×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 2 years old before posting.
Last reply was 2 years, 27 days ago.

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Bocchi the Rock!


Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3450
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:24 am Reply with quote
Really enjoying this, but I think its mostly because of the great directing, timing and individual skits rather than the actual story. It's another case of "extrovert adopt introvert MC" which has both been done a million time and so much better by laid back camp.

Last edited by meiam on Mon Oct 17, 2022 4:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Moonsaber



Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 343
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:14 pm Reply with quote
Hahaha!

So right, I was lured in with the promise of rock music, and stayed for the uncomfortable social anxiety and comedy.

I really hope we get more to the music, though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Florete



Joined: 21 Jan 2018
Posts: 381
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:55 pm Reply with quote
This hooked me pretty quickly. As someone who has dealt with social anxiety, this series showcases it a lot better than that other one.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Thesarum
Subscriber



Joined: 25 Mar 2022
Posts: 514
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 4:39 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Perhaps the biggest right hook is Bocchi pacing outside of the meet-up spot because oh god, what if the other people aren't there yet and she draws attention by coming in alone and everyone's going to look at her and oh god oh god fudge this was a mistake I should have made up an excuse for why I couldn't make it and stayed home watching TV abort ABORT-


Oh yes. Only topped by my personal nemesis: having to make a phonecall to a stranger.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 12:22 pm Reply with quote
I don't know if the comparison to WataMote is fully justified considering how often the latter would verge into a certifiably mean-spirited attitude towards Tomoko. Not to the same extent as what Kuma Miko did to Machi (now that was some truly vile garbage excuse for writing), but it was still unpleasant a lot of the time. I understand not every show is going to reach the gold standard of Welcome to the NHK's portrayal of mental issues, but it's evident that most don't even try and instead prefer to capitalize on the privilege of being better off than their main characters.

The way Bocchi's anxiety is portrayed is realistic and framed in a way that mostly elicits a sad appreciative smile rather than an attempt to laugh at her expense, which is a tone I can get behind. It certainly strikes a good balance between poking fun at her social maladaptation and having both the audience and in-universe characters support and root for her to overcome it. It makes all the difference when an author loves their characters.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4536
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 8:14 pm Reply with quote
moozooh wrote:
I don't know if the comparison to WataMote is fully justified considering how often the latter would verge into a certifiably mean-spirited attitude towards Tomoko.


The biggest problem with the WataMote anime is that it only got one season and, while it adapted the first three or four volumes of the manga pretty well (only shifting some things around a little and making a few very inconsequentual changes to a couple of chapters), it's now really only the prologue to Tomoko's story where spoiler[things start to get better for her as she gets a little more social] especially after spoiler[the Kyoto field trip arc in her second year of high school].

Of course, the anime doesn't get past the first half of Tomoko's first year in high school so you don't get to see her spoiler[gradually outgrow her self-sabotaging mindset] (and also find out that spoiler[she's hardly the only girl in her school with some degree of social anxiety; some other girls are just better at hiding it]).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 11:03 pm Reply with quote
Tenchi wrote:
The biggest problem with the WataMote anime is that it only got one season

While this may have been a problem, it certainly wasn't the biggest one, because a lot of people including myself have dropped it for being unpleasant enough already in the first season. I don't think it's fair to expect anyone to suffer through something unpleasant on the promise of it becoming better sometime later on. I distinctly remember that the way the early episodes portrayed Tomoko crossed the line of being mean-spirited, as if her social anxiety was her fault and she deserved being laughed at, which is fundamentally misrepresenting the nature of social anxiety, let alone how it feels for people who have it or how anyone else should feel about them. I know people (again, including myself) suffering from various issues frequently laughing at their misfortunes, but it's not because they appreciate it being a funny subject, but rather as a defensive mechanism that doesn't have any more socially acceptable alternatives.

