Now, to be honest, i don't really care for the CGDCT genre, I have nothing against it, the first anime I watched was Lucky Star FFS, then i discovered Azumanga Daioh, the peak of CGDCT and eventually, I got bored and moved on to other genres the only way nowadays that you can get me to watch something like this is if it does something super interesting with its setting or characters. Usually, with all of the CGDCT shows, the consensus is always, to turn your brain off and enjoy, I don't think Bocchi is one of those shows because Bocchi has some actual substance for my brain to engage with.
What makes Bocchi special is that she doesn't really fit into the "cute" mold Unless you consider her having anxiety attacks and mental breakdowns as "cute". I mean they're treated really lightly as comic relief but it's not there just to be cute and lighthearted it's written as a part of her internal conflict. It's still a pretty amusing show but overall the comedy isn't the main reason why I love this show. Bocchi the Rock does both. It took me back to my younger days of watching Azumanga for the first time and just like Bocchi, Azumanga has jokes I will never forget. It's funny how the two anime are 20 years apart because their styles of comedy are really similar.
Unlike other CGDCT,it feels like there is still some semblance of progression that keeps me tuned in, that's mainly with Bocchi. I would argue, she carries the entire show. She seems like such an outlier compared to the others that she could be in her own show, so what keeps me invested is her struggle to make her way through different scenarios that put the spotlight on her. It's just the little things, Bocchi attempting to strike a conversation, trying to fill the air with at least something because she worries about making the other party uncomfortable, and ultimately she flops more than succeeds but the people she hangs out with like her all the same. The other characters seem to be living their anime lives flawlessly while Bocchi struggles to even be a normal human. sometimes the girls would be doing stereotypical moe things like trying on maid outfits or taking group photos while Bocchi is visibly not having a fun time at all. The others are really nice characters, they feel fully rounded and all have nice personalities with some irredeemable qualities as well. Nijika is a cheery optimist, but sometimes she cannot keep her mouth shut and can come across as rude. Ryou is cool and collected but she loves to beg people for money that she will never return. Ikuyo is the most sociable one but she can be a bit aloof at times. These three along with Bocchi make a perfect quartet, and it's just amazing seeing Bocchi open up to them at a point where her friends are aware of her social anxiety and want to help her overcome it. This is truly what separates the Bocchi's from the WEPs.And it really adds a sense of connection because it shows that Bocchi along with others is an imperfect person, but they all have shared interests which is what matters more. It's amazing how realistic they feel as a group of friends, I can tell the creator based at least some of this story off their own life.
And putting on my "he's like me frfr" eyeglasses on for a second, it feels very humanizing seeing her overthink scenarios, hesitate to interact with others, and have panic attacks over trivial things, just to be comforted by her friends. And what's funny is that the show itself makes a gag of this progression by showing that Bocchi when it comes to socializing has a long way to go step by step. And it's each of these steps that she takes which makes the show so down to earth and the kawaii moe shenanigans surprisingly don't foreshadow the show. Another thing about Bocchi is how she makes some really wild decisions about how to handle awkward situations that result in me either rooting for her efforts or cringing beyond belief. At first, I thought her being cartoonish conflicted with her character but then i realized, even a human being like me has done overly cringy things in public but I just try to forget those moments until they, unfortunately, creep back up in my mind and I have hardcore PTSD of my cringy high school life.
The only minor of the most minor complaints i have with this anime is some of the humor. This anime was hilarious and cleverly written but the style where one of the characters explains the visual metaphors to you was the one that doesn't fit my sense of humor. But that critique doesn’t even matter because I think this anime was the funniest I have seen all year. No shade towards Kaguya sama,but what really elevates the humor in this show is how its animation is absolutely boundless, it transcends not only styles, but mediums, and even dimensions. Sometimes you get the insane character sakuga, other times you get stop-motion, live-action. faces falling off, and hell even uncanny 3d models. This creative use of animation takes me back to the older days of 2000s SpongeBob which is literally the peak of all comedy ever in human history. When comedians and writers try to make a comedy, they look at Spongebob for inspiration.
The best way I can describe Bocchi is "sincere". Focusing less on the kawaii moe idealism to appeal to male otakus and just becoming an authentic and relatable slice of life that shows the struggles of a socially awkward person trying to fit in. Some gags with Bocchi are over-exaggerated and others are so hurtfully true that it can feel a little depressing. Also, much like one of my favorite anime from 2021, Kageki shoujo, this anime dives into the thought process of the art form. In this case which is musicianship. And tbh i barely know anything about that. I played trombone in sixth grade but that was all. Despite the anime not necessarily speaking to me as much as actual musicians, I don't think that's the anime’s intention though, Its main theme is about social interaction. The entire reason that Bocchi even wanted to start a band wasn’t to play great music but to be popular, which can be both a well and ill intention, and Bocchi’s struggle comes from her goal and her fear. there were some really insightful messages including who you should cater your work to and what really motivates you to do what you are doing in the first place. Goddamn. The speech given to Bocchi about trying not to give up your originality just appeal to the mainstream was so motivational..
Also, this anime does what i love the most in these genres, it shows the band members working hard to achieve their goal, and overcome some problems and in the final episode, everything they have learned throughout the anime is showcased when they finally get their deserved time to shine. I was getting emotional ngl i love it when people from a humble beginning work hard and their work pays off,i'm not gonna use some cringy ass buzz phrase like "peak fiction" to describe writing like that, but when it's written really well, those types of stories are the ones i enjoy the most of in anime. And combining that with probably the most creative,faithful depiction of social anxiety i have ever seen in anime, it's no surprise how this anime got so much praise.
When I said this anime was a reincarnated version of Azumanga Daioh I meant it. And that's a big deal. Azumanga was one of the anime that made me become an anime fan and it gives me a rush of nostalgic times, and I feel like the only anime that have gave me that exact same nostalgia… it is Bocchi the Muthafuckin Rock.
