See You Tomorrow

"**See You Tomorrow**" (また明日, *Mata Ashita*) is the second episode of the anime series, *Bocchi the Rock!*. It premiered on October 16, 2022.

## Synopsis

Three people will start the activities of Kessoku Band. Knowing that there is a quota to perform a concert, one will start a part-time job at the live house STARRY to earn money. Hitori, who is not good at interacting with people, takes a certain plan for the first day approaching tomorrow.

## Plot

The episode opens with a shot of Bocchi climbing uncomfortably into an ice bath, repeating to herself “Twenty more minutes”. Her younger sister, Futari, is very concerned by this behavior.

Cutting back to a few days previously, Bocchi is waiting outside STARRY after receiving a LOINE message from Nijika asking to meet up to discuss the band’s future. She knows she should go in but is unable to build up the nerve to enter by herself for 15 minutes, until she spots Nijika and Ryo watching her with a mixture of concern and amusement.

They sit down to talk but Nijika knows so little about Bocchi she is unsure what to discuss, Ryo brings out a die with various topics to aid the conversation. “talk about school” is rolled first, Nijika and Ryo both go to Shimokitazawa High School because they live close by, but Bocchi reveals she travels 2 hours to Shuka High School because she wanted a school where no one knew her past. She apologizes for not having fun stories because she spends her time alone but Nijika says not to worry as Ryo has no friends either, aside from Nijika. Bocchi initially feels a kinship towards Ryo but this is quickly shattered as she realizes Ryo chooses to be alone, whereas Bocchi wishes to have friends but is unable to due to her anxiety.

The next roll is “talk about favorite music”. Nijika says she likes Japanese punk like mellow core, and Ryo says she likes techno kayo and has been checking out Saudi Arabian charts before Nijika cuts her off as she does not believe her. Bocchi says she likes anything which does not trigger her seishun complex, guitar man explains this is where happy stories of youth are triggering for Bocchi, so she prefers songs more relatable to her bleak life, typically rock.

Next up on the die is “talk about the concert”, Nijika expresses her desire for a vocalist and explains that the previous guitarist who ran off was meant to fill this role. Bocchi briefly wonders if they were anxious too, but reasons that a truly socially anxious person wouldn’t be able to run away from their commitments. Nijika and Bocchi are both unable to sing and Ryo declines as she fears she would overshadow the band as frontman. Nijika suggests finding a vocalist, letting Ryo write music, and Bocchi writes lyrics to avoid triggering words.

Moving swiftly on when it’s pointed out this leaves her without a task, Nijika changes the topic to quotas. She explains that for the booked concerts they play, the band must sell a certain number of tickets (the quota) or has to pay a compensation fee. As Nijika’s friends already watched their performance and Ryo and Bocchi have no friends, they will likely struggle to meet quotas so Nijika suggests getting jobs to cover the fee. Bocchi is terrified by this suggestion, she offers the money her mother has been saving in case Bocchi ever gets married as an alternative, which Ryo is eager to take but Nijika firmly declines. Bocchi imagines herself working as a cashier and performing so badly that she gets sentenced to death for creeping out the customers. Nijika snaps Bocchi out of her mind’s wanderings and they explain that Bocchi can work with them at Starry. Bocchi is still petrified and wants to decline but doesn’t have the confidence to say no to her friends so accepts the job. Nijika decides to manage the band’s finances since Ryo, despite being from a rich family, is constantly broke as she spends all her money irresponsibly on instruments, which Ryo somehow takes as flattery. Nijika tells Bocchi she can start work next week after school and Bocchi departs.

Time cuts forward, back to when the episode started, and it is revealed that Bocchi is taking the ice bath in a desperate attempt to catch a cold so she can call in sick for work tomorrow. However, Bocchi wakes up in good health the next day. She considers faking an illness, but after Nijika sends her a kind message of support for her first day, she cannot bear the guilt of lying to her.

Bocchi arrives at STARRY after school and is trying to build up the courage to enter by herself when she is startled by the manager who mistakes her for a member of the public. In a nervous panic, Bocchi comically tells the totally calm manager to calm down, but they are eventually able to resolve the confusion and the manager welcomes Bocchi. She recognizes Bocchi as the guitarist who played in the mango box and calls her Mango Kamen (Masked Mango), Bocchi is flattered to have received a second nickname but Nijika arrives and tells the manager not to give Bocchi weird nicknames. Bocchi realizes that the manager is Nijika’s sister, but this is not much comfort as the manager is strict with her sister at work, wanting to keep work and private relationships separate.

They start work cleaning tables and Bocchi learns the drinks from Nijika. Bocchi struggles to remember everything and puts the instructions to music to help her remember. The manager is impressed by Bocchi’s playing and seems to recognize it. Nijika explains the system of drink tickets to Bocchi, revealing that STARRY is technically a restaurant since it is easier to obtain a business license. Bocchi considers working at a restaurant advanced and is amazed by her own personal growth but is quickly brought back down to fearfulness once customers arrive and tries to close the bar before anyone even orders.

