English Dub Season Review: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense Season Two

Many gamers have different strategies to dominate video games, particularly MMORPG games. Some of them focus on offense and defense to achieve victory, while others use one or the other. For someone like Kaede Honjo, the best way to win is with defense. Lots and lots of defense. Oh, and plenty of unexpected skills as well.

Bofuri introduced anime players to an intriguing and light-hearted concept involving a young gamer unexpectedly becoming one of the strongest players ever…by only upgrading their defense. Through its solid combination of video game action, charming characters, and light-hearted comedy, the show successfully brought Yuumikan’s light novel series to brimming life. Three years after its first season concluded, the video game fantasy series has finally received a long-awaited update that allows us to reunite with the Maple Tree Guild for more fun RPG adventures. The big question is whether it has enough materials to bring back its fans and maybe get the newcomers to log in.

The first season of Bofuri centered on Kaede Honjo (Megan Shipman), who started playing the popular VRMMORPG game titled “New World Online” thanks to her friend Risa Shiromine (Jad Saxton). Since Kaede is afraid of getting hurt, she spends her skill points on boosting only her defense, allowing her to acquire unexpected skills and level up by withstanding attacks. As Maple, Kaede unexpectedly becomes the talk of the gaming town as she gains a surprising amount of powerful skills through her luck and impenetrable defense. Maple and Risa (known as “Sally” in the game) also built a guild known as Maple Tree, consisting of samurai Kasumi (Tia Ballard), mage Kanade (Brittney Karbowski), shielder Kuromu (Anthony Bowling), crafter Iz (Caitlin Glass), and twin sisters Mai (Sara Ragsdale) and Yui (Kristen McGuire). They work together to explore the levels and conquer the events in the game.

Season two, titled Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 2, continues the video game adventures of Maple, Sally, and the Maple Tree guild. Their new quests take them through the game’s levels and events, including Level 4, a Japanese-themed area set in permanent night, and the seventh event involving the players taming monsters into their companions. As the season progresses, Maple continues to unexpectedly gain more unusual skills, allowing her to become more powerful than the game’s administrators could handle, including the ability to produce tentacles in “Maxing Defense and Tentacles”.

I was highly interested in watching this series based on the premise alone. I usually play video games during my days off, and the show quickly reminds me of the joy and relaxation of the activity, especially with friends. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t find the time to watch it. That is until I reviewed the first episode of season two, which motivated me to binge-watch season one. I enjoyed the first season so much that it got me hooked on the sophomore season.

For those unfamiliar with Bofuri, the series is basically Sword Art Online, but without the life-and-death scenarios and the deep psychological themes involving virtual reality. Instead, it’s a laid-back and harmless series featuring characters playing the popular open-world online game without any massive threat or antagonist interrupting their fun. It sounds boring and repetitive on paper without an enticing plot to keep things interesting, but it’s not. Regarding the likable characters, entertaining arcs, and charming humor, the second season of Bofuri successfully captures the merriment and thrills of playing an online game with friends the same way season one did.

The characters are still a delight to watch with their charisma and optimistic personalities, including Maple. Maple has come a long way since she logged into NewWorld Online for the first time. She started as a cheerful yet timid shielder who was afraid of taking damage, resulting in her maxing out her defense, making her indestructible. But thanks to her newfound skills and comrades, Maple gains confidence and optimism in battling more formidable enemies without constantly cowering in fear. Megan Shipman has impressed me a lot with her take on cute and innocent characters, mainly Akebi from Akebi’s Sailor Uniform and Any Forger from Spy x Family. Unsurprisingly, her performance as Maple is no different, as she continues to provide plenty of heart and comedy into the optimistic shielder/leader of Maple Tree.

The supporting characters play out the same way as in season one, including Sally, who’s still incredibly skilled but easily frightened of ghosts. The latter was proven in the season’s second episode, “Maxing Defense, Level 5, and Level 6”. However, they’re still faced with having minimal to no character development, aside from the members of the Order of the Holy Sword and Flame Emperor, who went from rivals to friends. Fortunately, they offer enough solid moments in their comedy and power-ups to maintain their likability. One example is Kasumi, who obtains the Purple Phantom Blade at the start of season two. However, this particular blade causes her to transform into a child temporarily whenever she uses it. While Kasumi got even stronger thanks to her new sword, it does come with the cost of being humiliated in her childlike form.

The animation by Silver Link also continues to dazzle with its level designs (especially Level 4) and even the action sequences. While the series heavily relies on its lightheartedness and comedy, it still carries the thrilling battles we’ve seen in other fantasy action shows, especially ones related to virtual reality gaming like Sword Art Online. Even though the stakes aren’t as life-threatening as the ones in the story-driven isekai/RPG shows, the battles in season two are entertaining enough to accompany its intended tone without feeling like a completely different series. One example is in its third episode, “Maxing Defense and the Seventh Event”, where Maple and Sally battle the strongest monsters in a battle tower. It faltered slightly from some of its CGI effects during the skill-stealing book boss fight. Despite that, the battles are nicely animated and packed with energy big enough to reflect the challenging thrills of fighting a game’s boss.

I also enjoyed the music by Taro Masuda. Although, I wished that they had chosen a different song for the specific montages instead of just the one they used every time. Don’t get me wrong, the tune for the montages is pleasant to listen to, and it easily matches the relaxation of hanging out with friends. It’s that it reaches the point of being repetitive and lacking variety. Hopefully, they’ll fix that in a possible third season. I highly doubt it, but it would be nice if it did.

After watching season two of Bofuri, I can officially call myself a fan of this delightfully entertaining and charmingly humorous MMORPG comedy series. Sure, it won’t be for everyone due to its tone and lack of high stakes in its harmless plot. But if you want a relaxing anime that combines light-hearted comedy and enticing action, Bofuri is worth logging into. There’s no word on whether a third season will happen, but because of its intriguing tease at the end of the season two finale, I’m assuming that the next season is inevitable. If it does happen, I would gladly be back for another gaming session with Maple and her Maple Tree guild.