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EP. REVIEW: BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Season 2


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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 1:38 pm Reply with quote
These three episodes cover all of the fifth and sixth novels, so there's quite a bit of fun stuff that didn't end up making the cut.
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primalmaximus



Joined: 05 Jan 2022
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:42 pm Reply with quote
Andrew Cunningham wrote:
These three episodes cover all of the fifth and sixth novels, so there's quite a bit of fun stuff that didn't end up making the cut.


Yeah. So far, that's my only complaint about season 2. The fact that it skipped over a lot of content. It's bad enough that even people who are anime only fans of the series will notice something's off with the pacing.
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Aerdra



Joined: 02 Feb 2022
Posts: 320
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:10 pm Reply with quote
Andrew Cunningham wrote:
These three episodes cover all of the fifth and sixth novels, so there's quite a bit of fun stuff that didn't end up making the cut.

I guess that explains why season one ended with the fourth event but season two started with the sixth.

The CGI in episode 3 looked especially bad because of the way it jumped back and forth. Hopefully, this is a one-off instance and not an omen for future episodes.
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Matcha.8



Joined: 08 May 2021
Posts: 130
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 12:09 am Reply with quote
I was surprised how the entire library battle segment is made up of CG character models, even in the talking scenes. And the fact that this takes place right after the dragon battle, which is actually one of the highlights so far as sakuga is concerned (some closeups of the dragon is really well drawn), it really stick out like a sore thumb.

I do have my little theory as to when to expect more CG-heavy sequences: when it's a battle that focuses on Sally. Because Maple has 0 agility, all her battles are basically her transform into big powerful things that are relatively still in terms of battle style, which makes it relatively easy to draw (focusing only on a few key frames). Whereas Sally is an agility-focused character whose battle style is always on the move, which is why they have had to rely on CG for those scenes.
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TheSleepyMonkey



Joined: 11 Jul 2022
Posts: 887
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 12:57 am Reply with quote
It should be noted that director Shin Oonuma is also directing the second season of Misfit, which is also airing this same season, so the resources being split and leading to questionable quality is not a surprise. In fact, dude has been on a roll for a long time now. No idea how he manages to do work for all these shows at once.
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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:55 am Reply with quote
Aerdra wrote:
I guess that explains why season one ended with the fourth event but season two started with the sixth.


The fifth event was the Christmas gift event, and the sixth the jungle exploration event. They combined the two for the anime.
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Glordit



Joined: 11 Sep 2020
Posts: 435
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 2:10 am Reply with quote
Season 2 feels more like a bunch of random events strung together more than anything else.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:50 am Reply with quote
This last episode might have been the best of the bunch but honestly it's all so... bad.
"Exciting boss battles" have never been what makes Boufuri fun or unique, so centering the whole episode on this one boss battle seems like a wasted effort. But before that, they rushed like mad through... how many novels? I don't read the original source but you can TELL how much they sped up through content for no reason, murdering the fluffiness and comedy out of oh so many scenes (plus however many scenes and stories they decided to just skip) and shafting all the side characters... except for the Flame Emperor. She's getting even stronger characterization than Sally or Maple. Sometimes it's easy to see directors playing favourites, sometimes it's very hard not to.

I scored the first season at 9/10 even with its serious flaws. But despite that (or maybe because of that) I can't stomach more of this season.

P.S.: I didn't have much of a problem with the CGI scenes. Not because they were hard to notice or something but rather because they seemed to be bragging about their CGI style by being so on the nose all the time. It seemed more like a conscious choice than a budgetary/scheduling necessity.
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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:19 am Reply with quote
Episode four was all of volume seven.

The pacing should ease up for the rest of the season, though. The trailers suggest they're going to volume nine, so from here out I'm assuming we'll get a more standard four volumes an episode.

Five through seven are all about showing the cast members getting a bunch of new skills and techniques, and then using them creatively against this boss gauntlet; since most of that got cut, it winds up feeling pretty disconnected.
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pi8you



Joined: 24 Sep 2004
Posts: 133
Location: Minneapolis
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 12:59 pm Reply with quote
Andrew Cunningham wrote:
assuming we'll get a more standard four volumes an episode.

D: Wink

A nice return to 2D form this week, almost makes it seem like last week's fight was an intentional choice for the more dynamic camera work it afforded rather than a budgeting move, almost. I did appreciate getting to see them have to work a bit for their fights (turtle aside, RIP) and it was fun to see Maple's drill peek a week or two back reach its true potential, but yeah let's slow it down a bit and not just keep hitting events back to back.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2501
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:13 am Reply with quote
Ep5-Appreciated some more time for the supporting cast and how they got things they wanted by thier own effort and not just sailing along with OP Maple and Sally. Also got a kick out of the results of eating too much tako and being the setup for some great alternate dialog
Sally:Nice tentacles...
Maple: Oh, you have no idea...yet! Cool
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WatcherZer



Joined: 29 Dec 2016
Posts: 266
PostPosted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 6:40 pm Reply with quote
Crocodiles with fricking laser beams.
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TnAdct1



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 117
PostPosted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 12:40 pm Reply with quote
As a WN reader, all I can say is this: Silver Link shouldn't have changed Mai's situation when Maple Tree was scattered. The anime missed out on some good stuff (and personally, the most memorable part of this section) because of this.
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TnAdct1



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 117
PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:09 pm Reply with quote
DOUBLE POST:

If the final 30 seconds is anything, a third season of Bofuri as very likely, as there's no way the show is going to waste those characters that appear at the end (who serve as the conflict of the season) on just that.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2501
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2023 12:09 am Reply with quote
In a number of ways, this Ep seemed like a final finale, but I too hope that the new characters mean a possible continuation. The battle music here was fittingly epic for low-key...

Also, got a kick out of the admins and the straight-laced "secretary" going full fangirl... Smile
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