Bocchi the Rock Ch. 94 Review - Car Trip
Written by Rei Caldombra 1/19/26 Previous Chapter: Bocchi the Rock Ch. 92 + 93 Review - An Interview and Sleep Stress — Blog Under a Log
Hello, everyone Rei Caldombra here to rock out with Kessoku Band in another chapter of the Bocchi the Rock manga. This chapter is the proper start of Kessoku Band’s big tour in the Kansai region. It picks up after the last chapter with the band members driving to Osaka early in the morning after sleeping at Ryou’s family home.
As this is the start of a new volume, we get the first few pages in color which is always a treat. The makeup of the car is the Kessoku Band core members plus Aiko Sato aka Poison Yami in the middle seat, who has been their assistant manager since they signed with Stray Beat. Last time she showed up in one of my reviews was in Chapter 84 + 85. Which is also when they got the band van they are currently driving. Don’t forget about her, she will be important for the anime’s second season.
It continues to be interesting to learn more about how bands operate through Bocchi the Rock. You gotta give them props, Kessoku Band woke up at 3:30 in the morning, will be driving to the venue until 12 in the afternoon, then they still have to do their performance that same day.
Bocchi is expectedly not very happy with this uncomfortable car arrangement. While she loves cramped spaces, she does not like them when they are filled with people. So she is keeping herself glued to the window as much as possible to avoid their gazes and pressure to talk. Bocchi does have a nice thought about feeling bad for Nijika if she sleeps while she has to drive, but she shouldn’t worry about that after she helped Nijika sleep better the previous night. Nijika wouldn’t mind Bocchi sleeping after she barely slept while helping her sleep. Her usual overthinking as usual takes her away for the simple and best answer. But this also shows that she remembers what Hyouka told her in Chapter 86, to treat the driver like a god. Looks like me and Bocchi have a nuisance in common, we can both get carsick from looking at our phones. This isn’t always a problem for me, but it can be. I like looking out the window anyway, but for long drives this can get boring. After we see all this overthinking Bocchi is doing, Yami simply pretends to sleep after recognizing how awkward everything is. Pretending to sleep to avoid conversations is very real.
Moving on from that, the gang starts focusing on food. Nijika experiences a parent moment from Kita asking about getting food right after they passed somewhere they could have eaten. Ryo continues to show how traumatized she was by the events of Chapter 89, bringing along a bunch of candy that supposedly helps you not need to pee. While it would have been helpful if she got more than just candy, at least that will placate Bocchi and Kita for a bit.
Bocchi now has an easier time relaxing due to Poison acting like she is asleep. Bocchi talking about imagining a ninja running along the buildings while looking out of a moving car is a common thing. Sonic the Hedgehog was the most common character that I used for this daydreaming (Shadow is my favorite Sonic character but the running fits better since he actually runs). I also remember using 2 fingers to make it look like there was a person running and jumping over things. Please share if y’all remember doing this general thing, I’m curious what other people did and things they imagined.
My favorite gag in this chapter is the visual of Kita being a cat compared to tigers when it comes to having a peppy personality, much to Kita’s dismay. Japan has the stereotype that people from the Kansai region are generally more outgoing and hyper. I think this gag is basically painting Kita as a big fish in a small pond. For a Tokyo person she is stronger than most in her brightness, but I guess Kansai puts her up against the big leagues. I’m guessing we will get the joke of Kita’s KITAN energy getting overpowered once she meets Hyouko from Namba Girls. But I’m not counting her out just yet!
Next Bocchi relays her encounter with Hyouko in Chapter 89. Everyone is understandably very impressed she managed to do that, and it actually helps them feel better going into the concert. Even though the truth is that Bocchi told a ton of bs to Hyouka. So that will lead to some funny awkwardness down the line. Bocchi is very concerned about this, so instead of them listening to a Namba Girls song, she puts on a song related to the sports team she lied to Hyouka about the band members liking. This weirds everyone out and gets us a funny panel of Nijika showing the coldness she inherited from her sister that just comes out every so often.
The conversation then moves to what they should do for their intro, with Bocchi relaying the advice from Hyouka that they should shout out a local spot and will be screwed if their intro bombs. This scares everyone, as they have mentioned throughout the series that their intros aren’t very good. Though Yami says that is apparently not true.
The gang can finally get some food, with them coming upon a fast-food chain that is spoofing Sukiya, a beef bowl chain. I have eaten there once; it was pretty good and super cheap for how much food you got. If you go to Japan and want to taste some of the major fast-food chains, this is one worth trying to me. Though it’s certainly not calorie efficient for someone like Kita. Poor Nijika does not get thanked for her hours of driving from her band mates, underappreciated as usual. At least Yami thanked her. Nijika says that they can eat as much as they want because they need to fill up while they can, but of course Ryo takes advantage of this. Her insatiable greed must be stopped. Nijika makes an exception for Bocchi though, letting her get a little extra. Nijika has shown a soft spot for Bocchi before (or rather, a hard spot for Ryo), and you could see this as her returning the favor for Bocchi helping her sleep and staying away during the car ride.
Our last event of the chapter is the gang taking in the beauty of Mt. Fuji, giving them the feeling that things will go well. I’m sure someone out there can ID where they probably are, but I certainly can’t and was not able to find anything online.
And that brings us to the end of the chapter! I understand the pain of long car rides. I have not been in one comparable to the drive they are doing here for years, that would have been back when we did car trips as a family when I was younger. For anyone who hasn’t been in a multiple hour-long drive in a car, you really can get sore and worn out just from sitting. You’d be surprised how physically and mentally exhausting it is to just sit there. Especially when you are squished in the back of a car against other people. My family and I have to drive from one state to another to visit family and that drive takes around 3-4 hours one way. On the way back last time I was the one in the middle and my lower back genuinely hurt badly afterwords. The middle seats can be sat in but are generally less comfortable seats than the main ones. And it’s especially tough on the drivers, I have a lot of respect for my dad for almost always being the driver. I do not really enjoy driving in general and want to avoid long drives when I can help it. I do not meet the regular standard Americans typically have towards what they consider a long drive. I do not want to be in the drivers seat for more than an hour straight, while many say 2-3 hours “isn’t bad”. Respect to everyone who has more tolerance, I just don’t lol. When it comes to commuting for work, more than a 30-minute commute one way is my hard rejection unless it is my ideal job or something. I don’t want to waste any more time than that driving.
Chapter 94 was a solid funny chapter. I’m looking forward to seeing where the tour takes us. I don’t mind them not rushing straight to the concert, I like seeing the journey too. Sadly, this may be the last chapter review for a while. I was actually planning to do another double chapter review again, but that plan changed due to a recent announcement. For anyone who hasn’t heard already, the Bocchi the Rock manga will be going on hiatus indefinitely due to Aki Hamaji Sensei recently having some physical health issues. Let’s all wish her the best with her recovery! We’ll wait as long as you need Sensei. Kikuri’s manga will be continuing as usual as it is authored by Kumichou. And this is your reminder to please support the official releases of the Bocchi the Rock manga if you can! Thanks for reading!
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First Bocchi the Rock Manga chapter review: Bocchi the Rock Ch. 76 Review - Anxious Heart to Heart — Blog Under a Log
