Extremely anxious and socially awkward Hitori Gotō longs to become a rock musician in spite of her struggles, while fulfilling her desires to one day make friends.

However, she did not have any actual experience being in a band or playing an instrument prior to the making of the series, so she conducted extensive research by doing things like asking an acquaintance more familiar with the indie band scene, listening and reading more about the culture, and visiting places that are prominent to the scene (like the live house Shelter in Shimokitazawa, which would end up being the model for the live house Starry).

As it so happened, Aniplex had just recently proposed such a project to CloverWorks, as Umehara learned when he inquired to his superior, Yuichi Fukishima, about the possibility.

"[19] Kerorira additionally said that Hitori's withdrawn nature made it more difficult to depict her emotions visually compared to those of the other characters.

from its original 4-koma format, Saitō and Yoshida introduced numerous substantial differences from the source material, such as rearranging events and altering some jokes to aid the anime version's pacing and surreal presentation.

This was done both for storytelling considerations such as the direction and pacing of certain scenes and also to present Hitori more empathetically by showing that the supporting cast did not regard her as pathetically as she would be wont to believe.

[19] Saitō said that whether or not a conversation between the supporting cast occurring during these moments needed to be depicted in detail or not was one of the most difficult aspects of the production.

The recording was then adapted into a computer-generated previsualization so that the animators could establish their preferred shot direction for the scenes using a virtual camera system.

[48] It was produced by CloverWorks and directed by Keiichirō Saitō, with Yūsuke Yamamoto serving as assistant director, Erika Yoshida writing the series' scripts, Kerorira designing the characters, and Tomoki Kikuya composing the music.

[61] The films currently have been screened overseas in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), France, UK and Australia by Crunchyroll, South Korea by Daewon Media, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau by Mighty Media and the South East Asia (the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand) by Odex.

Most of these songs had a digital single released individually on various streaming platforms on the same day as their anime debuts: "Seishun Complex" and "Distortion!!"

A full single of Seishun Complex, including the B side track "Hitoribocchi Tokyo" (played in the teaser video of the series) and instrumental versions of both songs released on October 12, 2022, on digital platforms and in physical stores.

[74] On June 9, 2024, Kessoku Band released another single titled "Tsukinami ni Kagayake / Ima, Boku, Andāguraundo kara" featuring the opening and ending theme for the first half of the compilation film for the anime.

[76][77] On August 11, 2024, the opening ("Doppelganger") and ending ("Re:Re:") to the second part of the film was released as a digital single along with Sick Hack's "Watashi Dake Yūrei".

[79] An additional venue and date was announced later to be held on February 15, 2025, at Main Arena, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza Tokyo under the name We Will B.

[80] At We Will B, the four voice actresses from Kessoku Band made a surprise appearance and performed "Flashbacker" live playing their character's respective instruments.

The cast includes Mamo Mamono as Hitori Gotō, Miki Ohtake as Nijika Ijichi, Karin Osanai as Ryō Yamada, and Mirai Ohmori as Ikuyo Kita.

[90] The anime was not as highly anticipated by audiences as many more previously established series airing at the same time, such as Chainsaw Man and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

Models used specifically by the characters (like the Gibson Les Paul and Yamaha Pacifica guitars used by Bocchi) went out of stock, with no definite restock date.

[95] Shimokitazawa, particularly the Shelter live house that Starry is based on, also recorded an increase in visitors making otaku pilgrimages to places appearing in the series.

A sign written in English, Japanese, and Korean was installed by Shelter to discourage visitors from descending the iconic stairs to its side entrance.

The official website of the series subsequently issued a reminder to fans to behave properly when visiting such places and to support paid performances.

[104] Christopher Farris complimented the manga's first volume and described Hitori "Bocchi" Gotō: "She's technically the least-suited person to be standing in the spotlight of anything, but that means most of the entertainment value manifests in the way she's a commanding cringe callout post for readers who relate even a little bit to her litany of struggles."

Christopher also highlighted the dramatic and humorous moments about not just Bocchi's anxieties and the natural talent but the overall struggles of forming and following the path of a performing band.

[113][114] It was certified gold in January 2023 and later platinum in May 2024 by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) after it reached more than 100,000 and 250,000 physical sales, respectively.

Nicholas Dupree opined that Hitori's character felt "authentic" to "the kind of introverted kid who would wear band merch and carry their guitar to school in a bid to seem interesting" and was particularly enthusiastic about following the show, saying it was "so laser-targeted at my tastes."

Rebecca Silverman's response, in contrast, was middling, as while she agreed that Hitori was relatable, she believed that the anime "seems to conflate introversion and social anxiety" and did not like the visuals.

Richard Eisenbeis said that the story had "solid lessons being told" but said that the humor (which he called "cringe comedy") was not to his taste, but acknowledged that others who enjoyed the jokes would find the anime more palatable.

[1] In a review for IGN, Rafael Motamayor strongly praised the anime for its story, themes, and visual creativity, comparing it favorably to K-On!

Motamayor also highlighted the similarity in the premise between Bocchi and Komi Can't Communicate and opined that the former improved on the latter by not "making light of" Hitori's personality for the sake of its humor.