Is The Bocchi the Rock! Manga Finished or Ongoing?
Bocchi the Rock! is a Japanese yonkoma manga series by Aki Hamaji, published in Hōbunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Max magazine in December 2017. The series currently has five collected volumes. An anime series adaptation produced by the studio CloverWorks aired between October and December 2022. In this article, we are going to tell you whether the Bocchi the Rock! series is actually finished or you can expect more content in the future.
Bocchi the Rock! is a series consisting of two works – a manga series and an anime series – and both of these works are still ongoing and are not finished. The manga series has been ongoing since December 19, 2017, and has 5 volumes as of the time of writing, while the anime series has been ongoing since October 9, 2022; although a second season has not been confirmed, it is likely going to be. There is no foreseeable ending for any of these works as of the time of writing.
The rest of this article is going to focus on the publication of Bocchi the Rock! series and all its aspects. We’re going to go over the whole publication history and ultimately tell you whether the Bocchi the Rock! series is over or still ongoing so that you know how much material from this great series you can expect.
Is the Bocchi the Rock! manga over?
Bocchi the Rock! is written and drawn by Aki Hamaji. The series has been published in Hōbunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Max magazine since December 19, 2017, and is still ongoing. The serialization became regular on March 19, 2018. As of November 26, 2022, five volumes have been released. Bocchi the Rock! is actually a yonkoma manga and for those that are not acquainted with the term, we are going to explain it briefly.
A yonkoma manga is a type of manga with four panels arranged vertically, most often humorous. It is similar to the comic strip present in Western comic books. It has its origins in the Japanese daily press. Mangaka uses them a lot in their bound publications because they are used to fill the blank pages at the end of the chapter which corresponds to advertising pages in publication magazines.
Traditionally, a yonkoma follows a structure known as a kishōtenketsu (Japanese: 起承転結). This term comes from ancient China and is composed of the following Chinese characters: Ki (起), the first box is the basis of the story, it sets the scene; Shō (承), the second panel derives from the first and develops the story; Ten (転/轉), the third box is the high point, it is in this one that an unforeseen event occurs; Ketsu (結), the fourth box is the conclusion, taking into account the upheaval of the third box. Such manga are quite rare in mainstream manga culture, but Bocchi the Rock! is a nice example.
As for the volumes, they are:
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 27, 2019 | 978-4-8322-7072-5 |
| 2 | February 27, 2020 | 978-4-8322-7170-8 |
| 3 | February 25, 2021 | 978-4-8322-7252-1 |
| 4 | August 26, 2022 | 978-4-8322-7388-7 |
| 5 | November 26, 2022 | 978-4-8322-7419-8 |
As of the time of writing this article, the Bocchi the Rock! The manga series is quite alive and well. There are absolutely no signs of cancelation, and while the story certainly is slowly approaching its final arc, there is no news about any cancelation or the series reaching its end as of this moment, which means that there is still a lot more of the manga to enjoy.
Is the Bocchi the Rock! anime over?
On February 18, 2021, we saw the announcement of an anime television series based on Bocchi the Rock! manga. The series was created by CloverWorks, and directed by Keiichirō Saitō, with Yūsuke Yamamoto serving as his assistant. Erika Yoshida wrote the scripts, Kerorira created the character designs, and Tomoki Kikuya provided the soundtrack for the anime series. On October 9, 2022, Tokyo MX and a number of other Japanese TV channels started airing the series. The opening theme, “Seishun Complex,” and the closing theme, “Distortion!!,” are both performed by the Kessoku Band. Outside of Asia, Crunchyroll streamed the series. On Aniplus Asia and Bilibili, it is broadcast across Southeast Asia by Plus Media Networks Asia. The season was organized as follows:
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Lonely Rolling Bocchi” Transcription: “Korogaru Botchi” (Japanese: 転がるぼっち) | Keiichirō Saitō | Erika Yoshida | Keiichirō Saitō | October 9, 2022 |
| 2 | “See You Tomorrow” Transcription: “Mata Ashita” (Japanese: また明日) | Yoshiyuki Fujiwara | Erika Yoshida | Keiichirō Saitō | October 16, 2022 |
| 3 | “Be Right There” Transcription: “Hase Sanzu” (Japanese: 馳せサンズ) | Yūsuke Yamamoto | Erika Yoshida | Yūsuke Yamamoto | October 23, 2022 |
| 4 | “Jumping Girl(s)” Transcription: “Janpingu Gāru(zu)” (Japanese: ジャンピングガール(ズ)) | Nobuhide Kariya | Erika Yoshida | Nobuhide Kariya | October 30, 2022 |
| 5 | “Flightless Fish” Transcription: “Tobenai Sakana” (Japanese: 飛べない魚) | Yūsuke Kawakami | Erika Yoshida | Yūsuke Kawakami | November 6, 2022 |
| 6 | “Eight Views” Transcription: “Hakkei” (Japanese: 八景) | Yoshiyuki Fujiwara | Erika Yoshida | Yoshiyuki Fujiwara | November 13, 2022 |
| 7 | “To Your House” Transcription: “Kimi no Uchi Made” (Japanese: 君の家まで) | Keisuke Shinohara | Erika Yoshida | Janchiki Amata | November 20, 2022 |
| 8 | “Bocchi the Rock” Transcription: “Botchi za Rokku” (Japanese: ぼっち・ざ・ろっく) | Takeshi Seo | Erika Yoshida | Keiichirō Saitō | November 27, 2022 |
| 9 | “Enoshima Escar” Transcription: “Enoshima Esukā” (Japanese: 江ノ島エスカー) | Yoshihiro Hiramine | Erika Yoshida | Yoshihiro Hiramine | December 4, 2022 |
| 10 | “After Dark” Transcription: “Afutā Dāku” (Japanese: アフターダーク) | Yūsuke Kawakami | Erika Yoshida | Yūsuke Kawakami | December 11, 2022 |
| 11 | “Duodecimal Sunset” Transcription: “Jūnishinhō no Yūkei” (Japanese: 十二進法の夕景) | Yūsuke Yamamoto | Erika Yoshida | Yūsuke Yamamoto | December 18, 2022 |
| 12 | “Morning Light Falls on You” Transcription: “Kimi ni Asa ga Furu” (Japanese: 君に朝が降る) | Keiichirō Saitō | Erika Yoshida | Keiichirō Saitō | December 25, 2022 |
Everything we’ve said about the manga above can be applied to the anime series as well. Although we haven’t received official confirmation of a second season of Bocchi the Rock! (the second still hasn’t aired, thought), the popularity of the manga and the initial anime adaptations make it almost a certain thing, so we can confirm that the anime is not over either and that we are going to see more of the anime in the future. We just don’t know when.