Hitori Gotoh has spent three years practicing guitar for hours every day, believing that joining a band could finally make her popular. Her ability grows, but her severe social anxiety prevents her from making friends, joining a school club, or performing in public. Online, she is far more successful: her anonymous “guitarhero” cover videos have attracted thirty thousand subscribers. After another failed attempt to invite conversation by carrying her guitar to school, Hitori sits alone in a park. Drummer Nijika Ijichi notices the instrument and urgently recruits her as a substitute guitarist for a concert that evening. At the live house STARRY, Hitori meets bassist Ryo Yamada and discovers that playing alone has not taught her how to synchronize with a group. Terrified of the audience, she performs while hidden inside a cardboard box. The set is rough, but she experiences the joy of making music with other people. Nijika gives her the nickname Bocchi and invites her to remain in Kessoku Band. Exhausted, Bocchi leaves early but resolves to overcome her anxiety and reveal her true ability.
Episode 2
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
A few days after Kessoku Band’s improvised debut, Nijika gathers Bocchi and Ryo at STARRY to discuss the band’s future. Bocchi learns that live houses commonly impose ticket quotas, meaning an unknown band can lose money whenever it performs. To fund future concerts and equipment, Nijika proposes that the members work part-time at STARRY. Bocchi is so frightened by customer service that she offers her family’s savings instead and later tries to make herself sick, but Nijika’s encouraging message persuades her to report for work. Seika Ijichi, Nijika’s stern older sister and the venue manager, trains Bocchi to clean, prepare drinks, and serve customers. Bocchi repeatedly freezes, hides, and struggles to make eye contact, yet Nijika patiently supports her. During the concert, Bocchi watches the performers and audience share the same excitement. Nijika explains that she wants Bocchi to enjoy both working and playing there. Motivated, Bocchi manages to serve a customer directly and finishes her shift. She leaves after saying “see you tomorrow,” proud of taking a small step forward, only to develop a genuine fever once she gets home.
Episode 3
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
Back at school after recovering from her fever, Bocchi remains unable to speak naturally with her classmates. Remembering that Kessoku Band still needs a singer and second guitarist, she approaches the popular Ikuyo Kita, who is rumored to have played in a band. Kita hears Bocchi practicing alone, praises her skill, and asks for guitar lessons. Bocchi brings her to STARRY, where Kita panics upon seeing Nijika and Ryo. She is revealed as the guitarist who abandoned Kessoku Band before its first concert. Kita admits that she joined because she admired Ryo, lied about being able to play, and fled when practice exposed her inexperience. She helps at the busy venue and immediately excels at customer service, causing Bocchi to feel inadequate. Although Kita intends to apologize and leave, Bocchi notices the calluses produced by her private practice. Bocchi admits that she also ran away from the stage and argues that fear does not make Kita unworthy. Nijika and Ryo welcome Kita back, while Bocchi agrees to teach her. The band becomes a quartet, and Kita begins learning on a proper guitar after discovering that her original instrument was a six-string bass.
Episode 4
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
With all four members assembled, Nijika holds a meeting about making Kessoku Band look and feel more like a real band. The group discusses merchandise, social media, promotional photographs, and an original song. Ryo will compose the music, while Bocchi is assigned to write the lyrics. Eager to impress the others, Bocchi promises quick results, then discovers that every cheerful, youthful lyric she invents feels false or shallow. During a trip around Shimokitazawa for promotional photographs, Kita’s ease with cameras and social media intensifies Bocchi’s insecurity. She fears that opening an account would turn her into someone who constantly begs for attention. Later, Ryo finds Bocchi alone and explains why she left her former band: its members began chasing fashionable sounds until their music lost the individuality that had united them. Ryo advises Bocchi not to imitate someone else’s personality and says that honest lyrics can become Kessoku Band’s identity. Bocchi rewrites the song around her own loneliness, frustration, and desire to connect. Ryo accepts the lyrics and begins composing. Looking at the group photo afterward, Bocchi realizes that being in the band is gradually giving her experiences she never had before.
