Forum - View topicBOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. (TV)
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#10
Sally's played so many games that she's not only good as a player, she's also an experienced strategist. She works herself to exhaustion not just to get orbs while the going is good, but to get the valuable intelligence required for Maple to efficiently go on the offence. They weren't going to turtle in forever, it was just a question of when and how to unleash Maple at the most opportune moment. To be fair, Sally really was a goner until Maple intervened. Maple was focusing on expedited extraction, so it's a shame she didn't go all out with her AOE attack skills. Still enough to wipe out the Holy Sword recon squad with Frederica lucky to survive. The twins are the Maple Tree's first casualties, but they bought enough time for Maple and Sally to return. To be fair to them, getting killed by one of the top 10 players of the first event is no shame, not to mention these two are Maple's mirror so even if 20% less ATK they still pack enough of a punch to serve adequately as her bodyguards. The cliffhanger preludes one of the big showdowns I've been looking forward to, namely #3 vs. #2 of the first event. The twins would probably lose to Mii's friends, but Maple alone would probably best Mii 1 to 1. It's a 3 on 3 fight and Maple's team has a slight handicap with two players on 1 death, on the other hand the trapper has no more cards under his sleeve and his combat ability isn't as potent as his main occupation. The animators didn't reveal what "Dead or Alive" was, now we know. Crom is no slouch with his unique gear. Together with bomb making on the go, the pair of them are formidable. Kasumi is still lethal in a one on one duel, while Kanade is the unpredictable wild card whose strength lies in his preparation of spells. |
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Mavado
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#11
Penultimate episode. I called it wrong, Mii's firepower was a lot stronger than I gave it credit for and her two buddies had plenty more up their sleeve. Despite their best efforts, all they did was knock Maple back until she got fed up and decided to counter with firepower of her own. The Flame Emperors are so used to seeing Mii taking everything out from long range, so to be on the receiving end is a bit of poetic justice. Seriously, how high is Maple's HP that she can withstand a suicide attack from a top #10 player? One of Maple's trump cards is used up, but she still has time to play around with her Angel AOE. The descent sneak attack is definitely something no one would ever plan for, but it seems the pace has exceeded even Sally's expectations and there are fewer easy orbs to claim. For once, Sally has been outfoxed. The Holy Sword's top four up against the Maple Tree's Eight. Payne's reputation as the strongest player is not for show, he's a typical power-gamer who has levelled up more than everyone else and has the top-level skills to boot. However, he and his guild are typical power-levellers and have never explored this game universe the way Maple has. There is one more trump card that Maple has yet to reveal to the guilds, and Payne's seemingly lethal attack should be enough to convince Maple to bring it out to play. The Maple Tree's counter-attack in the final episode begins now. I don't think they have enough time to defeat all of the other guilds and gain first place, but there's a fighting chance they will stay top 10 at the end of the event and be the last of the small guilds still standing (every other guild is classified as large by the looks of things). |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#12
No surprises. Maple stays standing because of her innate Great Shielder skill (which Payne surprisingly has) and the monster trump card is finally unleashed to turn the tables. At the end of it, it appears the only players in the entire event who didn't die were Maple, Sally, Krom and Kasumi. Sally's final strategy of scorched earth did the job since a guild which is annihilated can't rise any further in the rankings. Maple Tree placing third probably had to do with them, Holy Swords and Flame Emperors wiping everyone else out, sitting pretty in their strongholds to accumulate points one last time and then shaking hands to call it a day. Maple Tree actually finishes first of all the small guilds, which is ridiculous even when taking Maple into account. The developers finally gave up on trying to control Maple. After all, she's a marketing dream the way they've described her effect on the player base. No matter what they think she'll do, she proves them wrong every time. The video answer to what they thought she was doing a case in point for the entire season. Maple's appeal as the ideal casual player again shows through when she invited the two major guilds to her own party. Competitive gaming usually leads to permanently antagonistic and anti-social behaviour, but Maple has never forgotten that the game is meant to be enjoyed not just by herself but for everyone else. That's something every viewer should remember, no matter what happens to this series. I'm glad I watched this season coming in with zero expectations. I've had plenty a laugh, and it's fun watching a series about virtual reality gaming that isn't intense like the Sword Art Online series and its spinoffs and variants. Times being what they are now, series like these really help people forget what the real world is like and the solace a virtual one provides from myriad troubles. I don't know if it's done enough to warrant further adaptations, but I for one cannot wait to see what kind of additional surprises an unorthodox playing style and a yen for curiosity combined with unbelievable gamer's luck can deliver for the future. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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(finale)
