Since it was reprinted in 2008, the novella "Kanikosen" (The Factory Ship) has sold 500,000 copies. Originally published in 1929 by proletarian writer Takiji Kobayashi, the story was rediscovered by the current generation of young people who have tried to enter the workforce and, in many cases, failed to find fulfilling jobs. It describes a group of men working on a crab cannery ship in the 1920s who, broken by harsh working conditions, rebel against their superiors.

Kobayashi's life is explained on "Rekishi Hiwa Historia" (Secret History Historia; NHK-G, Wed., 10 p.m.). Born in 1903, he became the most celebrated "people's writer" of his time and paid dearly for it. A member of the Communist Party, he was repeatedly arrested by the Special Police, whose job was to stamp out resistance to authority. He died in police custody in 1933 at the age of 29 after being tortured.

After his older brother is killed, junior high school student Ainosuke (Ryosuke Yamada) receives his left cornea in a transplant operation. Ainosuke's brother was an infamous "criminal planner," meaning a mastermind of illegal activities for various underworld groups.