HeroAca and Blue Lock? Sorry...I don't do Shonen stuff.

Spy x Family? Even though I have a family, I don't fall into that category.

Mob Psycho 100? Great conclusion from the manga that's finally translated to the anime, but I'm not all
that psychic to begin with.

Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen a.k.a Thousand-Year Blood War? I'll let you have your moment of glory just
right behind Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Do It Yourself!!, Yama no Susume? We can be buddies in the same theme, just doing different things!
Chainsaw Man? OVERTAKEN and DETHRONED. LIKE A GLORIFIED MIC DROP.

The Fall 2022 season has really seen its fair share of past and new juggernaut glories: from Tite Kubo's
Bleach's decade-long wait for a triumphant return still being one of the Big 3, to the much-anticipated
Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man being studio MAPPA's massively high-profile equivalent to Ufotable's
Demon Slayer in terms of story and animation prowess. However, there are certain shows that as
humble as they come initially being an afterthought, to then unexpectedly and shockingly take the
sweeping crown, those are the shows that we the anime community can call it special to begin with. It's
more impressive even, when such a stacked season as this manages to live up to the hype, that it gets
overshadowed by the mainstream being a hidden diamond gem in the works. And my friends, that show
is mangaka Aki Hamaji's Bocchi the Rock!, easily the most anticipated of CloverWorks's produced shows
of the year when the initial teaser trailer dropped to leave a vague message of its 2022 release in
December last year, only to leave us hanging in nerve-wrecking-ness until the PV's release just right
before the Fall season started rolling.

1. ____________________

But still, you can't deny that the show pays an homage to one of the greatest CGDCT anime of all time:
the legendary monumental classic and moe-blob phenomenon that is K-On!, serving the same SoL genre
for the anime community, both past and present respectively. So figuratively, while we can call Bocchi
the Rock! the GOAT CGDCT of the modern day, as a collective whole, I feel that there're better CGDCT
shows than this: say this season's Do It Yourself!!, and while not quite moe-blob as one trait that defined
SoL, is still very enjoyable. CGDCT fans are really eating REAL GOOD in 2022, especially considering that
it's CloverWorks leading the charge, from the likes of Winter's Akebi-chan no Sailor-fuku a.k.a Akebi's
Sailor Uniform that unfortunately had the confirmation bias of "animation carried the show" to Spring's
Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Uchi a.k.a In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki which turned out decent, along
with other returning classics like Machikado Mazoku a.k.a. The Demon Girl Next Door, Yuru Camp △ the
Movie (which is arguably the best of the series yet) and Yama no Susume a.k.a Encouragement of Climb.

2._________________

That is, until Hitori steps out into the real world where and she is submitted to the harshness of reality
slapping her face in both directions, as much as she herself wants to get out of this rut and at least make
a life-changing decision for herself. That decision comes in the form of a person: the blonde-haired
Nijika Ijichi, who saw Bocchi juat lazing with her guitar and without words of explanation, forcefully
dragged her to the underground livehouse that is STARRY as a last-minute replacement for the guitarist
that abruptly left the group before their performance. And together with Nijika and the blue-haired
bassist bandmate Ryo Yamada, the performance might have been a total wrecking ball of a complete
poor failure, and at the very least Hitori knows that both are fans of her "guitarhero" YouTube persona,
but with her social anxiety preventing any further conversation and ultimately withdrawing into the
same recluse as she was before. Sure, Hitori might've gained her "Bocchi" nickname not because it
rhymes with the "hitoribocchi" a.k.a All Alone pun, but it's a sign that at least acknowledged her
presence more than anything. This is further cemented with Ikuyo Kita, the vocalist-cum-guitarist and
initally Bocchi's classmate, when the latter requests her help to improve on her guitar playing skills, and
the deal is struck since the former has an overwhelming infatuation on Ryo. Thereby, which was learnt
later that Kita was the one that Nijika had Bocchi hurriedly filled in at the very last minute because she
was not being honest with her feelings and fled the "crime scene" after the realization that Kita's guitar
playing was not up to snuff. Together, the 4 girls make up Kessoku (lit. Zip Tie) Band: the center band of
the series, and their endeavours together are a sight to behold, other than the highlight that is Bocchi's
exaggerated, over-the-top, visual medium crossovers of her inner thoughts exemplified at the highest,
most extreme degrees of insanity that exudes overflowing creativity of nonchalant acerbity that's some
one-of-a-kind talent that you don't normally see in AniManga, let alone the manga chapters that if you
read alongside the anime, each and every chapter title page paying homage to famous bands and their
songs' music video. Also, there're tons of references plastered throughout the anime, even more than
Chainsaw Man's OP, and that's saying quite a lot. So have fun in figuring out this too!

