A short summary for those who don’t want to read long review writing:
Positives (+):
1. Hilarious approach on presenting the characters’ behaviors, such as the Hitori’s psychological world
2. Tons of characters’ facial expressions
3. Refreshing and funny jokes are delivered
4. Personalities and thoughts from both the main characters and supporting cast show a strong contrast in their own respectively
Negatives (-):
1. This anime could have delivered more than slice of life and comedy in order to become a masterpiece
An anime featuring an introvert could be dull and boring, because when you think of the whole 24 mins, you’re just watching a girl being shy and speechless, everyone would just watch chainsaw man instead hahaha… Joking aside, this anime is just good at enlarging the psychological world of an extreme introvert in a more hilarious approach. As an introvert, I can’t stop laughing when watching this anime because I found the jokes making on Hitori are both relatable and enjoyable. Throughout the anime, Hitori is constantly second thinking about what’ll happen after doing a certain behavior, which shows the fear and worries from her social anxiety straight on. However, the show is not being in a serious tone. You can see that there are tons of expressions made by Hitori and other characters as well. Their after-thinking reactions are just pure gold and spice up a lot of comedy throughout the anime.
I think the arrangement of story is also ROCK ON! Because starting from Hitori being an introvert, you can see that the change of her throughout the anime. The jokes are not being dragged too long, as the jokes are constantly refreshed by different kind of character’s behaviors. I recalled other trash slice of life or comedy anime, which are constantly overusing the jokes again and again, like an endless black hole. Seriously? I was about to give up on watching more slice of life anime at that point, but at least now I’m glad that I found Bocchi the Rock to watch. I also like that this anime would suddenly turn ordinary slice of life scenes into something unexpected by putting some eccentric stuffs in the midway, which also makes the whole anime experience a lot more hilarious.
The chemistry of characters is also more interesting than I thought would be. 2 introverts + 2 extroverts counteracting each other as a group of band. Ryou like to stay alone and often think of ideas that are unique on her own. I think Ryou is supportive in the band, but has her own way to do stuffs. Kita, who is a total opposite of Hitori, is really good at socializing. Throughout the anime, Kita shines and is more attractive than anyone else in the band. She is also the main source of influence that brings Hitori out of the world of social anxiety. Nijika is the organizer of the band. She is cheerful, outgoing and determined to lead the band to success, but not as attractive as Kita.
The supporting characters are also functional in the anime. Nijika’s older sister, who is the manager of the livehouse, is a major back support of the band. She uses her experience and skills to help the band to become more thrive. PA-San is just another random character happen in the show, but she also gives a major push to Hitori in order to build up her confidence. However, there are characters that act as a discouragement on Hitori. Guess who they are? The answer is Hitori’s family members. They often make fun of Hitori’s social anxiety and don’t believe Hitori would have friends and getting out of social anxiety. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean Hitori is born in a depressing family. Instead, it’s just her family members don’t believe she can change at the beginning in general, but afterall they will still support Hitori on stage.
As you can see, the characters come in pairs of contrast:
Main characters: Introverts vs extroverts
Supporting characters: Believe in Hitori vs don’t believe in Hitori
The characters all have their own behaviors and thoughts, which make the whole anime has a strong contradiction profile to it. This creates the rigid foundation on the character development, enjoyment and the slice of life story.
Bocchi the Rock is indeed very close to being a masterpiece in my opinion, but I think the story should deliver more than staying inside the comfort zone of slice of life and comedy genres. I notice the characters’ backstories, such as the formation of the band, could be part of the emotional story in the anime. Sadly, this part doesn’t develop much in the anime. It would have been a masterpiece and can be more comparable to the top tier of slice of life anime if more emotional stories can be added.
Besides the number of funny character expressions, the animation and the use of various media is another highlight on stage. Many different kinds of animation styles, such as the use of real-life CG, are used to spice up the anime. It’s pretty rare to see such utilization of mixed media, as most animation style seen in anime is just monotonic without much variation, which is just only one animation style applied throughout the anime.
The music performances are also pretty well done in the anime. There are solo performances and group performances in different stages of the anime, showing the progress of being a successful band. Voice actors are also doing their job well in fitting the characters’ personalities.
At last, I really enjoyed Bocchi the Rock. Many people compare this anime with other music and slice of life anime, but I think Bocchi the Rock is pretty unique on its own, since the strong contrast of the characters, the jokes built from the characters and the unique usage of animation techniques are definitely the exclusive highlights in this anime season.