That was a fun ride. Was waiting for Maple to show her demon form, at most seeming to summon the mini guys as part of an entourage, but then she uses it as part of an ace up her sleeve to beat back the top guild, and then they continued the rampage by exterminating the other guilds. I really enjoyed the reactions they all had to the monstrous Maple, made more terrifying when Sally created clones. The admins eventually coming to a conclusion that all the top guilds had ahead of time made work of the others by leaving to six. They said all they needed to do was create a highlights video, and half of them had Maple in them. Maple sure was not balanced, but true that she is a killer center to their community, things the mods could never have planned but the players creating their own thing. Which I imagine all game creators want to actually foster as to keep interest in their game. It is kind of funny how many shows one might complain about an overpowered main character, but in a show like this it is so fun and well done funny moments, having this sort of naïve by friendly teenage girl just do what she enjoys. Bringing the audience with surprises and the sort of feeling one can get out a game in playing it their way, something that feel familiar to playing RPGs where I created a killer combo, and having it feel like it reflects the way I want to play. As the recent seasons of SAO feel like have forgotten, the draw of a game based anime is often to make it hella fun. I would also say that BOFURI has greatly outdone the more serious Infinite Dendrogram, another VR anime of the season, that one feeling like it went too much into being melodramatic, rules that did not always feel clear, and what felt like relatable moments of this just a game. Good news that another season has been announced, I imagine my expectations may be higher next time, but also that I just want good fun of this fictional game. Some of my favourite moments of the show were things like when Maple totally broke the quest that lead to getting the angel powers, which felt relatable in playing some games, broken AI speeches especially. I rate this first season as Excellent (9/10), certainly one of the shows looked forward to each week, always a fun surprise, and even some technical merits that I would give praise to. Action not entirely the point, but especially boss fights generally felt really well done technically. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4074 |
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Episode 12- not as good as it wanted to be.
I keep trying to express my disappointment with the finale and the series in general but the more I think about it, I just find more places that were lacking. We all knew [Atrocity] was coming and we got that. What I was EXPECTING was a combination of [Atrocity] and [machine God] resulting in something like the Cyberdemon from Doom or MechaGodzilla depending on the situation. We all knew Maple Tree would make the top ten. What we got... they were only ever trying to be in the top ten. They knew their place, they weren't trying to beat out the top guilds The top two guilds, the top two named guilds with characters/"friends". Maple Tree took out the rest of the large guilds but it's not like they tried that from the start. The character Maple runs on "because the story says so" so its so odd to see her opt to settle right from the start because that's what Sally's plan was rather than be Maple and do the implausible because "it seemed like a good idea at the time". Choosing to hold back right from the start is just out of character. Ask yourself: If given a chance, would Maple have eaten all the orbs and what would that have done? Maple's vitality is now 5 digits? Which is to say... "It's over ten thousand!!" What a coincidence. I loved the series whenever it was Maple or Maplecentric but whenever the plot turned towards Sally and what Sally thought necessary or possible then it just became pedestrian. She was not a good influence on the plot. At its best, the series was a journey of discovery/power trip. We traveled with Maple to find out what she could do next because she journeyed in the game to see what she could do next, her only rule is that she doesn't want to get hurt so she'll max out her defense. At its worst, Maple was chained to what Sally told her to do, the things we already knew. No awe, no thrill, just "Yeah, I figured it would go that way." |
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toprak
 Posts: 349 |
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EP 12: I mean it was not good as I expected, they tried to make an anime which has powerful, clumsy, cute, and funny MC. Yes, they did that point correctly, but I didn't like the pacing, processing, story telling. I mean it was a big disappointment to me.
