Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense is an anime series adaptation by Silver Link based on a light novel series written by Yuumikan and illustrated by Koin. The manga version of Bofuri however was done by Jirō Oimoto has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's under their magazine Comp Ace. The light novel having 12 volumes and the manga currently at 6 volumes.
I was supposed to make a review of the first season when it first came out but I guess I sort of forgot about it. And as of the writing of this review Season 2 episode 1 of Bofuri has already dropped online so I guess now is a good time as any to do this review. Also minor spoilers ahead.
Bofuri is about Kaede Honjo a player of a VRMMMORPG New World Online under the name Maple. As the title suggest her goal as a shield user is to make out her defense in order to not get hurt. But due to her basic creative thinking and extreme luck gave her unexpected skill turning her into one of the most OP shield user in the game.
One thing I like about Bofuri plot is that it doesn’t involve anything that involves some evil Demonlord trying to take over the world or something similar. It is just a VRMMO that is both an adventure and actually fun. It has enough world building that anyone familiar with MMO fantasy game could easily recognize and get into. And although not as detailed as the manga version the anime has enough pacing and time to explain anything the story comes into. I like how being a noob player Maple finds creative unorthodox ways of defeating her enemies.
What makes the series fun is despite the abundant of really OP characters in the series is that it is all about fun as MMORPG should be. So no ones trap in some virtual world or there is no evil organization using VRMMO to further their evil plans. This is just players like Maple just exploring the world meeting friends, hunting monsters, exploring and being utterly broken OP characters in their own free right…no doubt at the cringe of the game developers…still no one is cheating yet.
I also like that the series doesn’t really just evolve around Maple herself. Even her friend Sally has her own personality and appeal that sets her apart from the main character. And this idea is spread out to the rest of the cast in the series. Also Maple as a character despite being cute and often coming off as a noob is actually very clever. This also goes for Sally who was already an MMO veteran before the start of the series. You get to see Sally type of professionalism in character building from her game character as she balances her stat to get her ideal skill set.
Sadly the anime narrative wise does gloss over a lot of the explanation that was present in the manga. One such example is like how Sally has a certain skills already to fight a certain boss...a skill she required in a small game event that was shown in the manga. So if you ever find the time I’d suggest finding a copy of the manga to get a better appreciation of the series. Either read the manga or light novel first or watch the anime series first. In fact watching the series as it is wont hurt your enjoyment of it much.
On the flip side the animation of Bofuri is impressive and is better than what is shown in the manga. They really brought to life the exciting aspects of the manga from the huge imposing boss fights and the colorful attack skill. The only downside of the series like I said is its lack of explanation at certain areas like how Sally had a certain skill despite the anime not showing her buying, beaten a monster or boss to get said skill. An explanation the manga carefully explained.
The
series has the right mix of comedy, action and cute moments that I doubt
anybody who is a fan of fantasy action genre would find annoying unless you are
not into all that cute anime girls as the main protagonist. Bofuri is a fun and
entertaining VRMMORPG anime series that takes what is already established and
does its own thing. It has the right mix of action and comedy that nearly
anyone can enjoy.
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