Rory’s Reviews: Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu

Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu is a twelve episode anime adaptation of the Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Katsuwo.
The director of the anime was Takebumi Anzai, whilst the writer was Jukki Hanada. The studio that produced it was C2C.
Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu aired during the spring 2019 season of anime, and is available to watch on Crunchyroll.Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu focuses on Bocchi Hitori, a girl with extreme social anxiety. She is starting at a new middle school, but her best and only friend Kai Yawara is going to a different school. Kai cuts off her friendship with Bocchi, telling her that they will only speak again once if she can befriend everyone in her new class before graduation.
The anime focuses on Bocchi’s efforts to befriend the people in her class; considering her social anxiety, it is not an easy task for her.Part of the appeal of Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu are the characters. They are all potential friends for Bocchi, if she could overcome her anxiety.
Nako Sunao is the first person that Bocchi reaches out to; she has a tough appearance, but is actually kind and supportive. Doesn’t stop her from teasing Bocchi on the odd occasion, though.
There are two other characters who make up the main cast: Aru Honshou and Sotoka Rakita.
Aru is the class vice president, and presents herself as a perfect girl. However, she is actually extremely unfortunate.
Finally, we have Sotoka Rakita. She is from a different country, and believes herself to be a ninja. She declares herself to be Bocchi’s disciple.
For those who know their Japanese, each character’s name is a pun based on their personality – at least when read in Japanese order. For example, Hitori Bocchi means “all alone”.
Their cast are all bright and cheerful characters, and there are a few more not mentioned here who are also provide plenty of enjoyable interactions with Bocchi and the main cast.

Whilst the majority of the characters have their charms, there is one that its a little tough to feel positive towards. That would be Kai Yawara, due to her practically abandoning Bocchi.
The idea is to help Bocchi grow, but her approach to that is rather flawed. Kai does make a couple of appearances throughout the anime. Its tough to feel any sympathy for her, particularly with the way she treated Bocchi.
Though without Kai, Bocchi wouldn’t meet the likes of Nako, Aru and Sotoka. When it comes down to it, though, Bocchi is probably better of without Kai.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu has a great sense of humour to it. Some of the things Bocchi does to avoid speaking with other people is pretty funny. The unfortunate Aru gives plenty of laugh out loud moments as well.
As a comedy show, Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu delivers the humour – it got me laughing out loud, and that’s a sign of a successful comedy.

Bocchi has an extreme case of social anxiety, but it’s almost certain that there are plenty of people out there who can identify with her. Who knows, maybe seeing Bocchi’s efforts could convince people out there to try and make some new friends of their own?

Score: 9/10
Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu delivers plenty of laugh out loud moments with its fun cast of characters. Not one for more serious anime viewers, though.