Houbunsha’s anime adaptation of Bocchi the Rock! became a massive hit when it first aired, and the conversation barely slowed down after season one ended. Its compilation films also packed theaters, followed by confirmation in February 2025 that a second season was officially in production.
On November 1, a new anime film titled Bocchi the Rock! Hoshi no Ashiato (Starry Footprints) was announced. The movie will focus on Nijika Ijichi and her older sister, Seika, and is scheduled to open in 2027.
With Seika taking center stage, the film will adapt the manga’s short spin-off story Hoshi ni Tamukeru Ai no Hana. Beginning with the Ijichi sisters’ “separation” 10 years earlier, it tells a story about dreams and the path that eventually led to the creation of STARRY.
The movie has assembled a major creative team, with Shin Wakabayashi directing, Yukiko Horiguchi handling character designs, and Bocchi the Rock! studio CloverWorks returning to produce the animation.
Bocchi the Rock! creator Aki Hamazi shared the following message:
I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to bring Nijika and Seika’s story from volume five of the Bocchi the Rock! manga to audiences as a film. The idea first came to me on my way home after recording for the first season of the TV anime had wrapped. I wanted the manga to fill in more of their past, which was shown at the end of episode eight, so I drew the journey leading up to the creation of STARRY.
For the film, screenwriter Erika Yoshida has expanded the original story into something truly wonderful. Simply looking at Yukiko Horiguchi’s character designs vividly brings back the atmosphere of Shimokitazawa at that time. Through repeated discussions with director Shin Wakabayashi and the production team, I could feel just how deeply everyone understood and valued the original work’s core ideas and world. Every meeting made me more excited, and I kept thinking, “I can’t wait to share this story with the fans!”
I believe this will be a film that longtime readers of the manga and viewers discovering Bocchi the Rock! for the first time can both enjoy. Please look forward to the day it is completed and arrives in theaters.
Director Shin Wakabayashi also commented:
The original is a story about dreams and secrets. What guides Seika forward is the power of a “wish.” Wishing can seem like a last resort when you are unable to take action yourself. Compared with actually doing something, it can appear passive and powerless. It should be obvious which approach has a greater effect on the outcome.
Yet after reading the story, you come away feeling that it was precisely those wishes that helped Seika and Nijika the most. That is what makes the story so fascinating and compelling. I hope to preserve all of that appeal in the film.
Screenwriter Erika Yoshida added:
When I first read the short spin-off Hoshi ni Tamukeru Ai no Hana, I remember thinking with incredible intensity, “I want to see this animated! I want to write the screenplay!”
I had even decided on my own that if season two ever happened, we absolutely had to adapt this story. So when producers Umehara and Takayama approached me about making it into a movie, I immediately said yes. My reaction was basically, “A movie!? That’s even better!” I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the immensely talented director Wakabayashi.
Fans probably already know this, but I still have to say it: Hamazi-sensei is brilliant at taking what most people might consider a character’s “flaws” or “weaknesses” and portraying them as irresistibly charming qualities.
The film’s protagonist, Nijika’s older sister and STARRY manager Seika Ijichi, has plenty of lovable qualities that are very different from Hitori Gotoh’s. Please look forward to this wonderful story about Seika and Nijika! And season two should be ready to meet everyone in the not-too-distant future, so please continue supporting both projects!
Bocchi the Rock! Hoshi no Ashiato (Starry Footprints) is currently scheduled to open sometime in 2027. Fans are undoubtedly still eager for more news about the anime’s second season, so all eyes are now on what the official team reveals next—and whether both projects can deliver what audiences have been waiting for.
via： X@アニメ「ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！」公式