The Fall 2022 anime season saw the release of a musical adventure in the form of Bocchi The ROCK, an anime about an introverted high schooler who desperately wants to form a band. At first glance, the premise of Bocchi The ROCK is reminiscent of something from decades past; a musical anime where, like this one, high school girls form a rock band, with the journey of the protagonist following from her beginner stage leading up to her mastery of one cool instrument: the guitar. With it being so similar at first glance, is it fair to see Bocchi The ROCK solely as a different interpretation of the same idea as the legendary 2010 Kyoto Animation music anime title, K-ON!? Or is this new kid on the block going to carve a name out for itself and turn out to be something entirely different?

Light Music Club while looking for an afterschool club to join. Mistaking the "Light" in the club name to mean "easy" or beginner-level, Yui is shocked to find out that the Light Music Club is in dire need of members who can actually play an instrument. She apologizes for her misunderstanding and tries to leave; however, the club members do everything in their power to get her to join, eventually playing a piece of music for her. When Yui hears the Light Music Club play, it convinces her to join the club and learn how to play the guitar. It's a light and comedic anime that also has that KyoAni charm.

Bocchi the ROCK is centered on the main character Hitori "Bocchi" Goto, who is shown at various stages of her life to illustrate her difficulty with forming friendships and feeling included. As a result of a childhood of being largely on her own, sharing meals with teachers instead of friends during class outings and her immense social anxiety, Hitori finds herself desperately wanting to make these significant connections but finding no way to do so effectively. This changes when, in her first year of middle school, Hitori catches a glimpse of a television interview of a famous band's lead singer and guitarist.

Aside from the surface-level similarities like their centering on a young girl who learns how to play the guitar, and become a great musician; or the female-only main casts, K-ON! and Bocchi the ROCK don't develop into a similar kind of story at all. For one, Bocchi the ROCK is a bit more on the serious side, with there being several emotionally charged moments in the first few episodes. It is very clearly a careful exploration into Hitori's journey; and comparing the main characters, Hitori's learning and practice when it comes to playing an instrument is skipped to make for a show with higher stakes.

In K-ON!, the adorable characters and comedy slice of life feel keep the overall stakes of Yui's character low, and while it is about her journey into music, the K-ON! series shines mostly because of the relationships formed between Yui and her band members as she comes to learn and contribute to their musical success. Bocchi the ROCK is not necessarily doom and gloom; however, Hitori simply does not have Yui's boisterous and outgoing personality, and actually struggles with aspects like self-esteem and confidence. Hitori's journey with music is much more personal as she attempts to use it as her conduit towards forming connections with other people – music is Hitori's way out of loneliness, while it is really only Yui's into her mandatory club commitments at school, at least at first.

1. What's the biggest difference between Hitori and Yui?

A. Hitori is more introverted than Yui.

B. Hitori is more talented in learning guitar than Yui.

C. Hitori's character is more depth to than Yui's,

D. Hitori has more emotions and standpoint than Yui.

2. What can we infer from paragraph 4 and 5?

A. Both of Bocchi The ROCK and K-ON! have adorable characters.

B. The main character of two animes are very hard to learn the guitar.

C. Hitori and Yui all like playing the guitar very much.

D. Bocchi The ROCK and K-ON! have similarities end.

3. How did Hitori start playing the guitar?

A. Her father wanted her to be a great musician.

B. She wanted to play the guitar with her close friends.

C. She desired to be noticed and make friends with others.

D. She caught an interview of a band's lead singer and guitarist.

4. How can we describe Hitori Gotoh?

A. Popular and helpful.?????????????????????? B. Confident and open-minded.

C. Adorable and friendly.??????????????????? D. Determined and serious.