Bocchi The Rock Needed To Be An Anime

Bocchi the Rock was way better that I expected it to be. Reading the manga left me pretty uninterested in the series, but the anime adaptation really impressed me with how much it improved on the original.
Intro 0:00
A quick summary 1:09
Transitioning from manga to anime 2:31
The visuals 5:23
Bocchi's relatability 8:30
The music 9:52
Obligatory nitpicking 14:30
Final thoughts 15:15

[@NEETByNature]

Apparently I read ギターと孤独と蒼い惑星 wrong. It's actually pronounced as "Gitā to Kodoku to Aoihoshi". Japanese is hard.

[@PasscodeAdvance]

Even I am learning Japanese but I want to be as fluent as possible too! Also, you did a fantastic job discussing and reviewing Bocchi the Rock! I love and relate to this show too!

[@NEETByNature]

Good luck with your studies! I still have a long way to go but learning has been very fun and interesting

[@PasscodeAdvance]

@@NEETByNature thanks my man!

[@Makoto778]

@@NEETByNature I'd note that your original reading isn't entirely wrong....... 惑星 (meaning planet) is normally pronounced wakusei (even the lyrics pronounce it this way 青い惑星(wakusei)　ひとりぼっち), but Japanese media sometimes does things differently just to be special. Hoshi is normally just written as 星 (star, or dot in the sky) ..... Honestly me & some of my Japanese friends thought it was wakusei for an embarrassing few weeks...... Need to listen better, and honestly furigana should be used for 'special pronounciations' Slight rant aside, its still my fav song of Kessoku band, with 星座になれたら being #2.

[@tannerbarsness9992]

The fingers are 100% right. The attention to detail with the music gear in this anime are second to none.

[@NEETByNature]

I figured they were. It would be weird if they cut corners there with all the detail they put into everything else.

[@BlasterJunos]

Not exactly 100% but pretty darn amazing nontheless

[@zigzag8392]

Here’s how they made the performance scenes look so good. First they hired musician actors to perform the songs and rotoscoped them. The actors were directed to behave like their characters: bocchi keeps her head down, while nijika and ryo exchange eye contact and head nods since they’re long friends. Anyways they took the rotoscoping and hand drew 2d animation over it, even the instruments. That made it visually consistent and yes, the guitar fingering is accurate. Finally they took the multiple camera angles and digitally stitched it together into a banger live performance. One more thing, instead of just replaying the album recording they recorded separate live tracks with intentional mistakes to aid in the realism. It’s a technical masterpiece of a show.

[@NEETByNature]

I did hear they were rotoscoped. I initially guessed it was some combination of 3d and 2d animation because of how incredibly consistent the form was on the instruments (I'm still pretty convinced a few parts are CGI). Either way it looks great. Very technically impressive for sure.

[@manoi8]

​@@NEETByNature yeah I think most of the instruments are slightly redrawn CG, unless for the moving part, they have almost fully redrawn, eg. hands, cymbal, drum stick, and strings. Eps 12 looks almost 90% hand drawn but they did hide a lot of hand movement in the first song

[@ilham7345]

I believe Sakamichi no Appollon did this first, but the 2D redraw in that anime kinda weird

[@etherios5673]

"The character is almost always on model" Bruh the charm of Bocchi is that she is hardly ever on model😂😂😂

[@NEETByNature]

Lmao true. Lemme correct myself. Bocchi is on model when she's supposed to be

[@jl8060]

While some comments about the manga being underwhelming can be legitimate, the anime only works so well because the base was already pretty good to begin with. It's a blessing that Kerorira was a big fan that he probably helped translate and amplify the gags that were present in the manga. I've only read a bit after where the anime covers, but it will be very interesting to hear the other bands' music and obviously, more of Kessoku Band's works as well. Though that probably means Season 2 might take a while longer, if they can deliver the same way that they did with what they had here? It would be well worth the wait if they can surprise me as much as they did with this damn fine adaptation.

