Battered souls, both of them. How they cope with it individually (differently) seems highly credible.
What makes it hit home so hard for me is the admirable art which transcends positive (from music, freedom) and negative (violence, hatred) emotional states into series of drawings unseen before. At least in a manga, that is.
The last time I have been that intrigued by a single art style in Anime or Manga was Masaaki Yuasa.