To really understand how much Bocchi the Rock! got all of this deserved hype that we're only seeing
right now, we have to go back in time to even before the anime was ever a thing:

3__________________
Even I have to admit, it is a HUGE RISK betting shows on unproven talent. And speaking of Keiichiro
Saito, his experience as a key animator whether in theme songs or episodes, these don't often typically
give opportunities for people to train to be better as the grind of seasonal shows gleam along with none
the wiser. It's only until Saito-san himself has an opportunity to work with the legendary director Shingo
Natsume on his own experimental creation in the form of Summer 2021's Sonny Boy, that he is given
the chance to learn the ropes and showcase his indomitable idiosyncrasy's worth of talent, such as the
case where he contributed a lot to the anime for Episode 8. Back to Bocchi the Rock!, when Saito-san
was offered the chance to read Aki Hamaji's manga with its only premiere volume out, by the time he'd
finished reading it, his impression had changed, and found it to be a smart work in many ways:
succeeding at both humor as a slice-of-life comedy and depicting its characters as a coming-of-age
drama, with sharp jokes. This immaculate delivery would just not work based on one person's effort
alone, and this is where scriptwriter and series composer Erika Yoshida steps in to help him visualize the
vision that despite Bocchi the Rock! not being a fundamentally transformative adaptation, simply
tweaking the orignal work with Yoshida-san's help certainly was a match made in heaven, most
presumably when anime detracts out of its medium to do a 4th wall breaking on animation prowess that
includes some live-action footage, because the hell why not, while focusing his directorial efforts on
enhancing the themes that the original work could never develop. An amusing gag series about a lonely
girl is now animating loneliness, giving the original work a whole new layer of emotional resonance to it
while maintaining its original fun that's only possible in the hands of an exceptional animation team like
the one that has surrounded this core team, and with promises such as the fully 2D live performances
that involve 3D-ish rotoscoping (as an example) used to its maximum potential.
4___________________

Easily the character on note, Hitori "Bocchi" Gotoh is the one that everyone in the production staff team
is looking out for, being the weird oddball that's different from everyone else. Of course, trying to
manage expectations on how to be sure on animating Bocchi's 1001 expressions is no easy task, so a
balance is necessary, because while Bocchi inflicts us the audience being oh-so-freakishly relatable with
her poor communication skills, making sure not to come off too strong or otherwise, making those
watching feel bad. One thing about Hitori is that she also possesses extraordinary skills, so Saito-san and
his team strived to depict both her positive and negative traits as a character in a memorable way,
making the audience laugh when she does something weird, but also make her especially captivating
when she shows off her cool side from time to time. This is especially for Kerorira, making his debut as
both character designer animation director, that the obscene fan of the manga has a lot on his plate to
consider as well. It's not just the extreme introvert herself that he has to contend with, but also
considering the others as well (Ryo, Nijika and Kita) in their unique expressions as well. One thing that
Geoff Thew of Mother's Basement actually captured when it comes to character designs, comes with the
characters' hair positions that tell us something about them: Nijika’s antenna, for example, is a simple
triangle, and Hitori’s tied-up hair isn’t actually connected. This is due in part to depicting anime-like
designs that aren’t possible in reality and was a major necessity to create character designs that look
appealing at first sight than those that conform to reality.

5__________________

A special mention would be the side characters, most particularly Kikuri Hiroi: the alcoholic who spends
her money on booze (or beer as is known elsewhere), encountering Bocchi and striking out a deal with
her to do a live, impromptu performance out on the streets, taking a chance for the extreme Hikikomori
herself to overcome her fears in front of the general public. What you may not know is that the
psychedelic rock band SICK HACK's lead bassist and vocalist herself, like Bocchi an the rest, they do share
their last names with another real-life band: 88Kasyo Junrei a.k.a 88Kasyo, with Kikuri herself being like
Margaret Hiroi, adjectively described as "the bassist, singer and the gang's mastermind". Not to be
outdone, Hitori's family shold be given credit here as well for their role in bringing up the once-labelled
Hikikomori herself: father Naoki, mother Michiyo, younger sister Futari (which means two people) and
the pet dog JimiHen. If you have to start a comedy somewhere, why not from the family itself? Futari is
easily a savage character in front of her Onee-san, and as much as she wants to gush of Hitori's
greatness, it comes at the cost of the older sister's warped mentality to respond to things that she
doesn't mean literally.

6._______________________
The one oddity is that while series director Keiichiro Saito's team has full creative control of the anime,
the OST is where things could've gone awry. And especially since this is an Aniplex-produced show,
tensions run high since the music production falls into the hands of Aniplex themselves, and Saito-san
had to be careful with his consultation with the music team on what works and what doesn't. Because
even such a minor slip-up can cause the biggest of headaches that potentially could detract the viewing
experience, and hearing this from producer Shouta Umehara himself, the biggest issue with the
completely separated entity was whether the musical direction that the mangaka Aki Hamaji had
envisioned for Bocchi the Rock! and Kessoku Band could be carried out, and thankfully that’s one area in
which Aniplex really gave it their all. And it sounds absolutely fantastic, from the OP/ED theme songs
and even the insert songs when Kessoku Band is called to enact performances.

7______________________

- Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu is a much better comparison. Komi-san wa, Comyushou Desu. a.k.a
Komi Can't Communicate's Shoko Komi's introversion is so over the top to the point where it's no longer
even believable. Especially since everyone simps for Komi just for existing. But in Hitoribocchi, Hitori
Bocchi is a loner, but wants to make friends and break out of her shell. Hitori Gotou in Bocchi the Rock!
is the exact same way.

8_____________________

A simple-as-molasses story, ceremoniously hoisted to the impeccable degree with absolute precision
and sophistication. Bocchi the Rock! is not just a marvel of how far CGDCT anime have come thus far,
but now a symbol/icon of a gold standard in resourcefulness, dedication and passion, just like the other
shows in the Fall 2022 season that got their growing reputations respectively. Truly a hidden gem that
has long awaited to rise up towards reaching out for the masterpiece medal, and it clinched with many
hurdles to overcome, but it eventually did while reaching its intended finish line, cementing itself as the
Pinnacle of the Best CGDCT of all time (if by MAL scores alone).

Anime of the Season and Year material? ABSOLUTELY.

Even better than Chainsaw Man? YOU BETCHA.