BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt so I’ll Max out My Defense is an interesting Isekai anime.
It is a light novel series written by Yuumikan and illustrated by Koin. The plot follows Kaede Honjō who plays the VRMMORPG NewWorld Online under the name Maple.
Her real-life friend Risa aka Sally introduces her to the game.
Just finished watching the #anime
Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense
Such brilliant fun, disengage brain and just go with it
Don’t let Maple wander off on her own, you know there’s going to be “trouble” #bofuri pic.twitter.com/ZwYSj4gPJt
— Dave…. Just Dave (@WargamingDave) June 10, 2021
Maple opts to be a shield user and continues putting every status point into her defense level.
Through her good fortune and creative thinking, Maple becomes one of the strongest players in the game with some unexpected abilities.
There is a risk with the Isekai genre as it does not appeal to people who have never played MMO games. However, BOFURI is an exception. The MC is as clueless as many of the new viewers because Maple has also never played such a game.
As a result, she uses unorthodox methods to beat the game which brings comedic relief to viewers. This shows one of BOFURI’s main messages which is: It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can still have fun.
Many shows in this genre show the protagonist choosing the best builds and exploiting mechanics to beat it. In BOFURI, Maple behaves the exact opposite and pursues to beat the game in her own logic: to not get hurt.
Her friend Sally is the representation of how people play normally. She is also a compliment for her slower friend as she plays an agile and swift character. Maple’s free-wheeling approach to playing helps other players to loosen up. They try to enjoy the game instead of reaping stat bonuses.
The aspect of having fun by doing whatever you want is the main theme in BOFURI. This theme is however missing in many Isekai animes today.
