Voice actress of “Bocchi the Rock” talks about her fears from the past

It’s hard to believe that among the crowd of absurd characters emblazoned on the walls of Anime Expo 2024, an introverted high school student with pink hair is one of the most recognizable. But just as big is the presence that Hitori Gotoh, known by the nickname Bocchi, exudes.

Bocchi the Rock, the anime series featuring our quiet high school student, has struck a chord with fans. Bocchi may be an introvert, but she always dreamed of becoming famous by forming a rock band. And through a series of events, she happens to end up in a group with girls from another school. Bocchi may find it hard to speak her mind, but she enjoys playing the guitar.

Bocchi’s extreme introversion – even mumbling a single sentence can be unbearable for her – is well received by viewers. And the fact that she has found a fan base in the highly competitive anime market is an impressive achievement for Bocchi the Rock.

Anime is big business. The global anime industry was valued at $26 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $60 billion by 2032, according to a report from Skyquest. That’s why Netflix, Hulu, and Max offer a variety of anime and have deals with studios in Japan to exclusively stream shows. Sony bought Crunchyroll, a streaming service specializing in anime, from AT&T for $1.18 billion in 2021. And the shows themselves are just one piece of the anime pie. Anime-related merchandise is a fast-growing market of its own. Globally, that market is currently worth $10.8 billion and is expected to reach $18.6 billion, according to Grand View Research. The fact that a Bocchi the Rock cassette is available for pre-order should come as no surprise.

Despite her lack of conspicuous charisma, fans are clamoring for more from Bocchi. Earlier this year, a compilation film, which compiles several episodes into one feature-length movie, hit Japanese theaters and grossed 210 million yen, or $1.3 million. It was actually the weekend box office hit upon its release and is the first compilation film made entirely of already-aired content to top the box office. It surpassed 500 million yen, or $3.09 million, during its run and is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters later this year. Yet despite these impressive numbers, a second season of Bocchi the Rock has not yet been approved.

The success of Bocchi the Rock is thanks to the team at Tokyo-based animation studio CloverWorks, with visual direction by Keiichiro Saito. For a series that takes place largely in the mind of an introverted high school student, he had to find new ways to make the animation visually interesting. This forced him to think creatively, using absurd visual gags and wildly different mediums to keep viewers guessing.

“From the storyboards to the time I have available, I always forced myself to look for things that would surprise myself,” Saito said. “Because if I can surprise myself, I can surprise the audience.”

Visual approaches included the use of paper cutouts, claymation, and 3D graphics.

Voice actress and musician Yoshino Aoyama captures Bocchi’s awkwardness. She comes across as very outgoing and has a cheerful disposition. But it wasn’t always this way. As a teenager navigating the social minefield of high school, she found it easier to withdraw.

“At a sports festival, all the girls in my class wanted to form a dance group,” said Aoyama. “I volunteered to be the group leader. Then when I saw the video recording of our dance performance, I realized, ‘I’m a terrible dancer.’ And now that I think about it, everyone pointed at me and laughed at me.”

At this point, Aoyama began to turn inward and was no longer sociable for fear of being ridiculed. This experience, which many teenagers go through sooner or later, shaped her portrayal of Bocchi.

Bocchi’s introversion is captured by Aoyama’s vocal skills. But it’s the animation that brings the show’s absurd visual effects and musicality together. Although Bocchi the Rock features a quartet of cute anime girls, CloverWorks went to great lengths to accurately render the instrumentation. That means the chords played on a guitar or the hits of a hi-hat all match those in the real world. It turns out that this wasn’t easy or cheap to achieve.

CloverWorks rented a motion capture studio to ensure all movements were captured properly. As the hours in the studio grew, Saito complained, he was constantly pressured by his producers to end the session.

Still, it can be hard to come to terms with the sight of cute anime girls playing detailed animated Gibson Les Paul guitars. But for Saito, that’s no problem.

“My job is to bring cuteness into real-life situations.”