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Bocchi the Rock! (Japanese: ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！, Hepburn: Botchi Za Rokku!) is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamazi. It has been serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Max since December 2017. Its chapters have been collected in seven tankōbon volumes as of October 2024. A spin-off manga series, titled Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary, began publication in July 2023.
| Bocchi the Rock! | |
 First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Hitori Gotō | |
| ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！ (Botchi Za Rokku!) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Aki Hamazi |
| Published by | Houbunsha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Manga Time Kirara Max |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | December 19, 2017 – present |
| Volumes | 7 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Keiichirō Saitō |
| Written by | Erika Yoshida |
| Music by | Tomoki Kikuya |
| Studio | CloverWorks |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | Tokyo MX, BS11, GTV, GYT, MRT, MBS, RKB, AT-X, Wowow |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 9, 2022 – December 25, 2022 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Manga | |
| Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary | |
| Written by | Aki Hamazi |
| Illustrated by | Kumichou |
| Published by | Houbunsha |
| English publisher |
|
| Magazine | Comic Fuz |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | July 9, 2023 – present |
| Volumes | 3 |
An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from October to December 2022. Both the manga and the anime received widespread acclaim for the animation, writing, voice acting, comedy, characters, music, and exploration of social anxiety.
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Extremely anxious and socially awkward Hitori Gotō longs to become a rock musician in spite of her struggles, while fulfilling her desires to one day make friends. She is suddenly given a chance to do so after she is taken in by another girl, Nijika Ijichi, to become a member of her newly formed Kessoku Band.
Kessoku Band
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Kessoku Band (結束バンド, Kessoku Bando, lit. "zip tie", a pun on "unity band") is the central band in the series, based in Starry, a live house in Shimokitazawa. The members' family names are derived from the real-life J-rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, with their instrumental roles matching as well (for example, the Yamadas of both bands play bass). However, the guitarist roles of both Gotōs and Kitas are switched around, with Bocchi taking up lead compared to Masafumi's rhythm, and Ikuyo taking up rhythm compared to Kensuke's lead.[3]
- Hitori Gotō (後藤 ひとり, Gotō Hitori) / Bocchi (ぼっち, Botchi)
- Voiced by: Yoshino Aoyama[4]
- Portrayed by: Mamo Mamono (stage play)[5]
- The main protagonist and lead guitarist of Kessoku Band. An extreme introvert who has trouble with most social interactions. Having been inspired by her father, she learned how to play the guitar in her first year of middle school, thinking this would help her make friends. Despite becoming incredibly skilled at playing guitar and having a small fanbase online (under the alias "guitarhero"), she still has not been able to make friends as easily until she was dragged into playing with Kessoku Band. Since then, Hitori has gained a few friends and is learning to interact with other people. She is usually seen wearing a pink tracksuit, which she even wears over her school uniform. Her surname comes from Masafumi Gotoh. Her nickname Bocchi is a reference to hitoribocchi (一人ぼっち), a term for being alone. She plays an Ebony Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar, and later purchases a Transluscent Black Yamaha Pacifica electric guitar.
- Nijika Ijichi (伊地知 虹夏, Ijichi Nijika)
- Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro[6]
- Portrayed by: Miki Ohtake (stage play)[5]
- The drummer and leader of Kessoku Band. Her older sister, Seika, runs a live-in house where they often play. Nijika looks up to Seika, since they lost their mother at a young age and their father disappeared. She's very kind, cheerful, friendly, and outgoing, and she is the one holding the group together and helping Bocchi with her social anxiety the most. Her surname comes from Kiyoshi Ijichi. She plays a Vintage Red Tama Imperialstar drum kit.
- Ryō Yamada (山田 リョウ, Yamada Ryō)
- Voiced by: Saku Mizuno[7]
- Portrayed by: Karin Osanai (stage play)[5]
- The aloof, quiet, and mischievous bassist of Kessoku Band, who has a cool demeanor and an androgynous appearance, to the point that she sometimes attracts other girls (including Kita) without intending to. She often spends what allowance she gets from her family on new music equipment, which leaves her with little money for anything else, to the point of eating weeds when she has no money for food. After falling out with her last band over creative differences, Ryo was convinced by Nijika to start a new one with her. Her surname comes from Takahiro Yamada. She plays an Olympic White Fender Precision bass.
- Ikuyo Kita (喜多 郁代, Kita Ikuyo)
- Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa[8]
- Portrayed by: Mirai Ohmori (stage play)[5]
- The vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Kessoku Band, who attends the same high school as Hitori. In contrast to Hitori, she is a cheerful, charismatic extrovert who has an active social life, to the point that her extroversion manifests as an overwhelming aura at times. She initially joined Kessoku Band to get closer to Ryo, whom she has a crush on, but fled after lying about her guitar-playing skills. With Bocchi's help, she becomes a decent guitar player in her own right and soon settles on playing secondary guitar and providing the band's main vocals. She refers to herself as Kita Kita due to her strong dislike of her given name,[a] which causes her to have a Bocchi-like meltdown when discussing it. Her surname comes from Kensuke Kita. She plays a Pelham Blue Gibson Les Paul Junior Doublecut electric guitar.
