Before the Fall season started, I knew how packed Saturdays were going to be. From Spy X Family to Blue Lock and many more that I watched, I honestly did not plan on watching Bocchi the Rock, but given how CloverWorks has been doing some very impressive work this year, with Sono Bisque Doll, Akebi-chan, and Spy X Family, I decided to watch this too, and I am truly glad I experienced this masterpiece of an anime. It’s not the most ambitious or high budget work out there, but it is, by far, the most fun I’ve had watching something this decade. This show has been nothing short of spectacular, with creativity just oozing out every episode, with many animation styles such as claymation, and just flat out 3DCG which was hilarious, plus excellent comedic timing and visual gags that made me laugh every episode. Truly a work that is brimming with passion for the craft, and one of, if not the best anime to come out in 2022 for me personally.

STORY:

The story isn’t the most creative, and it isn’t the thing that stands out the most. We follow the socially anxious Hitori Gotou, also known as Bocchi, through her arduous journey of life and her yearning to join a band. She devotes her time in playing the guitar, and posts her works online for people to enjoy. One day, she decides to bring her guitar to school, in hopes someone would find it cool and talk to her. Turns out, no one approached her, and that’s the thing I like from this show, that it is grounded in realism. In reality, most people have their own problems to deal with, and mind their own business, so it’s not the easiest for socially awkward people like Bocchi to communicate in this world. I’ll expand on Bocchi’s character in the “Characters” section of this review. The gist of the story is just Bocchi trying to integrate herself into society as she joins Kessoku Band, and slowly, but surely, turning into someone she herself can be proud of.

ART:

What a job well done the animation was. The many types of visual comedy was wonderful to see, and these gags occur mostly during Bocchi’s monologues, which just made it even more funny. You’ve surely seen many of these gags online, and it’s the creativity that really put this show on the map in the first place.

MUSIC:

As this is a music show to some extent, the music is indeed, very solid. The OP was already very good, and if you read the lyrics to that, and to basically all the songs from Kessoku Band, you know that Bocchi wrote the lyrics, and they hit deep on a personal level. Of course, they also sound amazing, and I’ve had many of the songs from the show on my playlist, and listen to them all the time. Truly mesmerizing music.

CHARACTERS:

This show has one of the best casts through this entire year, if not the best. Each girl from Kessoku Band is unique, and each have their respective complexities, which was fun to watch.

First, I’ll talk about Bocchi, who is, my favourite character from this year of anime, and one of my favourites, ever, because she’s very relatable to me personally. I, like Bocchi, am quite socially awkward and anxious. I struggle to keep conversations going, I don’t have much motivation to talk to others, and I don’t have the highest self-esteem. However, being socially anxious, does not mean that she is necessarily an introvert, which many people describe her as. I have been described as an introvert all my life, but there’s a fine line between introversion and social anxiety, which brings me to yet another fantastic character from this show, Ryou Yamada. She’s described as an introvert, by choice. You can see that’s she totally fine when she’s talking to others, but she keeps them short and sweet. That’s because introversion is all about social energy, the need to recharge your batteries after being at huge social events, or having a long conversation with someone, whereas socially anxious people probably want to talk with others more, but just can’t bring themselves to do so. You can clearly tell how different she is from Bocchi because of that.

Now back to Bocchi. She’s relatable to all of us to some extent, I’m sure, because both introverts and extroverts can experience social anxiety. Everyone, I’m sure, was deathly afraid of public speaking or performing at some point in our lives. Some may relate to her more, some may relate to her less. For me personally, I see a lot of myself in her. I find myself avoiding social interaction a lot, which is more or less what Bocchi does. The great part of this show is that it is quite realistic, although exaggerated a lot through the visual gags. Bocchi tries to improve, but it isn’t easy. Social anxiety, if you’re born with it, will likely stick with you in some form for a good chunk of your life, but small steps can be made. When people acknowledge her talents, she breaks out into this happy, goofy look, because she’s brimming with happiness. That’s because socially anxious people are desperate for some acknowledgement of their talents, and when they get it, it might be a push in the right direction for them, to get them to continue doing what they’re good at.

Even the character designs are very interesting, in that the two non-social butterfly people, their bangs cover their forehead and eyes to some extent, and that’s quite noticeable to me too, since my bangs also cover my forehead and eyes a little bit. Little things like that make it all the more enjoyable to me.

The other two characters, Nijika and Kita, are the very outgoing people, but still very entertaining to watch. Kita, especially, is the social butterfly who’s seemingly ready to conquer the world with her aura, but underneath, there’s something there too, perhaps some social anxiety of her own, just in a different form. Maybe she just doesn’t show it openly. Nijika is probably the least entertaining character out of these four, but her interactions with Bocchi and the rest of the cast are still very nice to watch, and she has her emotional moments too.

ENJOYMENT:

Every single episode was awesome, because of the oozing creativity. Never a dull moment with this show.

THEMATIC EXECUTION:

The themes are executed to perfection. The themes of different types of personalities was handled very well, and very realistically, which really hits home. It even gets the musician themes well, with the toughness of the music industry, and how it’s so difficult to rise up the ranks and be noticed by others in a positive light, in a world filled with music and sound all around.

OVERALL:

Need I say more? This was by far my favourite show of the season and perhaps the year. It was definitely the most fun I had watching something this year, with the awesome and insane comedy, the music, and the relatable characters. It’s quite the easy watch too, and even if you aren’t socially inept, there’s most definitely something to relate to, whether it’s the characters, the aspiring musicians, or even the alcoholic spirals. You made me proud, CloverWorks, and you too Kessoku Band. This show is just so rock, and I’ll miss it dearly.