[@NEETByNature]

The manga definitely has fundamental ideas that are part of what make the anime great but I don't think it delivers them in a way that lives up to their potential. I'm glad they Kerorira and the rest of the staff were able to bring it out in the anime though

[@MrJcTTK]

I also love the references to Asian Kung Fu generation. The main characters having the same names as the band. Them having reversed Birthdays. The fact that all the eps are names after their songs. Along with the absolutely FANTASTIC COVER the voice actor of Bocchi did in the last ep. Rock'n Roll, Morning Light Falls on You is such a fantastic song.

[@NEETByNature]

I did hear about the references, but I'm not really familiar with Asian Kung Fu Generation's music. I do like the cover though so I should probably check them out

[@MrJcTTK]

@@NEETByNature If you watch anime you probably Heard their songs

[@NEETByNature]

You're right. They did my favorite opening from the original fma (and a bunch of others I've seen). I'll definitely give their albums a look later

[@MysteryMedia2001]

I love hearing about how many people were taken by surprise by bocchi, I mean I was as well.

[@Law-of-EnTropy]

The manga's 4Koma style led the adaptation to anime to a high ceiling for creativity. There were barely no limits to how creative freedom they can give to Bocchi the Rock. Bocchi the Rock itself offered that creative freedom to the animators. The manga relies a lot on the 4Koma's strength to deliver punchlines seamlessly and that made the animation of Bocchi 10x better. With the punchlines perfectly delivered, the only question for the animators is "how do we make this even better?". I started reading the manga immediately after finishing the series and I am also left asking the same question. "How will the animators make this even better?" And I think that's the beauty of this manga/anime series. The manga was masterfully written. The plot had a direction, the characters carried themselves with their own personalities and also complemented each other to form such a cohesive group, and the world of Bocchi the Rock was filled with life; what with all its extremely funny bits and terrifyingly relatable cringe-worthy moments. It's only a matter of how much better it can be and Clover Works definitely delivered, perhaps overachieved with this one

[@kennhern]

For me, what made the music stand out compared to the usual music anime "music" is that, the composition and arrangements are grounded JRock, and not much in AniSong. The songs have exude attitude, as expected of a young rock band, and is not as cutesy as some music-themed anime do.

[@NEETByNature]

Yeah it definitely has a little more edge to it than most band shows. I actually enjoy cutesy stuff (if it's good), but in general I think I prefer the more grounded take Bocchi goes with.

[@elgenetiamzon1062]

You can thank Mitsui Ritsuo for that. His arrangements were impeccable.

[@Bodneyblue]

Love this show..so much so I have recently visited many of the real life locations used for the show..including sitting on the swing Hitori is sitting on when Nijika first finds her in Ep.1...And sitting on the same wall and having an ice cream like they did in the beach episode...and many others...Makes me wish these characters where real so I could interact with them. Certainly see them play.. I also visited sites for "Super CUB", "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" and "Non Non Biyori"...I was in Japan to see my favourite band again. LIVE at Yokohama Arena in Nov. Flying out from the UK after seeing them in Jan 2023 at Tokyo Garden Theater...The best band I have heard in a very long time.

[@TrainerJesska]

Just found your channel and I LOVE your videos! Hoping to see more!

[@awkwardbits]

Nice one! Great quality. Enjoyed the show. Good to see you're posting regularly again.

[@NEETByNature]

Thanks! I still have more planned, so keep an eye out.

[@Empire156]

Nani ga warui by nijika's va is my personal favourite song. It heals my soul

[@NEETByNature]

Not a bad pick. I've been really enjoying Ano Bando and Karakara recently myself. Slightly different vibes from Nani Ga Warui though.

[@elgenetiamzon1062]

My favorite too!

[@Moneehh]

I shall be your 800th subscriber. Also, your VIDEO IS SOO GOOD.

[@EmperMiner1990]

dude this video is so quality, I thought it was made by a youtuber with hundreds of thousands of subs to their name. Keep up the good work, I always like to hear people gush about what they are most interested it!

[@Juhnime]

I was in the exact same boat as you in terms of not really thinking of giving Bocchi the Rock (not because I read it, but because it was about music/slice of life). But I do not regret it at all. (:

[@jetmendez6580]

subbing rn. i see big things for you. keep it up!

