The series went on an indefinite hiatus in January due to the creator’s poor health.
The four-panel “Bocchi the Rock!” manga by Aki Hamaji is going to resume serialisation in the next issue of the Manga Time Kirara MAX magazine. The manga went on a hiatus back in December 2025, and was set to return in January 2026. However, an indefinite hiatus was reinstated in January due to Hamaji’s poor health. Fans will be glad to know that the series is finally coming back!
Bocchi the Rock!
Creator: Aki Hamaji
Publisher: Hobunsha
Reading platform: Yen Press publishes the manga’s volumes in English
When is Bocchi the Rock! manga coming back?
The official website and X (formerly Twitter) account of the Manga Time Kirara MAX magazine has confirmed that Bocchi the Rock! manga will come back in the magazine’s next issue. The news was announced in the July issue, which came out on 19 May. The August issue will hit the shelves on 18 June, 2026, and will bring Bocchi back with it!
The manga went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2026, due to an unspecified illness that creator Aki Hamaji was suffering from. Fans are glad that he is better now, and working on the manga again.
What is Bocchi the Rock! about?
Bocchi the Rock! began serialising in Hobunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Max in December 2017. A spin-off manga series “Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary” began serialising in December 2023. The original manga has a very popular anime adaptation which came out in 2022. A second season has already been planned, although the release window is yet to be confirmed.
Yen Press publishes the manga in English and describes the story as:
Hitori Gotoh just wants to be popular, but the thought of interacting with her classmates makes her fall to pieces. Her solution-become a rock legend so cool that people approach her instead! However, while spending all of middle school in her closet shredding on the guitar may have earned her anonymous internet fame, it did nothing for her social skills. Now a high schooler, Hitori’s feeling ready to shrivel up and die-when she gets a sudden request to fill in for a band! It’s like her wish came true-but does this most anxious of introverts have what it takes to perform in front of a live audience?!