Kirito is a pig. Oh dear! That didn’t come out right. Sorry if you misconstrue that but technically that is somewhat true. Because well, it’s another isekai anime. Many would either reincarnate into a baby or transport as themselves to another fantasy world. But rarely there are some who reincarnate in a different form. And so how would you like to be reincarnated into another world as a pig! Oh yeah. Obviously you can tell so by the title already, Buta No Liver Wa Kansetsu Shiro. However this isn’t going to be a sleazy piggy show as one might easily get the wrong idea of. Piggy guy and a cute girl together in the promotional poster. I’m so ashamed myself for getting the wrong idea initially. Yeah. Time to dispel all the negative connotations associated with a pig because this little porky is going to be this cutie pie’s hero and knight in shining armour! Go piggy, go! Oink! Oink! Buhi! Buhi!
Episode 1
Our main character wakes up in a pigpen. He feels too heavy to move or do anything. Until a cute blonde, Jess comes to help him and take him away. Before he loses consciousness, he observes his surroundings and realizes he is a pig. Next time he wakes up in a room, he thought the dream is over. Yeah, it was a weird one considering he ate some pig liver and felt sick at the train station. Well, looks like this weird dream continues as he realizes he is in Jess’ room. And yes, he is still a pig. Strangely, Jess can read his mind and is unsure how he turned into a pig. Conveniently she explains the few terms: Mesteria is the name of this land. Kiltyrie is the district they are in in which the family of Kiltyrin rules over that she works for. Yethma is a maid servant class and you can tell as they wear silver collars. They also have mind reading abilities. Piggy tests by narrating a few dirty thoughts he wants to do on her and damn, Jess is willing to strip herself?! Woah! Not so fast! So he makes a few rules about the things he says and during such monologues, please do not reply or even oblige. I guess he is going to make lots of witty comebacks. Also, he hopes she doesn’t treat him nicely always because he feels he cannot repay this debt. It will make him feel lousy. After all, she is not his servant. So treat him like a pig and only offer help when he is really in trouble. But yes, he would love to see her naked one day! As she takes him to the pig sty to resume her duties, she explains the magic stones called rista with different colours for different uses. Basically, they’re like magic batteries created by mages for citizens to use. Then they talk about beauty and friends as well as their dreams including Jess of meeting a prince. Then he asks about the chances of one turning into a pig. She says it is not likely but over 100 years ago during the dark ages when the mages were at war, they often turned people into animals. Now the only descendants live and serve the king. This means if piggy boy wants to return to normal, he must see the king. Jess is willing to accompany him and conveniently, she is taking a leave of absence from the house to visit the royal capital as it is part of her duties. So yeah. Please take me with you to the capital!
Episode 2
Piggy mocks us losers he is going on a shopping date with Jess in town! So keep watching! Buhi! At Kiltyrie, Jess enters a shady back alley to see a shady guy who is willing to sell her a few rista at dirt cheap price. Piggy smells something wrong and on pretence has her to pretend to chase him somewhere. Piggy then tells Jess that she was about to be scammed seeing he was going to sell that used rista that has been diluted with some other impurities. The real rista costs way more than that! Buta soon realizes that Jess has used a rista without the family’s permission on him. This was why piggy was able to heal so fast. Jess starts crying for doing it all for his sake but our piggy tells her not to. It is time for him to repay her. But can Jess buy a real one with limited allowance? The art of haggling. So they enter a legal shop own by Kilins. Jess tells him as Buta told him what to say. Please sell that rista at a lower price for me. Unfortunately he can’t. Because she is buying it for personal reasons and not for her family, he clearly can’t give her a discount. Especially she is a Yethma. Clearly a discrimination here. So time for another tactical retreat and discussion. Buta learns she needs to have a rista by tomorrow before she leaves. If she is going to legally work to earn that much, it will take up to 20 days. So how to others get by? Well, they sell their bodies! Nobody is going to touch his beloved Jess! Yes, Buta has another plan. This time they return with his plan to top up the balance by trading Buta. Don’t worry, he’ll find a way to escape later. So how should she convince Buta is not the family’s property livestock? She raised him on her own when he was supposed to be culled and is no longer under Kiltyrin. Plus, he can do tricks. Okay. Let’s see it. Uhm, what now? Jess has Buta dance! Oh my… Dance Dance Revolution time! HOLY SH*T! BUTA DOING BREAKDANCING! No wonder Kilins can’t stop laughing!!! This is too amusing! Hence Jess can keep her money and he’ll trade the entire pig for a rista. There is a festival later on and he plans to make a killing then. Buta can’t risk escape before then or Kilins will go after Jess. That is when Jess suggests she wants to help him with the festival. But doesn’t Jess need to return home? She claims another Yethma will replace her. Kilins somewhat understands why she wants to sell the pig. He agrees to that. All according as planned. But Kilins puts a leash on Buta. Escaping is going to be hard now… That evening before the festival starts, Buta talks to Jess about the place they’ll meet up after he escapes. He’ll figure it out somehow.