Sick Hack
Sick Hack is a psychedelic rock band based in Folt, a live house in Shinjuku. The members share their last names with those of the real-life band 88Kasyo Junrei.
- Kikuri Hiroi (廣井 きくり, Hiroi Kikuri)
- Voiced by: Sayaka Senbongi
- The bassist and vocalist of Sick Hack. An alcoholic who spends most of her money on booze, particularly boxes of Onikoroshi brand sake, calls her bass guitar "Shuten-dōji EX." She was formerly a junior of Seika in college. She finds kinship with Hitori after coming from a similarly reclusive childhood. Her surname comes from Margaret Hiroi.
- Eliza Shimizu (清水 イライザ, Shimizu Iraiza)
- Voiced by: Sally Amaki[9]
- The guitarist of Sick Hack who originally came from England. She flew to Japan with the intention of attending a Comiket convention and become a part of an anime cover band. Her surname comes from Katzuya Shimizu.
- Shima Iwashita (岩下 志麻, Iwashita Shima)
- Voiced by: Maki Kawase[10]
- The drummer of Sick Hack.
Sideros
Sideros is a metal band based in Folt. The members share their last names with those of the real-life band Kinniku Shōjo Tai.
- Yoyoko Ōtsuki (大槻 ヨヨコ, Ōtsuki Yoyoko)
- The guitarist and vocalist of Sideros. Her surname comes from Kenji Ōtsuki.
- Akubi Hasegawa (長谷川 あくび, Hasegawa Akubi)
- The drummer of Sideros. Her surname comes from Kōji Hasegawa.
- Fūko Honjō (本城 楓子, Honjō Fūko)
- The guitarist of Sideros, whose surname comes from Toshiaki Honjō.
- Yuyu Uchida (内田 幽々, Uchida Yuyu)
- The bassist of Sideros. Her surname comes from Yūichirō Uchida.
Other music-related characters
- Seika Ijichi (伊地知 星歌, Ijichi Seika)
- Voiced by: Maaya Uchida[11]
- Nijika's older sister and the manager of Starry. Professional, serious and aloof with a soft side, she is described by Nijika as a tsundere.
- PA-san (PAさん, PA-san)
- Voiced by: Kotori Koiwai[12]
- The unnamed public address system engineer of Starry. Her intimidating goth style and piercings belie her kind nature.
- Ginjirō Yoshida (吉田 銀次郎, Yoshida Ginjirō)
- The manager of Folt.
- Poison Yami (ぽいずん♡やみ, Poizun Yami)
- A freelance writer who contributes to music information websites.
- Miyako Shiba (司馬 都, Shiba Miyako)
- A manager of Stray Beat, a record label. She is in charge of managing Kessoku Band.
- Fan No.1 and No.2 of Kessoku Band (結束バンドのファン1号・2号)
- Voiced by: Kana Ichinose (No.1), Miyuri Shimabukuro (No.2)
- Two girls bought tickets to Kessoku Band's show at Starry after listening to Bocchi's impromptu street performance in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama. After that, they attended several of the Kessoku Band's performances. Their real names are unknown; the one with long hair is known as No. 1, and the one with short hair is known as No. 2. They are students of the film department of an art university, and Kessoku Band let them assist in the shooting of their music video.
Gotō family
- Michiyo Gotō (後藤 美智代, Gotō Michiyo)
- Voiced by: Rie Suegara[13]
- Hitori's mother.
- Naoki Gotō (後藤 直樹, Gotō Naoki)
- Voiced by: Junji Majima[14]
- Hitori's father, whose face is never shown. Hitori's first guitar was originally his.
- Futari Gotō (後藤 ふたり, Gotō Futari)
- Voiced by: Misaki Watada[15]
- Hitori's younger sister.
- JimiHen (ジミヘン, JimiHen)
- Voiced by: Kotori Koiwai[16]
- The family's pet dog, named after Jimi Hendrix.
