Hitori Gotoh

Hitori Gotoh, an extremely timid and introverted first-year student in high school often referred by her bandmates as Bocchi-chan, is the titular main protagonist of the manga and anime series, Bocchi the Rock!. She is in the first year of Shuka High School and is in charge of the guitar and lyrics of the band, Kessoku Band. She aspires to perform in a band that could showcase even a reserved girl's talent, hence she began playing the guitar. Although her skill is the real deal, she struggles to exhibit it proficiently in a band or in front of an audience.

Hitori's appearance is characterized by her long pink hair, which is tied with a blue and yellow cube hair accessory on the right side of her head, her aqua-colored eyes, and her fair complexion.

In her uniform, she usually wears a pink tracksuit with a long gray pleated skirt, black socks, and brown shoes as part of her style. Ironically, she surprisingly has a large bust (shown in the manga); this is most likely because she dresses in baggy clothing.

Hitori is an extremely introverted girl with high social anxiety, making it very difficult for her to talk to strangers. She often tries to avoid interactions, even performing her first live house show from inside a cardboard mango box. Because of her introversion, she rarely goes outside and instead spends most of her time at home, playing the guitar alone in a dark closet.

She seeks praise from others, likely as a reaction to her personality. She started playing the guitar to become a music star for the sole reason of being admired. She sometimes attempts to socialize, often in unusual ways, such as mimicking how others talk. However, these attempts often fail.

Hitori started playing the guitar in her first year of middle school and improved her skills by practicing six hours daily. Although, after she had graduated from middle school and begun attending Shuka High School, she still had no friends at the start of the series.

Hitori was playing her guitar in her house while lamenting in an internal monologue about how she was on the brink of becoming a hikikomori, a shut off from society due to her social issues. She found comfort in the comments people left on her "guitarhero" video channel, but when someone suggested she perform live, her motivation dropped. She thought back to her middle school days when she tried and failed to make friends through her love for "rock". She dreamed of forming a band and performing live, but it seemed like a distant fantasy. The next day, she showed up at Shuka High School with her guitar and band merchandise, but no one seemed interested. Feeling down, she wandered around Shimokitazawa, ending up on a swing in a nearby playground, and bemoaned her bad luck. Suddenly, a girl approached her, and she introduced herself as Nijika Ijichi. Noticing her guitar, she asked Hitori to be a substitute for their band's recent runaway guitarist. Hitori reluctantly agreed and Nijika took her to a live house called STARRY. On the way, Nijika rambled on about herself, making it hard for Hitori to listen. But when Nijika mentioned the "guitarhero" channel and how she wished to play with the creator, Hitori was surprised and grateful that someone liked her work.

When they arrived in STARRY, Nijika introduced Hitori to Ryo Yamada, who was already inside. The live house and its staff were so gloomy that Hitori was afraid and hid in a trash can. When they started to practice, Hitori was very bad, which dampened her motivation despite her impressive performances as guitarhero. To boost her confidence, Ryo suggested that she hide in a mango box to calm down, and surprisingly worked. She felt much better and was able to perform well in the live show. Ryo also explained the band's name, Kessoku Band, and gave her the nickname "Bocchi(-chan)." Although Hitori was just in a box, she felt optimistic playing with the band and believed that improving her social skills was crucial to showcasing her potential as guitarhero.

On the following day, Bocchi shared with the band her avoidance of people, revealing how she travels 2 hours to school to avoid meeting anyone she knows, and how happy songs make her feel like she is missing out on youth. When Nijika brought up the band's financial situation and the need to work part-time, Bocchi was hesitant to give up her savings and feared the idea of working. Nijika then offered her a job at the live house instead, which Bocchi reluctantly accepted but still searched for the odds of winning the lottery to avoid her responsibility. On her first day of work, Bocchi tried to skip it by resorting to bathing in cold water and sitting in front of a blowing fan but failed. Her nervousness gets in the way even right before she entered the live house until the manager noticed her and got her mistaken as a customer. The whole day passed with a lot of mishaps on her part, but it went well nevertheless, and Nijika compliments her for taking a step forward. She managed to get herself excited for the next day, but her excitement for the next day was ruined by a fever that struck her at the wrong time.

