Bocchi the Rock!
Movies
Alternate Title
ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！
Synopsis
Hitori “Bocchi-chan” Goto is an extremely shy and asocial girl who has a habit of starting her sentences with “Ah!” But she longs to join a band where she can shine bright and begins playing guitar. Having no friends, she spent her junior high days practicing guitar every day for six hours. She posted videos of her improved guitar playing online under the name “Guitar Hero” and performed at the school culture festival, and before she knew it, she became a high school student all while still having zero friends. One step away from becoming a total shut-in, she one day meets Nijika Ijichi, who plays drums in the band Kessoku Band and invites her to join. With that, her daily life begins to change.
Background
Bocchi the Rock! started as a four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamaji that began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max seinen manga magazine in December 2017. As of August 2022, four collected tankobon volumes have been published under the Manga Time KR Comics imprint.
A TV anime adaptation was announced in February 2021. It is being animated by CloverWorks (Akebi's Sailor Uniform, Fate/Grand Order -Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia-, My Dress-Up Darling) and features Keiichiro Saito (ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. Regards, Boogiepop and Others, The Idolm@ster SideM) as director and Yusuke Yamamoto (Aquarion Evol, Encouragement of Climb Second Season, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die) as assistant director, with Erika Yoshida (Double Decker! Doug & Kirill, Tiger & Bunny, Trickster) handling series composition and scripts, Kerorira (Konosuba - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World– Legend of Crimson, Merc Storia: The Apathetic Boy and the Girl in a Bottle, Wataten!: an Angel Flew Down to Me) as the character designer and chief animation director, and Tomoki Kikuya (Drug Store in Another World - The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist, Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World, Wasteful Days of High School Girl) as music composer. The anime will premiere in Japan on Oct. 8, 2022 on Tokyo MX, BS11, Gunma TV, and Tochigi TV.
Characters
Hitori Goto (Voiced by: Yoshino Aoyama)
Hitori is a first-year high school girl who is extremely shy and asocial. She plays lead guitar in Kessoku Band. Though a loner, she yearns to shine bright in a band and starts playing guitar. Her skills are the real deal, but she has trouble showing it to her band or in front of others.
Nijika Ijichi (Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro)
Nijika is an energetic and cheerful second-year high school student. She plays drums in Kessoku Band. She is the band’s organizer and takes care of her bandmates. She has an older sister who runs a live music club called STARRY, which she has fond memories of.
Ryо Yamada (Voiced by: Saku Mizuno)
Ryo is a cool and aloof second-year high school student. She plays bass in Kessoku Band and is close friends with Nijika. She has strange hobbies and likes when others refer to her as being odd. Though she grew up in a rich family, she is always strapped for cash due to spending all her money on instruments. She sometimes eats weeds to satiate her hunger.
Ikuyo Kita (Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa)
Ikuyo is a cheerful and popular first-year high school student. She plays guitar and sings vocals for Kessoku Band. She is a bubbly girl who likes interacting with others without hesitation, even when meeting someone for the first time. She looks up to Ryo and sometimes gets carried away by her feelings. She often uploads photos to social media.
Music
Opening Theme Song: “Seishun Complex” by Kessoku Band
Official Links
- Anime Site (Japanese)
- Twitter (Japanese)
Staff
- Original Creator: Aki Hamaji
- Director: Keiichiro Saito
- Assistant Director: Yusuke Yamamoto
- Series Composition/Script: Erika Yoshida
- Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Kerorira
- Live Director: Yusuke Kawakami
- Live Animator: Yuki Ito
- Art Director: Yasunao Moriyasu
- Art Setting: taracod
- Color Design: Asuka Yokota
- Prop Design: Ayumi Nagaki
- CG Director: Katsuaki Miyaji
- Live CG Director: Hiroaki Uchida
- 2D Work: Aoi Umeki
- Director of Photography: Tsubasa Kanamori
- Editing: Daisuke Hiraki
- Sound Director: Akiko Fujita
- Sound Effects: Shota Yaso
- Music: Tomoki Kikuya
- Animation Producer: Shota Umehara
- Animation Production: CloverWorks