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Development
After finishing with her first title in Manga Time Kirara Max (Kirari Books Meisouchuu), which was mainly about young girls dealing with moe things, Aki Hamazi considered doing a manga about bands next, as listening to bands is one of her favorite hobbies. However, she did not have any actual experience being in a band or playing an instrument prior to the making of the series, so she conducted extensive research by doing things like asking an acquaintance more familiar with the indie band scene, listening and reading more about the culture, and visiting places that are prominent to the scene (like the live house Shelter in Shimokitazawa, which would end up being the model for the live house Starry).[3]
Being aware of the popularity of K-On!, also a Houbunsha-published series with a band setting, Hamazi intentionally set the story around a live house instead of mainly in school to differentiate it. She also admitted using Beck as a reference in making the series as well.[3]
Most of the chapter covers have references to the music videos of Japanese rock bands; most of them would be songs that she liked to listen to, while some others were instead relevant to their respective chapter stories. She also avoided using onomatopoeia or creating lyrics for any of the performance scenes, leaving the finer details of the band's performance to readers' imaginations, although some of the songs do have names originally mentioned in the manga. While the manga is mostly in a four-panel format, in serious moments she intended to have it follow a conventional manga format as well.[3]
In an interview published shortly after the anime finished airing, Hamazi revealed that the designs of most of her characters in the series were purposely done in a simple way; commenting specifically about Bocchi's design, she said she intentionally created a character who doesn't have any fashion sense, and her pink hair color may have been inspired by Kaoruko Moeta from Comic Girls (also a Kirara Max series), although pink-haired characters are common in Kirara titles. She also said that she decided on the color of Bocchi's guitar to be black because of how it made a good balance with the color scheme of her design, but chose a Gibson Les Paul Custom as the exact model of her first guitar because it was the first result when searching for a guitar with that specific color on the internet.[17][18] She also admitted that Bocchi's personality is a projection of hers and that she relates to Bocchi the most among all characters.[17]
Anime adaptation
Prior to the greenlighting of Bocchi the Rock!'s anime adaptation, character designer and chief animation director Kerorira was a fan of the manga for its comedy, art style, and characters, and in particular Hitori's "unhinged" nature.[19] While meeting with animation producer Shouta Umehara at an illustrator exhibition, Kerorira brought up Bocchi in conversation and expressed a desire to work on an anime adaptation of the series. As it so happened, Aniplex had just recently proposed such a project to CloverWorks, as Umehara learned when he inquired to his superior, Yuichi Fukishima, about the possibility.[20][19] Kerorira joined the project (becoming the first to do so) as its character designer after expressing his enthusiasm for the series and presenting his drawings of the characters. In addition to the character designs and animation supervision, Kerorira also contributed a significant amount of key animation to the project[20] (estimated by Umehara to amount to somewhere between 500 and 600 cuts of animation,[19] around two episodes' equivalent),[21] which he stated was done to provide the other animators with an understanding of the "platonic ideal" of the anime's production value.[19] Kerorira felt that providing such a baseline as the chief animation director would allow for smoother collaboration, as it would lead to a creatively unified end product while allowing the animation staff to incorporate their own individual expression and limit the number of corrections that would need to be made after the fact.[19]
Series director Keiichiro Saitō, who previously served as episode director on The Idolmaster SideM, and Sonny Boy, came to work on the anime adaptation of Bocchi the Rock! after Kerorira recommended him to animation producer Shouta Umehara.[22][20][19] As Umehara was familiar with Saitō's work, having served as an episode director for The Idolmaster, he considered Saitō to be an ideal choice, and Saitō joined the project as director a few days later after discussions with Umehara and Kerorira.[20][19] Erika Yoshida, the screenwriter in charge of series composition, was recommended on referral from a colleague of Umehara's at Aniplex, who had previously collaborated with Yoshida on Love Me, Love Me Not.[19] As he was aware of Bocchi's similarity in premise and genre to K-On!, Umehara spoke to Kerorira, asking him what unique qualities Bocchi had that would distinguish it from K-On!, and worked to help ensure that capturing those aspects of the series was a priority of the production.[19]
In reading the manga prior to production, Saitō was attracted to the relationships between Bocchi and the supporting cast, which were not as intimate as relationships depicted in similar works and gave Saitō the impression that "they respect each other’s individuality and personal space." He found this quality of the story to be both personally relatable and distinctive.[20][19] Saitō also liked the ways in which Hitori's expressions were often exaggerated to perceptibly disturbing extents, in contravention of moe conventions.[19] This aspect of Hitori's characterization was expanded upon in the anime, as Saitō believed that "girls who are flawlessly beautiful aren’t as cute as girls who are a little mysterious or sometimes make weird faces."[19] Kerorira additionally said that Hitori's withdrawn nature made it more difficult to depict her emotions visually compared to those of the other characters. As such, her basic facial expressions were limited, while the animation relied on the more "slapstick" scenes of exaggeration to depict her emotions.[19] Although consideration was taken to ensure Hitori was consistently cute, even when the animation was exaggerating her facial features, the comedy of such exaggeration was generally prioritized.[19]
