Bocchi the Rock series writer Erika Yoshida says she requested specific changes so that the TV version would be easier to watch with the family. Speaking at ANIME FANTASISTA JAPAN 2025 on August 16, she explained the simple rule that guides her decisions: “Will I let my young son watch this?”
For her, animation is not a free card to include anything just because it is drawn. As she puts it, “just because it’s cartoon doesn’t mean anything is allowed,” and “they may be drawings, but they’re still minor.” This mentality shaped many of the choices in adapting Bocchi the Rock.
Yoshida gave a clear example of the cold bath scene in the manga. In the print, Hitori takes a cold bath naked. For television, Yoshida asked the team to have Hitori wear a swimsuit instead. I also pushed to remove the parts where girls talk about each other’s chest sizes.
From her perspective, this kind of banter doesn’t feel like everyday conversation and distracts from what the show is interested in. “If you’re aiming for a big hit, this kind of photography is just hype,” she said. The goal, she explained, was to keep the focus on the music, friendship, and a shy teenager slowly finding her place rather than on jokes that throw the story off the rails.
The writer was equally direct about fanservice that conflicted with tone or basic realism. “Realistically, the chest wouldn’t keep bouncing while playing the guitar,” she said, adding that if there were footage like this on the show, she would hesitate to let her child watch it.
Yoshida drew a line between private fandom and official production. “The masses are free to interpret and create what they like. But I am against the official side that publishes material that basically says: ‘Follow and exploit this.’”
In other words, it does not attempt to monitor what individuals draw or imagine; It sets a standard for what the production itself chooses to highlight, especially when the main characters are high school girls.
Her interest extends beyond a single title. Even if most viewers behave responsibly, a small number of extreme reactions can harm the broader culture, she said. “Even if 99% of people are fine, I worry that the remaining 1% could harm anime culture.”
And because streaming is more accessible, especially for younger viewers, it supports clearer age classification and labeling so that adult-oriented content doesn’t fall into the same funnel as teen-friendly shows. For Yoshida, it’s not about making everything nice. It’s about matching content to audience and protecting the space where many types of animation can flourish.
This approach fits with how Bocchi the Rock has grown from a four-panel life-example manga into a successful television series. The first season aired from October to December 2022 and connected with viewers by keeping the comedic character-centric tone and musical score front and center.
Yoshida’s adjustments—swimsuits instead of nudity in the bathroom scene, cutting jokes to body size, and avoiding “bouncy” shots—were small on paper but meaningful on screen. They’ve remained welcoming to teens, parents, and new viewers, without losing the quirky charm that made Bocchi and her band so easy to draw in.
Source: Kai Yu
