Hitoribocchi no ○○ Seikatsu

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English

What does a work need to reach 10? You know, the masterpiece, the supposed perfection. It depends mostly on the critic, I have never believed that nonsense of objective criticism, if it were so there would be no need for reviewers, indeed, nor spectators, all art would be produced for that single entity, the invisible judge who will say "good or bad". But fortunately it is not like that, everyone has their own voice built with experiences and proximities, with the considerations to say, "this here, this, is incomparable".

And with this strange introduction I want to say that Bocchi's little story belongs (in my ... eyes) in that select group.

The drawing? Not at all, neither the backgrounds, details, illusion of movement, and surrogates, it's a very simple style, of the typical 4 vignettes manga that revolves around a little joke. Even the anime did an exceptional job of bringing it into motion, basically giving it everything it lacked. Originality in its approach? Oh, I have an important point to say about that, but I'll leave it for later, for now, no, the shy characters are not new, far from it, but it doesn't mean that Bocchi is a copy either, thanks to the definitive factor that will be none other than, its story.

No complexity or convoluted world, here sincerity prevails, and that is that it did not need anything else, but what it only needed, that is, a nice protagonist and characters to accompany her. Bocchi's path was decided from the beginning, she had to make friends and for that she had to overcome her anxieties and fears, one of the best details is how she takes the necessary time to achieve it, she meets her first friends and little by little they become closer, first being comfortable with them before opening up to strangers.

Those chapters are charming because they revolve through those inside jokes of everyone's very particular personalities, you may argue that they are just personalities based solely on some idea and were flat because of the same, and I won't deny it, it's true. However, there are characters among characters, the first batch of those who were introduced are the ones who spend more time, each one has a small evolution from beginning to end: Nako with the search to continue with her friends, Aru assuming the value she has as a person, the strength that Kako found to get closer to the others or Sotoka who should not hide behind extravagances to declare who she is and what she wants to become.

The first part with the chapters focused on that interaction with their little quirks, funny encounters for each other, where they share and have fun in a genuine way. Afterwards, the encounter of more and more characters that only have one characteristic and yet, they don't need anything else, why mess with something that doesn't need it? Besides, in real life several friends can be friends, even if we only talk about one subject with them. Are they really so improbable? And here I want to return to the mention of originality.

I am not avid to compare, but because of the frequency with which the subject is brought up, I feel it is necessary. There are not few comparisons with Komi San, both have a socialization problem, however, I consider Bocchi's story superior at all angles, however, I don't want the review to become a boring comparison, I just want to focus on the 2 most important points: The characters and the length.

Both works have secondaries dedicated to a single personality, but while in Komi it may be a single appearance in the corner of a page, Bocchi devotes a whole chapter. It is true, in Komi there are complete arcs dedicated to secondary characters and I feel that they are superfluous, they do not contribute to the main axis, on the other hand, Bocchi's story is all related to it, it does not mean that it should be the only axis of development, but it does not feel as if it was only to lengthen an already extensive story.

Because that's another quality of Bocchi, 100 chapters, no more, no less, it could have continued it, focus on Kai and how they all change in high school, it didn't. Because she already did, she became friends with the whole class, it doesn't matter if they split up. The memories will always be there.

Mastery in my eyes is when a work is so compact in its objectives and the way it achieves them that if you were to take away or add anything to it the whole structure would fall apart, of course, how imposing the structure is in the first place will also infer in the consideration. But in this case, in both approaches, everything is simply beautiful to me.

Bocchi learned that it takes courage to make friends, and that courage pays off.

And just by the strength of that message demonstrated through simple, but sure steps, that, is what I consider, mastery.


Español

¿Qué necesita una obra para alcanzar el 10? Ya sabes, la obra maestra, la supuesta perfección. Depende mayormente del crítico, nunca he creído esa tontería de la crítica objetiva, si así fuera no habría necesidad de reseñadores, es más, ni espectadores, todo el arte se produciría para ese único ente, el juez invisible que dirá “bueno o malo”. Más afortunadamente no es así, cada quien tiene su voz construida con experiencias y cercanías, con las consideraciones para decir, “esto de aquí, esto, es incomparable”.

Y con esta extraña introducción quiero decir que la pequeña historia de Bocchi pertenece (a mis ojos) en ese selecto grupo.

¿El dibujo? Para nada, ni los fondos, detalles, ilusión de movimiento, y sucedáneos, es un estilo muy simple, de los típicos mangas de 4 viñetas que giran alrededor de una pequeña broma. Inclusive el anime realizo un trabajo excepcional llevándole al movimiento, básicamente le dotaron de todo aquello que carecía. ¿Originalidad en su planteamiento? Oh, tengo un importante punto que decir al respecto, más lo dejaré para después, por ahora, no, los personajes tímidos no son nuevos ni mucho menos, pero tampoco quiere decir que Bocchi sea una copia, gracias al factor definitivo que no será otro que, su historia.

No complejidad o mundo enrevesado, aquí prima la sinceridad, y esa es que no necesitaba de nada más, sino de lo que únicamente necesitaba, es decir, una protagonista agradable y personajes que la acompañen. El camino de Bocchi estaba decidido desde el comienzo, tenía que hacer amigas y para ello debía superar sus angustias y temores, de los mejores detalles es como se toma el tiempo necesario para lograrlo, conoce a sus primeras amigas y poco a poco se hacen más cercanas, primero estando cómodas con ellas antes de abrirse a desconocidas.