[@NotConsistentYouTuber]

i've kinda stopped watching anime since like 2020 and only watched like 5 every year from then but after i had gotten netflix i started watching more anime and then while scrolling through netflix i found bocchi the rock and after watching it i fell in love with it

[@btchiaintkidding7837]

you should watch Frieren too. made by the same director as well

[@davidsabillon5182]

BTR is a masterpiece. Like commented and subscribed 👍

[@maxterminatehole2086]

dude doesnt read shiori experience

[@Ikcatcher]

I feel like the music definitely made this series stand out amongst other kirara adaptations. Letting us hear how Kessoku Band actually improves as a band as opposed to being told through a manga panel really goes a long way, especially with how much attention is given to the actual performances that even some real guitarists or bassists are impressed with the accuracy. I also like to consider Bocchi The Rock as a sort of "K-On for Zoomers" with how relatable and cynical it can be with its jokes. Kessoku Band's songs can also be considered a factor with how their somewhat depressing and cynical songs written by Bocchi herself stand out from the many cheerful and "Seishun" nature of other moe girl bands. Ryo's line about how those who do understand her lyrics will deeply resonate with it is proven by the immense popularity of their album (which I too have bought after finishing the series).

[@konaplays1920]

Sold me on this to watch.. I rarely watch anything anymore but I'll check this out

[@NEETByNature]

Nice, hope you enjoy it. It's a really good show.

[@jexxisahuman9073]

@@NEETByNature yep!

[@oyashirosamabrasileiro]

i play guitar and yes, the moviments and fingering are so accurate it's scary actually, everything music related in the anime is extremely accurate, for example when they play one of their songs to get approved by Seika so they can perform at starry, the band actually finishes the song with a alongated ending with only one guitar chord and many crash cymbals like a lot of bands do in their shows, a example i always rember is queen that always finished their songs like that

[@manoi8]

I came to the manga because I'm interested to compare what the original manga looks like. And maybe because I already know what it might look like in anime form, I enjoyed it so much. I caught up to the current translation in 2 days. The only sad thing is the translation is late compared to the original one. I think I still like it even though there are no crazy animation and banger songs because of a similar reason I like New Game!. Even though it's full of jokes, there's still a serious moving plot albeit the progress is pretty slow. Well, New Game! actually have a LOT of serious moments compared to Bocchi let's just hope that the 2nd season won't be the Promised Neverland accident all over again

[@NEETByNature]

Yeah, the English translations are like 2 volumes behind at this point. I'm sure someone will pick it up since the anime was so popular though. I read ahead a bit and the story looks pretty interesting, since it pushes more into their attempts to be a successful band. I'm also looking forward to Yoyoko getting a speaking role in season 2, she's great lol.

[@manoi8]

@@NEETByNature omg I cant wait for yoyoko and their songs too. That's the waifu war material right there Also I just learned that there's new scanlation group that upload a new chapter. But the quality is bad. The comment from mangafox said the pages were not in order twice. Still readable but compared to 2 group before, it's very noticeable

[@nxczbffdsthe32nd]

I love this video

[@Shiyonn_Channel]

Fun fact: Nani ga warui was composed by Yuho Kitazawa from the peggies

[@maxterminatehole2086]

bocchi the trash fan dont really care about any band, but when they compose the song, they act like they are 1st day fan.

[@NEETByNature]

I'm willing to bet that most people who recognized names in song credits were already fans of the artist before Bocchi. Not that it matters. A fan's a fan whether they're new or not

[@janah6473]

@@maxterminatehole2086Why the hostility?

[@projectfear22]

I love how shiny new game looks. That said, not every show should be shiny so I get ur point.

[@NEETByNature]

I mean it's cool if you like it. I just feel like I get flashbanged everytime I rewatch the show.

[@Christian-gr3gu]

The one thing I think you need to fix for all your vids is that the music is too loud and it's hard to hear you. Besides that good video

[@NEETByNature]

I've been trying to get the balance right for a while but I'll turn it down some more next time. Thanks for the feedback!