In adapting Bocchi the Rock! from its original 4-koma format, Saitō and Yoshida introduced numerous substantial differences from the source material, such as rearranging events and altering some jokes to aid the anime version's pacing and surreal presentation.[20] Saitō and Yoshida added more of a surrealist bent to the anime as they wanted to prioritize comedy and emotion over a wholly realistic depiction and felt that the choice of cutaway gags in the anime allowed them to better convey the story while ensuring that every episode had a clear focus.[19] In integrating these cutaways into the anime, Saitō chose to contrast main character Hitori's thoughts during her instances of introspection and "strange" behavior with the external reactions to and conversations about Hitori among the supporting cast. This was done both for storytelling considerations such as the direction and pacing of certain scenes and also to present Hitori more empathetically by showing that the supporting cast did not regard her as pathetically as she would be wont to believe.[19] Saitō said that whether or not a conversation between the supporting cast occurring during these moments needed to be depicted in detail or not was one of the most difficult aspects of the production.[19]
To create the live concert scenes of the anime, the production team recorded physical actors playing the concerts. The recording was then adapted into a computer-generated previsualization so that the animators could establish their preferred shot direction for the scenes using a virtual camera system. The previsualization was then used as the basis for the final animation. To ensure that the characters were portrayed accurately in these scenes, the actors were given information about the characters and advised on how to convincingly physically act as them.[19][20] The music production team at Aniplex was consulted by Saitō to ensure that the ambient noise in the concert scenes was accurate to reality, although it was sometimes omitted when Saitō deemed that it would detract from an important dramatic scene.[19]
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Manga
Main series
Bocchi the Rock! is written and illustrated by Aki Hamazi. It was initially serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max magazine on December 19, 2017, as a guest work.[23] A full serialization started in the same magazine on March 19, 2018.[24] It has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes as of October 25, 2024.[25]
During their Sakura-Con 2023 panel, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the manga for English publication.[26] The first volume was released on October 17, 2023.[27]
The manga also received localisation in Korean by Daewon C.I, in Traditional Chinese by Tong Li Publishing,[28] in Vietnamese by Kim Dong Publishing House, in French by Meian,[29] in Italian by Ishi Publishing,[30] in Argentina and Spain by Ivrea, in Ukrainian by Mal'opus, and in Indonesian by M&C!.[31]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 27, 2019[25] | 978-4-8322-7072-5 | October 17, 2023[27] | 978-1-9753-7800-4 |
| 2 | February 27, 2020[25] | 978-4-8322-7170-8 | January 23, 2024[32] | 978-1-9753-7802-8 |
| 3 | February 25, 2021[25] | 978-4-8322-7252-1 | May 21, 2024[33] | 978-1-9753-7804-2 |
| 4 | August 26, 2022[25] | 978-4-8322-7388-7 | August 20, 2024[34] | 978-1-9753-7806-6 |
| 5 | November 26, 2022[25] | 978-4-8322-7419-8 | November 19, 2024[35] | 978-1-9753-7808-0 |
| 6 | August 25, 2023[25] | 978-4-8322-7477-8 | February 18, 2025[36] | 979-8-8554-0932-1 |
| 7 | October 25, 2024[25] | 978-4-8322-9581-0 | — | — |
Spin-off
Bocchi the Rock! Anthology Comic
A spin-off anthology comic is also being released as Bocchi the Rock! Anthology Comic (ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！アンソロジーコミック, Botchi Za Rokku! Ansorojī Komikku), with four volumes having been released so far.[37]
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 27, 2022[38] | 978-4-8322-7414-3 |
| 2 | August 25, 2023[38] | 978-4-8322-7480-8 |
| 3 | May 27, 2024[38] | 978-4-8322-9550-6 |
| 4 | October 25, 2024[38] | 978-4-8322-9583-4 |
Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary
A spin-off manga series illustrated by Kumichou, titled Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary (ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！外伝 廣井きくりの深酒日記, Bocchi the Rock! Gaiden: Hiroi Kikuri no Fukazake Nikki), began serialization on Houbunsha's Comic Fuz website on July 9, 2023. It features supporting character Kikuri Hiroi as the central protagonist.[39][40] The first volume of the spin-off series was released physically on February 1, 2024, after an early digital release on January 25 that same year.[41]
Yen Press announced that the spin-off series had been licensed as in a pre-panel announcement at New York Comic Con 2024 on October 19, 2024.[42]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 1, 2024[43] | 978-4-8322-0365-5 | April 22, 2025[44] | 979-8-8554-0936-9 |
| 2 | April 1, 2024[43] | 978-4-8322-0387-7 | — | — |
| 3 | October 25, 2024[43] | 978-4-8322-0449-2 | — | — |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on February 18, 2021.[45] It was produced by CloverWorks and directed by Keiichirō Saitō, with Yūsuke Yamamoto serving as assistant director, Erika Yoshida writing the series' scripts, Kerorira designing the characters, and Tomoki Kikuya composing the music. The series aired from October 9 to December 25, 2022, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[4][46][b] Kessoku Band performed the opening theme "Seishun Complex" (青春コンプレックス, Youth Complex), as well as the ending theme "Distortion!!".[48] Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia.[49] Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia and released it on Aniplus Asia and Bilibili.[50] Several web series featuring the voice cast were also produced alongside the anime as cross-promotion.[51][52][53]
Many of the anime's episode titles come from songs by rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, such as "After Dark" and "Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu," with the final episode ending with a Kessoku Band cover of the latter.
