Bocchi the Rock!

Episode 12

The one certainty with live performance is that nothing ever goes exactly how you planned it. Whether you're a musician, actor, comedian, public speaker, or just some jackass with a megaphone; no matter if you're playing for an audience of 5 for 50,000, the universe is chaos and at some point, something will go wrong. It could be as small as a flubbed line or as catastrophic as the building spontaneously burning down. The anxiety over that has killed many a career before they even started, but those who can face such uncertainty and still get out there under the lights are the ones who can really make it.

Ironically, for all her anxieties off the stage, Bocchi has shown an immense talent for handling that pressure. She may run for the hills when tasked to order a coffee at Starbucks, but when the pressure is on and every eye is pointed at Kessoku Band, she's held firmer than anyone else. All that context is what makes the central moment of this finale's concert hit so hard. We know Bocchi can handle her own stress during showtime, but she starts to flounder when she begins fretting about ruining things for her friends, of putting all their hard work to waste because her dad's old guitar finally gave up the ghost. It turns out that when it's not just her playing that's in jeopardy, that familiar old anxiety starts creeping back up.

Which just makes it all the sweeter when this time, it's Kita who improvs to keep things going, not only showing off how much she's improved since their first show, but telling Bocchi without a single word that she's not alone; they're all up there with her, and they have her back. It's the kind of camaraderie that can make a band truly last, no matter their level of popularity, and it's especially heartening to see it here. That it's followed by Bocchi doing one of the coolest goddamn things an anime character has ever done just solidifies the whole sequence as one of the best moments in not only this show, but anime at large. It's a perfect, crystallized microcosm of what makes Bocchi the Rock! such a special show.

And then our heroine gets a mic put in her face, freaks out so hard her brain breaks, and tries to stage dive with a bunch of unsuspecting 16-year-olds as her only safety net.

It's hilarious. It's embarrassing. It's an impulsive move that only a teenager with dreams far beyond the scope of their ken could come up with. But most importantly, it's something the Bocchi of episode one never would have dared to try. And that's the beauty of getting out there and trying – even if you end up (literally) falling flat on your face, you never would have had the chance to soar at all if you didn't jump. Sometimes you're Iggy Pop, standing on the hands of the crowd in one of the most iconic images in rock history. And other times you're a clueless, impulsive kid who breaks their face on the hardwood. Either way, you've got a good story out of it. It's the perfect cap off to this whole culture festival, and made all the more special when Kita calls her “Hitori-chan” to put a nice little bow on it all. I may have hitched my wagon to the far more problematic BoKuri ship, but by god is that an adorable crescendo to Bocchi and Kita's relationship.

From there, the rest of the episode is mostly just a sendoff to the cast, and while it's not anything critical, I do appreciate spending time with these characters one more time before we start waiting for a season two announcement. I liked seeing Ryo act like a total music nerd at the instrument shop. It's adorable that Bocchi's family knew about her youtube career and secretly monetized it for her – Anime Dad of the Year, no contest. And it's very touching to see Bocchi finally have her own guitar, symbolizing that her dream has fully come into its own, rather than something she borrowed from others. I especially love that they closed it all out by covering the characters' namesakes, Asian Kung-Fu Generation. It's altogether a wonderful sendoff to such a touching, unique show.

So that's the album closer for Bocchi right now, and it's a great track to end this fantastic album on. Though I certainly wouldn't be against some bonus tracks or a whole new album if the team that handled this adaptation wants/gets to keep going. Because for as much great material and wonderful music as Bocchi had, what made this show really resonate was the passion behind every second of it. Each episode, song, scene, and cut was imbued with a palpable love that was as infectious as it was technically impressive. For that, I'm infinitely grateful, and here's hoping we'll be hearing from Bocchi and Kessoku Band again real soon.

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Bocchi the Rock! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.