WARNING: This review is slightly vulgar and contains minor spoilers. I'm also not that good at reviews so yeah...
Bocchi the Rock Review
Since the geniuses at KyoAni released the masterpiece that was K-ON, cute girl and music anime have had a bad reputation…
But Bocchi doesn’t give a f**k about that!
Social anxiety is defined as “an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others”
Basically, you can’t do shit because you are scared of what others will think… and that’s what our protagonist, Bocchi has!
Small note, if you actually do have social anxiety and relate to stuff in this video or the anime, seek help, get some therapy, please…
Anyways, as I said, meet Bocchi, which I’m not even kidding the synopsis says “is so introverted and shy around people that she’d always start her conversations with “Ah…””…
Anyways, she’s doesn’t have any friends, doesn’t do anything and is EXTREAMLEY introverted. Still, she wants to be famous and have friends. She thinks that by joining a band, she can do that.
So, as any normal person would, she learns guitar, practices for 6 hours and does not do anything except practice guitar and DOESN’T DO ANYTHING FOR 3 YEARS!
Well, she does become an iNfLueNcER and uploads covers of songs under the online pseudonym of “guitarhero”.
Contrary to what she says she’s REALLY FUCKING GOOD, but still, due to her social anxiety SHE CAN’T TALK TO PEAOLE! Still, new high school, new life, and by new life she means TWO HOUR COMMUTE EACH WAY
Anyways, one day, she decides enough is enough and decides to bring her guitar to school to try and seem “cool”. Of course, as always, nobody talked to her, and another depressing day comes to an end… or so I would say if it wasn’t for Nijika Ijichi, the happy and playful drummer in kessoku band.
The durmmer has a problem. Her band, (which literally means zip ties lol) is set to preform that same day at her sisters club, Starry. But, the guitarist ran way at the last second, so they need to somebody to replace her with.
Bocchi accepts (and by accepts I mean she gets dragged to the place by Nijika), but now she need to preform to people! WHEN SHE HAS NEVER TALKED TO ANYBODY BEFORE!
Anyways, the performance ends decently (except for the fact that bocci is in a fucking MANGO box for the entirety of the performance) and so, Bocchi joins Kessoku band as an official member.
And basically that’s it, the entire anime is Bocchi combatting her social anxiety through the band, whether it being working at that same club she performed or selling tickets for their concert.
Plus, the entire representation of the indie music system and playing at clubs is pretty good. To be clear I don’t play in clubs (although I wished I did), so I don’t know about the quota shit and all, but I do visit often and they nailed the atmosphere!
Plus, it’s done in the best animation I’ve ever seen. Not only is the 2D very smooth and well done, it uses different styles of 2D animation, like this “trigger style”, “90’s style”, all to accentuate the comedy even more.
Or creating small “theater” like scenes with cardboard, or very advanced stop motion, or even better, live footage of dams to show a very long comedic pause! (I AM NOT EVEN KIDDNG).
Returning back to 2D animation, it changes character design a lot, with smooth changes, like showing “party” bocchi, or “slime” bocchi, or there is this sequence where she literally turns to ash and curses the other two band members with her, all of this to say, the comedy is not only brought by the story and the voice actors, but the animation makes It 10 times funnier.
Speaking about voice acting, it's also very good. I especially like how Bocchi’s VA played her part perfectly. It truly felt she had social anxiety!
Finally the Music. This is a GODDAM MUSIC ANIME so they did’t need to fuck up this part. And of, course what do you except…
They didn’t! Not only but like every single other part, they over deliverd! (Are you starting to noticing a theme here…) anyways! Not only are the opening and endings (yes, there’s multiple) really good, but all the songs are incredible.
Yes, unlike other anime like K-On, where yes the song were cool but you kinda forget them after you watched the anime, here the songs are good, so much that I actually listen to them like normally.
Plus, they are unique, since the lyrics are dark and kinda weird but at the same time cool, since they are written by Bocchi herself to avoid writing stuff that activates her Seishun complex (which, by the way, is what the opening is called, funny game there clover works!).
Like, you know they are serious when they produce an entire fucking album just for the anime!
Plus, tying back to the animation. All of their performances were all animated really well! They did use a tiny bit of CGI, but it was barley noticeable and done really well, and a lot of other scenes were done in 2D. Plus, I heard from music nerds that the performances were pretty faithful, to the actual score and playing.
So yeah, finally, even thought I could talk about this masterpiece of a show for hours, I need to close somewhere… yeah I know, I know, sad…
So, final results.
Will it not waste your time: Absolutely, even if you aren’t a music nerd
Is it a must watch, and I recommend: Yes. I think this is a masterpiece, and yes, it’s my favorite anime!
