Why I love Hitori "Bocchi" Gotoh

    When I first started Bocchi the Rock in October 2022, I never expected to become attached to this series as much. Slice of life and music anime are some of my favorite genres, but this was a series I had never heard about. It quickly became a favorite, and then proceeded to skyrocket as one of my favorite series of all time. Much of that love can be attributed to the title character, Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh.

    There is an inherent layer of relatability when it comes to introverted characters. I think most people can relate to being isolated at one point or another, but Bocchi is a special case for me. Bocchi suffers from massive social anxiety, which is something I relate to on a deeper level, since I struggled with similar issues not that long ago. Going from the person who wanted to be approached by others to her dream of being in a band finally coming true, this progression of her character has been satisfying to watch. She starts to take more and more steps out of her shell, doing things like asking if they can make the rain charms anyway, despite the typhoon supposedly missing their region. By the end of the anime she’s enjoying talking about having another concert. Although she doesn’t say anything directly, you can tell by the way she smiles that she is looking forward to spending more time with the band. The symbolism of the guitars in episode 12 helps drive this point home, showing the old guitar in the closet, where Bocchi used to spend all of her time. Now she wants to show herself to the world instead of hiding away in the closet like usual, with a brand new guitar and supportive band mates.

    The portrayal of a character is a very important aspect, especially when you decide to handle heavier topics like social anxiety. I can confidently say that the portrayal of Bocchi and her social anxiety is very grounded. Her character doesn’t magically change overnight, it’s a gradual growth. Bocchi’s desire to change is not anything special, it’s how she changes over time. I’m willing to bet that most people in this situation have the desire to change, but lack the drive or motivation. Social anxiety can feel crippling at times, making it feel impossible to overcome it and that is what makes Bocchi’s case inspiring. Comedy is something that I think blends in really well with the groundedness of everything, especially considering the heavy nature of the topics shown. It’s something that is always there but it’s never overdone or overstays its welcome, which is part of the charm this series has. It keeps a nice blend of being comedic enough to not take away from the serious moments.

    Bocchi was always my favorite character from the show. My pink hair bias and her struggle with social anxiety spoke to me, but episode 8 is when something clicked with me. We’re shown that everyone is still shaken up by some comments made prior, proven by how terribly the first song goes. Bocchi doesn’t want this concert to go to waste, so she attempts to salvage the performance by playing an improvised solo before their second song, which works; the band plays a lot better and is more in time with each other. Afterwards, Bocchi becomes a husk, likely due to the anxiety of worrying she messed up the performance with her little impromptu solo. Bocchi finds an excuse to go talk to Nijika, who drops the bombshell that she knows guitarhero’s real identity. Bocchi goes on to explain that she wasn’t hiding this on purpose, that she really never felt like any hero to anybody because of how broken she was due to her social anxiety. She wanted to change how she was before revealing her identity as guitarhero, especially to Nijika, who she presumably trusts the most at this point in time; likely because of Nijika’s role in breaking Bocchi out of her shell and inviting her to join a band, willing to go along with her at her own pace. Nijika then spills out her dream to Bocchi, showing her that she is indeed a hero to somebody in the world, someone as important to her as Nijika. Bocchi is the hero of Kessoku Band, and it’s something that she probably never even considered, instead thinking she’s a drag to the entire band. Bocchi isn’t a nobody, she’s a real person with people who care about her all around, ready to support her whenever she may need it. This is something that comes up again at the end of the anime, with the symbolism of a new guitar. This scene goes on with Nijika reassuring Bocchi that she is very crucial to the band, asking her to show more and more of her rock, and ending with quite possibly the hardest title drop of any anime I’ve seen.

    Bocchi has been an inspiration for me, and I presume multiple others, because of how realistic her struggle feels. Some moments are blown out of proportion for the sake of comedy, it’s still an anime after all, which works fine because it just makes the more serious moments hit even harder. From dressing up in what she calls rocker clothes to doing a silly little stage dive and bringing an entire band together, she’s had quite the character arc over the 12 episode anime, with the manga still ongoing. I hope this gives some insight to the deeper character of Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh and why I think she’s such a great character.

"It's hard to know exactly what 'growth' means. I don't think it's quite the same as effort put in. My life as of late has been a whirlwind. I started working. I've gained the ability to occasionally look others in the eye. But I don't think that's the same thing as growing as a band. I've just evolved past the water flea or euglena stage and now stand at the starting line of basic humanity. I thought finally starting the band I dreamed about would be growth in itself, but... I never figured out what it means to have 'growth.' But right now, what I want is to stay with this band and have people go crazy for us! I want to make Nijika-chan's actual dream come true. So... I can't afford to blow this audition! I don't want the band to end just yet!"