Bocchi the Rock is a four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamaji. The manga has been serialized in the seinen manga magazine Houbunsha Manga Time Kirara Max since December 2017. The chapters were collected in six tankōbon volumes in August 2023. Subsequently, the manga was adapted into an anime series produced by CloverWorks. The anime itself has been broadcast from October to December 2022. This series has received a lot of praise from anime fans because the story writing, the comedy in it, the characters, and the depiction of social anxiety which is the core plot of the main character have attracted a lot of fans' attention.

Below is some information that you can get about the Bocchi the Rock series, starting from the synopsis, and plot, to the characters present in the series so that you know the general idea of the series.

Synopsis of Bocchi the Rock

This comedy genre anime focuses on a girl named Hitori Gotou better known as Bocchi. A middle school girl who lives her life always alone tends to be shy, has few friends, and is very timid. However, she has a great desire to change herself and decides to take a step forward by following in the footsteps of music.

In her free time, she dedicates herself to starting to practice playing the guitar, in the hope that one day she too could join a band and gain recognition for her talent. Unfortunately, Bocchi's social skills are very slow, which prevents her from being able to make friends with other people. This causes her to get used to spending time alone practicing guitar. Even so, Bocchi has quietly had success by sharing guitar covers of popular songs online.

Finally, Bocchi meets Nijika Ijichi and is invited to join her band, Kessoku Band, after one of the members left. A little shocked by her new life, Bocchi tries to improve her social skills and musical abilities in the band in the hope that it will lead to greater things. Bocchi starts her new life as a band guitarist with her friend who equally loves music, and slowly begins to improve her social relationships with other people.

The Plot of Bocchi the Rock

The main plot of this anime adaptation of Aki Hamaji's manga centers on Hitori Gotou alias Bocchi who has anxiety and is very socially awkward but struggles hard to become a rock musician. Despite her shortcomings in socializing with other people, Bocchi does not give up on fulfilling her dream to be able to make friends one day and become someone who can join a band and get recognition for her talent one day. Suddenly, she is allowed to start her dream after she is accepted by Nijika Ijichi to become a member of the Kessoku Band she had just formed after they lost one member.

Characters in Bocchi the Rock

Below are several characters from the manga Bocchi the Rock who are members of the Kessoku Band and several other supporting characters. A little information, Kessoku Band is the central band in the story of the Bocchi the Rock series which is based at Starry, a live house in Shimokitazawa. The members' surnames are taken from the real-life J-rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, with their instrumental roles also matching (for example, Ryo Yamada of Kessoku Band and Takahiro Yamada of the real-life band Asian Kung-Fu Generation both play bass). Below is a list of characters in Bocchi the Rock.

• Hitori Gotou

The main character in the anime Bocchi the Rock is voiced by Yoshino Aoyama. Gotou's character is also known as Bocchi, the main guitarist and leader of the Kessoku Band. Bocchi is known as an extreme introvert and has problems interacting socially. She started learning to play the guitar because of her father and has been learning to play the guitar since her first year of high school. Her goal in playing guitar is to hope to make friends because he finds it very difficult to socialize with other people.

Although Bocchi has an online fanbase because of several cover videos she uploads on social media and shows her skills in playing the guitar under the pseudonym "guitarhero". Her mostly solitary life began to change when she met the members of the Kessoku Band and began to learn to interact with other people. Bocchi is mostly seen wearing a pink sportswear jacket which she always wears over her school uniform. The name was inspired by Masafumi Gotoh who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

• Nijika Ijichi

This character in the anime is voiced by Sayumi Suzushiro. She is a member of the Kessoku Band and is the drummer in the band. She has an older sister named Seika, who runs a live house where their band performs. Nijika greatly admires Seika, as they lost their mother at a young age and their father disappeared. Nijika is a kind, cheerful, friendly, and sociable person when interacting with other people. She is the figure who succeeded in uniting the band and was the person who helped Bocchi a lot in overcoming her anxiety problems. The name was inspired by Kiyoshi Ijichi, the drummer from the rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

• Ryō Yamada

This character is voiced by Saku Mizuno in the anime series. She is the bassist of the Kessoku Band who has a quiet, aloof, and slightly naughty attitude but still looks cool and has an androgynous appearance, to the point that sometimes her cool appearance manages to attract the attention of other girls without meaning to. She often spent the pocket money she earned from her family to buy new musical equipment, leaving her with little money for anything else, to the point where she ate leaves when she had no money for food. Previously, she had joined another band, but finally parting ways with her old band due to creative differences, Ryo was convinced by Nijika to start a new band with her. This character's name was inspired by Takahiro Yamada, who played bass and backing vocals for the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

• Ikuyo Kita

This character is voiced by Ikumi Hasegawa, who is the singer and rhythm guitarist in the Kessoku Band. Ikuyo Kita goes to the same school as Bocchi, he is a cheerful, extroverted, and charismatic character with an active social life and many friends. She initially joined the Kessoku Band because she was attracted to Ryo, whom she idolized, but she later ran away after lying about her ability to play the guitar. But thanks to Bocchi, she was able to learn to be a good guitar player and started playing as a secondary guitarist and providing the main vocals in the band. This character's name is inspired by Kensuke Kita, the lead guitarist and background singer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

Apart from the main characters who are members of the Kessoku Band, there are several other characters in the Bocchi the Rock story series, including:

• Seika Ijichi, voiced by Maaya Uchida, is Nijika's older sister and Starry's manager. Someone who is known to be professional, serious, and aloof with a soft side, she is described by Nijika as a tsundere.
• PA-san, voiced by Kotori Koiwai who is an unnamed Public address system at Starry. He has a gothic style of clothing with piercings that look intimidating but has a gentle nature.
• Kikuri Hiroi, voiced by Sayaka Senbongi, is the bassist and vocalist of the band Sick Hack and an alcoholic who spends most of his money on liquor, especially cases of Onikoroshi brand sake, and calls his bass guitar "Shuten-dōji EX."
• Eliza Schmitz, voiced by Sally Amaki, is the guitarist of the band Sick Hack.
• Shima Iwashita, voiced by Maki Kawase who is the drummer for the band Sick Hack.
• Michiyo Gotō, voiced by Rie Suegara, is the character who is Bocchi's mother.
• Naoki Goto, is Bocchi's father whose face is never shown but Bocchi's first guitar was his. Voiced by Junji Majima.
• Futari Goto, voiced by Misaki Watada is Bocchi's younger sister.

So, that's some complete information about the Bocchi the Rock series that you should know. This anime is very interesting for you to follow, especially if you are a fan of music and like slice-of-life and friendship-themed anime interspersed with light comedy.

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