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Bocchi the Rock! the Movie: Hoshi no Ashiato (“Footprints of the Star”) is coming in 2027. The lead isn’t Bocchi, and it isn’t Nijika either — it’s Nijika’s older sister, STARRY’s manager, Seika Ijichi. The film adapts “Hoshi ni Tamukeru Ai no Hana,” the one-shot printed at the back of volume 5 of the manga, into a story that opens with the separation of the Ijichi sisters ten years earlier.
The announcement came on November 1, 2026, at the event marking SHELTER’s 35th anniversary. Shin Wakabayashi directs, Erika Yoshida writes the script, Yukiko Horiguchi handles character design, and CloverWorks animates. Maaya Uchida returns as Seika and Sayumi Suzushiro returns as Nijika. Revealed at the same time: Kessoku Band is taking an Asia tour, “Kessoku Band ASIA TOUR 2027 ‘To Asia.’,” to three cities — Osaka, Seoul and Hong Kong.
The studio also reconfirmed that a second TV season is in production. The broadcast window, however, has not been announced as of November 2026. Scriptwriter Erika Yoshida commented that she thinks “season 2 will reach you in a not-too-distant future.”
This piece covers what the source episode actually depicts, who’s behind the film, the tour dates and ticketing, and where season 2 currently stands. I’m one of the people who cried at the end of episode 8 of season 1, so hearing that those few minutes of flashback are becoming a whole feature film has me genuinely unmoored.
Start with what the film is actually about.
*Prices in this article are converted from Japanese yen at ¥153 = US$1 (November 2026 rate).
What is Hoshi no Ashiato about? The Ijichi sisters, ten years earlier
Bocchi the Rock! the Movie: Hoshi no Ashiato is adapted from “Hoshi ni Tamukeru Ai no Hana,” the one-shot collected in volume 5 of the manga, with Seika Ijichi as its protagonist. The official synopsis calls it “a dream of a story that begins with the ‘separation’ of the Ijichi sisters ten years ago.” It traces the footsteps that led Seika to build the live house STARRY.
In episode 8 of season 1, Nijika says the line, “My big sister was the only family I had.” The sliver of the sisters’ past sketched at the end of that episode is what original creator Aki Hamaji went back and filled in as a manga. On how the one-shot came about, Hamaji commented:
This story originally came to me on the walk home from a recording session for season 1 of the TV anime. I wanted to draw, in manga form, a story that filled in the past of those two shown at the end of episode 8, so I gave shape to the footsteps that led to STARRY being built.
Source:Natalie Music (comment from Aki Hamaji)
So this film is a round trip: the anime came first, the story the anime produced went to manga, and now it’s going back to anime. Because it takes place before the members of Kessoku Band ever meet, Bocchi herself almost certainly barely appears. That it still works as a Bocchi the Rock! movie comes down to the fact that the root of why Nijika clings so hard to the band is right here. Rewatching season 1 before heading to the theater is the correct play.
A teaser visual and a teaser trailer both went up the same day. The first wave of advance MovieTicket cards goes on sale November 6 at US$10 (tax included), using newly drawn illustration work from Yukiko Horiguchi.
Who’s making it? Director Shin Wakabayashi, script by Erika Yoshida
Shin Wakabayashi directs, Erika Yoshida writes the script, Yukiko Horiguchi does character design, Akiko Fujita is sound director, CloverWorks is the animation studio, and ANIMEC is distributing.
| Role | Name | Notable credits |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Shin Wakabayashi | Wonder Egg Priority |
| Script | Erika Yoshida | Tiger and Her Wings; Bocchi the Rock! TV anime (series composition) |
| Character design | Yukiko Horiguchi | K-On! |
| Sound director | Akiko Fujita | — |
| Animation production | CloverWorks | Bocchi the Rock! TV anime |
| Distribution | ANIMEC | — |
| Seika Ijichi | Maaya Uchida | Returning from the TV anime |
| Nijika Ijichi | Sayumi Suzushiro | Returning from the TV anime |
Two names stand out. The first is Yukiko Horiguchi. The person who set the visual benchmark for high-school-girl band anime with her character designs on K-On! is joining a Bocchi the Rock! film. Her own reaction, per her comment, was a blunt “Huh?? That’s… me??” — while Aki Hamaji wrote of the setting art that “just looking at them, the air of ‘Shimokitazawa back then’ rises up vividly before my eyes.” Kerorira handled character design on the TV anime, so the film’s look will shift a little.
