BOCCHI THE ROCK! Episode 3 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Be Right There

Bocchi, feeling isolated at school, works up the courage to recruit Kita, a popular student who once played in a band. Kita admits she cannot actually play guitar and joined a band only to get close to her senpai, Ryo. Kita works at the live house to make up for running away, then agrees to join the band while Bocchi teaches her guitar.

• Recruiting Kita

  Bocchi overhears Kita being discussed, finds her in the classroom, and asks her to join; Kita reveals she cannot actually play guitar.

• Working at the live house

  Kita helps at the club, Bocchi shows her how to make drinks, and Kita admits she joined the band to get close to Ryo.

• Joining the band

  Kita agrees to join with Bocchi teaching her guitar, after the bass she bought turns out to be a six-string bass.

Character Graph

PA-san

STARRY staff

The PA (sound) engineer on the staff of the STARRY live house. Her gothic appearance intimidates people, but she is kind and easygoing.

• Appearance

  Has an unconventional appearance that frightens Hitori on first meeting.

• Hitori (Colleague, Neutral)

  Kessoku Band's guitarist and a new part-timer at STARRY, who is frightened by PA-san's appearance at first.

• Seika (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  The STARRY manager she works under.

Nijika

student · Kessoku Band

Kessoku Band's cheerful drummer and organizer, who recruits Hitori into the band and into a part-time job at STARRY, manages the band's money and keeps the others in order.

• Recruiter

  Drags Hitori to the STARRY live house to perform with the band.

• Band leader

  Tries to organize the band and is frustrated by its name and lack of unity.

• Band management

  Takes over the band's finances and plans the job arrangement to cover concert quotas.

• Sibling at STARRY

  Is the younger sister of the STARRY manager and is embarrassed by the manager's strict behavior at work.

• Hitori (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Recruited Hitori as the band's guitarist, brought her into the STARRY job and supports her through her first shift.

• Ryo Yamada (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend and bandmate whose puns, such as the band name, she finds exasperating; Nijika keeps Ryo's spending in check.

• Ikuyo Kita (Colleague, Affinity)

  The guitarist who ran away before the band's first live; Nijika accepts her apology and welcomes her back into the band.

• Seika (Family, Affinity)

  Her older sister and the STARRY manager.

Hitori (Bocchi)

student · Kessoku Band

Kessoku Band's guitarist, a first-year high school student with severe social anxiety who secretly posts guitar covers online as guitarhero; she brings Kita back into the band and teaches her guitar.

• Secret identity

  Uploads song cover videos online as guitarhero and has many views and positive comments.

• Anxiety around social life

  Feels a sense of kinship with Ryo at first, but realizes Ryo chooses to be alone while she herself wants friends and cannot manage it because of her anxiety.

• Starry job

  Pressured into working at STARRY and tries to avoid the job by catching a cold, but cannot bring herself to lie to Nijika.

• Teaching

  Agrees to teach Kita guitar after work, despite fear.

• Nijika (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Met when Nijika spotted her guitar and asked her to play; now her bandmate.

  Nijika is the first person who invites Hitori into the band and job. Hitori cannot refuse her and values the connection.

• Ryo Yamada (Colleague, Neutral)

  Bandmate who suggested the nickname Bocchi.

  Hitori is briefly drawn to Ryo as a fellow loner, but the kinship breaks down when Ryo is shown to choose solitude.

• PA-san (Colleague, Neutral)

  STARRY's PA (sound) staff member, whom she is frightened of at first because of her appearance.

• Ikuyo Kita (Colleague, Affinity)

  Recruited Kita into the band; becomes her guitar teacher and shares a sense of kinship about loneliness.

• Seika (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Manager of STARRY, where she works part-time, and Nijika's older sister.

Ikuyo Kita (Kita)

student · Kessoku Band

A popular, athletic first-year at Hitori's school, in a different class, who had lied about playing guitar to join Kessoku Band near Ryo and now rejoins the band.

• Past with Kessoku Band

  Had first joined Kessoku Band as its guitarist to be near Ryo, but ran away before the band's first live because she could not actually play guitar.

• Ryo Yamada (Colleague, Affinity)

  An older bandmate she admires greatly; she originally joined Kessoku Band to get closer to Ryo.

• Hitori (Colleague, Affinity)

  Schoolmate who talks her into rejoining the band and teaches her guitar.

• Nijika (Colleague, Affinity)

  Bandmate she ran out on before the first live; Kita apologizes to her and rejoins the band.

Ryo Yamada (Ryo)

student · Kessoku Band

Kessoku Band's inexpressive bassist, who wants Kita to rejoin so studio and quota fees can be split four ways.

• Social circle

  Nijika is Ryo's only friend.

• Finances

  Nijika takes over managing the band's money because Ryo spends it irresponsibly on instruments.

• Solitude

  Chooses to be alone and has no friends apart from Nijika.

• Recruitment

  Wants Kita to join so the band pays only a quarter of studio and quota fees.

• Hitori (Colleague, Neutral)

  The new guitarist she nicknamed Bocchi and whose work she praised; Hitori sees her as a fellow loner, but the two are not close yet.

• Nijika (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Her only friend and bandmate.

  Her bandmate and the only friend she has. Nijika manages her finances and keeps her in check.

• Ikuyo Kita (Colleague, Affinity)

  A younger girl who admires her and had joined Kessoku Band to get close to her.

Seika

STARRY staff

Manager of the live house STARRY and Nijika's older sister. The Kessoku Band members work part-time at STARRY under her.

• Nijika (Family, Affinity)

  Her younger sister, Kessoku Band's drummer, who works part-time at STARRY.

• Hitori (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Part-timer at STARRY and the guitarist in her sister's band.

• PA-san (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  STARRY's PA (sound) engineer, who works under her.

Recent Timeline

• First live performance at STARRY (Episode 1)

  Hitori's band Kessoku Band performs for the first time at the STARRY live house, with Hitori hidden inside a cardboard box, after she is recruited by Nijika and Ryo and given the nickname Bocchi. The performance is the band's first stage show and is followed by Bocchi promising to overcome her social anxiety before their next show.

• First day of work at STARRY (Episode 2)

  Bocchi, after failing to fake a cold with an ice bath, starts her first shift at STARRY, where she panics at customers, hides and assists Nijika at the bar, then takes a small step forward by taking an order and looking a customer in the eye. The day ends with Bocchi catching the fever she was trying to get, a sign of how hard the job pushed her.

• Kita admits she cannot play guitar (Episode 3)

  Hitori invited Kita to join her band, but Kita confessed she cannot actually play guitar. She had claimed experience only to join a band near her senpai, Ryo Yamada. Kita begged Hitori to teach her so she could return to her old band, and Hitori agreed to teach her after work.

• Kita joins Kessoku Band (Episode 3)

  Nijika invited Kita to join the band, and Kita agreed, with Hitori teaching her guitar. Ryo wanted Kita in because it cut the band's studio and quota fees to a quarter, and Kita was delighted to be part of her senpai's quota.

Music Releases

• Seishun Complex (OP)
• Distortion!! (ED)

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–3

Hitori is still struggling with her social anxiety and loneliness while the band's debt and survival hinge on her showing up at STARRY. She recruits Kita, a popular classmate who admits she cannot actually play guitar and joined only to get closer to her senpai, Ryo. Kita makes up for her running away by working at the live house, then agrees to join the band as Hitori teaches her guitar.