Social anxiety disorder, formerly known as social phobia, is the third most common mental health condition, which stays behind only substance use disorder and depression, and it can affect anyone; however, its warning signs usually manifest before a person is 20 years old. Works of fiction that positively address mental issues, especially anime, have been increasing, and that sheds good light and a positive perspective on dark and heavymatters people tend to avoid.
InBocchi The Rock!,even though Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh still experiences anxiety, the character undergoes a relatively big improvement in her condition. It can be stated that she had an extreme level of social anxiety at the beginning of this anime series. Hitori had learned how toplay the guitarand spent time alone, with zero friends, during her time at elementary school, and her status quo started to change only during high school when a girl named Nijika Ijichi came to invite her to join Kessoku Band – that is, someone from the outside started a life-changing conversation with her, since she was evidently incapable of doing so, even if joining a band was her dream.
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What Is Social Anxiety Disorder And How Common Is That?
While it cannot be said that Hitori has only mild social anxiety at this point, she now stands in the middle, still experiencing physical and psychological symptoms of said anxiety, but she is capable of participating in some social situations, even if she faces difficulties in doing so. Even with her progress, there are times when she displays behaviors of severe social anxiety, such as panic attacks, but she is making a huge effort to change, facing the challenges to pursue her dreams and express herself, even if it is not easy for her.A lot of artists in real lifeare known to have a social anxiety disorder, and, while they still have it, just like our guitar hero in the anime, they find coping mechanisms to deal with that, and art plays a major role in that.
Bocchi The Rock!does a brilliant pictorial job, in a motion-animated way, of showing how social anxiety can deprive a person of accomplishments and the underlying fears of rejection, humiliation, and failure that come attached to this disorder. It also makes it clear that having social anxiety is very different from being shy. Shyness does not affect a person’s life the way social anxiety does, which consistently interferes with a person’s everyday activities, and can negatively affect their education, career, and personal relationships.
It is very good that we have some anime series that promote social anxiety awareness, such asMy Dress-Up Darling!andKomi Can’t Communicate,and now, this very relatable depiction inBocchi The Rock!comes to add to this set, causing a great impact with how it tackles social anxiety. There have been many misrepresentations of socially anxious characters in anime before, with their struggles and pain becoming the focal point of comedy or serving merely as a plot device.Positive representations of charactersdealing with mental health in fiction like this help not only those who suffer from the same snags, who can relate to the characters’ struggles, but also their parents and friends, who can learn more about something to which they cannot relate since they do not experience those moods.
It is possible that a person has to live with, and not fully overcome, social anxiety disorder, and Hitori comes as a light at the end of a very dark tunnel, because, even when suffering from severe anxiety attacks, she winds up finding ways to deal with that and leave her dreadful comfort zone, because she possesses the will to change.
Hitori checklists many of the physical and physiological symptoms of social anxiety disorder, such as blushing, sweating, shaking, feeling her heart racing, feeling nervous to the point of being nauseated and/or even vomiting, not making much eye contact when interacting with people, having a stiff body posture when around others, as well as thoughts and behaviors that are usually signs of social anxiety, like feeling embarrassed and/orawkward in front of others, not knowing what to say to other people, feeling very afraid or worried that others would judge her negatively, or even reject her with no apparent reason, finding it scary to be around other people, and avoiding places where people tend to gather – reflected in her preferring dark and confined places.
Not The First Anime To Tackle Social Anxiety, But One That Levels Up On That Front
Even if depicted with apparent exaggeration in its art form, the portrayal of Hitori’s social anxiety disorder is not made to be laughed at — while it can evoke that nervous laughter of those who can relate to her — or looked down upon. Her bandmates like her despite her reclusive nature, showing it is possible to like someone without judging them, and they work together around their strengths and weakness, since even the apparently more extroverted member of the band, with a “sparkling and shiny” aura, can have her problems as well. Everyone can feel inadequate from time to time, and the human being is not an island, and social interactions and the well-usedtrope of the power of friendship— and the shared love for music — help these girls navigate the beginning of the pre-adult part of their lives.
Hitori literally faints when she finds herself applying for Kessoku Band to play at the school festival. She does not even eat in the cafeteria; she plays the guitar locked in her room. For the very first time she played with the band, she performed inside a box, literally hiding from the view of others, so she did not have to face them, or their judgment, which is not even caused by any outside indication of that, but which stems from her perception that she is not and will never be “good enough” – even when she is. And she has that recognition from people on the internet, with her music channel, but her concerns that come from her disorder shadow her self-judgment and the perception of her qualities and talents.
It is also a plus that Hitori’s condition is not romanticized and/or shown as something to be mimicked by people in real life. She found a coping mechanism in art and friendship, as well as shared goals, and that is a positive light to never go out. When it comes to real life, it is highly possible that a person withher level of social anxietywill need therapy and/or medications, but the emphasis on Hitori’s willingness to change, the pursuing of her dreams, and the interactions with her newfound friends, that is, socialization, play a fundamental role in her dealing with this disorder. So, the clear message of this anime is that a person can still have social anxiety at some level, but be capable of having a life despite that.
For all this, and engaging characters and good storytelling,Bocchi The Rock!is an uplifting anime that portrays the younger generation struggling with mental health and the future avenues in their lives, with an appeal that goes way beyond age or generation.
