Forum - View topicBOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. (TV)
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #5
So it's the floor where all players besides Maple and Sally can finally acquire pets/familiars for themselves. Considering how overpowered Syrup has been for Maple since the acquisition and later power-up through levitation, this levels up the playing field for everyone else by giving them something similar to help out as the challenges get harder. Good on the developers, since Maple and Sally's early-mover advantage might well be equalized if the pets available have better abilities and stats than Syrup and Oboro at equivalent levels. The rest of the episode takes up a "personal quest" format, where Kasumi and the twins acquire their pets without help from their guild. It's a good excuse to show off the individual guild members strutting their stuff in combat, and a reminder that Maple makes life so much easier for the guild and how much tougher it is to do quests alone for rewards in this game. Kasumi's is an enormous slog traversing multiple levels before her flash of inspiration wins her a snake pet (featured in the OP) while the twins get the cute pets they were wishing for when Maple was with them. I reckon Maple's player luck rubs off on her companions, so she opens up opportunities which they then have to grasp. Considering they're her polar opposite (max attack and nothing else) but without her outrageous abilities, it took them some time to figure out the boss attack pattern and an effective way to counter it with their new whirlwind ability. Iz likes cute things, so she spends her time creating outfits to maximise her opportunities seeing the other female guild members in the most adorable outfits and situations. Not bad for the audience, as we get to enjoy the fruits of her creations. It's now down to the three remaining guild members to get their pets as well, which should take up next episode. As for Maple, she gets yet another outrageous ability. Thanks to her ridiculous defence and vitality, she'll survive drowning and the like to actually meet the boss monster. Since it's underwater and she has no valid counter to its tentacle grab, it marks a return to her tactic of last-resort: eating her way to victory. What a coincidence that raw octopus is a delicacy in this game! As always, seeing Maple hilariously defeat her unexpected opponent through sheer hunger is always a scream to watch. No idea what that new ability of hers does, but it will freak out anyone who isn't aware of it the first time round which should win her a few seconds of surprise to unleash what the ability is truly capable of. There's already a shot of the guild's pets completely assembled in the OP animation, so viewers can take a guess at who has what. I'm guessing Kanade gets the armour, Iz the flying creature and Kuromu getting the slime. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15485 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I love that in the face that since Maple can't get a new pet, one would think that there is nothing surprising going to come from her. And then right at the end she turned into a kraken priest and can now turn her body into tentacles.
When they were out getting pets, she was studying the tentacle. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #6
1 out of 3 for my guesses. Iz did indeed get the flying pet, but I bought the dummy from Kanade and should have associated heavy armour with Kuromu's penchant for high durability and undead-themed equipment. Contrary to what he said in previous episodes, he actually obtained his pet solo without help from the guild. In fact, discounting Maple and Sally who obtained their pets together much earlier in the game, the only guild member who required help to earn a pet was Iz. Kanade is easily the most intelligent member of the Maple Tree. That's a lot of NPCs to memorise, but it's something else to look at someone and identify them as a unique NPC and not a player character. The rest is luck and persistence, but it turns out the pet he's acquired is a good match for his abilities and skill set. Sou is not a bad name either, after all 双 means "double". Typically high INT stat distribution which I'm certain Kanade also focuses on, although not to the extent Maple and the Twins do with their respective stats. They say Iz can make anything provided she has the materials. I'm inclined to agree, although her segment is more about showing off Mii's pet Phoenix, what it's capable of and throwing in what Maple can do with her new tentacles (it's not just for tickling Syrup and flipping him right side up). I wonder if Maple's chromatic eye has some gameplay function instead of just indicating she's got the tentacles deployed. I'm not sure if Iz's pet should be spelled Fay or Fey, but either way it's no surprise why she chose the name. Kuromu is more conventional as a great shielder, so unlike Maple if you do kill him he'll be back for more because it's difficult for his HP to stay zero permanently thanks to his equipment and skills. Ever since the first season he's had the undeath-themed equipment, so it's fitting he faces off and beats a full ship of this monster type for the prize he wants. I'm confident he's not going to have the DEF stat Maple enjoys even with Necro equipped, but Maple Tree has two tanks in the guild who are very difficult to beat for the next event. Real-life issues mean the series takes a short hiatus, but it's not a bad place to stop as the next episode would have been the event where everyone else gets to show off what kind of powerful pets they've obtained. Unlike other affected series, this one seems to have got off lightly with its delay, the last few episodes not having an air-date purely because the quarter is gone by then and the committee need to buy additional TV slots at a later date to accommodate the last two episodes. |
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Edjwald
 Posts: 1157 |
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Yah, it'll be interesting to see where they're going with this Pokemon development as far as events and tournaments go. I mentioned this earlier, but one of the reasons I like this show is that the game is always changing. It's a game I'd like to play if the technology ever did come to fruition, Infinite Dendrogram should have been right up my alley, but that VR game seemed more like a bad LSD trip. .
