Flightless Fish
Episode 5 of Bocchi The Rock begins with Nijika’s sister (Seika) handing Kessoku Band their first checks. Bocchi ponders what she’d like to buy with it, but Nijika notes that she’ll be collecting everyone’s funds. She needs cash to pay for the concert quota. Nijika suggests making an album and music video, but Kita informs her of the costs. If they plan on selling albums and shooting music videos, they’ll need to work another job over summer break to cover it. Bocchi’s not pleased after hearing that and offers to take out a loan to pay for those costs. Ryo switches the topic and says she finished crafting their song from Bocchi’s lyrics. The gang listens to it and enjoys it. Nijika’s thrilled that she’s getting closer to accomplishing her dreams. She leaves the group for a moment to make arrangements for them to play at the Starry Club next month. Seika refuses to let them hold a concert because she doesn’t believe they have the skill to pull off a phenomenal performance. She only allowed her to hold a concert previously because Nijika wanted to make a memory. Seika tells Nijika to stick to playing the band as a hobby, infuriating Nijika. Nijika departs after making a parting shot toward Seika. Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi plan to comfort Nijika, but Seika tells her to stay behind. Meanwhile, Nijika purchases a drink at a concession stand while confronted by Kita and Ryo. Nijika’s upset with Seika’s sour attitude. Suddenly, Bocchi arrives and informs Nijika about what Seika told her. Apparently, Seika told Bocchi they must audition for a chance to play at Starry Club. She promises to watch their performance. They can hold another concert at Starry Club if they perform well in the audition. Everyone is pumped for the audition as Ryo informs Kita and Bocchi about her plan to impress Seika. Kita’s surprised that the others don’t find Bocchi’s guitar playing phenomenal. She recalls her encounter with her in episode three and argues that Bocchi’s a grand guitarist. However, she wonders if it was dumb luck. They try to ponder what Seika will be looking for regarding their audition. Later in the day, Bocchi helps Kita practice guitar at school. Kita assumes they must show Seika how much they’ve grown as a band. Kita asks Bocchi to stick with her until the day of the audition. Sometime later, Nijika arrives at Starry Club with some goodies. However, she’s stunned by Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi’s appearance. Kita and Bocchi look identical to Ryo now regarding hairstyle and attire. Kita argues this is the best way to show their growth as a band. Nijika finds this situation silly and argues they should focus on practicing then trying to dress to impress. We get a montage of the girls practicing for Saturday’s audition. While this occurs, we receive a monologue from Bocchi. She discusses the idea behind growth and wonders what it means to grow as a band. On the night before their audition, Nijika asks everyone to get a good night’s rest for the audition. As Bocchi walks home, Nijika tells her to wait. Nijika spots a vending machine and purchases a cola for her. Nijika apologizes to Bocchi for getting her roped into joining Kessoku Band. Nijika recalls never asking Bocchi what type of band she wanted to participate in or her reasons for playing in Kessoku Band now. Bocchi hesitates to tell her it was for popularity. Meanwhile, Nijika admits everyone has their reasons. She discusses how people no longer need to perform in live concerts to gain popularity. Nijika notes how people can post videos on social media to get their music out there. In her mind, Bocchi agrees since she enjoyed posting clips on Oh! Tube under her guitarhero alias. Nijika apologizes for her fired-up attitude, as she really wants to make her dream a reality. She doesn’t want to hold Bocchi against her will. Bocchi tells Nijika not to worry about it and asks if Nijika’s dream is to make Kessoku Band popular to the point that they can perform at the Budokan. Nijika says that’s only part of her dream as she doesn’t want to unveil the whole thing to her yet. Nijika departs. On audition day, Kessoku Band set up their instruments in front of Seika and PA-san. At the same time, Bocchi declares in her mind that she contemplated all night about her reasons for playing in Kessoku Band now. Nijika introduces everyone and tells her sister they’ll perform a new song called “Guitar, Solitude, and the Blue Planet.” As they perform, Bocchi dwells in her thoughts. Her goal now is to stay with Kessoku Band and help them achieve high popularity, despite not knowing what growth means. She also wants to make Nijika’s actual dream come true and plans to give it her all in this audition. Once they finish playing, the girls thank Seika for allowing them to audition. Seika says they were good but points out everyone’s flaws. Seika wonders why they’re not cheering as PA-san says they passed. Nijika’s upset about Seika’s deceptive attitude as the others stares at her in shock. Kita and Bocchi celebrate as Nijika walks over to Ryo. She tells Ryo that Bocchi’s grown a lot since their first encounter. Bocchi is filled with immense joy to the point that she vomits. We receive a humorous real-world clip of a water dam as an intermission. The girls comfort Bocchi, and Ryo mentions that she thought of their next song. Kita suggests taking a group photo to celebrate. At her table, Seika glances at Bocchi. Seika knows Bocchi’s a phenomenal guitarist. However, what’s holding Bocchi back is her lack of experience performing in a group and her low self-confidence. As they get a bucket of water to clean the floor, Bocchi notices Seika staring at her. Still in thought, Seika claims Bocchi needs someone to acknowledge her talent to give her the confidence she needs to succeed. Seika attempts to notify Bocchi of her talent, but Bocchi gets startled by her approach. Kessoku Band shoots their group photo on the stage. PA-san and Seika discuss the band’s audition. PA-san asks Seika to admit that she liked them from the very beginning. She notes how she left a window open in the concert schedule for them and asks why she’d tease them like that. Seika argues she wanted to put them on when they were ready. She knows Kessoku Band has great potential. This is why Seika felt the need to go hard on them to help them grow. Bocchi and her friends cheer with glee. Ryo tells Bocchi she’s looking forward to her new lyrics. Bocchi can’t wait to see where this journey takes her. Meanwhile, Nijika informs them that the ticket quota is twenty at 1,500 yen each. They must all sell five tickets. The episode concludes with Bocchi undergoing a downward spiral when she realizes she’ll need to sell her fifth ticket to a stranger.
The Episode Review
If there is one term to describe this chapter, it would be growth. Everyone learned what it meant to work as a unit. Although this episode’s outcome was predictable, seeing our girls practice individually and as a team–put a smile on my face. It also gave us a glimpse into Nijika’s mindset, which is appreciative. The anime didn’t expand upon her character as much as the others. Despite being Kessoku Band’s leader, we didn’t know much about Nijika besides her dream to become famous with her bandmates. While the episode teases that there’s more to Nijika’s dream than meets the eye, fans will be delighted to see how the show handled her this time. Bocchi continues developing into a mature protagonist. She still has her comedic and anxious quirks, but Bocchi’s progress is undeniable. She’s not only fighting for her dreams but for the goals of her newfound companions. Not only did Bocchi impress her friends, but she gained the attention of a club manager, which is worth praising. Overall, this episode raised the stakes for our girls and pushed them toward their absolute limits. Their audition was stellar both visually and thematically. Although they have a few issues they need to address, it feels like they’re on the right path. Let’s hope Bocchi The Rock can continue the momentum by adding more stakes, music playing, and emotionally-driven segments.
