Bocchi the Rock! goes back before Kessoku Band: prequel film Hoshi no Ashiato follows Nijika and Seika in 2027
CloverWorks' new Bocchi the Rock! movie adapts the Ijichi sisters' story from volume 5 of Aki Hamaji's manga, with Sayumi Suzushiro and Maaya Uchida back as Nijika and Seika. It opens in Japanese theaters in 2027.
The next Bocchi the Rock! story on the big screen is not about Hitori Gotoh at all. Bocchi the Rock! Hoshi no Ashiato, a prequel movie revealed on Sunday, November 1, puts the spotlight on drummer Nijika Ijichi and her older sister Seika, and it reaches Japanese cinemas in 2027.
The franchise's official X account broke the news with a teaser video and a teaser image of the two sisters. No month has been named yet, and apart from the Ijichis, the cast is still under wraps.
A story from before STARRY
The film takes place before Kessoku Band ever formed. According to the announcement, it centers on "the sisters' dream," a dream that starts with "a parting": MyAnimeList's report, citing Oricon News, describes the opening as the moment the two were separated ten years earlier. From there it traces how Seika came to open STARRY, the live house she runs and where Nijika's band later plays.
Viewers of the TV series have seen a glimpse of that history already. The end of episode 8 hinted at the sisters' past, and the new movie fills that gap. Original creator Aki Hamaji said it adapts the Nijika and Seika story from the fifth volume of the manga.
Familiar voices, familiar hands
Maaya Uchida is back as Seika and Sayumi Suzushiro as Nijika, the same pairing heard in the TV anime. CloverWorks is again the studio, with Shin Wakabayashi in the director's chair. Erika Yoshida, credited on the TV series, writes the script, while Yukiko Horiguchi draws the character designs.
Where the franchise stands
Hamaji's four-panel music comedy runs in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara MAX, and Yen Press publishes it in English. The manga paused in January and came back in June, per MyAnimeList.
The 12-episode TV adaptation began airing on October 9, 2022, telling of a painfully withdrawn girl who spends hours a day practicing alone and posts clips online, until Nijika pulls her into a band. A two-part compilation film came next in 2024, and Crunchyroll carries the TV series in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and well over a hundred other territories.
The movie is not the only new animation in the works: a second TV season was announced in February 2025 under a new director. Neither project has a release date yet; the next thing to watch for is the rest of the film's cast.
