The joke structure in this show operates on three levels at once: the sarcasm lands, the historical absurdity lands harder, the character development sneaks in when you're not looking. Seikichi and his crew are trying to break a tyrannical system with fireworks and obstinacy, which means every episode is both genuinely funny and genuinely about something. The animation is strange enough that it stops being window dressing and becomes part of the comedy itself.

Seikichi Tamaya makes fireworks in mid-1800s Edo, where strict reforms forbid luxurious living, fireworks included. Unwilling to give up his dream of building bigger fireworks than anyone has seen, he sets them off in secret and slips past the authorities. One morning a mysterious girl named Sora asks him for a firework that can reach the moon. Though her request embarrasses him, he takes up the work to lift the spirits of townsfolk weighed down by the reforms. With his mathematically gifted little brother Shunpei and the carpenter, entertainer, magician and mechanic who share his row house, a plan to send a rocket to the moon starts to come together. The show blends comedy, drama, fantasy and science fiction in a historical setting.