Taro Yamada is a smart, athletic, and kind bishonen attending a high school for rich kids. He seems perfect... except that he is actually dirt poor, living in a shack with six younger siblings, a mother who has no sense of money, and a perpetually absent artist father. Taro's main worry is putting bread on the table. He relies on bento (lunch boxes) given to him by girls in love, works multiple jobs, and even has a "pet" dog for desperate times... Every day is a lesson in survival for the Yamadas.