Enoshima Escar
Bocchi The Rock’s final days of summer break begin with the bandmates trying to help Bocchi out. But Bocchi doesn’t know how to approach them and is left feeling lost.
Bocchi attempts to text Nijika about setting something up but folds. She hopes someone else can set up a hang-out instead before Summer concludes. Nijika, Ryo, and Kita discuss Bocchi’s strange habits. Seika approaches them and asks if they know why Bocchi’s been participating in bizarre activities around Starry club. Kita wonders if Bocchi’s overwhelmed with today being the last day of summer break. ..
“I asked Bocchi what she does during her breaks from work. Bocchi explains that she attempts to give her sister Futari guitar lessons. However, Futari abandons Bocchi’s practice sessions to spend more time with her friends over summer break. This bothers Bocchi as she doesn’t like being called a home dweller by Futari, and her words led to Bocchi spending several days in bed.”
Kita discusses her tight schedule. She wanted to invite Bocchi to events but felt that Bocchi would feel uncomfortable around people she didn’t know. Nijika explains that she spends her time cleaning at home or working at the Starry club–so she couldn’t find time for Bocchi. Ryo argues that she expected Nijika or Kita to invite Bocchi to things, but they come to the realization that nobody ever invites Bocchi out. ..
Kita and the others approach Bocchi and ask if she wants to attend a trip to the beach with them. Bocchi asks if it’d interfere with their practice sessions, but Nijika says they can schedule for another time. Kita argues it’s best to make their last day of summer break memorable. Bocchi ponders over a romantic movie she watched involving a couple on the beach. She becomes docile.
Nijika and Ryo are on a train heading to Enoshima. They discuss their differing school policies and how they think the school is Liberal. Kita realizes they attend a prep school and assumes Ryo and Nijika are brilliant students.
Nijika and Ryo confirm that they are not the brightest students and say that they only attended that school because it was closest to home. Kita wonders how they passed their entrance exams, as Nijika reveals Ryo’s the type of person that benefits from cramming and studying for exams the night before. However, Ryo forgets everything she learned after completing her tests.
Kita tries to remove this new information from her mind as it hurts her fantasy of Ryo’s character. The gang turns to Bocchi. Ryo wonders why Bocchi’s so isolated at school because she’s a fun person to be around. Nijika confirms that Bocchi’s dream is to drop out of school, but Kita doesn’t want to believe it. They hop off the train, and Ryo heads to an ice cream booth to get a cone.
They arrive at the beach, and Bocchi finally snaps out of her docile state. Bocchi gazes at the beach and tries remembering the last time she visited one. Her gaze is ruined by a man who wants Bocchi and her friends to attend his beach shack. He attempts to flirt with Bocchi as she’s astounded by his party animal aura. Bocchi pops from her nervousness, and the gang runs away from the beach boys.
After a photoshoot at a Takosen stand, the gang heads to Enoshima Shrine. However, Kita doesn’t want to climb the stairs with them and asks them to do it instead. Ryo and the others don’t want to, but Kita’s aura entices them to proceed. However, everyone except for Kita struggle to reach the top.
Bocchi notices an escalator and suggests they take it instead. They realize they have to pay to use the escalator. Ryo tries persuading the ticket booth worker to let them aboard by offering her bass guitars. They head onto the escalator as Bocchi asks Ryo if she’ll pay her back next month. Bocchi admits that Ryo never paid her back before, so Nijika says she’ll take it out of Ryo’s pay. ..
Ryo, Nijika, and Bocchi are thrilled to have reached the top and take a selfie to celebrate their achievement. They head for the observation deck as Kita takes in the view. Ryo, Nijika, and Kita are thrilled that this place has air conditioning. Seconds later, these three depart from the observation deck since Kita fulfilled her wish. Somewhere in Enoshima, Bocchi and her friends rest and delve into some ice cream.
It appears that Bocchi paid for her treatment as she asks them to remember to pay her back. Bocchi hears some whistling noises in the distance, and Kita remarks how they like to steal human food. The birds swoop in and steal Bocchi’s ice cream. Then an army of them attacks Bocchi, leaving her in a similar state to Yamcha from Dragon Ball Z.
After Nijika shoes the bird away, Kita picks up Bocchi and requests that they visit Enoshima’s shrines. They visit a shrine that belongs to the goddess of music and performing arts. They throw their coins down a drain and pray in front of the shrine. While departing Nijika tells Bocchi that she noticed how hard she was praying at the shrine.
However, it turns out that Bocchi wanted the goddess to revert time to the first day of Summer or to give her fame and fortune. The gang head back on the train that’ll return Ryo and Nijika to Shimo-kita and Bocchi and Kita to Fujisawa. Bocchi reflects upon her day today and tells Kita that she enjoyed hanging out with them. Bocchi argues she now has the confidence to face school.
Bocchi’s summer memory is causing her immense pain. She can’t get out of bed because she has walked so much yesterday. At school, Kita meets with her friends, who tell her how much they enjoyed seeing her Isstagram photos of Enoshima.
The camera pans to a flier about the Shuka Festival. It concludes and reveals that the school is looking for performers.
The Episode Review
Although the events of this week were relatively calm, they set up a new obstacle for Kessoku Band in their path. This obstacle provides viewers with some comforting vibes and enjoyable humor, which helps the girls wind down after their heart-pounding performance. ..
This chapter highlights the differences between our characters well. While some jokes felt more repetitive than others, our girls interact with each other in authentic ways. Fans will love learning about Nijika and Ryo’s school lives, as it wasn’t explored heavily before.
The chapter had me laughing out loud. Seeing Bocchi adopt Yamcha’s death pose from the Dragon Ball Z Saiyan Saga was great. However, some one-off remarks like Ryo stating her fondness for air conditioners made me chuckle. There were many scenes like this in Bocchi The Rock that are funny and hold a great impression. ..
This set piece was relaxing and wholesome. While I’m excited to see what will transpire at the Shuka Festival, I’m a bit nervous about Bocchi The Rock. With only a few episodes left, I’m unsure how the show will come to a solid close. We’ll have to hope that the series can deliver a solid final act that’s on par with the quality shown in last week’s performance.