While Ryo is selling tickets, Bocchi assists Nijika at the bar by preparing the drink orders while hiding out of sight, Nijika is mortified at the lack of respect to the customers. She takes over as Bocchi, overwhelmed, sits in a daze, until the performing band, Alexandism, takes the stage. Although she acts strict, the manager takes over from Ryo to let her join the others in watching and learning from the performances, so Nijika calls her sister a tsundere. Bocchi apologizes for not helping more with the drinks, Ryo offers the cardboard box for Bocchi to hide in again, but Nijika reassures Bocchi and hopes she comes to enjoy working at the club and gains the courage to speak with customers.

The performance starts and Bocchi is in awe of how the band and the customers are united in enjoyment. This motivates Bocchi to improve herself so she too can enjoy performing. A customer arrives to the bar and Bocchi takes the order and is able to look the customer in the eye, albeit with a comically strange expression. Nijika congratulates Bocchi for taking a step forward in her growth, though this fills Bocchi with despair as she feels like she has taken a thousand steps.

After the performances end, Bocchi leaves for the day and runs home, happy to have got through her first day of work and feeling hopeful for tomorrow until she sneezes ominously. Nijika and Ryo are still at STARRY, they talk positively about Bocchi and Nijika decides to send her a supportive LOINE message to “keep it up tomorrow” but in unfortunate irony, Bocchi has now come down with the fever she was previously trying to catch. Nijika is pleased with the band and says all they need now is a vocalist and the episode ends with a shot of Kita at karaoke.

## Characters

List of characters in order of appearance:

* Jimihen (minor)
* Hitori Gotoh
* Futari Gotoh (minor)
* Nijika Ijichi
* Seika Ijichi
* PA-san (minor)
* Ryo Yamada
* Ikuyo Kita (minor)
* Rei
* Matsuda
* Tsuyoshi
* Koichi
* Michiyo Gotoh (face not shown)
* Naoki Gotoh (spoken only)

## Cast

* **Hitori Gotoh**: Yoshino Aoyama
* **Nijika Ijichi**: Sayumi Suzushiro
* **Ryo Yamada**: Saku Mizuno
* **Ikuyo Kita**: Ikumi Hasegawa

* **Seika Ijichi**: Maaya Uchida
* **PA-san / Jimihen**: Kotori Koiwai
* **Naoki Gotoh**: Junji Majima
* **Michiyo Gotoh**: Rie Suegara
* **Futari Gotoh**: Misaki Watada

## Gallery

### Videos

Bocchi the Rock! - Episode 02 Web PreviewWeb preview for episode 2Bocchi the Talk! - 02
## Trivia

* Title card color: Yellow
* Ending quote was said by Nijika.
* Title of the episode is derived from "Soredewa, Mata Ashita".
* A social media app, LOINE is a parody of the LINE app.
* fuzzylogic's song "Hachigatsu o Yubiori Kazoeru-kun to Machi de Deaeru Kakuritsu ni Tsuite" is used as an insert song when Alexandism performs the cover song.
* This is the first episode not featuring a CG animation during the performance.
* The scene Nijika uses a big colorful die to decide the topic and say "\*\*\* for short" is a parody of a TV talk show called "Have a Nice Day Presented by Lion" (ライオンのごきげんよう, *Raion no Gokigen-yō*), which had aired for 25 years (since January 7, 1991, until March 31, 2016).

### Adaptation notes

		- She runs to Ryo, but Ryo likes to be alone in Loneliness Hill.
		- The flowers are growing and dead in Loneliness Hill.
		- She takes only one step.
	+ A floating rubber duck when Bocchi is taking a cold bath.
	+ Nijika is cooking the food at her home.
	+ Bocchi sneezes at night after work.
	+ Kita and her friends sing in the karaoke room.
* The girls-only band Colorful Radical performs at the live house in the manga. The boys-only band Alexandism performs at the live house in the anime.
* Bocchi wears a school swimsuit in the anime, while in the bathtub.
* Bocchi uses an ice cube as supposed to a large chunk of ice in the manga.
* Bocchi was seen having multiple cold patches when playing her guitar in front of the electric fan.
* When Bocchi plans to upload a video of her playing while in her underwear, but it is cut in the anime.
* When Bocchi uses her phone to search for the lottery, it is cut in the anime.
* Seika hits Nijika in the anime, while in the manga, Seika hits Nijika and Bocchi.
* The Mini Amps Bocchi use while playing the guitar using an electric fan to catch a cold faster is Yamaha Thr10.

## References

1. ↑ Translated from the official website.
2. ↑ An actual example from "Have a Nice Day" (YouTube video). A guest rolls a big colorful die and the host Kazuki Kosakai reads the topic, adding "for short?", then the audience answers in a comically abbreviated word. Then the guest talks about his/her experience relating to the topic. All guests do it in turn. (The guest rolling the die in this video is voice actress Noriko Hidaka.)