BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense. (痛いのは嫌なので防御力に極振りしたいと思います。, Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu.) is a 2020 television anime series based on Kei Sazane’s light novel series of the same name. The anime was produced by studio SILVER LINK with directors Shin Oonuma and Mirai Minato, and publisher Kadokawa. The series first broadcast in Japan on January 2020 as part of the Autumn season.
Background:
“Maple doesn’t want to experience pain in the VRMMO game she started playing, so she puts all her skill points into defense until she can’t even move. Somehow it works better than anyone expected. Now she’s got followers??”
Plot Synopsis via Funimation UK, August 2021.
Kadokawa has been on a roll as of late. They have had many successful Isekai shows like Konosuba and The Rising of the Shield Hero, but every now and then you have a light novel series they adapt that isn’t actually an Isekai but does share many comparisons like the VRMMORPG genre. BOFURI is a series that acts like an Isekai but is in the same vein as Sword Art Online without the death game aspect to it. BOFURI is a casual slice of life dumb fun series and you can thank the main character Maple for that, with her overpowered abilities all because she didn’t want to get attacked by enemy mobsters.
Funimation licensed BOFURI for simulcast and also provided a simuldub. The series became pretty popular amongst fans and was given the greenlight to have a second season by Kadokawa. Meanwhile, Funimation eventually released the first season on home video with a limited edition option. Since Funimation acquired Manga Entertainment, the series was also brought over into the UK though it didn’t exactly go according to plan.
The limited edition had issues so the series was postponed dozens of times from its original early April release window all the way to early August, which is a 4 month gap. The worst part is that the limited edition was well under-stocked and many people’s orders were cancelled, including those who had pre-ordered as early as April. In fact an entire retailer never got stock either.
It was a mess and the only people at fault were Funimation themselves. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the US limited edition started to go out of print right at the same time, so it was a lose-lose situation for every UK anime fan out there.
Limited Edition Contents:
Funimation has been providing limited editions with a fair bit of physical content in recent years, but sometimes they tend to split the physical items into their own cardboard boxes or inside the rigid box. BOFURI falls into the same category as the former, like ARIFURETA and In Another World With My Smartphone.
The limited edition box set features a rigid box that houses the show’s Amaray case and a slipcase as well as a booklet and a spare cardboard box that includes a 24 x 14 inch gaming playmat, 6 art cards and sticker. While limited editions from Funimation sometimes have exclusive artwork, the UK version of the set is just the same as the regular edition. The booklet offers character designs, production artwork on the background and visuals.
The artwork is free of any information and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Funimation limited edition releases. The amaray case and slipcase will still have the specification and info on the back cover.
The SRP for the limited edition set was £64.99. It’s an expensive release overall, and I paid more than that because it was out of print (which is an oof moment). That said, I think the artwork works well for the release. The UK Funimation limited editions are usually 1000 units, but this release was probably half the amount.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with slipcase, amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification
- 80-page Art Book
- 24 x 14 Inch Gaming Playmat
- 6 Art Cards
- Sticker
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Funimation UK
Released: 2nd August 2021
The limited edition release for BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense. Season 1 covers all 12 episodes across two Blu-ray discs. Funimation authored and encoded the discs, while the audio options available for the series include Japanese with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub.
The white subtitles are unlockable during Blu-ray playback and the discs regions are set to A & B for Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- Episode Previews
- Episode Summaries
- Promo Video and Commercial Collection
- Textless Opening Song “Kyūkyoku Unbalance”
- Textless Closing Song “Play the World”
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense Season 1 is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom and Ireland territories. The limited edition is no longer available, while the standard edition can be ordered on Amazon UK and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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