Warning: Contains spoilers for Bocchi the Rock! episode #5-#6.Bocchi Stone! is one of the biggest anime of 2022 and one of the best parts about it is that it’s a huge step towards LGBTQ+ representation. Despite having little anticipation compared to other anime, Bocchi the Rock! ultimately became one of the biggest financial and critical hits of 2022. The anime was praised for its poignant narrative of social anxiety coupled with stunning and surreal visuals that overcame boundaries of animation as a medium, and its Blu-ray and DVD discs have sold out. 16,000 copies in the first week, ten times more than the much anticipated Chainsaw Man sold in the first week.
Many factors have contributed to the success of Bocchi the Rock!, but one factor that has not received nearly enough attention is how the show serves as a great representation of LGBTQ+. While clearly not a yuri or girls love series, Bocchi the Rock! still offers a positive representation through the number of characters written, especially those in the main cast, and the manga even adds to that. The series has a very casual use of LGBTQ+ characters, and that kind of normalization of the idea is both great to watch and helps a lot with the presentation in general.
Most of the cast of Bocchi The Rock! are all written as LGBTQ+ characters
Bocchi the Rock’s Positive LGBTQ+ Performance! mainly from the way the characters are written as LGBTQ+. First, Kita is introduced to have feelings for Ryo, and impressing Ryo is the main motivation for her to learn guitar. Ryo also suggested having sex with women to make the Kessoku Band more like rock stars, and while Ryo might joke, Bocchi went with that to say that there are no women. who wants to be with her. From that alone, it’s easy to conclude that most main characters are attracted to girls in some way, and that kind of casual representation is great to watch.
The manga works to make the LGBTQ+ representation of the series more visible. For example, chapter #66 reveals that Kita talks about Bocchi at home as much as she talks about Ryo, which helps take their close relationship to a whole new light. The manga also confirms that Bocchi is attracted to girls, first by showing her daydreaming of becoming a professional gamer with her cosplayer girlfriend, and again when she daydreams of becoming a professional gamer. become a main character in a clichéd harem. Bocchi Stone! makes it clear that many characters are considered LGBTQ+, and as a result, the series can become a great example of positive expression.
Why Bocchi’s LGBTQ+ Representative The Rock! so great again
Bocchi Stone! has very clear LGBTQ+ representation and all of that is, naturally, great to watch. One of the best things media can do with LGBTQ+ content is normalize it so people can understand it as a natural part of life and Bocchi the Rock! too ordinary in its expression to fit that idea perfectly. The fact that it became so popular also contributed to that, as it means its LGBTQ+ content will reach more people than other shows, so even if Bocchi the Rock! It’s not trying to do anything specific with its content, it’s still doing a lot of work to show off in general.
Something else to consider about Bocchi the Rock! it’s another sign that LGBTQ+ content is slowly being normalized. In recent years, anime with explicit LGBTQ+ content like Wandering Son, Banana Fish and Bloom Into You have become increasingly popular, so Bocchi the Rock! Being so popular is another example of anime and manga being more open to that kind of content, even outside stories that are specifically marketed as LGBTQ+. It doesn’t know if Bocchi Stone! will have any lasting impact on LGBTQ+ representation, but the fact that it can get so big while still being so casual about it is still a great thing to watch, despite that.
Source: Twitter.