Summary
Bocchi The Rock!has taken the world by storm with its earnest depiction of anxiety and mental health, so we sat down with Bocchi’s voice actor, Yoshino Aoyama, and series director Keiichiro Saito to discuss the hit series.Bocchi’sfuture is looking brighter than everafter the series' second film exceeded box office expectations, meaning it’s never been a better time to get reacquainted with the series.
One of the best anime about making music,Bocchi The Rock!follows a young woman named Hitori Gotō (nicknamed Bocchi) who has a passion for music, but suffers from debilitating anxiety that makes it difficult for her to interact with others. Despite this though, Bocchi’s life turns around when she joins a group known as Kessoku Band. The serieshas earned critical and fan acclaim, withBocchifans even voting the series as one of the most comforting anime.
At this year’s Anime Expo, we caught up with Aoyama and Saito to discuss the series and its abundant success.
Bocchi The Rock’s Yoshino Aoyama & Keiichiro Saito Dig Into How The Hit Series Was Made
Screen Rant:Bocchi the Rock’soriginal manga is interesting because it has to find unique and interesting ways to represent music in the world of manga. Was there any difficulty in trying to find the right sound for the anime to replicate the feel of the manga?
Keiichiro Saito: I feel like I was more of a bystander because I think the Aniplex sound team did the bulk of the work. Where the series takes place is one of the big Meccas of rock bands in Japan, so they had their own distinct rock band sound style. And it was pretty much pronounced in the English. So there was a clear vision of what it already should sound like from the manga and the sound team picked up on that. So I was just watching and let them do their magic.
In a very similar vein, was there any difficulty in finding your voice for for Bocchi, or did that come like really naturally to you, Ms. Aoyama?
Yoshino Aoyama:So I like to think it came naturally. There was a caveat in the audition notes saying “We want that dark, introverted, not so happy go lucky dark aura.” And that was in the notes for the audition. So I saw a cute girl, but they didn’t want a cute girl voice. It made me think about what kind of voice she would have, so I just naturally played it out and I was given the role.
I feel like it made living my life a lot easier, and I’m sure that there’s a lot of people with mental health issues that are feeling the same way, and we’re saved by the series
We live in an era where people are much more open about their struggles with mental health, which is why I think pieces of media that discuss anxiety likeBocchiare really important. Given the more personal nature of the series, has the outpouring of fan support been any deeper or more meaningful than what you’re used to, Ms. Aoyama?
Yoshino Aoyama:I’m gonna go in a slightly different direction because, it was more of a personal reflection. AfterBocchi The Rock!I feel that the world is an easier place to live in. She is a character that originally took anyone’s good will as ill will, but still strived and did her best to grow and mature. So all the negative emotional and mental shadows that I thought should be hidden away from people was shown inBocchi the Rock!‘scomedy. It was reflected back on me as, “Oh, I don’t have to negate my own bad, own dark side. I can accept it for what it is and I can live my life the way I want to. I am not being negated. I’m not being canceled.”
I feel like it made living my life a lot easier, and I’m sure that there’s a lot of people with mental health issues that are feeling the same way, and we’re saved by the series, so I feel like that’s a big takeaway.
On the subject of anxiety, one of my favorite parts of the series are the surreal anxiety attack scenes. These do an excellent job of representing anxiety through the art of animation. Can you, Mr. Saito, walk us through the process of what it’s like to create one of those scenes? How do you find the best way to representBocchi’sanxiety for for each scene?
Keiichiro Saito:The overall framework is something to think about because, if you take it too seriously, the issue is very grave and very depressing. But using a comical to turn it into a complete comedy isn’t ultimately the answer either, because the reactions of all the characters around Bocchi, and how they react and interact after the anxiety attack is what was important.
You need to be really treading that line carefully so that it’s not too comical and not too serious. Because I don’t want to treat it as a joke. I’m going to put myself in Bocchi’s shoes. What would be the way to give her salvation, but not make it too serious or too comical.
What was the most fun part of recording your lines as Bocchi, and what was the most difficult part?
Yoshino Aoyama:Bocchi does indeed grow throughout the course of the series, but it’s not an obvious character growth. It’s like baby steps, slow as a turtle. Those baby steps had to be expressed through the voice, and that was really hard. The other part that made it difficult was when I was given lessons early in my career. They told me to look people in the eyes, talk to people, and converse, it’s a dialogue. But, Bocchi can’t talk. I was often told, “No that’s not right, you’re doing eye-contact talk, that’s not the way she talks.” It was really hard to get that introverted, “I’m not talking, I’m not looking at your eyes as you talk”, talk.
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I’ve also read, Ms. Aoyama, that you learned to play guitar in conjunction with Bocchi’s release and that you eventually learned to play the series’ theme. For you was this just like a fun little side project or was this actually practical in helping you understand your role?
Yoshino Aoyama:Initially, Aniplex told me, “Please play the guitar,” and then I was thinking, “Free guitar lessons? Yay! Oh, lucky me, I get free lessons.” But since Bocchi is the Super Guitar Hero, and as I learned more and more, it became clear that playing the guitar is really hard. It’s like super difficult. Then it was, wait, she does this six hours a day? Mad respect for both of y’all.
Thank you to Yoshino Aoyama and Keiichiro Saito for speaking to us! Look forBocchi The Rock!on Crunchyroll.
Bocchi the Rock!
Cast
Bocchi the Rock! follows Hitori “Bocchi” Gotou, a shy high school student with social anxiety who dreams of becoming a rock musician. Despite her introverted nature, Bocchi joins a band called Kessoku Band and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and friendship. Set against the backdrop of a lively music scene, the series explores themes of personal growth, teamwork, and the power of music to connect people.
