Enoshima Escar
Episode 9 of Bocchi The Rock begins with Bocchi wanting to make her final days of summer break count. She suggests hanging out with her fellow bandmates but doesn’t know how to approach them. 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. Seika recalls asking 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 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. 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 says it’s best to seize this chance and head for Enoshima. On a train, the gang converses about their differing school policies. Kita argues their school is liberal and has fun cultural festivals. Nijika confirms her and Ryo’s school’s strict, the festivals super uptight, and that it leans heavily into science-like subjects. Kita realizes they attend a prep school and assumes Ryo and Nijika are brilliant students. Nijika and Ryo confirm they’re not the brightest students and say 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 removing 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. They head to a Takosen stand to get some grub. Kita asks the gang to huddle together for a selfie. After the photoshoot, Bocchi tears up, and thanks her friends for taking her out for the day. Kita asks the others to climb Enoshima Shrine’s stairs with her. Ryo and the others don’t want to, but Kita’s aura entices them to proceed. Everyone except for Kita struggle to reach the top. Bocchi recognizes an escalator and suggests they take that 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. Nijika, Ryo, 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 Bocchi paid for their 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. In her mind, Bocchi hopes this summer memory will provide her with enough fuel to last through winter break. The next day, Bocchi struggles to get out of bed because she experiences immense pain from all the walking she did yesterday. At school, Kita meets with her friends, who remark how she loved her Isstagram photos of Enoshima. The camera pans to a flier about the Shuka Festival. It concludes and reveals that the school’s looking for performers.
The Episode Review
After the tense atmosphere and masterful writing we received from the previous chapter, it made sense for things to settle down this week. Although this chapter sets up another exciting obstacle in Kessoku Band’s path, this one provides viewers with enough comforting vibes and enjoyable humor. Granted, the celebratory party gave our girls some time to wind down after that heart-pounding performance. However, this one shows why it’s important to live life to the fullest instead of wasting days away sitting in a corner of your room. 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. It was difficult holding back my laughter in this chapter. Seeing Bocchi adopt Yamcha’s death pose from Dragon Ball Z’s Saiyan Saga got many laughs out of me. On the other hand, the episode’s one-off remarks like Ryo stating her fondness for air conditioners, made me giggle. There were many scenes like this in Bocchi The Rock that hold a stellar impression and should be acknowledged when handled well. Overall, 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.
