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

Maple and Syrup Are Back

BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. Season 2 (Itai no wa Iya nanode Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu. 2 / 痛いのは嫌なので防御力に極振りしたいと思います。2) will be referred to simply as BOFURI Season 2 for the rest of this review.

The original season of BOFURI came out back in 2020. But, if you don’t remember what happened in that season, that’s not a problem. This isn’t a serious series with a real plot. It’s an anime about an overpowered girl in a video game world (not isekai).

There are quite a few characters. So, it’s understandable if you don’t remember them all from the first season. However, most of them aren’t really that important. As long as you know Maple, Syrup, and Sally, you’re good to go.

Something kind of weird about this season is that I don’t think it introduces any new characters. Usually, a sequel season would have a bunch of new characters. But, Maple Tree — Maple’s guild — doesn’t gain any new members. And from what I remember, there are no new supporting characters, either.

In some ways, that’s a good thing because it allows the series to focus more on the existing cast. But, in other ways, it holds the series back. New characters are an easy way to spice up a series. They can either change group dynamics or serve as an obstacle to overcome.

To make up for the lack of new characters, BOFURI Season 2 does something else. It introduces existing supporting characters, who haven’t met, to each other. For example, in this season, Kuromu and Misery meet for the first time. It’s not very exciting, but at least it’s something.

Nothing New to See Here

There are many issues with BOFURI Season 2. But, they all have the same source: this season does nothing new. If you’ve seen Season 1, then you’ve seen Season 2. It’s as simple as that. And that’s a huge problem.

As I’ve already mentioned, the lack of new characters leaves things pretty bland. Nobody new is coming in and changing up the dynamic within Maple Tree. It’s not like when Ilulu joined the cast of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S. And since there’s no new villain, there’s also not someone for the existing characters to rally against.

In place of a villain, there are new events within the game. And sure, we see characters from various guilds teaming up to take on the event. But, it’s not as if there’s really a challenge for them to overcome. Maple and all her friends are so overpowered that nothing poses a threat.

Let’s go a bit deeper into how Maple being overpowered is a problem. Since nothing poses a threat to her, there’s no real conflict. At no point are you going to consider the possibility that Maple or her allies could fail. There’s nothing for them to overcome — they don’t need to grow.

And, this leads to another issue I have with this season. Having characters who are overpowered is only entertaining for so long. Season 1 had funny moments, like when Maple gets hit in the head with a mace and doesn’t flinch. But, we’re long past that.

Maple taking 0 damage and also being able to one-shot every boss she encounters is no longer funny. It’s repetitive. And all the new abilities Maple gains throughout the season don’t change that. Being able to one-shot a boss in a different way isn’t interesting.

One Season Too Many

BOFURI overstayed its welcome. Season 1 was enjoyable because it was new and fairly unique. We’ve had fantasy series with overpowered protagonists before. But, we hadn’t had one with an overpowered female protagonist who maxed out her defense. That was its draw.

But, without an actual plot, what’s the point of a second season? It’s not like this is a slice of life series. There’s actual progress being made. It’s just that the progress is boring because there are no stakes and no end goal. If BOFURI was a single-season anime, it would have been fine.

Now, I’d like to back up my claims with some evidence. If we look at MyAnimeList, BOFURI Season 1 has a 7.55 rating (which is higher than I gave it). And if we look at Season 2, it has a 7.23 rating. On average, viewers think the second season is worse.

But, we have to look a bit deeper to see how much worse the second season really is. There’s not a huge difference between 7.55 and 7.23. That is until we look at the number of people who watched and rated both seasons.

274,472 people watched and rated Season 1 as of the posting of this review. Meanwhile, only 39,856 people watched and rated Season 2. BOFURI Season 2 has less than 15% of Season 1’s ratings. And it’s important to consider that the people most likely to watch a sequel are those who enjoyed Season 1.

That means that, in general, those who rated Season 2 were existing fans of the series. Anyone who’s not a fan likely didn’t continue watching the series after Season 1. So, this lower rating that Season 2 has is most likely skewed higher due to fans.

Conclusion

I gave BOFURI Season 2 a 4/10. That’s 2 points lower than my rating of Season 1. And considering Season 2 didn’t bring anything new to the series, I think it’s deserved. To me, Season 2 is worse than Season 1 in every way. There was no need for it.

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