Esos capítulos son encantadores porque giran a través de esas bromas internas de las personalidades tan particulares de cada quien, podrá discutirse que sólo son personalidades basadas únicamente en alguna idea y fueron planos por lo mismo, y no te lo voy a negar, es cierto. No obstante, hay personajes entre personajes, la primera tanda de quienes fueron presentadas es a quienes más le dedican tiempo, cada una tiene una pequeña evolución de inicio a final: Nako con la búsqueda de seguir junto a sus amigas, Aru asumiendo el valor que tiene como persona, la fuerza que encontró Kako por acercase a las demás o Sotoka quien no debe esconderse detrás de extravagancias para declarar quién es y que quiere llegar a ser.

La primera parte con los capítulos enfocados en esa interacción con sus pequeñas manías, encuentros divertidos para cada quién, donde comparten y se divierten de forma genuina. Posteriormente empieza el encuentro de más y más personajes que sólo tienen una característica y aún así, no necesita de otra cosa. ¿Para qué enredar algo que no lo necesita? Además, en la vida real varios amigos pueden serlo, aunque sólo dialoguemos únicamente de un tema con ellos ¿De verdad son tan improbables? Y aquí quiero retomar la mención de originalidad.

No soy ávido de comparar más por la frecuencia que suelen traer a colación el tema siento que es necesario. No son pocas las comparaciones con Komi San, ambas tienen un problema de socialización, sin embargo, considero la historia de Bocchi superior a todos ángulos, no obstante, no quiero que la reseña se convierta en una aburridora comparación, sólo quiero concentrarme en los 2 puntos más importantes: Los personajes y la duración.

Ambas obras tienen secundarios dedicados a una sola personalidad, pero mientras en Komi puede ser una única aparición en la esquina de una página, Bocchi dedica un capítulo completo. Es cierto, en Komi hay arcos completos dedicados a personajes secundarios y siento que sobran, no aportan al eje principal, en cambio la historia de Bocchi todas se relacionan con ella, no quiere decir que deba ser el único eje de desarrollo, más tampoco se siente como si fuese sólo para alargar una historia ya de por sí extensa.

Porque esa es otra cualidad de Bocchi, 100 capítulos, ni más ni menos, podría haberlo continuado, centrarse en Kai y como cambian todas en la preparatoria, no fue así. Porque ya lo hizo, se volvió amiga de toda la clase, no importa que se separen. Los recuerdos siempre estarán ahí.

La maestría a mis ojos es cuándo una obra es tan compacta en sus objetivos y el modo en lograrlo que si le quitará o agregará algo toda la estructura se vendría abajo, claro, el que tan imponente sea la estructura en primer lugar también inferirá en la consideración. Más en este caso, en ambos enfoques, todo me resulta sencillamente, bello.

Bocchi aprendió que se necesita valor para hacer amigos, y que ese valor vale la pena.

Y sólo por la fuerza de ese mensaje demostrado a través de sencillos, pero seguros pasos, eso, es lo que considero, maestría.

One word answer: Satisfied AF
This was my second manga which I have completed, and to be honest it was very good. The story was pretty good this is how a slice of life should be. If you remove music from K-ON then these two anime will be pretty similar but I don't mind that at all. All Characters were great, there was no such character that seems to be unnecessary. But I think Hitori Bocchi's should be shown a little bit taller, when she is will all her friends she looks like their underclassmen. But overall it was a great anime. I hope season 2 ... is released this year.

Story: 8/10
Love the premise. Bocchi grows as a character without ever changing so much it's unrealistic. The growing of Bocchi's core friend group is wonderful to see. Each character in the main cast gets a strong mini-arc. One thing I really respect is that the mangaka actually ended the manga. After the end I expected the manga to be continued on to high school with all the characters but the mangaka had the guts to finish it when he knew there was no more room for Bocchi to grow as a character. She had already befriended the class and reunited with her childhood friend, there ... wasn't a way to extend the story without it dragging on.

Art: 6/10
Well drawn, cute but simple. 4-koma so not too detailed and the images are fairly small. Bocchi looks bizarrely young compared to the other characters. The simplistic art kind of adds to the charm

Characters: 10/10
As a character driven comedy, you expect the characters to carry the series and they absolutely do. The main cast have well defined personalities and are each incredibly likeable in their own ways. There weren't too many characters that appeared once and never came up again

Overall: 10/10
Good comedy (even the end gags are pretty funny), good slice of life and relatable. Pretty much the archetypal CGDCT slice of life manga. Had the guts to end the actual manga

Good
• Very cute!
• Comfy fluffy read, no real drama. SOL through and through
• Actual justification for why the very shy Bocchi attempts to be friends with everyone
• Lot's of cameos of characters that turn up later, fun for a reread
• Ends when it should have
• Good character arcs for all major characters

Bad
• Same shallow definition of friendship as "Komi-san Can't Communicate" though each person gets more screen time and there is a smaller cast
• Some characters only show up in one chapter

Extra Subjective
• Never get's too awkward despite the premise and it's always awkward in an endearing way rather than a cringy way
• All female cast, male characters get a line each in one chapter