[@Delarius86]

I do find 4-koma hard to read in the long term, and that is despise loving their anime counterpart. It has a pacing that kinda make me lose focus super fast, either because it is not dynamic enough or because it is super text heavy to compensate. New game! is probably the one exception, is it because it is more drama focus??? is it because it is more to the point?? not sure. One other the CGDCT manga I have can read with no difficulty is Chotto Ippai which dropped 4-koma, it has more fluidity and better pace. bringing these manga to anime though is perfect because, it fixes fluidity issue and allows creativity to pad in the pauses between strips (BtR is a perfect example of how that padding can add value to the whole thing)

[@NEETByNature]

I definitely agree. When done well the anime versions of 4-koma just feel a lot smoother and more natural to me, without losing what makes the series interesting in the first place. I actually think I might've read some of Chotto Ippai before but it's been a while. I should give it another look though.

[@Sipphe]

Funny you mentioned Tricot and The Peggies as the main singer and guitarist of both bands wrote the songs you've mentioned them with. Maybe that was on purpose, maybe not. It would be funnier if it wasn't tho.

[@NEETByNature]

I actually guessed that Tricot was involved in Karakara somehow as soon as I heard it. I didn't realize Kitazawa Yuuho also worked on a song until after I started working on the video though.

[@ihatethatyoutubedisplaysyo8106]

How dare you diss Nijika's suspenders

[@yukuzhang]

why are the comments less

[@ILikeTheThingsIDo]

The band is only kind of half amateurs. Bocchi is a good enough guitarist to be a professional and would fucking rock a recording booth but can't put in the same performance live. Ryo is genuinely a good bassist who does a lot more with her bass in a lot of the songs than you hear in really most music. It makes sense that she likes Sick Hack if she really likes the bass cause psychedelic rock relies so heavily on that bassline. Also canonically she writes and composes the songs. She also has the same problem with performing live that Bocchi has, probably because despite her confidence she is still not an extrovert and can be uncomfortable with that many eyes on her. She makes a joke about not wanting to be the lead singer of the band because it would destroy the band with her ego or whatever, but I really think she just doesn't want that kind of spotlight. Ryo plays well with Nijika because they've known each other for a while but is kinda in her own world sometimes in live performances. Nijika is a boilerplate drummer. Not bad but not brilliant. Her energy comes through and she gets ahead of herself which can cause the other band members to rush to catch up. Kita is definitely the worst musician out of the group and in a normal band would probably play bass. Her improvement is notable and her singing is good but doesn't always fit the lyrics or tone of the song, which as Ryo stated is pretty damn funny but sends mixed messages.

[@NEETByNature]

Yeah Ryo and Bocchi are definitely portrayed as being skilled. I think it's fair to view them as an amateur group though, especially since most of them have skills they need to work on. Even if that is just how to play in sync with others in Bocchi's case

[@akiradkcn]

I just wish they didn't cut some of the jokes in the manga, removing jokes from comedy mangas should be a crime

[@babyfaceweeb8937]

2:32 what anime is that from?

[@NEETByNature]

The anime at exactly that time is "New Game!". I highly recommend it. Great slice of life/workplace anime.

[@xtosu9643]

The manga is high quality for a manga honestly, if you're just looking for some chill comedy. Obviously, it doesn't have all the crazy shounen stuff but yeah.

[@NEETByNature]

The Bocchi manga isn't terrible or anything. It actually has pretty solid art and backgrounds and such as far as 4koma goes. It just didn't really click with me the way the show did. I do generally prefer anime to manga though so I am definitely biased.

[@n.o.9838]

I think the manga gets a lot better as time goes on. If I remember right the artist herself has said that the process of working with the anime team helped her to really differentiate Kita and Nijika more and not just have them be straight (well as much as Kita can be *straight*) women for Bocchi and to a lesser extent, Ryo. Also it allows for actual well-written progression, both individually and as a group. the band feels like they’re actually getting stuff done and growing without turning into some magical fame whirlwind.

[@ReklawLah]

Oh wow, this guy is far too cool for the anime!! Why would anyone expect him to give a piece of art a fair shot???

[@NEETByNature]

I make anime videos on KZbin. I've never thought I was cool lol

[@maxterminatehole2086]

dude doesnt read shiori experience.

[@NEETByNature]

I liked Shiori Experience a lot when I was reading it. The scans were coming out pretty slow when I was reading it though so I stopped following it.

[@Project_415]

“I already read Bocchi the Rocks manga” 🤓