(This is just a short review)

With the exception of the exploration into Hitori Gotoh's character as a social anxious person who slowly began to put herself out their in an effort to change, BOCCHI THE ROCK! was what I wanted the K-ON! to be. K-ON! is a great show with some flaws and personal gripes, but it rarely feels like a music show. So much of the time is spent on the camaraderie between the cast and their tea parties, which is fine honestly, but now that this show exists, it almost feels like there's little to set it apart among its peers. Lucky Star talked about coronets and satirized otaku culture of the time, Nichijou: My Ordinary Life was a surreal comedy in every sense of the word and so was Asobi Asobase -workshop of fun- in its own way, Daily Life of High School Boys explored the genre from a different perspective among other things, and Laid-Back Camp conveyed to us the wonders of the silent wintry outdoors of the foothills of Mt. Fuji. Now, Bocchi the guitarhero joins this accomplished pedigree in becoming the true music show of this genre. So much time is spent on this aspect and is the primary focus. It's not really about high school girls going through school; it's about high school girls cutting their teeth on their first ever concert and everything in-between. All of these music aspects are done with just as much passion or more than the camping seen in Laid-Back Camp. Just like with Sound! Euphonium, I as a classical pianist and violinist, truly feel what its like to be in these situations I never have been in.

Now we get to what I skipped and maybe the best part of the whole show, the exploration into Hitori "Bocchi" Gotoh's social anxiety and her drive to change. Sure we can all make jokes that "she's just like us frfr", but this is a very real exploration of social anxiety. Far more real than Komi-san can ever hope to be because Bocchi is a real person. She doesn't just have this one quality that's overplayed to death. There's various aspects to it and, not to mention, she learns and grows as a human being. The show does this so well, it might as be another one of the coming-of-age character dramas I love. Honestly, this is more than a simple cute girls show, and that truly makes it special.

Oh uhh...the super drunk 30s women is such an overdone trope and I hate it, but that character was made better through her connection to Bocchi and helping her grow. That is like my only issue with the show, and I hope she'll play a bigger part as Bocchi grows and matures both as a person and guitarist, so she doesn't become like that weido...

I hope this show will become a constellation and remain in our minds for years to come; I know it will for me...