A compilation film of the series was announced on May 21, 2023.[54] It was split into two parts.[55][56] In November 2023, it was revealed the two parts would be titled "Re:" and "Re:Re:" respectively.[57] The two parts of the compilation film opened on June 7 and August 9, respectively. Kessoku Band performed the song "Tsukinami ni Kagayake" (月並みに輝け, Shine as Usual).[58] The films is currently has been screened overseas in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), France, UK and Australia by Crunchyroll, South Korea by Daewon Media, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau by Mighty Media and the South East Asia (the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand) by Odex.[59][60][61][62][63][64][65] On 3 November 2024 during the Kessoku Band concert at Zepp Haneda, it was announced that the film would be released on physical media on 15 February 2025.[66][67]
Music
The opening theme of the anime series is "Seishun Complex" sung by Ikuyo Kita (Ikumi Hasegawa), and the anime has four ending themes: "Distortion!!" also sung by Ikumi Hasegawa from episodes 1–3, "Karakara" sung by Ryo Yamada (Saku Mizuno) from episodes 4–7, "Nani ga Warui" sung by Nijika Ijichi (Sayumi Suzushiro) from episodes 8–11, and "Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu", a cover of the Asian Kung-Fu Generation song of the same name, sung by Hitori Gotō (Yoshino Aoyama) in episode 12. The series also had a number of insert songs, including "Guitar to Kodoku to Aoihoshi" in episode 5, "Ano Bando" in episode 8, "Watashi Dake Yuurei" in episode 10, and "Wasurete Yaranai" and "Seiza ni Naretara" in episode 12. Each of these insert songs were also sung by Ikumi Hasegawa, except "Watashi Dake Yuurei", which was sung by Kikuri Hiroi (Sayaka Senbongi).
Most of these songs had a digital single released individually on various streaming platforms on the same day as their anime debuts: "Seishun Complex" and "Distortion!!" on October 9, "Karakara" on October 30, "Guitar to Kodoku to Aoihoshi" on November 6, "Ano Bando" and "Nani ga Warui" on November 27, and "Wasurete Yaranai", "Seiza ni Naretara" and "Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu" on December 25, 2022. A full single of Seishun Complex, including the B side track "Hitoribocchi Tokyo" (played in the teaser video of the series) and instrumental versions of both songs released on October 12, 2022, on digital platforms and in physical stores.[68] However, the song "Watashi Dake Yuurei" was only released alongside the fifth volume of the anime in Blu-ray on April 26, 2023.[69]
A full album of songs by Kessoku Band, named Kessoku Band, was also released digitally on December 25 and later physically on December 28, 2022. It contained 14 songs, nine of them originally featured in the anime as opening, ending, and insert songs, while the rest were original songs exclusive to the album or not featured in the main series, like "Hitoribocchi Tokyo" and "Flashbacker" (the former was used in the teaser video and the latter was used in a post-premiere PV). The original soundtracks of the anime were released as two volumes, each included in the first two Blu-ray releases of the anime on December 28, 2022, and January 25, 2023, respectively.[69]
On May 22, 2023, Kessoku Band released a single titled "Hikari no Naka e" featuring two new songs.[70] On June 9, 2024, Kessoku Band released another single titled "Tsukinami ni Kagayake / Ima, Boku, Andāguraundo kara" featuring the opening and ending theme for the first half of the compilation film for the anime.[71] On August 14, 2024, a mini-album titled Re:Kessoku Band was released containing songs used for the theatrical compilation films, including new song "Boku to Sangenshoku" which is a tie-in collaboration with the I-Lohas beverage promotional campaign.[72][73] On August 11, 2024, the opening ("Doppelganger") and ending ("Re:Re:") to the second part of the film was released as a digital single along with Sick Hack's "Watashi Dake Yūrei".
