Bocchi finally takes the stage in English, and she’s brought her best friend—crippling anxiety! Hitori Goto just wants to make friends, but the thought of approaching a stranger on her own makes her so nervous that she’s spent the entirety of middle school teaching herself how to shred on the guitar—to moderately successful (albeit anonymous) YouTube fame—in the hopes of seeming cool enough for someone else to reach out to her instead. After bringing her guitar to school provokes zero interest, Hitori’s just about ready to shrivel up and die...which is when Nijika Ijichi comes across her moping in a playground and begs her to fill in for her band’s flakey guitarist for their first-ever live performance! It’s like her wish came true—but does this most antisocial of introverts have what it takes to perform in front of real people?!

Visual artist(s): Aki Hamazi