Bocchi Hitori, a girl with extreme social anxiety, has had only one friend throughout elementary school. When Bocchi learns they’ll be split up after graduation, she makes a promise to her: “By the time of my middle school graduation, I’ll make friends with everyone in my class.” And if she can’t do it they won’t be friends anymore. But Bocchi has a hard time talking to people. When she gets nervous, her legs cramp. She can’t look other people in the eye. She doesn’t even know how to make friends. Every way she thinks of to make friends ends up failing. – ANN
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Episode Summary: Bocchi is exceedingly shy, so when she and her elementary-school friend end up at different middle schools, she feels like her life might be over. Her friend tasked her with forging relationships with all of her classmates, but it’s a goal that seems impossible; Bocchi is unskilled in conversation, and anything more emotionally-complicated that that is surely off the table.
When her half-baked plots to avoid fulfilling her friendship quota go awry, Bocchi resigns herself to a school life of loneliness and isolation. Against all odds, though, she manages to find opportunities to interact with Nako-chan, the girl sitting in front of her in class. Nako first seems standoffish, but her inherent kindness gives Bocchi the opportunity to open up, and suddenly a new friendship begins to blossom between the two.
Impressions: As someone who’s dealt with social anxiety for a good portion of my life, I’m very sensitive to how the condition is portrayed in fictional media. I find that in many cases, anxiety and its expression seem to be greatly misunderstood. The example I usually give is the relatively famous novel-turned-anime Welcome to the NHK, which tells the story of a 20-something man who’s become a shut-in. The novel does a good job of portraying the isolation that can stem from social anxiety, as well as the frantic, destructive thought-processes that further damage an individual’s ability to operate among other people. The anime version of the story takes some elements from the novel and fills in the gaps with a lot of extraneous plot and character antics, transforming the main character’s relatable isolation into a wacky, comical otaku maladjustment. What the anime does is prove what can go wrong when some storytellers are unfamiliar with the mentality of the characters they’re attempting to portray; the anime version of NHK removes a lot of the “teeth” the novel had; in the process, it also manages to become insulting to some viewers (including myself).
Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu treads some familiar ground. There have been a few series in recent memory that have attempted to portray (and make light of) the tests and victories that come along with being shy, socially-challenged, or even just a hobbyist with uncommon interests. These types of series range from the kind-hearted, to the cringe-worthy, to the outright disgusting (I don’t recommend spending too much time at that last link), their successes (and sometimes failures) defined by their ability to portray and empathize with their protagonists’ states-of-mind. While Hitoribocchi is more of a straight-up comedy, I feel like it does a good job of demonstrating some of the though-processes that come along with this type of mental illness.
It might seem strange for me to define what might appear to most people as “just shyness” as an expression of mental illness, but there are a lot of character details in this episode that rang especially true to my own experiences. Bocchi appears to have what I’d call an “avoidant” personality. She fantasizes about “technically” fulfilling her pledge to her friend through means that most would recognize as unrealistic or at least troublesome, and which allow her to avoid actually interacting with other people (i.e. fulfilling the actual spirit of the task she’s been given). She attempts to fool her classmates into thinking the class itself has been canceled, and fills a special notebook with similar plans that have a low likelihood of actually working. In a weird way, this extreme avoidance can feel empowering; I know that in my case, sometimes avoiding something I know I ought to get done (in the words of M. Molly Backes, an “Impossible Task“) allows me to complete a lot of other menial tasks that also need doing – it’s a matter of feeling like I’ve made my own decision to do things that way and knowing that, hey, at least I’m crossing a bunch of stuff off my to-do list! It’s not healthy and I know I’m not gaining anything by operating this way, but it’s more comfortable than handling tasks head-on a lot of the time.
I also empathized with Bocchi’s way of attempting to get out ahead of any possible conversations – by writing out “cliff’s notes” for some common topics and working through them ahead of time. I actually do quite a bit of public speaking for someone with social anxiety (while I don’t recommend this as some “cure-all” for everyone, my convention speaking has really helped me get better at interacting with others and handling my social “stage fright”), and while I generally back-up my presentations with some form of PowerPoint slide deck, I purposely avoid writing out my entire “script” ahead of time in the presentation notes. Instead, as I’m creating and editing the presentation, I’ll think through my phrasing in my mind, try to anticipate any questions, and even try to work out humorous asides or jokes. I often wonder if I sound rehearsed or if anyone can tell that I’m not speaking entirely off the cuff (when I’m tired I often have a difficult time with this – thanks to everyone at Anime Detour this year for tolerating that!). In some sense, though, it doesn’t really matter – I’ve worked out a way in which I can handle the pressure of being up in front of others, by thinking through my conversations ahead of time and trying to mitigate any potential stumbling blocks. While Bocchi’s “notes,” obviously scrawled on her hand, are stilted and awkward, I thought they really hit on this aspect of coping with social anxiety.
I’ve spent a lot of time here talking about myself, but perhaps not enough trying to answer the question “does this anime laugh with or laugh at those with social anxiety?” In all cases, I think this is very personal; the perception that the creators of a story truly understand what it means to have these sorts of experiences is always subjective (speaking of one of my earlier examples, I know people who relate very closely to the Welcome to the NHK anime adaptation). For me, I think this episode works because Bocchi is awkward (socially and physically), but none of the characters treat her with unkindness, and her internal thoughts are never under ridicule. I especially like how Nako-chan, who many would probably mistake as mean-spirited or a hard-ass based on looks, is always patient and willing to gently explain why Bocchi’s assumptions are off the mark. More broadly, the episode seems to make the claim that assuming others are criticizing your every move is mentally harmful and usually untrue. While this might not carry through in all circumstances, I think it’s a fundamentally kind assertion to try to make.
The one minor issue I have with the episode is that it doesn’t really examine the consequences of Bocchi’s friend Kai essentially abandoning her. I feel like it’s a more complicated situation than the comedic set-up it’s made out to be. From Kai’s point-of-view I can see why she’d think she was helping; being Bocchi’s comfortable fall-back relationship might prevent Bocchi from living her middle-school life to the fullest. But I think there’s a little voice that haunts many of us with anxiety – a voice which constantly whispers to us that our friends are exhausted by our eccentricities and would be much happier if we weren’t around to bother them. With this in mind, Kai’s actions seem almost cruel, though unintentionally so. I’m not sure if this is ever a direction the series intends to go, but it struck me as something of a “miss.”
I was expecting this episode to become cringe-worthy in short order, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it funny and sweet instead. While I can’t speak for everyone with social anxiety, I found it to be relatively true-to-life without piling on the misunderstanding that these types of mental issues often receive in media. If you’re looking for something funny and gentle to watch, this might be a good option.
Pros: Features social anxiety without completely misrepresenting what that entails. Very cute and funny.
Cons: Doesn’t do enough to examine Kai’s actions.
Grade: B-