Nagsimula ang lahat ng iligtas ni Yukio, mas kilala sa palayaw na Koyuki, ang isang weird na aso na pinagtitripan ng isang grupo ng mga kabataan. Dito nya nakilala ang amo ng aso na si Ryusuke. At dahil dun naging mabuti silang magkaibigan at ito rin ang simula ng kanilang maganda at delikadong pakikipagsapalaran sa mundo ng musika.

Nakapokus ang istorya sa hirap at problema ng nagsisimula palang nilang banda na BECK, na sya ring pangalan ng aso ni Ryusuke. Naglalaro din ang istorya sa relasyon ni Koyuki sa kapatid na babae ni Ryusuke na si Maho.

 

The story focuses around a boy named Yukio Tanaka, nicknamed Koyuki. It starts in his first year of High school when he is 14 years old. In the current manga issues he is 19. The anime contains a mixture of English and Japanese dialogue (Nihongo) with an often interesting interplay between the two, including phenomenon such as code switching, and a full scene involving two American tourists who have all of their lines in English.

The manga contains many various references and tributes to classic rock and pop culture in general. Nearly every other chapter cover is a mock cover of a popular rock album with characters from the manga in place of the people usually pictured. A particular dream sequence in the manga places various deceased rock idols such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Freddie Mercury standing around crying while picking up trash, this dream is a key point in the storyline of the anime as all the members of Beck experience it before the Greatful Sound concert except Chiba and this leads him to believe he is holding the band back, it is not until the last episode when they are touring America and they stop at the birth place of Hendrix, that Chiba experiences the dream. Sometimes popular musicians are mentioned outright, such as when Ryusuke plays Machine Gun, a song by Jimi Hendrix which saves his life, since the thug about to shoot him finds it unable to shoot someone that resembles Hendrix so closely. Ryusuke's guitar, Lucille, and its history, are based heavily on that of B. B. King's guitar of the same name. When the band is given the opportunity to release an album in the United States their name was changed to Mongolian Chop Squad because it was an edgier name, despite the fact that the band is not Mongolian. Despite the album's success on US college charts the band receives no royalties do to a mistake in their contract. This leads to a series of unfortunate events. A few modern day bands and musicians have cameos in this anime, including The Pillows (having portions of three songs played during the final episodes; two of which are performed by a band that mirrors them).

Harold Sakuishi himself has admitted that the band is inspired in part by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (bassist Taira has more than a passing resemblance to Chili Pepper's bassist Flea). Sakuishi admits that they are his favorite band with their music, specifically the song Under the Bridge, helping him through a difficult time in his life. A one-shot manga also called Under the Bridge was written by Sakuishi which narrates his first meeting with the band.