The film traces the growth and friendship of two very different high-school ping-pong players. Peco Hoshino is a brash, arrogant player, determined to turn pro. He taught his quiet, nerdy childhood friend Smile Tsukimoto. Smile frustrates his coach and rivals, who recognize his talent for the game since it is just a game to him. To teach him, his high-school coach learns that coaching is more than just training the students to be good ping-pong players. Ironically, as Smile begins to develop his game, Peco undergoes a severe crisis after his defeat by rival players and is unable to play well until he rediscovers the original reasons why he plays ping-pong.