If You Were Young: Rage

After the factory closed and they were evicted from the dormitory, the five friends found themselves unemployed and without prospects. While in the jail cell together after Ryuji's boxing debut, they hatched a plan to pool their money for a year to buy their own dump truck. The truck represented their chance at economic independence and escape from low-wage factory work. They named it 'Independence No. 1' as a symbol of their dream to become self-employed contractors.

The seed for this plan was planted the night they were arrested together, when they shared a cell and discussed their future.

Ryuji is beaten to death by police during their assault on striking workers at the company where his friends are employed. Earlier, Ryuji had supported the strike and was with the workers when police moved in. He refused to stay away from his friends during the police confrontation and was fatally injured while trying to remain close to them. His death marks a brutal turning point that highlights the violent cost of labor conflict.

Ryuji had already shown his loyalty by fighting to stay in the same cell as his friends on the night of his boxing debut.

Kiyoshi falls behind on his monthly payments for the dump truck and, desperate to keep up with the installments, attempts to steal from a warehouse. He is caught and arrested. His mother and sister visit him in prison, highlighting how the financial burden of the truck has affected his family. This event sets in motion the chain of events that leads to his later escape and fatal journey to the sea.

Earlier, Asao recalls a flashback where Kiyoshi prevented him from seeking violent revenge after being robbed, showing Kiyoshi's willingness to protect friends even when desperate.

After Asao and Kikuo accept a gravel-transport job from their boss during the strike, the striking workers retaliate by spray-painting 'Strikebreaker No. 1' on their truck. The label marks them as traitors who crossed the picket line to take work from the boss, breaking the strike. This deepens the conflict between the workers and the friends, forcing Asao and Kikuo to scrub the paint off while being taunted by their former coworkers.

The decision to take the gravel job was driven by desperation after ten days of rain left them without work and unable to meet their truck payment.

After Kiyoshi escapes from prison with a gunshot wound sustained during the escape, he hides with Asao and demands the truck keys, believing the truck could give him a fresh start. When Asao refuses, saying Kiyoshi would have to kill him first, Kiyoshi admits he's afraid of the sea and never became a fisherman because of that fear. Rather than turn him in, Asao decides to drive him toward the coast, possibly to help Kiyoshi confront his fear or give him one last glimpse of the sea before his fate unfolds.

Kiyoshi's confession about his fear of the sea connects to earlier moments when he wondered about a new beginning.

As they drive toward the coast at night, Kiyoshi dies in the truck. Asao continues driving despite his friend's death, and the truck goes over a cliff, crashing onto the beach below. The crash appears to be an accident caused by Asao's grief and exhaustion, though the exact circumstances remain ambiguous. Asao survives and climbs from the wreckage, but is arrested and returned to prison.

The journey toward the coast had been building throughout the film as a symbolic destination representing freedom or renewal.

After Ryuji's death, his sister gives Asao and Kikuo a rear-view mirror decoration shaped like boxing gloves that Ryuji had bought for them. The decoration represents their shared history and dreams from when they were younger. At the film's end, Kikuo finds this decoration in the wreckage and it becomes a symbol that inspires him to consider starting his life over, suggesting a bittersweet possibility of renewal after so much loss.

Ryuji's boxing career was introduced on the same night the friends were arrested and decided to pool money for the truck.

After Asao scrapes the truck against a rock wall and gets into a fight with Kikuo, he goes to Ryuji's sister's bar to drink. Overcome by grief over Ryuji's recent death and the strain in his friendship with Kikuo, he ends up sleeping with her. The encounter represents a moment of human connection born from loneliness and shared loss, though it also adds complexity to the story's web of relationships.

Ryuji's sister had given them his money to keep for the truck and entrusted them with the boxing glove decoration, creating an emotional bond.

When Kiyoshi escapes prison with a gunshot wound and demands the truck keys from Asao at knifepoint, Asao refuses but doesn't turn him in. Instead, he helps Kiyoshi recover from his wound and ultimately decides to drive him toward the sea. Their friendship spans years of shared hardship, and despite Kiyoshi's desperate actions, Asao cannot abandon him. The moment also reveals that Kiyoshi never pursued his dream of becoming a fisherman due to a fear of the sea, adding emotional weight to their final journey.

Asao had previously recalled how Kiyoshi stopped him from seeking violent revenge, showing the depth of their bond.

After ten days of rain leaves Asao and Kikuo without work and unable to make their truck payment, they accept a gravel-transport job from their boss. This decision angers the striking workers because it helps the boss continue operations during the strike. By taking the job, Asao and Kikuo become strikebreakers, which leads to the 'Strikebreaker No. 1' spray-painting incident and further isolates them from their former coworkers.

The ten-day rain period created financial desperation that forced them to choose between solidarity and survival.

Ichiro has fathered multiple children with different women and constantly struggles with financial obligations. Despite promising to contribute to the truck fund, he repeatedly takes back the money he has saved to pay his own expenses. This forces Asao and Kikuo to cover his share while trying to keep the truck project afloat. His situation represents another burden that strains the group's collective dream and tests their patience with each other.

The strain on the group from Ichiro's situation was visible from the early days of their savings plan.

At the wreckage site after Asao's arrest, Kikuo meets Yukiko (Kiyoshi's sister) and they share memories of their friends. While searching through the wreckage, Kikuo finds the boxing glove decoration that Ryuji had given them. This momento prompts him to consider starting his life over and seeking a different path, offering a bittersweet sense of possibility for renewal despite the tragedy that has unfolded.

The boxing gloves had been a gift from Ryuji, representing their collective aspirations when they were younger.