One of the most popular isekai series out right now is arguably The Rising of the Shield Hero. The subversive series is about a grizzled man who can only use a shield as his weapon. How do you take a bizarre and unique premise like that, and push it to the next level? You make him a cute anime girl, obviously!
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense is one of many light novel anime adaptations airing this season. While the story and subject matter are way more lighthearted than the grim seriousness of The Rising of the Shield Hero, the similarities between the equipment of the two protagonists are pretty funny. The story of BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense takes place in the world of a VR MMO called “NewWorld Online.” Protagonist Kaede Honjo is invited to play the game by her friend, Risa Shiramine. Kaede is down to try it out, but she’s got a massive fear of being in pain. Because of that, she creates a character named Maple and dumps all of her skill points into her defense power, or VIT. The result? Maple is insanely slow, can’t use magic, and gets pushed around by bunnies, but she never feels pain and always takes zero damage. Through learning a variety of incredibly convenient skills like “Absolute Defense,” “Counter Skill,” and “Lethal Poison,” she’s able to breeze through encounters despite having absolutely no combat prowess whatsoever.
The official website for BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense has been releasing a variety of information and trailers for the anime leading up to the impending premiere of the cutesy isekai series. The latest trailer for the anime previews the ending theme song “Play the World,” which is performed by Riko Sasaki. The opening theme song, meanwhile, is “Kyukyoku Unbalance” by the group Afilia Saga.
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense will be premiering on January 8th on Japanese television. It’s going to air initially at 10PM JST on AT-X, before later being shown on ABC TV, Tokyo MX, and TV Aichi. While the anime will also air on BS11, it premieres on that channel a few days later, on January 10th. The anime will also be getting an online streaming debut through the Docomo Anime Store streaming platform “d Anime Store,” as well as on Amazon Prime Video.
The voice cast for BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense is as follows:
- Kaede Hondo as Maple
- Ruriko Noguchi as Sally
- Satomi Arai as Kanade
- Saori Hayami as Kasumi
- Ai Kakuma as May
- Nanaka Suwa as Yui
- Noriaki Sugiyama as Kuromu
- Satomi Satou as Iz
- Kensho Ono as Pain
- Takumi Yamazaki as Dred
- Ayana Taketatsu as Fredrica
- Nobutoshi Canna as Drag
- Rina Satou as Mi
- Kappei Yamaguchi as Shin
- Akira Ishida as Marcus
- Yuko Minaguchi as Mizari
- Sakura Tange as Drazō
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense is being produced by the anime production company SILVER LINK. The series is being directed at that studio by Shin Oonuma and Mirai Minato. Shin O0numa previously worked on WATAMOTE and Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, while Mirai Minato was previously credited on the production of Masamune-kun’s Revenge and Sunohara-Sō no Kanrinin-san. Fumihiko Shimo is handling series composition for the anime, having previously worked on Anima Yell! and New Game!. Finally, Kazuya Hirata is serving as character designer for the show, as well as chief animation director. Kazuya Hirata previously worked on Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya and Sunohara-Sō no Kanrinin-san.
The anime is an adaptation of the Yuumikan-authored light novel series Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu. Yuumikan initially began serializing the story in 2016 on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō, or “Let’s Become Novelists.” Even today, Yuumikan continues to release new chapters of the light novel series there. There are official print novel adaptations of the story produced by Kadokawa, with insert art drawn by the artist Koin. Kadokawa began producing these print editions of the series in September of 2017.
The novels even went on to inspire a spinoff manga. Launched in May of 2018, it’s also titled Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu, and is both drawn and written by Jiro Oimoto. The manga currently runs in Kadokawa’s Comp Ace magazine.
There’s even a smartphone game available for burgeoning fans of BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense. The full title of the mobile game is Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu. ~Line Wars!~, and it’s currently in development with a release planned for Japan. The game is a tower defense-style experience for iOS and Android, featuring 16 different characters to play as, including series protagonists Maple and Sally. The game, like so many others, will be free to play and feature optional in-app purchases. The game does not currently have an overseas release planned. Additionally, there are currently no official localization or simulcasting announcements for the BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense. Considering it will be airing on Amazon Prime Japan, though, there’s a very solid chance that American viewers will get to watch it on that platform as well.
