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Bocchi the Rock! Staff Reflect on Growth and Change

The anime adaptation of Aki Hamaji's four-panel manga was a sleeper hit in late 2022. Viewers related to Bocchi's awkwardness and social anxiety, while entertained by the off-the-cuff animation. In addition, Kessoku Band's popularity even toppled the charts on Billboard Japan, taking the top spot in the Top Albums Sales chart immediately after the ending of the anime series. Director Keiichirō Saitō and voice actor Yoshino Aoyama from Bocchi the Rock! sat down with Anime News Network to discuss the behind-the-scenes details of adapting the show-stopping anime.

Slice-of-life anime TV series can sometimes feel tensionless, with many focusing only on the aspects of daily life. For Bocchi the Rock!, the anime is both easy for viewers to watch (an aspect of a slice of life) and follows a plot. Why did you decide to focus on Bocchi's growth from the first episode to her performance at the cultural festival?

Keiichirō Saitō: This is a vague answer, but the overall plot was the vertical axis of the production, and that was just rock solid. You would have a charming scene here and there to add meat to this vertical axis. The production staff wanted three big highlights. That was where the performance scenes were placed, and then we would branch out from there with comedy or other elements with striking visuals. We'll then edit for good tempo and visual aspects so that the viewers don't get bored during a given episode. On the other hand, the manga is a slice of life and comedy, but it does have a strong plot as a backbone. To make a good anime adaptation, we needed to keep that backbone.

Bocchi demands a range of voices, from her depressive tones to her wild voice in her imagination. Was there a scene where you had trouble figuring out how to voice Bocchi?

Yoshino Aoyama: There are too many scenes that I can't really pick one! Bocchi has so many voices that it's just really hard. Though, I think the hardest would be when she's pressuring her sister when she says, "You can't say that even if you're lying. Don't say that." Even if Bocchi can't talk to her friends, she can still talk to her family. In these comedy scenes with family members, where does she stand in the range of voices? It was hard picking the right voice for that scene.

For the legendary electric Bocchi sound, did you adlib the scream or were you given direction from the sound director, Akiko Fujita?

AOYAMA: In the initial phase, that voice was more like a Kaiju monster. We had Akiko-san nonchalantly ask, "Can you go electric?" The way she said it was in a way that I couldn't refuse. Also, oh my god that translator just said in the same tone as Akiko-san.

As the director, what was the most difficult aspect of Bocchi the Rock! to work on?

SAITO: The performance scenes because we were working on the animation for a very, very long time. Even to the very last second before the broadcast. We were wondering if we would make it in time for it to be broadcast properly.

How different is it to work as a director as opposed to an episode director? Did you have any hesitations about taking the job of director?

SAITO: If you join as an episodic director under a different director, the biggest difference would be that the episodic director has to pick up on what the series director wants but still try to show your own colors within the episode. You have to make use of the staff that was chosen, such as sound editing. Core staff has already been provided for you and you can't change it. When you're a series director, you can be more hands-on as to who is staffing, so you get a lot more creative control.

You sang the ending song of the last episode, "Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu." What were your thoughts after you found out you'd be performing this song? Did you know that it would be the last song to end the anime series?

AOYAMA: Since Ikumi Hasegawa voices Kessoku Band's vocalist, I really couldn't imagine Bocchi-chan singing as part of a proper Kessoku Band performance. There are so many situations, so I was wondering in which multiverse she would be singing this song. Would it be when she gets dragged into a karaoke box and is told to sing? Initially, it was hard to imagine her singing otherwise. At the same time, she has a multitude of voices, so I was lost at which voice to use. Which face is she going to have when she's singing? It was really hard to pick the right tone and face for the performance.

In the very last scene of the last episode, Bocchi says, "Another day at the job." This ties back to the first and second episodes where she goes straight home after school, and hates working her part-time job. Why was that chosen to be the final line in the show?

SAITO: In showing something changing, the most effective way to go about it is to show what changed but what didn't change. That's why I wanted to do this book ending. In the first episode, she was tormenting herself and forcing herself to go to work, but in the final episode, she's nonchalant about it. In the sense that she's thinking, "I'm kind of reluctant to go, but I guess I'll go." The change from the first episode to the final episode, despite doing the same thing, shows how much she's grown and that's what I wanted to focus on.