Live performance
A live concert titled Kessoku Band Live: Kōsei (結束バンドLIVE-恒星-) featuring the main voice cast was held at Zepp Haneda on May 21, 2023.[74] In 2024, a concert tour titled Kessoku Band Zepp Tour 2024: We Will (結束バンド ZEPP TOUR 2024 “We will”) will be held at Zepp Osaka Bayside, Zepp Sapporo, Zepp Haneda, Zepp Nagoya, and Zepp Fukuoka on September 8, October 19, November 3, November 24, and December 22, respectively.[75] An additional venue and date was announced later to be held on February 15, 2025, at Main Arena, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza Tokyo under the name We Will B.[76]
Games
The main characters from this series were added to Manga Time Kirara's mobile RPG game Kirara Fantasia shortly after the first anime episode premiered.[77] All characters are voiced by their respective anime voice actresses.
The characters from this series were added to the RPG strategy mobile game Kotodaman for a limited period from April 30 to May 10, 2024, as part of the game collaboration with the series.[78]
Stage play
A stage play adaptation at the Theater Milano-Za in Tokyo, titled Live Stage "Bocchi the Rock!", ran from August 11–20, 2023.[79] The play is written and directed by Akira Yamazaki. The cast includes Mamo Mamono as Hitori Gotō, Miki Ohtake as Nijika Ijichi, Karin Osanai as Ryō Yamada, and Mirai Ohmori as Ikuyo Kita.[5] The Blu-ray and DVD of the stage play was released on February 28, 2024.[80]
A re-performance and the sequel of the stage play, entitled Part I Starry and Part II Shuka Festival, were slated to be perform at the Theater Milano-Za in Tokyo from September 7–23, 2024.[81][82] However, due to the poor health of one of the performers, the rerun performances from September 7–9 were cancelled, with the sequel performed from September 14–23 instead.[83][84] The Blu-ray and DVD of the stage play's re-performance and sequel is set to be released on March 26, 2025.[85]
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Popularity
The anime was not as highly anticipated by audiences as many more previously established series airing at the same time, such as Chainsaw Man and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. However, as the anime progressed, it gained a larger audience due to clips from the anime going viral online.[86]
The series' sudden growth in popularity following the airing of the anime prompted an unexpected influx of fans who formed an excessive line at mangaka Aki Hamazi's booth at Comiket 101 on December 30, 2022, prompting event organizers to direct Hamazi to a different location. Consequently, Hamazi moved her booth outside of the event hall and published a map directing fans to its new location. Wares at Hamazi's booth were exhausted by 12:51 pm that day.[87]
The manga had also reportedly been sold out in various bookstores both during and after the anime's broadcasting, prompting Houbunsha to announce three rounds of reprints of all of the manga's volumes, including the Anthology Comic, one month after the final episode aired, with added copies printed for each of those rounds.[88][89] The magazine the manga is published in, Manga Time Kirara Max, also reportedly sold out of its January and February issues on their first days of circulation, helped by the January issue featuring a guitar pick as a bonus to celebrate the anime's airing.[citation needed]
The popularity of the anime also led to skyrocketing demand for musical instruments, especially guitars, where instrument shops recorded a spike of instruments being sold right after the anime ended. Models used specifically by the characters (like the Gibson Les Paul and Yamaha Pacifica guitars used by Bocchi) went out of stock, with no definite restock date. Sales of instruments to beginners also increased (with stocks being depleted in some cases), as many people started to pick up instruments to play due to the series.[90]
Shimokitazawa, particularly the Shelter live house that Starry is based on, also recorded an increase in visitors making otaku pilgrimages to places appearing in the series. However, uneasiness and worries from others, including shelter management, resulted from obtrusive behavior by visitors, which included attempted unpaid viewing of live performances. A sign written in English, Japanese, and Korean was installed by Shelter to discourage visitors from descending the iconic stairs to its side entrance. The official website of the series subsequently issued a reminder to fans to behave properly when visiting such places and to support paid performances.[91]
Despite all the issues, the town still managed to take advantage of Bocchi the Rock!'s popularity. Kessoku Band has been appointed as Shimokitazawa official ambassadors as part of the town promotion of Shimokitazawa Curry Fest 2023, where food premises around Shimokitazawa offer various curry menus and will hold a stamp rally where visitors can redeem merchandise by collecting stamps from purchases, which prizes include Kessoku Band-featured merchandise as well.[92]
Manga
Sales
