaku who loves anime, video games, and manga. He becomes friends with his classmate Imaizumi and Naruko, and through their encounters he discovers the joy of riding a bicycle faster than he has ever experienced before and joins the cycling club. Since elementary school, Sakamichi has been riding his bicycle to Akihabara, a sacred place for otaku, and has unwittingly developed a basic ability as a climber who is strong on uphill slopes. Since his qualities were discovered, Sakamichi is under the guidance of senior club member and climber Makishima, and his talents begin to blossom.
Dai is a member of the basketball club. When he was in junior high school, a friend took him to see a live jazz performance, which struck a chord with him. After that, he began practicing tenor saxophone by himself. This is the story of a boy fascinated by jazz who aspires to become the best jazz player in the world.
This sports manga depicts the struggles and growth of those who devote their youth to table tennis, centering on Peko a.k.a. Hoshino, who has a genius sense of table tennis but is overconfident and self-defeating, and his best friend Smile a.k.a. Tsukimoto, who has a certain ability hidden behind his quiet expression.
