Image: Anime Corner
Bocchi the Rock! will get a new anime movie, titled Bocchi the Rock! Movie: Hoshi no Ashiato, in Japanese theaters in 2027. CloverWorks returns as the animation studio, and the film focuses on the Ijichi sisters, Seika and Nijika. The announcement came on Sunday, November 1, 2026 through the series' official site and X account.
What was announced
- Release: 2027 in Japan, with no exact date yet. Distribution is by ANIMEC.
- Story: it centers on Seika Ijichi, the older sister of Nijika, and, in the words of the official description, tells "a story of dreams beginning with the Ijichi sisters' separation ten years ago."
- Staff: Shin Wakabayashi directs, Erika Yoshida writes the script and Yukiko Horiguchi handles character design.
- Cast: Maaya Uchida returns as Seika and Sayumi Suzushiro as Nijika.
- Materials: an announcement promo and a teaser visual were released with the news.
Background
The Bocchi the Rock! TV anime ran for 12 episodes in fall 2022 at CloverWorks. A two-part compilation movie opened in June and August 2024, and a second TV season was announced in February 2025 but still has no release date. The source manga by Aki Hamaji has run in Manga Time Kirara MAX since December 2017; it went on hiatus in January and came back in June, and Yen Press is due to publish volume 8 in English on November 24.
What it means
This is a spin-off aimed at the supporting characters rather than a continuation of Hitori Gotoh's story, and it moves the focus to the band's drummer and her sister, who was only a side presence in the TV series. That makes it a useful test for how far the franchise can go without its title character in the lead. With a second season still undated, a film in 2027 also changes the expected order of releases: viewers may see the movie before the next TV episodes. We do not yet know whether the film will connect to the main plot or serve as a standalone story, and the lack of an exact date means plans should stay flexible.
This is a mainstream music comedy and sits outside our usual mecha and seinen coverage, but it is one of the week's more widely reported announcements.