Episode 5
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
Kessoku Band finishes its first original song and asks Seika for a place on STARRY’s next concert schedule. Rather than grant Nijika special treatment, Seika requires the group to pass an audition. The decision shocks the members, who spend the following week practicing intensely. Bocchi begins questioning her own motives for joining. Nijika wants to build a successful band, Kita works steadily to become worthy of performing, and Ryo has committed herself to creating distinctive music, while Bocchi still dreams of popularity and an escape from ordinary school life. At the audition, anxiety makes the quartet play cautiously and prevents Bocchi from using the skill she displays online. As she watches her bandmates struggle, she recognizes that Kessoku Band has become important to her for reasons beyond attention. Bocchi starts playing with greater force and confidence, giving the others a stable lead to follow. Their performance improves enough for Seika to approve the concert. She later explains that the audition was necessary to test their readiness, not simply to obstruct Nijika. The band celebrates passing, but Bocchi’s relief disappears when she learns that each member must personally sell five tickets for the upcoming show.
Episode 6
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
Bocchi must sell five tickets for Kessoku Band’s concert, but her parents can account for only two, leaving three with no obvious buyers. Too embarrassed to admit that she has no friends to invite, she pretends to her family and bandmates that sales are going well. She prepares handmade flyers but cannot summon the courage to approach strangers. While wandering in despair, Bocchi finds an intoxicated woman collapsed near an alley and buys her water, medicine, and food. The woman introduces herself as Kikuri Hiroi, a bassist in a working band. After noticing Bocchi’s guitar and learning about her problem, Kikuri proposes an impromptu street performance. Bocchi initially freezes when pedestrians stop to watch, but Kikuri explains that most people are not waiting for her to fail and that anxiety often invents a hostile audience. Bocchi gradually focuses on the music and plays confidently beside her. Two listeners enjoy the performance enough to buy tickets, giving Bocchi her first self-earned fans. Kikuri purchases the final ticket herself and promises to attend the concert. Bocchi proudly reports that she met her quota, although the other members mistakenly assume she is lying to protect her pride.
Episode 7
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
Nijika and Kita visit Bocchi’s home to design matching T-shirts for Kessoku Band’s upcoming concert. Because she has never invited friends over, Bocchi prepares an excessive welcome banner, decorations, games, and snacks, then becomes embarrassed by her own enthusiasm. Her younger sister Futari and the family dog quickly befriend the visitors, while Bocchi struggles to join their easy conversation. When her parents return, they are astonished that their daughter’s bandmates are real and not imaginary or hired companions. Their stories about Bocchi’s preparations expose how eagerly she anticipated the visit. The group tries to design a shirt, but discussions trigger Bocchi’s memories of school sports days, and the afternoon drifts into food, a romance movie, and party games. Kita and Nijika also persuade Bocchi to try clothes her mother bought, briefly revealing a different appearance before the attention overwhelms her. By evening, they have accomplished almost nothing. A few days later, Nijika presents a simple Kessoku Band logo that becomes the final design. The members prepare for the concert and make weather charms after hearing about an approaching typhoon. Despite their optimism, the storm unexpectedly changes course toward Tokyo on the day of the show.
Episode 8
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
A typhoon strikes on the day of Kessoku Band’s first full concert, causing many friends and relatives to cancel. Kikuri and the two listeners from Bocchi’s street performance still arrive, but the audience remains sparse and unfamiliar with the opening act. Nijika tries to stay positive, yet the discouraging atmosphere affects the band once it begins playing. Nijika loses the beat, Kita makes mistakes, and Ryo falls out of sync. Bocchi hears audience members dismissing them and recognizes that the performance is collapsing. Refusing to let the others remain trapped by their nerves, she launches into an unplanned guitar introduction before the second song. Her assertive playing restores the group’s timing and confidence, allowing them to finish the set successfully. At the after-party, Seika and the others acknowledge Bocchi’s decisive contribution. Later, Nijika tells Bocchi that she has recognized her as the online guitarist “guitarhero.” Bocchi admits she hid the identity because she feared disappointing anyone who compared her awkward real-life playing with her videos. Nijika then shares her own goal: making Kessoku Band successful and turning STARRY, the venue Seika created for her, into a famous live house. She believes Bocchi can help that dream come true.
