Bocchi the Rock!

Episode 4

Like any artistic endeavor, there's no singular “right” way to be a musician or band. Every artist is going to have their own sound, image, or style that fits them best, and while there are trends or paths of least resistance, there's no hard or fast rules on how to be who you want to be. But that's something most people only figure out as adults, earned through years of trial and error. Before then, especially when you're a teenager who's fumbling in the dark, desperate to establish an identity to define yourself, you borrow from the world around you and try to stay afloat. You cling to specific fashion trends, try to emulate people you think are cool, and if you were born late enough you probably put song lyrics in your social media status to seem deep and mysterious.

With how many anime are about teenagers, that aspect of adolescence certainly isn't new ground, but personally I can't think of any show that managed to capture it quite like this episode of Bocchi. Just from the outset, Kessoku Band trying to come up with different ways to be more “band-like” and instantly putting the cart before the horse felt like a personal attack. From the way nobody can really verbalize what “band-like” means, but still immediately knows it when they see it, to the melancholy of seeing a local CD store that's gone the way of the dinosaur, there's a sense of authenticity here that just hits. I could write a novel here about how many little moments in this episode felt ripped straight from my own high school days, bumming around random parts of town searching for cool spots where I could totally take band photos just as soon as I was in one. Bocchi is often cringe comedy, but here it lightens up just a tad to paint a very sweet portrait of teenagers gesturing at their own identities through imitation and performance, and it's spot on.

But even if you weren't the same brand of tryhard teenager I was, this episode is still ridiculously charming. The band's adventure for the perfect promo pic backdrop is lowkey on paper, but brought to life by Bocchi's signature energy and style. Every little joke hits just right and looks amazing doing it, with the standout being Bocchi's physical form decoupling from this plane of existence just thinking about starting an instagram account. It's hilarious, and another in a long line of showcases for Yoshino Aoyama's incredible vocal range, so even if you can't relate to the specifics of teenagers emulating cool band pics they saw online, it's a breezy treat to follow anyway. It's wild to think that in a year with a season of Kaguya-sama, there's genuine competition for the most visually diverse and ambitious comedy in anime, but Bocchi continues to explode with sheer artistic charm every week.

That'd be enough on its own to make this a great episode, but what elevates the whole thing is Bocchi's songwriting struggles. For as fun as it is to see her cringe into another dimension, the beating heart and central contradiction of our heroine is her desire to connect to other people through music. But music – and art in general – is something that all but requires you to put yourself out there and thus risk rejection. Sure, you can try to write broadly relatable lyrics that will theoretically appeal to a lot of people, but that's both exhausting and just as liable to come off as phony to anyone listening. At the same time, there are few things more terrifying than putting yourself under the spotlight for all to see, and if Bocchi was easily capable of that she wouldn't have resorted to carrying a guitar around in lieu of talking to her classmates. Yet the harsh fact is that if she wants to achieve her dreams of popularity and recognition, she has to risk that vulnerability and submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

It's an intensely relatable struggle, and one that nobody figures out perfectly on their first try, which is why it's so meaningful that Ryo is there to offer some heartfelt honesty. Ryo's a quiet, quirky weirdo all her own, but she's got the confidence to be herself no matter what, and gives Bocchi the support this little inch worm needs to express herself earnestly. No matter how depressing, overwrought, or cringe her lyrics might be, the most important thing is that Bocchi is true to who she is, and surely somebody out there will resonate with them. And if the new Ending song we get is meant to be Kessoku Band's new song, it's pretty damn good. Granted I don't know about the lyrics, since they sadly weren't translated in Crunchyroll's release, but it's a damn good production, and much like Ryo herself I just like the vibes, especially the full version.

It's an incredibly sweet – and importantly, well-earned – note to close out a characteristically strong episode of this series. It managed to nourish both the part of me hungry for wacky gags and the part jonesing for good music content in one fell swoop, and works in some very good texture to our aloof bassist. It's another hit single for Bocchi, and I cannot wait to hear the next.

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Bocchi the Rock! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.