The anime's popularity boosted manga sales as the whole series recorded 202,481 copies sold, earning it twelfth place for most manga sold in the month of December, according to Oricon.[93] Lack of stocks later hampered January sales, but as large reprints replenished stocks in most storebooks, the manga recorded another big sale in February, with 193,348 copies of the whole series sold, the seventh most for that month.[94] The increase in demands and reprints also surged the numbers of circulations of the series, as in January 2023, Houbunsha announced the series had marked one million copies in circulation, not including the digital versions, and subsequently hit 2 million copies in circulation in March.[95][96][97] The series hit 3 million copies in circulation in January 2024.[98] It was Yen Press' fifth-best-selling manga title that debuted in 2023.[99]
Critical reception
Christopher Farris complimented the manga's first volume and described Hitori "Bocchi" Gotō: "She's technically the least-suited person to be standing in the spotlight of anything, but that means most of the entertainment value manifests in the way she's a commanding cringe callout post for readers who relate even a little bit to her litany of struggles." Christopher also highlighted the dramatic and humorous moments about not just Bocchi's anxieties and the natural talent but the overall struggles of forming and following the path of a performing band. He concludes: "There's a density to the format that means you feel like you're getting a lot of bang for your buck just in this first volume (including the appearance of everyone's favorite, Kikuri Hiroi), though that can also mean things feel just a little dragged-out in places. But a structural nitpick or two can't stop Bocchi the Rock! from being worth checking out on its own terms."[100]
Accolades
In 2019, the manga series ranked eighth at the fifth Next Manga Awards in the print category, organized by Da Vinci magazine from Media Factory and the Niconico website.[101] The character Hitori Gotō was nominated in the Best Actress category at the Magademy Award 2023.[102] The English release translation by John Neal was nominated for the Japan Society and Anime NYC's first American Manga Awards in the Best Translation category in 2024.[103]
Anime
Sales
Blu-ray and DVD sales reached 14,821 and 1,972 copies, respectively, in the first week of the release of the first volume and placed second for the most Blu-ray sales that week.[104] The second volume records 16,205 and 588 copies sold, respectively, for Blu-ray and DVD in the first release week.[105] The third volume records 17,856 Blu-ray and 1,535 DVDs, and the fourth records 17,196 Blu-ray and 1,451 DVDs on their first week of sales.[106][107]
The album Kessoku Band sold 36,530 copies on release day and subsequently 72,533 copies in the first week, charting first place in Oricon and Billboard Japan for the top album that week and continuing to maintain its performance in the weekly top 10 album sales.[108][109] It was certified gold in January 2023 and later platinum in May 2024 by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) after it reached more than 100,000 and 250,000 physical sales, respectively.[110] The opening theme, Seishun Complex, was also certified gold in streaming when it reached 50 million listenings on streaming platforms in November 2023, and one of its insert songs, If I Could Be a Constellation follows in June 2024.[111][112]
The first part of its compilation film, Bocchi the Rock! Re: saw the film topping the weekend chart of Japan's box office on its opening weekend, with earnings going up to 218 million yen (approximately 1.39 million US dollars) and 140,000 attendees recorded. This was the first time an anime compilation film (with the contents being only a recap of its original series) managed to top the chart.[113]
Critical reception
In Anime News Network's Fall 2022 Preview Guide, the anime received widespread critical acclaim from most contributors. In general, the anime was praised for its writing, characters, animation, and portrayal of social anxiety.[1] Caitlin Moore praised the realistic depiction of Hitori's guitar playing as well as the "slightly acerbic" comedy, which, in her opinion, helped avoid the show becoming "too gentle" and contributed to Hitori's relatability. James Beckett similarly complimented the anime's attention to detail regarding the musical activity, in contrast to other similar anime, which he felt were generally not attentive to such logistical elements. Nicholas Dupree opined that Hitori's character felt "authentic" to "the kind of introverted kid who would wear band merch and carry their guitar to school in a bid to seem interesting" and was particularly enthusiastic about following the show, saying it was "so laser-targeted at my tastes." Rebecca Silverman's response, in contrast, was middling, as while she agreed that Hitori was relatable, she believed that the anime "seems to conflate introversion and social anxiety" and did not like the visuals. In spite of these criticisms, she called the first episode "engaging." Richard Eisenbeis said that the story had "solid lessons being told" but said that the humor (which he called "cringe comedy") was not to his taste, but acknowledged that others who enjoyed the jokes would find the anime more palatable.[1]
