Review of BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.
TL; DR_part1 Wow, that was a delightful anime. My heart is full of joy and then some atop when thinking about it. It’s colorful, likable and for former gamers, quite nostalgic. All in all, very adventurous and wholesome. My sincerest recommendation for everyone wishing to brighten their day a lot. Summary. The story is about a newbie called Maple (an in-game name), a schoolgirl who accepts an invitation from her friend to join the new MMOVR. Being a positive and imaginative girl without any gaming experience, she starts her virtual journey with a more difficult quest by passing it most unconventionally. As she doesn't like gettinghurt, she decides to invest every acquired point in vitality only. In few hours, this approach makes her a heavy tank with rare and weird abilities which she then unorthodoxly connects to make a weird, OP build.
In a nutshell, this anime is about painless snowballing and if anybody is having a problem with watching a mentally healthy, positive, kind OP character, I am sorry. This isn’t anime for you. No permadeath and absolutely no need to be at the edge of the seat. Everything is going to be fine.
The close friendship between our main duo, Maple and Sally is a thing that made all in for the ride. They complementing and encouraging each other equals my friendship goals. Between the two of them, Maple is a more carefree one, primarily playing for fun and weird shenanigans. At the same time, she is a nurturing individual, a competent tactician under pressure, and a dash of a mad scientist. On the other hand, Sally can offer a great deal of history in competitive online gaming and is more in tune with the „laws“ of the virtual world. This makes her more of the strategist, the cautious one with a trickster streak. If Maple is the vital heart of the guild, Sally is the brain. A badass brain.
Aside from MCs, the supporting cast is a likable bunch, being weird in their own way, but not as near as Maple. They are a group of supportive friends gathered under the band of mutual likes and respect. The type of people you wish to meet online, but never do. However, they could stand to get more focus in season 2.
As I played a little bit of MMORPG to cover the basics, this anime took me on some serious nostalgia trip. The first few episodes made me relive that tingling feeling of exploration when you start a new game, while the second part of the season reminded me why I always played solo. However, since this is a casual anime, creators didn’t dwell too much on accurate representation of more technical stuff like realistic stats or skill metrics, so expect these things to be simplified and unrealistic sometimes.
The background music works well in both action and relaxing scenes, with one exception being an insert song called Good Night by Rico Sasaki which is simply too amazing for words. Every time it played, I wanted to go out and dance like a crazy fairy in the rain.
TL; DR_part2 Enjoyment - 9
As I was saying, this is anime about good friends helping each other out to have a great time collectively. Everything is harmless and uncomplicated. Everyone is kind and supportive. There is no pressure, just people trying to have fun. A slice of gaming life, if you will. Go watch and catch some good vibes.