12 Days of Anime: Bocchi from Hitoribocchi

Same, Bocchi...same...

Probably one of the most relatable characters from this year was Bocchi Hitori from Hitoribocchi. She's shy, anxious, maybe a bit eccentric, and she just really wants to make friends. You just can't help but cheer her on as she slowly but surely introduces herself to her classmates and eventually becomes friends with them.

In Bocchi's first year of middle school, she's on a mission to become friends with her entire class in order to fulfill a promise/challenge from her only childhood friend. Even though she puts all her effort to try and get into a class where she's the only student, and she makes every excuse to not talk to any of her classmates, Bocchi still musters up all her strength to talk to someone. It's probably all that effort and mental exertion that causes Bocchi to pass out whenever she makes a new friend.

Bocchi is a nervous wreck and a crybaby, but she's determined to get stronger. While there are some that define strength as being able to live and work without the help of others, Bocchi finds strength through the friends that she makes. By the end of the series, Bocchi goes from being just an anxious middle school student to a ninja master on the path to buying the school.

Bocchi is an example that anyone can make friends and that it really isn't that hard to just say "hello" and get to know someone new. Even if she's not relateble to the more extroverted in the anime community, she's still hilarious and will make you laugh with her goofy sweetness.

If you're looking for an anime to watch with friends, old and new, maybe check out Hitoribocchi and enjoy the antics of Bocchi and all her friends. Wa ha ha!!