Episode 3
Jess works hard while the other workers are just lazing around. Buta is not pleased with everything including Kilins’ discrimination of Jess. But if he can put up with tonight, everything will be over. He won’t be seeing them again. So it’s time for piggy to dance. Dance Dance Revolution once more but on hard level! Cool! Okay! Yeah! Perfect! The crowd is totally amused. However in the final move, Buta sprains his hind leg. As now Kilins’ stall gets more customer, he has Jess head home as he cannot impose more on her. Buta tells her to do so as it won’t make his escape suspicious. As the customers want Buta to dance, noting his collar, they have the workers take it off. Freed, Buta then signals for people to dance with him and also to buy drinks. This is to intoxicate everyone because at the end of the day when they have all passed out, Buta makes his escape to town. But in the alley, he witnesses that shady dealer being chastised by a guy who blames him for failing to seal that deal. Because of that, he must kill Jess and bring her corpse or he will kill them both! Buta tails him as he slowly limps towards the Kiltyrin mansion. This means Buta reaches there first as he tries to warn Jess. But where could she be? Then he realizes she is already waiting at the appointed spot! Such a sweet girl. She is glad to reunite with him but he tells of the danger. It is believed those baddies want to kill her so as to silence her in the event if she leaks that dealing to her master. Despite so, all Jess is worried for is Buta. Also, Jess doesn’t think her masters will listen to her because of her rank. It is a reason why she can’t go back to the mansion. Needing a way for Kiltyrin to take action, he finds out from Jess that they can lock up that dude in a shed. The plan starts off with Buta leading that guy to a campfire to make him think Jess is there. Jess uses this opportunity to take the shed’s key in the kitchen and prepare the shed. Then Buta leads him into the shed but notices a space enough to escape for a crippled like him. So once he is inside the shed, Buta attacks him by trying to break his leg. Although successful and Buta manages to get out before Jess locks the door, it seems Buta has been stabbed! Buta accepts his death fate, feeling blessed he has a cute girl by his side while Jess continues to weep.
Episode 4
Buta is still alive thanks to Jess combining a few rista together. He has never felt so grateful so he offers her to ride on him for the journey. Well, got to pick the correct way to sit or else, let’s say it’ll ruin Buta’s image of the pure girl she is. As he is willing to accept Jess keeping some secrets, it seems she fears he will leave her should he know the reason. Since he promises nothing will faze him, she begins revealing that the reason of her journey is that all Yethma turning 16 will begin their journey to the royal capital to offer themselves. Half will die along the way and those who made it will never return. Since nobody knows what goes on in there (it is a place that sits atop a high column of rock) as it is isolated from the rest of the world. You see, why Jess left her house like as though as if she was on the run is because of Yethma hunters. They target those who go on a journey since their silver collars fetch a very high price due to its immense magic power. Of course the only way to get it is to decapitate them. Many make a living this way. While Kiltyrin is kind enough not to sell her, she also told Kilins about it but there is no telling how much info he has spread and that’s why she’s on the run. After hearing all this, you bet Buta vows to protect her even more. He realizes Yethma hunters tend to operate the closer to the royal capital. He thinks Jess should wear a scarf to hide her collar. Wow. She actually never thought of that! Time for virgin otaku to use his skill to choose a scarf that suits her. When they enter an inn to stay, it seems the hostess also has a Yethma of her own, Ceres. Buta tells Jess to run because he sees a Yethma collar on the wall. However soon the hostess explains that it belonged to Ceres’ predecessor, Eise. She was killed by Yethma hunters although a local brought back the collar. In fact, this town Baptsaze has a covenant that shields Yethma on their journeys. However there was a fire incident 5 years ago. Many Yethma died and those who escaped outside disappeared. Bet it was the work of those Yethma hunters. Jess and Buta along with Ceres head there to pay their respects. WTF Buta already has Jess and he is staring and admiring Ceres’ legs?! No wonder she is looking at him strangely! Did you forget all Yethma can telepathically communicate?! Sure, shameful piggy says he will only have eyes on Jess’ legs (still shameful, though) although Jess is very grateful for his scarf since it proves someone cares for him and it is her treasure.
