Zupa and I just recently finished Bocchi the Rock, and decided to write a review about it! There might be spoilers about the characters, so be cautious.
This series has a main cast of 4 characters, unless you count the alcoholic and the manager as main characters. I’ll talk about all the characters and their general relations with each other, with a basic rundown of the plot.
Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh
Hitori is the main character in this series, with her nickname being part of the title of the series. Most people know her as Bocchi and I’ll refer to her as such. Bocchi is extremely socially anxious, often going out of her way to not interact with anyone. This is seen in her ability to hide from people at her school. Bocchi craves positive attention, so whenever she gets praised, she gets happy and does whatever someone says. She wants to become famous, from what I assume is a want to appear cool or like she can actually function.
Bocchi has pink hair, which all of her family has. She’s rarely seen in an outfit other than her tracksuit, even in summer. The only time she’s seen in another outfit is episode 11. Her art style tends to change randomly in the middle of the show, which usually happens when she’s nervous or anxious. Bocchi has blue eyes, a sideways ahoge and two blue and yellow beads coming out from its base.
Ryo Yamada
Ryo Yamada is mischievous, and is androgynous to the point that Kita has a crush on her. She likes to spend time alone, similar to Bocchi, except isn’t anxious about people or asking for money. Ryo is quiet and only has a couple friends. She gets happy about being called a weirdo, which is the only time she really has an expression on her face. She also ate grass once, so that’s cool.
Ryo has messy blue hair. She wears two black square clips in her long right side hair. She wears earrings, though they’re usually hidden. She’s pale with a mole on her left cheek and has yellow eyes. Her uniform consists of a button-up shirt with a black ribbon, a black vest and tights, with a blue skirt and brown loafers.
Nijika Ijichi
Nijika is energetic and cheerful, but not as extroverted as Kita. She’s the organizer of Kessoku Band which she started with Ryo, who goes to her private school. She’s the first person of the band to meet Bocchi and invite her. Bocchi is close to Nijika, and she never fails to make Bocchi feel at ease. Nijika and Kita work together to try and make Bocchi less socially anxious.
Nijika has blonde hair and slightly light orange-red eyes. Her bangs and side hairs are pointy and she wears her hair in a ponytail. Her ahoge is a triangle. She wears a white button-up shirt with a black vest and a red polka dot bow. Her skirt is navy, her shoes are bright red with white and her socks are white.
Ikuyo Kita
Kita is very extroverted and has what the group calls the Kit-Aura. This aura is one of cheerfulness and outgoingness and can make Bocchi do whatever Kita wants. Kita has many friends and often uses social media, unlike Ryo or Bocchi. She believes she’s just like everyone else, especially compared to her crush, Ryo.
Kita has red hair, fair skin and yellow eyes. Her bangs are grown out, and has a small ponytail on the left side of her head. She wears a beige and light brown sailor fuku with long sleeves. The stripes are black and her bow is red. Her skirt is gray, her socks are oversized and she has brown loafers.
Seika Ijichi
Seika’s personality is a facade most of the time. She fits a tsundere archetype without the love interest. She adores the Kessoku Band and loves to think about them in her spare time. She acts cold towards many people, including her own sister. Despite that, she opened Starry up for her sister and used to be in a band herself.
Seika has a similar look to Nijika, which makes sense given that they’re sisters. They have the same hair and eye color. They even have similar bangs and side hairs. Seika tends to scowl because of her generally tsundere personality. She wears a wide-neck black shirt which showcases her red shoulder straps and has a black choker on.
Kikuri Hiroi
Kikuri Hiroi is a supporting character, alongside the Manager and some others. She likes to heavily drink, which is what she’s seen doing most. This drinking problem leads to some situations like her smashing her guitar at a concert for her own band, SICK HACK. She started drinking when she was nervous before a concert of hers. She realized the drinking helped her calm down, and kept drinking because of that.
Kikuri has long, dark pink hair which is always worn in a braid. She has purple-pink eyes and her skin is pale. Her cheeks are often a bright red because of her constantly being drunk. She wears a green dress with a black and white coat on top with a pair of geta. She sports black nail polish and has sharp teeth..
Relationships
The way Bocchi interacts with the others is in a shy way, but she appears to adore them deeply. She can’t get away from the Kit-aura of Kita, she can’t stop spoiling Ryo with food, and she loves Nijika platonically.
Plot
The plot officially starts when Bocchi meets Nijika after having her guitar out in public. Nijika needed a new guitarist after their last one bailed, and recruited Bocchi. The show introduces Ryo, a co-founder of Kessoku Band. Bocchi was tasked with recruiting a new member, and that’s when we met Kita. Kita needed help with playing guitar. Bocchi gives her lessons, and they go on to do concerts later on. Eventually, they take pictures as a band and Bocchi is excited over it.
What we thought of the show
KulaI personally adored this show. My favorite characters were Ryo and Bocchi, even though that’s basic. I loved the show’s style changes and general vibe. It was cozy and you root for Bocchi. The show wasn’t afraid to be weird, or to have weird characters, which was refreshing. The characters balance eachother out, without being dependent on another for development.
ZupaBocchi was definitely enjoyable. It was animated by CloverWorks, who had also worked on Spy × Family, and it shows, with sections of high quality animation befitting the moments Kessoku Band plays. I particularly liked how, when the band played, the angles chosen were like those out of an actual stage recording. While I haven’t read the manga (yet), I can only assume that CloverWorks borrowed the zany sense of comedy surrounding Bocchi. I also noticed that they share surnames with the four members of Asian Kung-Fu Generation, a Japanese alt-rock band, which is a sneaky addition by the mangaka.