She came back to school frustrated with her anxiety hindering her communication until she stumbled upon a cheerful girl. She tried getting her attention to get the girl to join her band but ended up running away herself. After a proper explanation, Kita initially declined due to her previous experience with a certain band but asked Bocchi if she could teach her guitar. Bocchi agreed and even brought Kita to her part-time job, only to discover that it was at the very same live house where her old band played and where the former Kessoku Band vocalist quit. Despite feeling overwhelmed by Kita's presence when she joined the crew on her job, Bocchi showed her the ropes on the job and they developed a mutual understanding. Finally, Kita rejoined the band.

In the following events, Bocchi "enjoyed" teaching Kita how to play the guitar, working her part-time job, and having photoshoots with the group. The band asked her to write lyrics for a new song, but Bocchi struggled to come up with an idea that she was satisfied with. After receiving guidance from Ryo, she finally finished the lyrics, which the band liked and approved of. When Seika puts the band for their upcoming live performance, the band passed, but Bocchi became overwhelmed and vomited due to the stress. Seika saw this and offered constructive criticism to her, commenting such as that she often looks down, hoping to help Bocchi improve, but Bocchi misinterpreted her comments as a threat.

Bocchi encounters a dead end when trying to sell her tickets for their performance. She finds herself reflecting on her situation where suddenly she comes across a collapsed woman. After helping her, she identifies her as a guitarist and introduces herself as Hiroi, a bassist. After hearing about Bocchi's situation, Hiroi invites her to perform a surprise street live together. The impromptu performance attracts a large audience and even results in a few ticket sales; two girls bought her tickets and so does Hiroi, but she still borrows the money from Bocchi for her ticket home. The band members, except for Ryo, pay Bocchi a visit at her home to have a good time and discuss band-related matters. Things go "well" until the end when they all turn into dust.

When the date for their performance comes, unfortunately the weather was bad which caused a significant setback for the band as many people were unable to attend. Only the drunk woman and two girls from Bocchi's previous live performance showed up, which resulted in the band feeling demotivated. The live performance started poorly with the band feeling out of sync, but Bocchi stepped up with her leading guitar solo, which helped to remotivate them, which caused them to perform their next song exceptionally well. They later celebrated their success with a feast at an izakaya. Before they went home, Nijika had a conversation with Bocchi, acknowledging her as guitarhero and giving her a new name, Bocchi the Rock.

In the summer holidays, Bocchi found herself spending most of her time playing the guitar and aimlessly browsing the internet until she grew tired of it. She then went to STARRY just to hold a funeral for cicadas. Upon learning that the band had not done anything together for almost the entire holiday, they decided to take a trip to Enoshima. This was particularly challenging since all but one of them preferred indoor activities. Despite the challenges, they had a good time, although Bocchi was attacked by the birds there.

When the application window for the school festival performance opened, Bocchi tried to apply for the band but found herself held back by her persistent anxiety. Seeking guidance from both her bandmates and the STARRY crew, she struggled to muster the courage to apply. Just when she thought she might give up, Kita revealed that she had already applied on their behalf, making Bocchi die on the inside (figuratively). With the application now irrevocable, the pressure mounted as it cannot be canceled. Bocchi also faced a grueling exam session that left her feeling drained. Though she just managed to pass, the looming festival weighed heavily on her mind.

In search of motivation for the upcoming school festival live, Hiroi invited the band to witness her band's performance at FOLT, a live house. Bocchi found renewed determination after watching Hiroi and her band gave it their all on stage. The band members then practiced tirelessly for several days leading up to the festival. On the day of the festival, Bocchi found herself in a difficult situation as she needed to dress up as a maid for their class café. She ran away before the café even started, but the other band members managed to track her down and take her to other stalls to have fun. However, Bocchi was still obligated to work at the café. They also rehearsed in the school gymnasium as their performance was scheduled for the second day of the festival.

In the school gymnasium on the second day of the festival, Kessoku Band started their performance, and Bocchi was filled with anxiety. Unfortunately, midway on the performance, she discovered that the first guitar string was severely out of tune during the performance, and had to constantly try to tune it during the first song. The situation worsened as the same string snapped during the second song; the second string could not be tuned due to a broken peg. With no time to waste, Bocchi improvised and used an empty cup of sake left by Hiroi, who was watching, to perform a slide guitar solo, which surprised the audience in a good way. After the performance ended, Kita gave Bocchi a space to talk during the MC session, but she didn't know what to say. So, she thought about what Hiroi would do and impulsively jumped off the stage, without anyone to catch her it resulted in Bocchi falling to the ground and losing consciousness. She was rushed to the infirmary, accompanied by Kita. The incident caused the students to remember her as the "crazy rocker who dived," which made Bocchi very embarrassed.