Naoto Kadomatsu, a third-year Jōsei High School student and reigning high school boxing champion, shares an apartment complex with Minatsu Nakazato while attending a different school and grade. Their paths first collide when he rescues her secret identity, Maria Sudō, from gangsters targeting her after she witnesses a hit-and-run. Unaware of Maria’s connection to Minatsu, he becomes smitten and relentlessly courts her with overused romantic overtures.

Upon uncovering Maria’s dual existence, Naoto shifts his affections to Minatsu, igniting a rivalry with her classmate Shū Akiba that spans both boxing rings and romantic pursuits. Driven to surpass Shū, he joins the boxing club, culminating in formal matches where defeat mandates abandoning all claims to Minatsu. Though his athletic discipline is clear, Naoto’s personal history remains undefined as he navigates Minatsu’s layered identity and evasive maneuvers against romance.

While the manga ambiguously suspends Minatsu’s final choice, the anime definitively concludes with her marriage to a teacher, leaving Naoto’s tenacious efforts in love and sport unresolved within that narrative. His journey persists across adaptations, marked by unwavering determination in rivalries where victories and defeats diverge between media incarnations.