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I really like Bocchi The Rock!. I truly do. I genuinely enjoy the genre of "cute girls doing cute things while they're in a friend group performing some joint group activity". And what exactly does Hitori Gotou aka Bocchi bring to the table? More of that!

Sure, the character designs are simpler compared to their seasonal contemporaries, but they're charming and expressive because of it, especially considering how Cloverworks went fairly hard with the animation and attention to subtle details, similar to other shows of theirs like Dress Up Darling or Akebi-chan and reminiscent of other works like Nichijou. If you wanted to watch more cute ... girls with simple designs I'd watch Do It Yourself! this season too! (Serufu-san must be protected!)

If I wanted to watch a CGDCT show with good comedy I'd watch K-On! as well as Bocchi the Rock!. Why, you should watch Bocchi the Rock!—where 110% of the jokes are comprised of visual gags of Bocchi being devastatingly shy and/or socially anxious—because I’m reminded of the humor with Mio of K-On! in a show that also has a lot of other running gags! As a result, there’s a joke spot-on for someone somewhere in there! The punchlines are straight to the point and don’t overstay their welcome.

In fact, this show does a part of what K-On! does but just differently. When I listen to a song from K-On! it feels like the girls are the ones that are playing the instruments. I get the same strong feeling from Bocchi The Rock!. Arguably they’re all too good! Likewise, their personalities have a worthwhile level of depth and chemistry that other CGDCT shows like K-On!, Yuru Camp, or a Place Further Than the Universe have. All great shows! To be fair, this show is more focused on Bocchi, but the girls do get better at playing as a band and improving their relationships along with that, and—if you wanted to watch another show with that kind of angle—I wholeheartedly recommend Sound! Euphonium too (which is a much more grounded portrayal of such struggles, hopes, and dreams)!

Before I continue on with comparisons you might think that it might be unfair for me to frame my review by comparing it to other shows in the same genre. I should treat Bocchi the Rock! as its own show instead of it being K-On! 2. There are a few reasons why I'd disagree:

1. Whether consciously or not we all compare the media we watch to the media we've previously watched. If we didn't then we wouldn't be doing things like numerical ratings or saying "x is better than y". It is human nature to compare.
2. You'll have to take my word for it, but I've given most of these shows an honest shot. For instance, while I wasn't the biggest fan of A Place Further than the Universe I still respect what it was trying to do. Bocchi the Rock! too feels creative, enriching, and inspirational, but may still not be for everyone.
3. I wouldn't be making these comparisons if there was more I can find in the show that was either really good or really bad. Everything resonates with someone, but to say that something is mid without a frame of reference (other shows) is pretty pointless.

And that's overall the biggest “problem” with this show. Besides some interesting and thoughtful shot compositions, great character designs, cute characters, a relatable plot, and an even more relatable sense of humor, this show gives me EVERYTHING and continues the legacy of CGDCT. Maybe this is unfair of me to say, but it feels like some mangaka saw the success, happiness, and anxieties of similar bands and their culture and decided to just pump out another 4-Koma that relates to the “low common denominator” of people that would like, totally relate to socially anxious self-deprecating memes! Also, if you wanted to watch another relatable, more realistic, and darker portrayal of social anxiety/introversion I'd 100% watch March Comes In Like A Lion.

On the topic of social anxiety, Bocchi is such a fresh and interesting portrayal of it. Her backstory is that she locked herself in her room [for her love of playing guitars] (read: due to her desire to become popular and get good) and that because of that she simply never learned to socialize throughout Middle School. Humans are inherently social creatures. So is Bocchi. This was her way to reach towards the outside and typically people like Bocchi who completely isolate themselves from the world due to a hobby often still have a desire for relationships, sometimes even a yearning for them, like Bocchi. Besides her good guitar skills, I get the feeling that she truly likes and appreciates all of the compliments and new experiences (once she gets used to them) from other people just as much. She's just a normal person who also has crippling social anxiety and delusions of grandeur—quite like me and many others out there.

It’s much the same for the other characters in the show. Because the show is from the perspective of our Bocchi, every other character is even more interesting as they are all foils of Bocchi and one another. At first glance, we’ve got the careless-matic introvert with blue hair, Ryou Yamada; the straightforward extrovert with blonde hair, Nijika Ichiji; an optimistic extrovert with red hair, Kita Ikuyo, and plenty of other fun and surprisingly nuanced side characters (plus bonus yuri ships!). It feels like every single character’s personality is enhanced by how they socialize with those around them. Compare that with K-On!. Ritsu is also a confident blonde extrovert. This confidence bleeds into how she teases Mio, is the club president who makes all of the important decisions for the club, and even the way she always casually sits backward in a chair. As a result, the others view her as a tomboy, which comes into play in their short gags, longer jokes, or general character moments. Compare that to Nijika. Besides begging Bocchi to join the band initially, what else does she contribute to the show? Absolutely everything if not more! But more in Mio’s role as the level-headed caretaker of her bandmates. (P.S. They would be friends and I would hope that you’d probably like them both! Kitaaan~!)

Structuring this review around comparing it to others helps capture my opinion of the show. While watching the show, the only thing I frankly could think of is “Why wasn't I watching this sooner?”.

Bonus:
Oh yeah, if I wanted to watch a show where the main character has some hidden talent but something is preventing them from fully expressing it, there are hundreds of shounens/isekais/shojo/idol/magical girl/fantasy/sci-fi/thriller shows with that theme. So yeah, we have that too!


P.S. More CGDCT please—and watch Nichijou for more Hyperbolic 4-Koma Humor, Gundam: The Witch from Mercury for an equally adorkable protagonist (with some yuri!), and Watamote for the painfully awkward yet too real and relatable material. (I still haven’t recovered from it! 10/10!) Finally, I recommend Ouran High School Host Club for some heartfelt, nuanced, and yet very pink and larger-than-life sense of humor. Classic stuff!

P.P.S. In all seriousness, I haven’t watched an anime this relatable in a long time. Something about it just captures the delusional and crippling anxiety that comes with feeling like you’re not good enough and how different people cope with that and how they help others cope too. Bocchi the Rock! truly shows, HAS shown that this story is something that resonates strongly with a few—maybe even the many—and it certainly rings true to how I felt when I first got into anime and matches beat-for-beat that vivid, life-changing high upon first contact. Top that off with amazing attention to detail and out-of-this-world sequences and you’ve got a recipe for some laughter! This anime is truly a gem and not only carries the torch for CGDCT, but also for why anime and its adjacent mediums feel so universally special.

See you on the flip side. Peace.