Episode 9
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
After the successful concert, Bocchi expects Kessoku Band to spend part of summer vacation together. Instead, the others remain busy, and she waits passively for an invitation until the final day of the break. When Nijika, Ryo, and Kita realize that nobody included her in any plans, they cancel practice and take her to Enoshima. Bocchi is initially overwhelmed by the beach, crowds, and men promoting a party, but the group escapes and begins sightseeing. They share a giant octopus cracker, take photographs, and climb toward Enoshima Shrine. Ryo repeatedly tries to obtain food or money from Kita, while Bocchi suffers through the stairs and is attacked by black kites that steal food. The excursion is physically exhausting and far less glamorous than the youthful summer memories Bocchi imagined. Even so, the mishaps become enjoyable because she experiences them with her bandmates. On the train home, she admits that she had fun and wishes they could have spent more time together. Nijika suggests making more memories during winter vacation, although Bocchi objects to going out every day. The next morning, her aching body makes returning to school difficult, but she now has a shared summer memory.
Episode 10
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
As preparations begin for Shuka High School’s cultural festival, Bocchi notices an application for groups wishing to perform on the gymnasium stage. She is tempted by her fantasy of becoming admired through a school concert, but she also imagines humiliation before classmates and cannot submit the form. At STARRY, Nijika and Kita express interest in playing, while Ryo argues that Bocchi should decide because it is her school. Kita later finds the discarded application and submits it, mistakenly believing Bocchi lost it by accident. Horrified, Bocchi considers withdrawing, and Kita feels guilty after learning the truth. Before the issue is resolved, Kikuri invites Kessoku Band to see her group SICK HACK at the Shinjuku live house FOLT. Their intense psychedelic performance shows Bocchi how commanding Kikuri can be despite her chaotic behavior. Afterward, Kikuri reveals that she was once a withdrawn student who began music for many of the same reasons as Bocchi. She explains that fear never vanished; drinking became her unhealthy way of facing the stage. Kikuri promises to attend the school concert. Encouraged by the performance and conversation, Bocchi thanks Kita for submitting the application and says she is now looking forward to playing at the festival.
Episode 11
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
On the first day of Shuka High School’s cultural festival, Nijika and Ryo visit Bocchi’s class, only to learn that she disappeared after changing into a maid uniform. With Kita’s help, they search the quietest parts of the school and find Bocchi hiding near storage equipment. She has also realized that months of band activity kept her from updating the “guitarhero” channel, making her fear that her online supporters will forget her. The others bring her back into the festival and encourage her to enjoy the day rather than dwell on the next morning’s performance. Together they visit attractions, eat snacks, and win a large prize. Bocchi eventually returns to her class’s maid café, where her customer-service experience at STARRY helps only slightly. Kita, Nijika, and Ryo join the café in costume and attract far more attention, but their support allows the class to finish successfully. Afterward, Kessoku Band inspects the gymnasium stage and discusses the large potential audience, Bocchi’s old borrowed guitar, and their concert introductions. The next day, relatives, friends, classmates, Seika, and Kikuri gather in the gym. Nervous but surrounded by familiar faces, the four members place their hands together and walk onstage as Kessoku Band.
Episode 12
あらすじ
選択した言語がないため、Englishで表示しています。
Kessoku Band begins its school festival concert before a large, enthusiastic audience. The opening song goes well, and Bocchi hears classmates cheering her real name. During the second number, however, a guitar string snaps and a damaged tuning peg makes another string unusable just before her planned solo. Kita extends her own part to give Bocchi time, trusting her to find a solution. Bocchi uses an empty glass container as a slide and completes an improvised solo, preserving the performance. When Kita then invites her to address the crowd, Bocchi panics and attempts a stage dive, but the audience moves aside and she falls to the floor. After recovering, she apologizes, while Kita explains that she wants to improve as a supporting guitarist whom Bocchi can rely on. At home, Bocchi’s father reveals that he monetized her “guitarhero” videos through the family account and saved the advertising revenue. He encourages her to replace the worn guitar she borrowed from him. Bocchi visits Ochanomizu with her bandmates, struggles to communicate with the music-store staff, and chooses a new instrument with Kita’s assistance. The festival ends, but Kessoku Band’s rehearsals, jobs, and plans continue as part of Bocchi’s changed daily life.