The March 2026 installment of Houbunsha’s manga time Kirara Max magazine has revealed that the Bocchi the Rock! manga will continue its hiatus so that its creator, Aki Hamaji, can focus on recovery from his health condition. Hamaji also released a personal message, stating that she has been sick for several months and assured readers that the issue is a physical one and not a mental one. The manga was originally planned to be continued this month.
Aki Hamaji’s Bocchi the Rock! manga began in the Manga Time Kirara Max magazine in December 2017. The manga is still ongoing, and the Bocchi the Rock! anime series ran from October to December 2022. All 12 episodes are currently available to stream on Crunchyroll. According to the staff of the anime the second season is already in production.
Yen Press publishes the series in English and describes the story:
Bocchi finally takes the stage in English, and she’s brought her best friend— crippling anxiety! Hitori Goto just wants to make friends, but the thought of approaching a stranger on her own makes her so nervous that she’s spent the entirety of middle school teaching herself how to shred on the guitar—to moderately successful (albeit anonymous) YouTube fame—in the hopes of seeming cool enough for someone else to reach out to her instead.
After bringing her guitar to school provokes zero interest, Hitori’s just about ready to shrivel up and die…which is when Nijika Ijichi comes across her moping in a playground and begs her to fill in for her band’s flaky guitarist for their first-ever live performance! It’s like her wish came true…but does this most antisocial of introverts have what it takes to perform in front of real people?!
