Bofuri, Vol. 4 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2358-5
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book
With new allies and skills at the ready, Maple Tree embarks on their first event! The obvious favorites to take the crown are the big guilds like Flame Empire and the Order of the Holy Sword, each boasting well over a hundred members and some of the best players who topped the ranks in previous events. To make matters worse, everyone on the server has been stocking up on anti-Maple skills and items after her rise to infamy. For any hope of victory, Maple Tree will have to overcome incredible odds and shatter all expectations—or wipe out everybody else trying!
Personal & Info
I’m still not impressed with the cheap paper the publisher uses for this series. Three out of four volumes so far have some kind of damage just from normal handling or shipping. Be careful with the physical copies. They are not nearly as durable as the average book.
Characters
Maple Tree
Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense. Since starting the game, Maple has become an absolute horror to other players.
Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance. Like Maple, she has established a horrifying reputation to other players.
Kasumi is a katana weilding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event. She has yet to be infected by Maple’s weirdness.
Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube. He has an ability that lets him store spells for later use, which makes him a bit overpowered as a mage.
Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s also one of the best great shielders in the game. He has been infected by Maple’s weird luck and managed to get some overpowered gear and skills of his own.
Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best in the game. With her new gear and skills, she’s also likely considered overpowered.
Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.
Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.
The Order of the Holy Sword
Pain is the top player on the server. He plays a holy sword knight.
Frederica is a mage. She tried to get intel on Sally before the event and has a bit of a rivalry with her.
Drag has the nickname Groundsplitter. He’s an axe wielder and tends to make Frederica cover his defense while he focuses on DPS. He is fifth in the player rankings.
Dread has the nickname Godspeed. He uses daggers similarly to Sally and appears to be faster than her. He also has a heightened sense of intuition for danger, which helps make him a formidable foe. His ranking from the first event is second.
Flame Empire
Mii has the nickname Flame Empress. She is a mage specializing in fire magic. I would guess the guild is named after her.
Marx has the nickname Trapper. His specialty is setting traps, and he is eighth in player rankings.
Misery has the nickname Saint Misery. She’s primarily a healer, but she is tenth in player rankings.
Shin has the nickname Splinter Sword. His rival is Kasumi, because he lost to her in the first event.
Story & Thoughts
The entirety of this volume is the fourth game event. It covers a lot with a large amount of characters. More information about and inclusion of other top ten players are shown. Most of them are in the three guilds the description mentions: The Order of the Holy Sword, Flame Empire, and Maple Tree.
I like the story well enough. The event is interesting and entertaining. The addition of so many other characters makes things feel even busier.
My main issue with the volume is that, despite the expansiveness of the event, it still seems too easy for Maple Tree. In volume three, they reveal what the event will be, as well as all of the terms and conditions. The fact each character can die a certain number of times before being removed from the event left me thinking Maple Tree would suffer more deaths throughout. The actual number of deaths in the book is well below my expectations, and thus leaves me feeling like the story lacks enough tension to truly be satisfying.
Aside from that one thing, various parts of the book had me smiling and giggling. Maple is comically overpowered. If Maple Tree had a harder time, I think my rating would be higher. It can be difficult to have overpowered characters and still keep the right amount of tension. I think the balance is a little off in that regard.