Suffering from extreme social anxiety, Hitori Bocchi has problems making friends. To make matters worse, she is going to middle school without her one and only friend. Furthermore, her only friend will only talk to her if she makes new friends at this school. So begins her struggle.
This show is a bit hard to watch sometimes, but it is earnest and at times adorable. If you are looking for something similar to Hitori Bocchi’s Lifestyle, meander down below.
Anime Like Hitori Bocchi’s Lifestyle
For Fans of Awkward Girls
Watamote
Tomoko Kuroki is well on her way to becoming a full hikkikomori. The only problem is, she has to get through high school first. However, her short lifetime of playing dating sims and watching anime hasn’t prepared her for the social interactions of real life. Still, Tomoko struggles through each day and the social interactions that they bring.
The similarities between these series are obvious. A awkward girl wants to make friends, and goes out to do so. The different is the effects. In Hitori Bocchi, she is actually fairly successful. In Watamote, she is never successful.
Kimi ni Todoke
Quiet and relatively timid, Sawako Kuronuma is misunderstood by her classmates. Due to her long black hair and shyness, they have taken to calling her Sadako, the ghost girl from The Ring. Longing to make friends, she is drawn to Kazehaya Shouta, the most popular boy in school and his refreshing personality. However, when Kazehaya starts talking to her, Sawako’s lonely world begins to open up.
In both of these series, the main character is misunderstood to be weird or scary. However, often they are misunderstanding very kind actions on her part that were angled to reach out to others. Both shows end up being nice series about shy girls coming out of their shells.
ReLife
Arata Kaizaki is an unemployed 27-year-old that has thus far been living with the financial support of his parents and part-time jobs. After leaving his first job after only three months, he has not been able to find proper work. However, after a night of drinking with his friends, he meets a mysterious man that offers a drunk Arata a pill that will turn him 17 again so that he can redo a year of his youth, all expenses paid. Will Arata find what he needs to live a happy life after one year in high school again?
While the awkward girl is the main character in Hitori Bocchi, the awkward girl is more of a secondary character in ReLife. However, you see many similarities between them. They want to grow as people, but have a really hard time doing so.
For Fans of Making Friends
Hinako Note
In an effort at get better at speaking to people, country girl Hinako moves to Tokyo. She then intends to join the drama club at school, but complications arise when her boarding house turns out to be a secondhand bookstore.
Both series focus around girls that want to change. In Hinako Note, she moves to try and foster that while Hitori Bocchi is forced into circumstance. Regardless, you watch as they try to grow better at communicating.
Haganai
Kodaka Hasegawa is anything but a delinquent. However, because of his blonde hair and bad boy face, he has been labeled as such. When classmates shiver in your presence, it makes it difficult to make friends. Yet, when Kodaka meets Yozora, a girl that is perhaps a bigger outcast than him, the pair start the Neighbors’ Club. In the Neighbors’ Club, those without any friends are invited to join, but not all personalities may mesh well.
Take Hitori Bocchi and multiply her a couple of times, and you may very well end up with this series. Haganai is about a group of misfits that come together because they have problems making friends. Not all of them are socially awkward in the same way as Hitori though.
For Fans of Misunderstandings
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Considered a genius, Miyuki Shirogane leads the student council in his prestigious school. Alongside his beautiful and wealthy vice president, Kaguya Shinomiya, the two are regarded as the perfect couple despite no romantic relationship. The truth is, however, they both have feelings for each other, but neither can confess. This is the battle of two people trying to get the other to confess first!
While Love is War is romance-oriented, like in Hitori Bocchi, many actions are misinterpreted. Due to these misunderstandings, it prevents the characters from achieving positive outcomes. The same happens at many points in Hitori Bocchi.
Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun
Chiyo Sakura has fallen head over heels for the handsome and oblivious Umetarou Nozaki. However, when she confesses her love, he gives her an autograph. It turns out this stoic boy is actually a respected shoujo manga artist. After a series of misunderstandings, Chiyo winds up not as his girlfriend, but as his manga assistant.
Both series are built on misunderstandings for comedy. Hitori Bocchi seems weird because she does odd things for her comfort. While Chiyo’s actions are misinterpreted by her crush, Hitori’s actions are often misunderstood by her classmates. Unfortunately, the same clarity that Bocchi’s friends see doesn’t quite manifest in Monthly Girls’ Nozaki.
Nichijou
Nichijou is about the daily lives of a trio of three friends who soon find their fate intertwined with a young genius, her robot maid, and talking cat. Needless to say, the normal does not ensue.
Both series follow younger girls and their various school life shenanigans. Among these many weird and random events, misunderstandings are common, but the characters still connect.
Do you have any more anime series like Hitori Bocchi’s Lifestyle? Let fans know in the comments section below.
