Bocchi The Rock! – Season 1 Episode 2 “See You Tomorrow” Recap & Review

See You Tomorrow

Episode 2 of Bocchi The Rock begins with Hitori (Bocchi) taking a cold bath to remove her stress. We transition several days before this incident, where she arrives at the Starry club to speak with Nijika and Ryo about Kessoku’s future.

Bocchi paces as she doesn’t want to cause a scene. Ryo and Nijika arrive and note Hitori’s awkward behavior. They head inside to start their first band meeting. Ryo pulls out a giant dice with activities listed on them. It rolls on to a discussion about school. Ryo and Nijika confirm they attend Shima High because it’s closest to home.

Hitori confirms that she attends Shuka High. She attends that school because it’s a place where nobody would know about her past. Hitori says she doesn’t have fond memories to contribute to their discussion, but Nijika tells her not to worry about it. Ryo says she doesn’t have many friends besides Nijika. Bocchi grows fond of Ryo since she exhibits similar introvert traits as her.

Nijika says Ryo likes to endure urban exploration and visit second-hand clothing shops. The last sentiment causes Bocchi to change her views on Ryo because she understands the gap between them is too far gone. The girls switch topics and discuss their favorite music. Nijika reveals she likes Japanese punk music. Ryo admits she enjoys techno kayo and listens to Saudi Arabia artists occasionally.

Bocchi likes songs that don’t trigger her “Seishun complex.” Guitar Man arrives and explains what songs tamper with Hitori’s complex. The songs in question are glitter-coated upbeat songs that include words and themes irrelevant to her personal school experience. Guitar Man confirms that Bocchi enjoys bands who write about the bleakness of their high school experiences.

However, when she discovers these bands’ popularity in high school, it causes her to distance herself from their music. After some humorous banter, they switch over to discussing concerts. Nijika wants to have a vocalist on their team before their next performance. She recalls having a vocalist beforehand, but they left the band for undisclosed reasons.

Bocchi wonders if Kessoku’s former guitarist has social anxiety on par with hers. Bocchi asks Ryo if she could carry the vocalist role, but Ryo argues her talent would overwhelm the band and crush it. Nijika concludes that their mission is to secure a new vocalist and have Ryo write the song and for Bocchi to provide the lyrics. Nijika rolls the dice after being asked what she’ll contribute to the team.

Their next discussion revolves around quotas. Nijika explains it in detail to Bocchi. She says the concert they performed at Starry was a “booked concert,” which happens when the club assigns them a ticket quota in hopes enough people attend the event. Anything sold over the ticket quota gets split between the club and the band.

However, if they can’t bring in enough people to meet said quota, the band has to pay the rest out of pocket. This is why getting popular is an integral goal for many bands. Their last performance brought enough people to fulfill its quota. Nonetheless, Nijika anticipates fewer people will show up because of how terrible things went with that concert.

To raise money for their next concert, Nijika suggests they all find jobs to cover the quota and equipment. Hitori grows concerned. She hands Nijika a piggy bank and begs her not to make her work. Nijika and Ryo ask Bocchi to work alongside them at the Starry Club. Bocchi accepts the offer despite her worries. Nijika promises to look after the money because Ryo’s terrible at managing cash.

Ryo comes from a wealthy family, always gets huge allowances, and spends them on instruments to the point where she’s constantly broke. They send Bocchi home and tell her to prepare for her first day of work. In the present, Bocchi wallows away in her ice-cubed bath. Bocchi hopes the cold bath will help her get cold, so she can miss work.

When the plan fails, she practices guitar in front of her fan at max power. In the morning, Bocchi arrives at the Starry Club–after her scheme to get sick failed miserably. Before she could enter, a yellow-haired girl tells Bocchi to come back later as tickets aren’t on sale for the time being. Startled, Bocchi explains that she’s a new part-timer looking to work at the Starry Club with Ryo and Nijika.

The woman reveals she’s the Starry Club’s manager. She recognizes Bocchi as Kessoku Band’s guitar player who played inside a cardboard box. She gives Bocchi a strange name, annoying Nijika and Ryo when they arrive. Nijika reiterates that this female manager is also her sister. However, Nijika’s sister asks Nijika to keep their work and private relationships separate.

While Ryo sweeps, Nijika shows Bocchi the drink booth and explains where all the drinks are located. Overwhelmed, Bocchi pulls out a guitar and plans to play a song to remember everything. While Nijika calms Bocchi down, her sister notices something familiar about how Bocchi plays and sounds. She bonks Nijika’s head and tells her to get to work.

Nijika explains the drink service routine to Bocchi and how it’s run like a restaurant. Bocchi’s proud of her effort but gets frightened when Nijika points her attention toward some new customers. We get a montage of Nijika and Bocchi working the drink service station while Ryo works the ticket booth. Bocchi doesn’t give the customer’s eye contact and hands them their drinks while crouched.

This annoys Nijika, but she lets it slide. After serving a customer, she tells Bocchi that the boys’ band Alexandism is playing at the Starry Club. Nijika tells Bocchi to relax as Alexandism’s performance will give them time to relax. Ryo stops by and tells Nijika that her sister took over the ticket booth to allow Ryo to watch Alexandism’s performance.

Nijika discusses how much she adores the Starry Club and the customers who stop by. Bocchi apologizes for her lackluster effort, but Nijika calms her down. She wants Bocchi to adore the club and have fun working here. However, Nijika hopes Bocchi will find the courage to speak with customers one day. As Alexandism performs, Bocchi is amazed by everyone’s harmonious energy.

She’s upset that customers paid 2,000 yen to see her poor performance. She vows to change for her new bandmates’ sake. A customer asks for orange juice, and Bocchi takes the initiative to make the lady her drink. She hands it to her while making eye contact. Nijika praises Bocchi for her effort and says she took one step forward. Bocchi departs.

At the Starry Club, Ryo and Nijika discuss how proud they are of Bocchi’s actions. Now that they’ve found stable jobs, they must find a vocalist. The episode concludes with Kita singing in a karaoke room with her friends.

The Episode Review

This episode of Bocchi the Rock carries wonderful weight and messages. It features astounding characterization for our side protagonists and excellent character progression for Bocchi. This chapter sheds light on the music industry, offering some educational value for those who aren’t aware of how concerts operate and why popularity plays a significant role in maintaining a healthy music career.

As someone who hasn’t dabbled in the music industry all that much, it was exciting to learn more about how the business functions. Seeing our girls discuss ticket quotes and school life felt naturally intriguing. Many will appreciate the staff’s decision to give each girl some time to shine besides Bocchi. That’s not to say Bocchi’s a hindrance, but it’s great to receive more background information about Ryo and Nijika’s characters.

Bocchi’s anxious behavior may feel a bit much at times. While it makes sense given her situation, the anime could’ve toned her mannerisms down a little. Nevertheless, it was exciting to see Bocchi tackle her fears head-on after receiving some encouragement from her friends, Alexandism, and others. This gives fans hope that the show will continue leading Bocchi down a righteous path.

Overall, this was a phenomenal and charming episode of Bocchi The Rock. Our characters are evolving at a solid pace. This episode’s conclusions seem to tease Kita the new vocalist for Kessoku Band. Based on her curious behavior in episode one, it’ll be fascinating to see how she’ll impact the narrative and Bocchi’s character after her proper introduction. Let’s hope this anime will continue to rock our souls.