Childhood friends Makoto "Smile" Tsukimoto (ironically, he seldom smiles) and Yukata "Peco" Hoshino are capable and aspiring table tennis players of Katase High School. Coach Jō "Butterfly" Koizumi has high expectation to both of them, but when Peco gets decisively defeated by a Chinese student he becomes so devastated and stops practicing. Meanwhile, Koizumi discovers Smile's potential and tries to motivate him to overcome his psychological obstacle.