The second is Erika Yoshida. She handled series composition on season 1 of the TV anime and then became widely known for writing the NHK morning drama Tiger and Her Wings. By her own comment, she had already decided that “if we do a season 2, we are absolutely drawing this story” — and then the film offer arrived. Director Shin Wakabayashi is the Wonder Egg Priority guy, and on this project he’s said that “the source material is a story of dreams and secrets” and that “what guides Seika forward is the power of a wish.”
Two cast members are confirmed: Maaya Uchida and Sayumi Suzushiro. No other character appearances have been revealed as of November 2026.
When and where is Kessoku Band ASIA TOUR 2027? Osaka, Seoul and Hong Kong
Kessoku Band ASIA TOUR 2027 “To Asia.” runs two nights in Osaka in March 2027, then hits Seoul and Hong Kong in May. The performers are Yoshino Aoyama, Sayumi Suzushiro, Saku Mizuno and Ikumi Hasegawa, backed by Ritsuo Mitsui (guitar), Osamu Hidai (drums), Yuichi Takama (bass) and akkin (guitar).
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| Saturday, March 13, 2027 | INTEX Osaka Hall 5 (Osaka) |
| Sunday, March 14, 2027 | INTEX Osaka Hall 5 (Osaka) |
| Saturday, May 8, 2027 | KINTEX (Seoul) |
| Saturday, May 22, 2027 | AsiaWorld-Expo (Hong Kong) |
Official advance reservations for the Osaka shows are being taken through Lawson Ticket, with a November 15 cutoff. Ticket information for Seoul and Hong Kong has not been issued for the Japanese market as of November 2026.
INTEX Osaka Hall 5 is an exhibition hall, which makes it the exact opposite of the small-room atmosphere STARRY trades on. A film about Seika building a live house in Shimokitazawa landing in the same year that Kessoku Band plays its way out to Seoul and Hong Kong is almost too neat a contrast.
When is season 2? No broadcast window announced as of November 2026
As of November 2026, no broadcast window has been officially announced for season 2 of the Bocchi the Rock! TV anime. The only thing confirmed on the record is that it is in production.
The clue is in Erika Yoshida’s comment. “Season 2 will reach you in a not-too-distant future” carries weight coming from the writer herself. The same person is scripting the film and the TV anime, and that person is saying “not distant,” so I’d expect further season 2 news to land around the film’s release. A PASH! PLUS article names Yusuke Yamamoto as season 2’s director, though no announcement to that effect can be confirmed on the official site.
Put it together and Bocchi the Rock! in 2027 is a three-way bill: the film, the Asia tour, and the next season 2 update. Once the film’s release month is set, how it slots alongside season 2 should come into focus.
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In summary: Hoshi no Ashiato opens in 2027, Seika leads, and Kessoku Band tours three cities
Bocchi the Rock! the Movie: Hoshi no Ashiato opens in 2027. Adapted from “Hoshi ni Tamukeru Ai no Hana,” the one-shot in volume 5 of the manga, it stars Seika Ijichi and begins with the sisters’ separation ten years earlier. Shin Wakabayashi directs, Erika Yoshida writes, Yukiko Horiguchi designs the characters, and CloverWorks animates. Maaya Uchida plays Seika and Sayumi Suzushiro plays Nijika. The first wave of advance MovieTicket cards goes on sale November 6 at US$10. Kessoku Band ASIA TOUR 2027 plays INTEX Osaka on March 13 and 14, Seoul on May 8, and Hong Kong on May 22. Season 2 of the TV anime is in production, with no broadcast window announced as of November 2026.
Leading a flagship franchise’s new theatrical feature with a movie Bocchi doesn’t headline is, in itself, proof of how strong Bocchi the Rock! has become. The team knows exactly how deep those few minutes in episode 8 of season 1 cut into the audience. Whether ten-years-ago Shimokitazawa rendered in Yukiko Horiguchi’s linework meshes with what Shin Wakabayashi calls “the power of a wish” is the question — and it’s made this the 2027 anime film I’m most eagerly waiting on.
Watching a story set before STARRY existed, in a theater in the neighborhood STARRY was modeled on. I’m confident I’ll cry on that alone.
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