Summary
The anime Bocchi The Rock! captures anxiety in a realistic way, resonating with fans around the world. Bocchi's voice actor Yoshino Aoyama and series director Keiichiro Saito discuss the impact of Bocchi. Aoyama learned guitar to better understand his role, highlighting his dedication to the character.
The Bocchi Stone! has taken the world by storm with its honest portrayal 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. The future of Bocchi is brighter than ever after the series' second film exceeded box office expectations, meaning there's never been a better time to re-acquaint yourself with the series.
One of the best anime about music composition, Bocchi The Rock! tells the story of a young girl named Hitori Gotō (nicknamed Bocchi) who has a passion for music, but suffers from debilitating anxiety that makes it difficult for her to communicate with others. However, Bocchi's life changes when she joins a musical group called Kessoku Band. The series has received critical and fan acclaim, with Bocchi fans even voting the series as one of the most comforting anime.
At this year's Anime Expo, we met up with Aoyama and Saito to discuss the series and its huge success.
Bocchi The Rock's Yoshino Aoyama and Keiichiro Saito find out how this hit series was created
Screen Rant: The original Bocchi the Rock manga was fun because it had to find unique and interesting ways to express music within the manga world. Was it difficult trying to find the right sound for the anime to capture the feel of the manga?
Keiichiro Saito: I feel like I'm more of an outsider because I think the Aniplex sound team did the bulk of the work. The setting of the series is one of the big rock band meccas in Japan, so they have their own distinct rock band sound style. And it's pretty obvious in English. So there was a clear vision of what it should have sounded like from the manga and the sound team captured that. So I just watched and let them do their magic.
Likewise, did you have any difficulty finding the voice for Bocchi, or did it come very naturally to you, Ms. Aoyama?
Yoshino Aoyama: So I like to think it came naturally. There was a warning in the audition notes that said, “We want a dark, introverted vibe, not too happy-go-lucky.” And that was in the audition notes. So I saw a cute girl, but they didn’t want a cute girl voice. That made me think about what kind of voice she would have, so I just acted naturally and I got the role.
I feel like it has made my life so much easier, and I'm sure there are a lot of people with mental health issues who feel the same way, and we've been saved by this series.
We live in a time when people are much more open about their struggles with mental health, which is why I think it's really important for media to discuss anxiety like Bocchi. Given the more personal nature of the series, has the fan support been deeper or more meaningful than what you've typically seen, Ms. Aoyama?
Yoshino Aoyama:I'm going to go in a slightly different direction because, it's more of a personal reflection. After Bocchi The Rock!, I felt like the world was a much easier place to live. She's a character who initially takes anyone's good intentions as malice, but still struggles and tries her best to grow. So all that negative emotional and mental darkness that I thought should be hidden from people was reflected in the comedy of Bocchi the Rock!. It was reflected back to me like, “Oh, I don't have to deny my own dark, ugly side. I can accept it as it is and I can live my life the way I want. I'm not denied. I'm not canceled.”
I feel like the movie has made my life so much easier, and I'm sure there are a lot of people with mental health issues who feel the same way, and we've been saved by this movie, so I feel like it's a very valuable piece of information.
On the subject of anxiety, one of my favorite parts of the series is the surreal anxiety attack scenes. These scenes beautifully convey anxiety through animation. Mr. Saito, can you walk us through the process of creating one of these scenes? How did you figure out the best way to express Bocchi's anxiety for each scene?
Keiichiro Saito:The overall framework is something to think about because if you take it too seriously, the subject matter will be very serious and very sad. But using a humorous story to turn it into a complete comedy is not the final answer either, because the reactions of all the characters around Bocchi, and how they react and interact after the panic attack is what is important.
You have to be really careful to walk that line so that it's not too funny and not too serious. Because I didn't want to make it a joke. I would put myself in Bocchi's shoes. How to redeem her, but not make it too serious or too funny.
What part of recording Bocchi's voice was the most enjoyable and what was the most difficult?
Yoshino Aoyama:Bocchi really grows throughout the series, but it's not a clear character development. It's like baby steps, slow as a turtle. Those baby steps have to be expressed through voice, and that's really hard. The other part that makes it hard is when I was taught lessons early in my career. They told me to look people in the eye, talk to people and have a conversation, which is a dialogue. But Bocchi can't talk. I was often told, “No, that's not right, you're talking with eye contact, that's not how she talks.” It's really hard to have that introspective conversation, “I don't talk, I don't look you in the eye when you talk.”
I also read, Ms. Aoyama, that you learned to play the guitar along with the release of Bocchi and that you ended up learning to play the series' theme music. Was this just a fun little side project for you or was it actually helpful in helping you understand your role?
Yoshino Aoyama:At first, Aniplex said to me, “Please play guitar,” and then I was like, “Free guitar lessons? Yay! Oh, good thing I get free lessons.” But because Bocchi is Guitar Superhero, and as I learned more and more, it became clear that playing guitar is really hard. It’s like super hard. Then I was like, wait, she does this six hours a day? I admire both of them.
Thanks to Yoshino Aoyama and Keiichiro Saito for talking with us! Search The Bocchi Stone! on Crunchyroll.
