Fall 2022 saw the release of the anime adaptation ofAki Hamaji’sBocchi The Rock!manga, a series about a socially awkward and withdrawn protagonist who longs for friends and tries to use rock music as her connection to other people. The series protagonist, Hitori “Bocchi” Goto eventually makes friends and even joins a band, but her social anxiety and overall lack of social skills continue to be her most defining characteristic.
Interestingly, 2019’s spring season saw the premiere of the anime adaptation of Katsuwo’s manga with a similar premise, and even similarly named protagonist,Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu(literally “Hitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyle”). This series is gorgeous, hilarious, and cute witha socially awkward protagonistwho wants to make friends, much like the former, but it hasn’t enjoyed a similar level of acclaim as its musical counterpart. Here’s whyHitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleis well worth the watch.
RELATED:Bocchi The Rock!: Introducing Kessoku Band
Bocchi, No Rock!
The premise ofHitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestylefollows the titular character, the aptly named Hitori Bocchi as she deals with transitioning into middle school and being separated from her only friend, Kai, due to their leap from elementary to middle school, they now no longer attend the same school. It is extremely difficult for Bocchi to engage in and maintain social contact, as her social anxiety can be overwhelming, causing her to vomit at the premise of socializing with strangers and sometimes even faint due to the overstimulation.
As a result of her condition,Bocchi often tries to avoid having to talkto anybody by coming up with incredibly convoluted plans. To push Bocchi out of her comfort zone, Kai cuts ties with her and tells her that they will reconnect under one condition: Bocchi must befriend every single person in her class before the end of the school year if she ever hopes to be back together with her best friend.
Visuals
One of the first things that are noticeable aboutHitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleis the stunning visuals and adorable character designs that populate every second of the series from episode 1. While not animation quality we haven’t already seen before, the world and its characters are carefully put together and have a vibrant aesthetic quality that makes looking at even the most basic character designs with awe. Unlike herBocchi The Rock!counterpart, this Hitori has a much more subdued design with fewer bright colors and less customization done to her daily school uniform.
As such, Bocchi has less of a main character’s presence when it comes to appearances. The first episode opens with the standard “opening day” shot, which consists ofvarious dazzling views of cherry blossom treesin full bloom.Hitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleuses the visuals as part of the storytelling, likening the protagonist to the blooming flowers that herald the Spring and the beginning of the new school year by giving her a hair clip that is a clear nod towards the flowers.
Cuteness Overload
One of the best things aboutHitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleis the characters themselves, especially the titular character Bocchi, whose reactions and tendency to be overwhelmed often have her coming up with the wackiest plans to avoid having to interact with people. One of her most adorable failures came on her first day of school, when she arrived at her homeroom class before anyone else, and attempted to have class cancelled by putting a handwritten note on the door that claimed the class had been “abolished”. Due to her difficulties,Bocchi often tries to come up with “strategies"to help her gain the upper-hand; however, those tend to be near-impossible to execute, such as her first plan on her first day being to “find that her middle school has disappeared”. Her other plans aren’t much better, like discovering that she’s the only person in her class (she was extremely disappointed to find out that she’d be in a classroom with twenty-five other students).
While incredibly skittish and awkward around people, Bocchi has a very likable personality, and she is the type of person who tries very hard in everything she does, including making friends.Hitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleis filled with several wholesome moments and a protagonist that anyone would want to protect, including her first new friend, Nako. When Nako seems angry at her for some reason, Bocchi is helped by the class vice-president, Aru. Nako and Aru are the first classmates Bocchi interacts with, and while they’re both fond of her, they have a slightly antagonistic dynamic that brings in more humour. This antagonism does bother Bocchi to the point of tears, but only because Bocchi is really that eager to have friends who get along.
Characters
The series' titular protagonist whose aim is to make friends with everyone in her class so that she and her childhood best friend, Yawara Kai, can reconnect after Kai’s suggestion that they no longer hang out so that Bocchi can learn to get along with more people. Her name is derived from the phrase “hitori bocchi”, which is effectively the Japanese equivalent of “all alone”, referring to the character’s history of being a loner. The word “bocchi” is often used to refer to a loner, and this is how it also becomes the nickname of theBocchi The Rock! main character.
Bocchi’s childhood best friend (and only friend) at the beginning of the series. Despite the apparent cruelty of temporarily suspending her friendship with Bocchi, Kai knows how good a person Bocchi is and knows that if she tries Bocchi will make several friends. Her name is actually just the manipulation of the word “yawarakai”, which is to describe something that is soft, which reflects her relationship with Bocchias well as Bocchi’s idealisation of her.
Class Seat #4 in Bocchi’s class, Nako is a blonde-haired girl who is often mistaken for a delinquent due to her stern face and direct manner of speaking. As such, people go out of their way to avoid her and are often fearful of her (like their homeroom teacher, Oshie Teruyo). In actuality, Nako is a really nice and thoughtful person who isn’t aware of how scary she can come across. Her name is literally the phrase “sunao na ko”, which would effectively be “sincere child/girl”, reflecting her straightforwardness and honesty.
The class vice-president, Aru is hiding a huge secret under her prim and proper performance: she’s actually clumsy and scatterbrained, but working extremely hard to appear dependable and competent. When Bocchi and Nako learn her secret, they become her friends by default, since they’re the only people with whom she can be her true self. Her name translates to something akin to “she has a true form”, which is from her hiding behind a facade of perfection.She also has tsundere tendencies, which also fit in with her character.
Punny Punny Lifestyle
One of the best things aboutHitori Bocchi’s ○○ Lifestyleis the fact that every single character name is a pun, and not just any pun, but a terrible pun – the best kind. If Japanese naming conventions are maintained [last name, first name(s)], the names are some silly puns that add even more to the comedy as theirnames reflect each character’s most emphasized quality.
The series also makes use of a similar strategy toBocchi The Rock!in letting us into the main character’s swirling whirlpool of thoughts and anxieties, we also come to see the various creative ways this Bocchi tries to avoid social contact and even retreats into her own head when things get too heated for her. Her attempts to circumvent any kind of interaction in the first episode of the series don’t continue in exactly the same way as the character is openlytrying her best to overcomeher difficulties; however, the tendency to catastrophize and become instantly disheartened at the slightest sign of rejection is something both Bocchis definitely have in common.MORE:Haruhi Suzumiya and the Anime Manic Pixie Dream Girl