When it comes to portraying these issues as a subject of comedy, it may feel like too fine a line to bother with, but I think everything is actually pretty simple: if you, as a creator, don't want to come across as bullying your own characters, then show their feelings as valid and deserving of compassion, and have other characters recognize them as such in-universe. That's really all it takes. Bocchi does this, the other Bocchi does this as well, Komi-san does this, Welcome to the NHK does this, Zetsubou Sensei does this. WataMote fails. Kuma Miko doesn't even try.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Abraham Omosun



Joined: 05 Mar 2020
Posts: 158
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 5:50 am Reply with quote
Quote:
where the question is posed as to whether or not a series “needs” great animation if it's a comedy.


Honest question, do people really say this? Visual presentation is the main the reason why I don't like/finish many anime comedies (and also why I need Nichijou season 2 NOW!) Something like Saiki K is really hilarious but the visuals never really matched the writing aspect for me
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Typical anime enjoyer



Joined: 20 Oct 2022
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 5:56 am Reply with quote
Ba! Gui! Vo!

er...

Bam-chika-boom-chika...
bam-chika-boom-chika...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Thesarum
Subscriber



Joined: 25 Mar 2022
Posts: 514
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 6:15 pm Reply with quote
This episode really highlights everything that's great about Bocchi the Rock. The expressiveness of the animation, the over the top but entirely relatable social anxiety, the warm, comfortable and supportive vibes of the band. And some pretty good music.

Nicholas Dupree wrote:
All of that is a preamble to justify my gushing about how goddamn good this episode of Bocchi looks. Starting at practically the first frame, this episode is dripping with classic cartoon goodness; from simple background gags like Bocchi brushing her side-ahoge with a bespoke sproing sound while her sister roasts her, to wild style shifts into literal cardboard cutouts, to live-action cut-ins punctuating Bocchi's emo song lyrics, there are a million and one touches that make the whole episode a pure delight to watch. If I could get away with it the rest of this review would just be a selection of my favorite faces, but ANN's servers aren't strong enough to hold the hundreds of Petabytes that would entail.


Totally this.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18442
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 10:58 pm Reply with quote
Though I am enjoying this series, too, I have found so far that WATAMOTE hit harder and resonated more strongly. I won't dispute that WATAMOTE tended to dump on Tomoko at times, but the anger and bitterness at the core of her reactions felt much more real to me and the deeper dose of irony that the series trafficked in was always good for a laugh (if sometimes an uncomfortable one). That it had one of the all-time great OPs, a strong closer, and a "one of the best of decade"-level lead vocal performance certainly didn't hurt.

This one isn't a priority view, but I have liked it enough so far that I will probably follow it out.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
myfairx



Joined: 29 Sep 2016
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2022 12:29 pm Reply with quote
Ep 3. another great review.

I'm surprised that her bandmate is entertaining her silly out-of-nowhere request to party with energy drinks! That's trust and friendship for you! spoiler[and to bail that bass guitar]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Philville



Joined: 20 Aug 2022
Posts: 158
PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 2:02 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
Really enjoying this, but I think its mostly because of the great directing, timing and individual skits rather than the actual story. It's another case of "extrovert adopt introvert MC" which has both been done a million time and so much better by laid back camp.


Ha! I was just asking for Laid-Back Camp alternatives in another thread. I also like rock music and comedy, so this sounds like it might be right up my alley. Is it comparable to K-On!?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5511
PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 4:13 pm Reply with quote
The staff of this anime must love the source material to really give this such a creative visual outburst. This could have easily been gotten a no-nonsense Kirara adaptation, but they put in a lot more oomph.

We're so lucky that this season is blessed with Bocchi the Rock and Do It Yourself in terms of creative visuals and animation for cute girl shows.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime My Manga
sourpatchthekid



Joined: 20 Dec 2016
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:24 pm Reply with quote
The 1st 2 were good but episode really sold me on this show. It's nice seeing Bocchi win even if it's just a step at a time
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next
Page 1 of 6

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group