takahashi hisanobu

At the beginning of the manga, Takahashi embodies the typical high school alpha male—captain of the basketball team, popular with girls, effortlessly smart, and a bully to other "inferior" students. One day, in an attempt to give his girlfriend a ride home after school, he steals a bicycle, gets chased into traffic, and is hit by a garbage truck, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Realizing his popular days are over, Takahashi feels he has nothing left to live for and believes he has fallen from an "A" class person to lower than an "E" class. He is obsessed with ranking people around him—from A to E, with A being the best. Nomiya, a former teammate, is one of the few visitors Takahashi receives. Initially, Nomiya's visit upsets Takahashi but also inspires him to rehabilitate. However, after realizing he will never fully recover, Takahashi gives up and refuses to help himself, even telling his mother to die and never come back. The hospital staff calls Takahashi's father, hoping a visit to the country might aid in his recovery. But Takahashi hasn't seen his father in eight years, making the visit highly uncomfortable. After spending time with his father, Takahashi breaks down and admits he harbors a lot of unexplored anger and resentment toward his father for abandoning the family.