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Beloved by normies and hailed as the pinnacle of "literally me: the anime", Bocchi is replete with relatable interactions and memorable moments. Nevertheless, a more cynical view of its portrayal of the "seishun complex" has emerged, one that's admittedly not without merit. My review is therefore an attempt to grapple with these more critical ideas and make a case for how Bocchi can stand up to them.

Lets cut to the chase. The titular character is hopelessly retarded, fails at nearly every facet of being a functional member of society, and sees little to no emotional growth over the span of the entire story. She's ... pretty but doesn't know it, she's talented, she's coddled by every single character who grants her every possible accommodation. Two loving parents, friends who never tire of her, an easy job, the list goes on. Not only is external conflict totally nonexistent, but it also seems that almost everything in the MC's life is perfect. To many, this is a source of great frustration.

The lack of character growth makes many wonder what is the point of the story if not to demonstrate emotional growth. Worse still, some cynics even believe that the story promotes enabling of detrimental behavior rather than confronting one's problems and maturing as a result. There are also those who would otherwise find Bocchi relatable were it not for her seemingly perfect life circumstances, and instead come away thinking the story is disingenuous. Perhaps in an attempt to validate their own detrimental coping mechanisms, they envision their own life circumstances as uniquely challenging while dismissing Bocchi's as undeserving of any sort of depression or anxiety.

Starting from the premise of there being character flaws inherent to humanity, you can think of these as common pitfalls in our way of thinking. The first of these I want to go over is just "grass is greener" which you've probably heard of so doesn't need explaining. The other is our propensity to make a mountain out of a molehill when it comes to our own problems while being dismissive of others'. Imagine for a moment you're spectating someone's life in 3rd person POV. Like a drone flying in the sky, that higher vantage point allows one to clearly see the correct path while keeping one from becoming fixated on the cracks and bumps along the road. This, by the way, is part of the reason why humans seek each other's counsel.

Back to Bocchi. When you peer into someone's life from the outside as you do when watching Bocchi, there are two things likely to happen as it pertains to the aforementioned common pitfalls of humanity. You may come away thinking, were you in her shoes, you could make so much more of what she's been dealt because her problems appear so easily solvable. As well you may think that she has so much in her life that she takes for granted, things you wish you had, such as being the recipient of unconditional love that is exhibited by everyone around Bocchi.

Now let's do some narrative gooning. What if the point of Bocchi is to help the audience achieve an introspective self-awareness. To help the audience realize how easily dealt with the source of their anxiety truly is. To point out how oblivious we all are to everything positive in our lives, all of the people who love and support us. Because it's only once you look at things from the outside that everything seems so easy. Bocchi is not a role model. Do not be like Bocchi. Through laughing at her helplessness we are meant to build the confidence to succeed in all of the situations where she crumbled.