Bocchi The Rock! – Season 1 Episode 12 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Morning Light Falls on You

Episode 12 of Bocchi The Rock begins with Kessoku Band playing their song at Shuka High’s cultural festival. After they finish their first song, Kita thanks the audience and tells the audience, Nijika wants to share something with them.

Meanwhile, Seika comments about their performance as Hiroi notices something off about Bocchi. Nijika jokes about Ryo’s poor behavior and says they should refer to Kita if they ever wonder when they’ll be playing next. Nijika completes her announcement, and the gang starts playing their next song. As they play, Bocchi realizes the 1st string to her guitar ripped off. Bocchi tries tuning the 2nd string but something malfunctions with that too.

Bocchi’s worried that she won’t be able to perform her solo act flawlessly with her guitar damaged. Kita notices Bocchi’s issues and starts improvising to give Bocchi time to work things out. Hiroi and Seika are astounded by Bocchi’s quick improvisation skills with a random bottle. Kita announces that they’ll be stopping for today because of Bocchi’s guitar damage. The crowd cheers on Bocchi and praises her for her incredible improvisation. Kita asks Bocchi to share some words.

She wonders what she should say to leave a lasting impression on the crowd. After recalling Hiroi’s crowd-surfing shenanigans, Bocchi leaps into the crowd but lands hard on the floor. Kita grows worried about her condition as Hiroi and Ryo laugh hysterically. Bocchi wakes up in her school’s nurse’s office next to Kita. Bocchi apologizes for her mild failures, but Kita reassures her that everyone loved her act. Bocchi says that she noticed she’s improved since she last heard her.

Kita admits she’s not great at drawing people in and feels she’s best at supporting others. Kita asks Bocchi to continue guiding her, calls Bocchi by her first name, and departs. Meanwhile, Kita walks past the location where she first saw Bocchi and vows to be someone who can support her to the very end. We receive a subtle montage of students cleaning up the school as its culture festival has concluded. Bocchi stares into the classroom with no one inside as two boys pass by gossiping about Bocchi’s crazy stunt.

Bocchi apologizes to her dad about her actions and breaking the guitar he gave her back then. Bocchi’s father tells her to stop bowing and not worry about it. He informs Bocchi that her breaking-guitar stunt was radical and that they sell guitars nowadays for that specific act. Bocchi’s dad suggests Bocchi get a new guitar to avoid future problems. Bocchi tells her father that she doesn’t have enough money to buy a new one, so her dad gives her a wad of cash.

Bocchi’s mother butts in and tells her the cash wasn’t obtained illegally. It’s ad revenue from her videos. Bocchi’s mother and father tell Bocchi that she’s been using their family account to post online and know about her role as Guitar Hero. He tells her that her videos have been getting views, so he applied for monetization without her knowing. He tells her that he’s happy she’s been improving her craft. However, he’s mildly sad that Bocchi’s become better at lying. In her room, Bocchi plots what to do with her 300,000 yen.

She assumes a guitar would cost her 100K, leaving her with 200K. She argues she can take the next two or so years off work with that much cash. Bocchi grows confident and plans to quit her work. She administers a yellow aura similar to Dragon Ball Z’s Super Saiyan transformation. At work, Nijika and Kita notice she’s been acting strange. Bocchi smiles at them and feels the thought of quitting her job fills her with some power. After charging her Ki, Bocchi plans to tell Seika about her withdrawal.

Bocchi confronts Seika but stumbles to ask her about quitting. Bocchi promises Seika that she’ll continue to devote her all to her work and hops into a nearby dumpster out of shame. Nijika asks Bocchi about heading to the music store with her. Bocchi feels it’d be a great opportunity since she can offer Seika something if she’d let her leave her job. Bocchi asks Nijika to ask Seika what type of gifts she’d want her to buy her. Seika tells Nijika that she doesn’t want anything, and Bocchi crumbles.

Ryo whispers into Bocchi’s ear and asks Bocchi if she can get some things. The girls head to the music store as Seika ponders how much of a nice person Bocchi is. Nijika, Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi head to Ochanomizu’s music store. Bocchi’s a bit flustered about entering the store because she doesn’t want to interact with its employees. She enters the building headbanging nonstop causing the manager and worker to question her personality. Bocchi continues headbanging while the girls explore the store.

They head to the guitar section, and Ryo tries a bass guitar but gets tired of performing too hard. They continue exploring more options as Nijika starts feeling alienated from the group for being a drummer. She asks Ryo and Kita if she should buy a guitar herself. A green-haired store worker approaches Bocchi about the guitar, and she starts feeling uncomfortable. After some conversing, Bocchi decides to buy the guitar the woman recommended. At the front desk, the woman tells Bocchi that the guitars she’s purchasing are her favorite.

How does Bocchi the Rock end?

Bocchi thanks the woman for the guitar but leaves without retrieving it. Nijika and the others catch up to Bocchi and hand her her new guitar. Nijika asks Bocchi if she wants to grab a bite to eat, but Ryo suggests they allow Bocchi to test out her newly bought instrument. As they head out, Nijika and the others start rambling about food, their next gig, and other things. At home, Bocchi looks in the mirror with her new guitar but spots her old one nearby. She apologizes for it and says she hasn’t forgotten.

Bocchi tells her folks that she’ll depart. The episode concludes with Bocchi walking alone and realizing that she has to go to work.

The Episode Review

And with that, this season of Bocchi The Rock has concluded. This episode was phenomenal from start to finish. It had tension, wonderful humor, and charming character moments between our cast. Studio Cloverworks went all out this week with its animation and visuals. From the characters’ interactions to the realistic detail in their environments, I felt like I was watching real-life people exploring the city. On that note, there was a lot of build-up to the cultural festival.

Our girls, preferably Bocchi, endured some technical issues that almost jeopardized their performance. While it was strange to see Bocchi come up with a solution on the fly, I adored seeing Kita step in to assist with the act. The whole cultural festival event had great tension. Thankfully, it all worked out, and our girls gained praise for their hard work. I wasn’t anticipating the anime to characterize Bocchi’s family in the fashion it did.

It demonstrates how caring they are toward Bocchi and her goal to become a well-loved rock star. Many viewers may get choked up during this moment. As someone who was once a YouTube influencer with a family who supported my work, this small instance hit close to home and left me teary-eyed. The other instances that followed had great humor and imagery. Many viewers will feel immersed in our girls’ conversations and exploration through the music store.

Lastly, seeing Bocchi obtain a new guitar for herself is a splendid step in the right direction. While she’s not entirely free from her shyness, this new guitar symbolizes her personal growth and development. Overall, this was a phenomenal way to conclude this part of Bocchi’s adventures from novice to rocking legend. As I write this, no news of a season two has been announced. However, the manga is currently ongoing, meaning that there’s a chance a continuation could happen in the near future.

I can’t wait to return to this beautiful world Aki Hamaji created when that time comes.