I'd like to talk about one of my passions today, Anime! It's been a while since I did a review...

Bofuri season 1 is a rather short Anime season at 12 episodes. While there is a lot to enjoy here there is also a lot to be disappointed in.

The animation is actually fairly well done. It doesn't look choppy or slow-paced. Best of all they didn't reuse shots very often and when they did it often made sense to do so. The best example is when they show the outside of their guild house to show where the setting is. Overall it's an 8 out of 10.

The art however I feel leaves a bit to be desired. While drawn well I felt that a lot of the characters were a bit under-designed. Even the main character Maple is often boring to look at as are a few of her guildmates. They get some upgrades later on in the story but I still feel that a lot of details were left behind. Overall the art is a 6.5/10 Not awful but just a step or two above generic.

So what is this show about? That's the biggest problem... I watched the 12 episodes and the only answer I have is "I Don't Know". The story is kind of weak and there isn't really any plot either. I could deal with both but what I have the most difficulty with is the lack of character development. There isn't any.

Maple is a "shielder" class in a Virtual Reality MMO video game. She's not a gamer but is talked into playing by her best friend who goes by Sally ingame. That's about it really. By the end of the 12 episodes, that's about all you still know about these characters. As mentioned earlier Maple and Sally are part of a guild that they run called "Maple Tree". They recruit several other players into the guild but they all suffer from the same.

Maple meets another shielder and he eventually joins up but by the end of the season, we know next to nothing about him or his real-world self. This is also true for the other members too. They join, Maple does something cute and ditzy yet somehow it ends up being brilliant; they all praise her and move on to the next crazy ingame event.

This is my biggest problem with Bofuri. It's pretty funny but there is no real story and the guild is basically a stranger you observed from the outside the whole time. Even in 12 episodes, I couldn't find even one character that I could attach myself to because no one is really developed beyond just being good at a video game. This is shocking to me as this is rarely the case for me personally. So as much fun that can be had with this show I have to give the story, plot, and character development a very generous 3/10.

The crazy thing is despite all this I can't fully say to skip this anime. It does have a lot to enjoy in it as long as you don't think too hard about it. The game they are playing doesn't have sound logic behind it making it difficult for an MMO veteran like myself to take it seriously. The game is basically a tool to get Maple her new wacky upgrade that she'll use in some illogical way but will somehow to the dismay of the developers be absolutely amazing!

However, the fights and battles are often very fun to watch showing off the show's future potential more than its current state. Season 2 is a ways off not coming until 2022. I'll probably be there but I won't be in a rush to do so.

Overall I have to give this anime a solid 5 out of 10. It is a pretty average anime. It will not be making anyone's top 50 list anytime soon but I do have some hope for Season 2 even if the foundation is a bit shaky.