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #7
It's back after a two-week break, and I'm surprised as I thought this episode would mark the start of the eighth event. Turns out it's another week featuring power-ups, as Maple and Sally get to evolve their pets to stay one step ahead of everyone else who just acquired theirs. There's always an episode like this in each season, where the animators show off the backgrounds and critters the online world has to offer. I've always like these shots, since it shows off the beauty of their creations and gives viewers a chance to just admire the scenery the same way the players do. It doesn't do much to advance the plot, but it's an easy way to go through airtime in a budget-friendly manner. Maple's luck again in full flow. Playing around with her wool bubble ability opened up the quest for their pets. Despite her luck, the pair actually needed to work hard for this since they had to test out Sally's assertion to obtain the map they needed, then ask their resident expert Kanade for advice on how to proceed. Kanade's advice in particular is invaluable; no other player in the server has his knowledge of the world lore and combined with the map Sally found underwater enabled them to finish the quest. Animators threw in two boss battles, but these are not up to the same level as the event boss. No surprise, have to keep the powder dry for the really important centrepieces. It's still fun to see Maple and Sally absolutely wipe the floor against their hapless opposition. Even Frederica with her boundless optimism has no opportunity to even get an attack off before the duel is over just as soon as it starts. For the second boss in particular, Maple must have used the outfit's telekinesis ability to grant her limited flight, after that it's summoning one of her cannon arms as an impromptu beam weapon. It's the admin scene at the end that reveals their current state of mind. It appears doing the inside of monsters was probably not intentional and completely unnecessary, unfortunately Maple happens to be the main beneficiary for such easter eggs which gives them even more balancing headaches when she acquires these hidden abilities. The player base remains active on their game; it's some feat to declare only 20% of the rare monsters on the latest level of their game remain undefeated. So many dedicated players despite the relative age of the game indicates its continued popularity. Since they've decided to throw out their own custom monsters to take on the empowered player base, it's going to be fun to watch this eighth event pan out. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1157 |
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Wasn't that the same montage music from season 1? Or is my memory playing tricks? As to Maple's luck, I also think it's an offshoot of her unexpected or random choices, like willingly eating monsters. It sends the variables and probabilities pinballing. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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Same music played earlier this season as there was a similar panorama series of shots. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #8-9
Event 8 looks like it's taking up the remaining airtime for this season. The preliminaries were covered in one episode, so the rest of the event should be done before airtime finishes. Viewers should remember there was a two-week delay this season, so the last two episodes won't air within this quarter and should be something to look forward to in the future. The preliminaries are a laugh, since the Maple Tree guild is still strong even when working more or less alone. The developers tried to balance out Maple by adding buffs and debuffs (knowing she'd slaughter just about everything that runs into her) but she still managed to get lucky and turn the tables with a clever piece of improvisation. The other members like Iz and Kasumi ended up being unintentional area bosses, leading to lots of complaints from the wider player base when most of them get slaughtered before realising they were in a PvP environment. Seeing Maple run around using a remote control alligator is both surreal and hilarious though. It's only the first day of the main event, but this flips the solo action on its head as the Maple Tree guild work together in unison for the first time this season. The monsters are clearly strong when they're faced head-on with no support, so the decision to utilise a full empty cave and turn it into the dungeon of death is both astute and cautious on the guild's part. As a tower defence simulation, the Maple Tree are extremely well equipped despite their small numbers because they have Maple and Iz, the latter is probably the server's best craftsman and having her makes the guild punch well above its weight in numbers. When the administrators admit even their own efforts pale in comparison to the Maple Tree's efforts, it's clear they have geared the event towards the wider player base rather than the elite guilds (which play at a much higher level than everyone else). It's not going to much fun if Maple Tree hole up in their base and don't actually play the event as intended, so they'll probably only turtle up when the server time hits nightfall and the strong monsters are deployed. Otherwise, they'll have to face the two other elite guilds if they want to reach their medal goal. It'll be tasty then; Payne and Mii have already shown a small part of their full arsenal in their interrupted duel and even Maple alone would be outmatched, notwithstanding an entire guild bearing down on their location. Whether this turns out to be an all-out brawl remains to be seen, since the objective does not reward PvP. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1157 |
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Episode 8
I've never played tower defense games, but I like games like Minecraft of Fallout 4 with the settlement build where the player has to build bases in the middle of hostile territory, so I found this episode weighed pretty heavy on the wish fulfillment scale. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #10
The developers aren't sitting idle; having seen the top three guilds hole up and defend themselves easily against the 1st night wave of monsters, they've opted to split everyone up and do a hard cull of survivors using every (legitimate?) means at their disposal. Unfortunately for them, their measures are only effective against the general player base. Not checking up on what the top three guilds are capable of means they are again blindsided by the three guilds' ability to clear their obstacles and assemble for cooperative play. There's no PvP element in this event, so working today is obviously in the best interests of all involved. The developers are well aware that having the top three guilds reach their medal target means future balancing is even more hellish because of the massive power disparity between them and everyone else, but they're going to try their level best to make sure that doesn't happen. This is an unusual scenario; whereas the end of the first season was pitting the best guilds against each other, this is the other side of the coin where it's coop play against the very best the environment has to offer. PvE at its most ruthless, since the developers are not holding back now that they know the strongest players are all in one place working together and need to be taken out by any means necessary. Watching the disparate members of the three top guilds working together for an extended duration is new for this franchise; previously viewers would only enjoy a few minutes of them here and there. This week is more or less devoted to seeing them work together throughout, which is a nice touch as it shows what different synergies are in play once the members are interspersed. Watching Payne and Mii absolutely slaughter an entire night's invasion force (with a few buffs from Frederica) is to be expected, but the ease with which they did it suggests they're downplaying just how strong the monster waves are. The four teams which they split up into are actually well balanced, with a good mix of offence and defence for each team. Viewers will need to wait for roughly a month to see what they're capable of, but it's definitely something to look forward to. If we're going to wait for the last two episodes, I'm hoping the animators come good on their promise to improve the visuals even more now that they've requested for more time. An extra week of waiting won't kill viewers, since we've had to wait plenty already to see this adaptation to its finish and if it means the end-product is better then I'm all for it. |
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TnAdct1
Posts: 117 |
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This is one of two criticisms that I have based on the changes that were made between the anime and the original light novel. In the original, to get an idea of just how challenging this event is supposed to be in the hardest level, only the four main members of Payne and Mii's respective guilds survived the part where all the players are scattered. Here, not only do some of the grunt soldiers of those guilds survive the incident, but Christmas Rose and his crew, characters who I'm sure wouldn't even be doing the hardest level of the 8th Event, are still alive as well (gotta hand it to the director for continuing the Motsu cameos by having him be Rose's summon). The other change that I have to criticize is how the anime has Mai being paired with Yui and Kanade when in the light novel, spoiler[when Mii saves Maple and provides her with a tracker, she also reunites her with Mai in the process]. The change does take a lot away in terms of the anime's telling (i.e. the warmth of knowing that Mai is safe and spoiler[with Maple]; the twins being separated, with the two being in contrasting scenarios), with the biggest loss being another attempt at Maple serving as location beacon, this time in the form of spoiler[her and Mai having a tea party on Syrup's back]. I'm sure a lot of people would have gotten a kick of that scene if Silver Link didn't change things and kept that part in. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #11