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Anime Viewer
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I enjoyed season 1 for a number of reasons including: comedy, characters, plot, world structure, animation, and art. I've recommended it to other people who I know watch anime. I'm looking forward to season 2. I'm an anime only watcher, and haven't read the manga, but am contemplating reading it up to the part the anime left off at to see notations I may have missed because either they went by on screen to fast (like the chat bubbles at the end of episodes, and some of the skill popup notifications), or were skipped in the anime. Likewise I am somewhat curious what scenes/events may have been left out of the anime or may differ.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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S2 #1
Another series which feels like a planet away since it last aired. More competition for it this quarter, but this franchise has earned its spurs through the exploits of Maple and co. in season 1. Whether or not they can hold on to the fans very much depends on how well this second season is received. For a pilot episode, there's nothing wrong with the entertainment value. We get a reminder of what Maple is capable of after the end of the first season, a reacquaintance with the major guild members and a new level for the members to test their skills on. It's all good clean fun, especially when Maple teams up with Payne and gives the developers yet another headache as they absolutely wipe the floor of all opposition sent against them. One relationship which DOES get a boost is between Mii and Maple. The latter's uncanny luck when it comes to noticing her surroundings pays off as she stumbles onto the former's big secret. Because Maple is the epitome of the friendly casual MMORPG player, she'll hold on to the secret without strings attached. This of course suits the stressed-out Mii, who is more than happy to have Maple as another outlet to vent when the stress of keeping her cover overwhelms her. I'm not too fond of the new fanservice angle of this season, mainly centred on Kasumi. She acquires a powerful weapon, but using it has unintended costs which like Mii she is desperate to keep a secret even from her guildmates. There's still comedy to be had, especially when the one person she doesn't want her secret to be revealed finds out anyway. No inkling of any main plot so far, since it's all about watching Maple and co. get through their obstacles in the most imaginative way possible and in the best spirit of competition and camaraderie to be had in any series. If they keep each week as pleasant as this pilot episode, it's good enough for me. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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S2 #2
Continuing on from the same vein as episode 1 (and most of season 1 in general), Maple gets herself lost, beats an extremely powerful side boss on her own, and learns a rare skill which gives her more summons to pummel bosses with. It's another arrow in her increasingly diverse quiver. This boss actually gave her trouble this time round as most of her ranged attacks didn't work, good thing she has suicide skills which deal massive AoE damage to anything in a large radius. One feature this series has in comparison to others is a preference towards doing panorama scenes showing the party members doing RPG things with gorgeous backgrounds. Maple with the twin sisters is another example of this phenomenon. While she's at it, she helps the twins defeat a powerful lightning-based enemy, which unsurprisingly gives Maple another AoE support skill. The skill wasn't translated as some of the text at the end was too blurry to make out for the translators, but from what I can tell it's the following: Throne of the Heavenly King: After skill activation, anyone sitting on the throne receives 20% less damage and recovers 2% HP per second. Effect lasts until skill is cancelled or user's HP is reduced to zero. No one inside a 30m radius (including the caster) can use darkness(?)-based skills. The skill has a cooldown of five minutes. A reminder this season that Sally is absolutely defenceless against terrifying undead enemies. If Frederica knew of this weakness, it's easily exploited to finish Sally off in a stacked duel. Because of her phobia, the Maple Tree will need to carry her for the duration of Floor Six until the next Floor is made available and Sally can leave. It doesn't stop her from trying to get valuable loot, which is where another segment from the first season comes in when Maple and Sally team up as a pair to overcome obstacles together. As far as Maple is concerned, the application of overwhelming firepower is the solution for all obstacles, living or unliving. It works in the haunted mansion, with only the teleport gimmick being the only thing which stops the pair from finishing the mansion together without any challenge. Again, Maple's luck kicks in when the newbie five from Payne's guild take on the mansion's challenge at the same time allowing Maple and Sally (mainly the latter) to escape. They didn't get the reward they were after, but Sally gets a new item-collecting passive which might be useful in the long term. Kaede will do anything for her best friend, whether it's mental support or physically carrying her around when the need calls for it. It's this friendship which makes them so unstoppable in the game as it takes a lot to beat them when they're working in sync together. The last BBS segment for this episode highlights the biggest dilemma for the developers: How do you beat the one player who is so brokenly overpowered without shutting out everyone else who isn't Maple and wants to take on the same challenge? ED animation isn't much, just a bunch of montage shots showing the players doing tasks within the game. Budget-saving, while the song itself is the usual cheery number which fits in with the rest of the series vibe. Series as a whole still isn't moving in any particular direction, but I'm happy with what I've seen since it's more or less what the first season was like with only the guild war competition at the end giving something of a main storyline for viewers to enjoy. Perhaps it's the same in this season. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Maple needed to get another weird and overpowered skill, by accidentally stumbling into a boss, which she then beats. The first real hint that it wasn't the right boss, was the fact that she didn't dominate the boss straight away.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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S2 #3
