BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I Maxed Out My Defense VS Infinite Dendrogram: The Battle of the VRMMO's of Winter 2020

BOFURI vs Infinite Dendrogram:

Battle of the VRMMO for Winter 2020

          In a market dominated by the likes of Sword Art Online (SAO), the shows that revolved around the concept of VRMMO's has lacked in originality and quality. Whenever shows like these come out, it becomes natural for people to compare it to  SAO whether that be for better or worse. For this I would like to talk about a couple of shows that have come out this season, discuss the differences between these them and why I think that one works while the other is just following the natural order of the genre. Both worlds seem to take influence from what SAO had originally built upon. The fantasy style setting with the ability to wander a living, breathing virtual world. However, the difference between BOFURI and Infinite Dendrogram become apparent when everything else is taken into consideration.

     

          We are a quarter of the way through this season for these two shows but I will say that I believe BOFURI is the better show and it's not close. BOFURI boasts a colorful world with equally colorful characters that wander around in it. The world feels very much like a game and the characters in it act like it as well. The characters know it is a game and act accordingly to that idea. The characters don't try to be edgy or become some chuunibyou while wandering this game. This is helped by scenes outside of the virtual world where they talk about the things that are going on with the game that people usually talk when it comes with video game discussions. A particular scene at the beginning of episode three where the two main characters of the show, Kaede and Risa, discuss the patch notes that the developers put out in order to nerf our main character. The fact that we get scenes like this as well as message boards talking about our adorable shield girl make this world feel lived-in and robust. 

          Compared to Infinite Dendrogram where the world is set up to be this actual living breathing world. The world that is created is an actual virtual world where there are consequences and where if NPC's die, they die forever. The characters all act in accordance with this world to the point where the lines between reality and fiction is blurred. This is one of the major flaws of the show. When you get characters speaking as though they are actually living in that virtual world, you can't help but believe they are some chuunibyou's who are acting goofy while playing a game. The fact that we barely get to see anything outside of this virtual world makes it feel like people live in it 24/7 and there is no outside world. At this point, they could have just made it an isekai and done away with the whole VRMMO aspect. That would make the characters more believable within the setting of the series. 

          It's obvious that Infinite Dendrogram is trying to take the more serious route when it comes to story telling, which is different then the goal that BOFURI has set out to accomplish. The key flaw for Infinite Dendrogram is that the writing between the two main characters is flimsy and weak. There was a scene in the show where our main character get killed by a mysterious player that has been specifically targeting other players. When Reiji logs back in the next day, his embryo named Nemesis starts crying because she was worried that if he were an NPC he would have been dead forever. The problem is that before this moment the only interaction these two characters had was that he would pay for her food at restaurants while not have any real discussions about things. Emotional moments like that are butchered when you have characters not interacting with each other at all before the emotional scene.  

          Contrast this with BOFURI where we get scenes between Kaede and Risa all throughout the show so far. When these two are not in-game they are either talking on the phone together and face-timing each other, or hanging out at school discussing the game. What makes their relationship believable is how they sometimes reference things from the past which allows us as viewers to know that they have been best friends for a very long time. They make fun of each other and speak to each other in a way that you can definitely see that they know each other very well. 

          Next lets talk about the animation. For a show like BOFURI that is about two cute girls playing a VRMMO together, it boasts some surprisingly amazing animation at times. In each of the first three episodes, we get a boss fight. The fights that involve Risa are the ones that are exceptionally well done.The movements are smooth and they have a "cool" factor to them when she fights. There are some moments where the CG is obvious and looks really wonky, but when they decide to put time and effort into the action scenes, they look really great. 

          For Infinite Dendrogram, the fight scenes are pretty lackluster. A lot of them involve strange cuts or the use of still frame and minimal animation. The fights lack any impact or weight behind the moves which make the attacks feel less impressive than they try to make them. Overall, the fights are disappointing, especially when they try and make this world feel epic and cool.

          At the end of the day, in this battle between the two new VRMMO shows of this anime season, the clear winner has to be BOFURI. Everything about it is more fun and better executed when it comes to making a well rounded show revolving around the concept of VRMMO's. Thank you for reading.