More Power and Then Still More
These two episodes seem to exist just to see how many costume and character changes we can put Maple through and they are delightfully silly and fun to watch. Bofuri continues to borrow ideas from other anime but combines them in cute and interesting ways that makes it feel like its own unique creature (not unlike a giant turtle blasting a laser beam from its mouth while being watched by its owner who is surrounded by a ball of wool during a boss fight).
Maple’s guild are working hard to level up in preparation of the third event and each of them offer something different to the guild. The twins are with Maple doing ‘speed’ runs of a dungeon and gathering game breaking skills. Other characters are collecting resources. They also send the guy who can only remind me of Klein from Sword Art Online (I legitimately have no idea what the guy’s name is in this anime as I just think of him as Klein 2) on his own quest and he gets himself a new set of gear (not to mention some time with the cute turtle mascot).
Where Bofuri is really working is that it is telling its own story even as it borrows from other stories and genres. Maple is becoming a genuine phenomenon within the game and one thing I’ve enjoyed each week is the final scene where we see the game’s chat rooms going crazy because of her latest stunt. The game masters are also well aware of the problems she’s potentially going to cause long term but seem to be in a knowing state of denial as they watch things unfold. For Maple the goal is simply having fun and she certainly is but there’s still a sense that we’re moving forward as the guild grows in strength and prepares for the next event which is a guild event. Given the timing it also kind of feels like it might be the final challenge for the season and that could be a fairly awesome way to go out if we see these guilds going up against each other.
Affiliate Link – Artbook
However, there’s also no denying that a lot of the fun from these episodes came from moments where you had to do a double take because you were wondering where you’d seen a very similar scene before or because Maple’s latest image was just totally different. After using one of her new skills, Atrocity, we get the scene below which completely reminded me of Evangelion and one of the earliest angel fights. Which is kind of amusing right after Maple’s previous demonstration where she pretty much transformed into an angel with halo and everything.
Basically, for an anime that seemed to have only one joke (Maple is unkillable in the game), Bofuri has continued to surprise and has found ways to keep itself fresh and interesting. The larger cast support Maple well even if individually I’m struggling to care about their names and the game keeps offering up new challenges and has now opened its third level presenting a very different setting than the previous two levels. It makes each episode just fun to watch as you are never quite sure what you are going to get next. I know I wasn’t expecting Maple’s mecha girl transformation and I just can’t help but wonder what she’ll pull out next.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
I don’t know if Maple can go farther for me. The Mecha suit is amazing!
Then again I’m biased. I love how ridiculous the show keeps getting 😁
It has been so fun.
I do so want to be in the room when the makers of the game design skills like wooly.
Also, I never noticed until now (even though you wrote it down since episode 1) that the director is Shin Oonuma, last seen with The Ones Within (and my fave shows being Ef – A Tale of Memories, Watamote, and A Sister’s All You Need). It makes sense; he’s pretty good at nonsense fluff.
I really should pay more attention to directors.
I love this show. It’s hilarious and I can’t wait to see what Maple is getting up to each week. Seeing her stumble upon what is presumably the main boss/story of level three was great. I’m going to be sad when this is over.
Me too as BOFURI has been a delight each week.