The developers are adapting, even with Maple's new skills they've designed bosses that are guaranteed to defeat her if she's fighting them alone. Problem is, they didn't cater for Sally teaming up with Maple which means the bosses can only handle one player but not the other. Because a lot of Maple's strength comes from her eclectic variety of skills, stealing them to turn the tables makes a lot of sense since even she can't win a battle of attrition if there's enough damage to breach her defences. So far, Maple and Sally are up to floor 3, yet Payne (who's the best player in the server bar Maple) is up to floor 5. It's weird that the developers are so fixated on taking out Maple yet Payne's more conventional power-levelling build is given a free pass. Perhaps it's because he's playing the game as it's meant to be played and they're happy for him to progress since he's conventional? Although the big event is the main focus, seeing Maple and Mii working together for the first time is a nice diversion. The latter feels so much more comfortable with Maple that she gets a heart attack every time one of their mutual acquaintances shows up unexpectedly and she has to put on her usual facade in double-time. Maple's selfless donation of rare items to Sally without strings attached is another reason why the pair have made it past event level 3 without issue. The shoes in particular were used on level 2 to help Sally beat the boss. The strength of their friendship has always been one of their greatest assets, and it'll continue to get them through whatever the game throws at them. I'm not expecting the Maple pairing to beat Payne to the top, but it would be nice if they did show up the developers and beat the challenge despite the extra attention paid towards them. |
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Edjwald
 Posts: 1101 |
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Two thoughts occurred to me while I watched episode 4 today.
(1) I don't think any of the sequel seasons for returning shows in 2023 have really crapped the bed thus far. I mentioned somewhere that I thought Misfit of Demon Academy 2 wasn't as interesting as the first season, but none of the shows have disappointed me as much as Devil is a Part Timer 2 from last year. Even that show wasn't bad per se - I just waited so long and liked the quirky originality of season 1 so much. (2) I think the main reason I like this show is that it does a really good job of presenting a fun, constantly changing VR world with interesting game mechanics and constant evolution without getting bogged down in details or morose weirdness like some other VR anime have. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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S2 #4
This guild event essentially mirrored the results of the guild battle finale from season #1. It's not a surprise, but it also shows how scary Maple Tree is since they effectively split their guild into two yet still managed to beat both highest difficulty towers with very little gap between them. Granted, Payne and Mii's guilds did the same by letting their elite players more or less do the toughest challenge on their own, but Maple's guild is by far the smallest of the three and they don't carry people along unlike Payne's guild. Because all of their members cleared the highest difficulty, they're essentially an assembly of super-elite players (with Maple and Sally their spearheads). Maple's new drill skill seems a bit too niche; needs the right type of enemy to maximise the ability. Otherwise, the new skills they've picked up this season served Sally and Maple well in this challenge as all of them were used in some form or another. Also important is the coordination and mutual knowledge: Maple cannot beat this Tower on her own but she can with Sally's help and with full knowledge of what their combinations can achieve. Prime example of this is the final challenge. The developers have also made their mission statement clear: We play hard but fair and making something unwinnable isn't on the table. They're gamers too and do appreciate it when players put everything they have into overcoming the challenges they design. Their new secretary doesn't completely buy into this concept since she's focusing particularly hard on Maple's uncanny ability to exploit bugs (unintentionally), but she didn't contest the achievements of the top guilds in overcoming the latest event. This is a great episode to showcase the action sequences of this franchise: most of the scenes are typical of the franchise and they're so fun to watch and to cheer for the main pairing when they put in everything and just about make it through. The animators probably need a break after this, so the next few weeks might be quieter while they keep their budgets in line for the rest of the season. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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The last boss made me think of a soulsborne boss. The bit with the flying glowing swords reminded me of something in particular, but I can't figure what.
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