In a review for IGN, Rafael Motamayor strongly praised the anime for its story, themes, and visual creativity, comparing it favorably to K-On! and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. Motamayor also highlighted the similarity in the premise between Bocchi and Komi Can't Communicate and opined that the former improved on the latter by not "making light of" Hitori's personality for the sake of its humor. The diversity of the anime's visuals and inclusion of CGI and stop-motion sequences were also praised.[114]
In a feature for Crunchyroll, Adam Wescott praised the narrative and character of Hitori, comparing both positively to Watamote, and also praised the visual inventiveness of the "anxiety attack" sequences.[22]
Accolades
In the ninth Anime Trending Awards on February 26, 2023, the anime series was crowned "Anime of the Year" per the highest popular votes gained and also won seven more categories, such as "Best in Soundtrack," "Best in Adapted Screenplay," "Comedy Anime of the Year," "Music Anime of the Year," and "Best in Voice Cast." Episode 8 of the series also won "Best in Episode Directing and Storyboard." The anime won eight overall awards, the most in awards history so far.[115]
The web radio program of the series, Bocchi the Radio!, won three categories in the eighth AniRadi Awards on March 29, 2023, which were Best Comedy Radio, Best Female Radio, and the grand prize Radio of the Year. Yoshino Aoyama was present at the event to receive the award and give a speech.[116]
In the 2023 Musical Instrument Stores Grand Prize, the anime series won the "Recommended Works" award, voted by the musical instrument store staff around Japan. Instruments related to the series, like Yamaha's PACIFICA611VFM guitar, also won as recommended instruments in the award.[117]
In the Newtype Anime Awards on October 28, 2023, the anime series won the Best TV Anime award while winning two other awards: Best Director for Keiichirō Saitō and Best Theme Song for "Seishun Complex" by Kessoku Band.[118]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Reiwa Anisong Awards | Lyrics Award | Ai Higuchi for "That band" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | [119] |
| Arrangement Award | Ritsuo Mitsui for "Seishun Complex" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | |||
| Character Song Award | "Seishun Complex" by Kessoku Band | Won | |||
| "That band" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | ||||
| "Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | ||||
| 2023 | 9th Anime Trending Awards | Anime of the Year | Bocchi the Rock! | Won | [115] |
| Best in Adapted Screenplay | Erika Yoshida | Won | |||
| Best in Episode Directing and Storyboarding | Episode 8: "Bocchi the Rock" | Won | |||
| Best in Soundtrack | Bocchi the Rock! | Won | |||
| Best in Voice Cast | Yoshino Aoyama, Sayumi Suzushiro, Saku Mizuno, and Ikumi Hasegawa | Won | |||
| Comedy Anime of the Year | Bocchi the Rock! | Won | |||
| Music Anime of the Year | Won | ||||
| Slice of Life Anime of the Year | Won | ||||
| 8th AniRadi Awards | Radio of the Year | Bocchi the Radio! | Won | [116] | |
| Best Female Radio | Won | ||||
| Best Comedy Radio | Won | ||||
| Japan Expo Awards | Daruma for Best Anime | Bocchi the Rock! | Nominated | [120] | |
| Daruma for Best Director | Nominated | [121] | |||
| Daruma for Best Slice of Life Anime | Nominated | [122] | |||
| Daruma for Best Original Soundtrack | Won | [123] | |||
| Daruma for Best Ending | "Nani ga Warui" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | [124] | ||
| Musical Instrument Stores Grand Prize | Recommended Works | Bocchi the Rock! | Won | [117] | |
| Guitar Category | Yamaha PACIFICA611VFM[c] | Won | |||
| Epiphone Les Paul Custom/Ebony[d] | 3rd place | ||||
| Bass Category | Yamaha TRB/TRBX[e] | 2nd place | |||
| 13th Newtype Anime Awards | Best TV Anime | Bocchi the Rock! | Won | [118] | |
| Best Character (Female) | Hitori Gotoh | 3rd place | |||
| Nijika Ijichi | 6th place | ||||
| Best Theme Song | "Seishun Complex" by Kessoku Band | Won | |||
| "Karakara" by Kessoku Band | 10th place | ||||
| Best Soundtrack | Tomoki Kikuya | 3rd place | |||
| Best Director | Keiichirō Saitō | Won | |||
| Best Character Design | Kerorira | 2nd place | |||
| Best Mechanical Design | Bocchi the Rock! | 2nd place | |||
| Billboard Japan Music Awards | Hot Albums | Kessoku Band | 11th place | [125] | |
| Most Downloaded Albums | Won | [126] | |||
| IGN Awards | Best Anime Series | Bocchi the Rock! | Runner-up | [127] | |
| 2024 | 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards | Anime of the Year | Bocchi the Rock! | Nominated | [128] |
| Best Director | Keiichiro Saito | Nominated | |||
| Best Main Character | Hitori Gotoh (Bocchi) | Nominated | |||
| "Must Protect At All Costs" Character | Nominated | ||||
| Best New Series | Bocchi the Rock! | Nominated | |||
| Best Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Best Slice of Life | Won | ||||
| Best Score | Tomoki Kikuya | Nominated | |||
| Best Anime Song | "Seishun Complex" by Kessoku Band | Nominated | |||
| Best VA Performance (Japanese) | Yoshino Aoyama as Hitori Gotoh | Nominated | |||
| 18th Seiyu Awards | Singing Award | Kessoku Band | Won | [129] | |
| 16th CD Shop Awards | Grand Prix (Blue) | Kessoku Band | Nominated | [130] | |
| Finalist Award | Won |
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