I don't know how much of an improvement the final product is compared to the last two episodes airing one week earlier, but I'm quite happy with what I watched as it's an action blowout with the four impromptu parties showing off just how much they can do given the time to shine. It's the final two, so the animators are going all out. Every single member gets some time in the spotlight, although Payne's party probably drew the short straw because of how strong he is and the party composition he's in (extended fights featuring him, not a chance!). Maple's guild originally planned for five medals, they now have six. If they all survive to the end, they're going to reach double digits with their event medals. I can understand why the developers are so desperate to stop them from absolutely dominating the event, but also have to balance neutralising the three top guilds against catering to the rest of the player base. Surprisingly despite all of the earlier criticism, it appears the general player base is a lot stronger than the developers anticipated, so it's not just the top three guilds still around at this late juncture. Still, they've pulled out their strongest mass produced mini-boss monster for the remainder of the event. No more tower defence, it's go big or go home. I'm not doubting the outcome of this event for the top three guilds. The question is, what's the process in which they arrive at it. Short of reading the source material, it's anyone's guess how the timer is run down and if everyone survives. It's been hit by its share of delays, but it looks like this adaptation is going out with the blast. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1979 |
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That was a fun action packed episode and the finale will probably be another action romp. That said, I do miss the more adventure driven first season. The second season rushed through lots of material and mainly focused on the action and pets. It does not make for a bad season, but I do prefer the slower paced world exploration over action filled events.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1979 |
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Well, I predicted an action romp for the final episode and it was that and more. One big fight against a huge fake maple. With that the season is over and judging by the final bits of it a third season seems like a relatively sure thing.
I did like the first season more, it had lots of charming moments and spend more time exploring the world and what was in it. We also saw the rise of Maple and her guild. The second season sped through a lot of content to get to the pokemon collecting and the big fights/events. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2865 |
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S2 #12
When it's titled the final decisive battle, that sets the tone for what's to come. Frederica called it the big fake Maple, but its skills were more towards long range bombardment and less about high defence and regeneration. Still, it took the top three guilds everything they had to bring it down, and it's very fun to watch them go about it. Thanks to their efforts, the top three guilds and all others who somehow survived got the medal haul they aimed for, but it looks like Maple and the others have pretenders aiming for their crowns. As it stands, Maple and the others have revealed too many of their cards while the pretenders have never really been in the public eye at all so information advantage is heavily in the pretenders' favour. Whether Maple and the other guilds can fend them off will probably be the theme for the third season; despite production setbacks the second series is still popular despite the gap with the first. The first season set the tone while the second continued it. Although the template has been set, it's still fun to watch Maple and Friends go about their tasks and making friends along the way. Because the novelty of the first season has worn off somewhat, it makes the second season slightly inferior to the first although I'm glad it still aired. I'm hopeful there's a third season sooner rather than later, but I'm hoping the overall theme of the franchise keeps its positive vibe of friendly competition even with the advent of the pretenders. The game admins have their work cut out for them, but if the secretary is right then they've succeeded in keeping their product relevant to the masses and regardless of the overtime they put in it's going to keep going for the foreseeable future. Questions remain on the competence of the administrators in balancing their product though, what with Maple and the other elite players on one hand and everyone else outside the elite bracket on the other. |
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