Episode 5
At the site, Buta notices a shady guy and his wolf looking at them. He fears he is a Yethma hunter when he suddenly attacks. But it is to kill off that strange heckripon creature. Ceres knows him and assures that Naut is a nice person. Naut then advises Jess about her scarf because it is obvious she is hiding her collar and gives her one that matches her skin tone. While Buta still doesn’t trust him, he has the Yethma duo treat him like a normal pig. After Jess is done with paying her respects, she goes to nearby pool to wash Buta. Heavenly. Then Naut buys her an alcoholic drink. Then after that he accompanies her back to her room and of course Buta’s guts are ringing like hell if this guy is going to assault her. Then he shuts the door and Buta gets worried. He thought of breaking in after hearing ambiguous noises but then remembers Jess’ words that she believes in Naut that he won’t assault her. But soon he leaves and Buta checks on Jess. Sleeping like a baby. Nothing happened. It is then Ceres approaches Buta and wants to talk. It seems she wants to tell Naut about him first thing in the morning. Then she starts crying hard. Buta gets it now that she is in love with Naut. You see, Naut is planning to follow Jess to the royal capital and be her chabirone. Eh? What? A condition for a Yethma to do that is that they need a strong and brave companion. That is a chabirone. I guess a chaperone doesn’t sound fancy enough? Anyway, Ceres is sad because a chabirone always vanishes together with the Yethma. See where this is going? She thinks Buta is in love with Jess and should be her chabirone. Buta explains Jess’ kindness that isn’t exclusive for him but for everyone. Buta agrees to reveal himself to Naut. Ceres then reveals the reason Naut is doing this is because Jess looks a lot like Eise. Obviously in love with he but it was unrequited. During that fire incident, he was the one who tracked down the Yethma hunters and brought Eise’s collar back. Heckripon showed up during that incident and that’s why he kills them on sight, the reason they are touted as bad omen. Naut is obsessed about Eise that he keeps a picture in his pendant and his swords’ hilt are made of her bones. Therefore there is no place in his heart for Ceres. Next morning, Jess feels fine but also embarrassed for getting drunk. Not that it matters to Buta now. When they go see Naut and before he relays his intentions, Ceres interrupts and reveals Buta is human. Shocked at first, Buta then does a few stuffs to convince Naut so. Naut not so impressed, though. Buta then says as Jess’ chabirone, he has a favour to ask of him: Please follow them to the royal capital. Eh? Was this all part of the plan?
Episode 6
Buta needs Naut to be their guard to fend off Yethma hunters. He tells Ceres to let him know her true feelings. She does so and it makes the whole thing awkward. But Buta assures that Naut will only follow them there. Once they reach the royal capital, he will not follow them. So when the time comes, Naut will be Ceres’ chabirone. With Jess agreeing to this, it is all up to Naut. Since he is hesitating, Buta tells him to finish what he started or does he intend to make another sword out of Jess’ bones if she dies? So it’s decided. As they make their journey, Buta learns the journey will take 5 days if nothing happens. But problems will arise at Needle Woods as that is where many Yethma hunters gather. As they enter the next town, now if you’re wondering why they don’t take any transportation, be enlightened that it is a crime punishable by death for a Yethma and her chabirone to ride any form of transport! There is also another important law concerning Yethma: They are not to be violated or sexually assaulted. Another death penalty. Buta mentions that night when Naut entered Jess’ room. Isn’t that a violation? Naut claims as hunters they treat Yethma equally and don’t care about any damn laws. What a convenience. To Buta’s shock, there are only female Yethma so he is confused how their kind breeds and who puts the collar on them. While Buta feels awkward in asking all those questions, he doesn’t regret bringing Naut into the fold as he is their best bet to get rid of all Yethma hunters and without owing them anything since he doesn’t intend to forget Eise. Naut has a dream of Eise. When he was younger, he was injured by some bear attacked. Eise healed him up but why was he pouting? Eise was going on a journey and he didn’t want her to leave. Not especially he made that old promise of marrying her. Eise told him of a way. When he grows older, he’ll just have to come with her. Uhm, can she wait that long?
While dining at an inn, Buta notices another Yethma collar hanging on the wall. The rest tell him that it is a sign that this place protects Yethma. Buta is suspicious because it could be a fake. Fortunately for him, Yethma can tell at a glance if it is real or not. Furthermore, when a Yethma is killed, that collar disintegrates but if she is taken care of someone beloved, that collar will maintain its form. More revelations that Yethma are all females. No males. It seems they are raised by the royal capital as maids until the age 8 and then sold to rich people all over the place. By that time, they already have their collar on so nobody knows how they come into existence or get the collar on. Even Yethma themselves have no memories on that. All sounds very fishy. That night, Jess talks to Buta about Naut coming into her room that night. In a way she regrets it because she thinks she already has Buta but yet had another man come into her room. Buta doesn’t want her to get the wrong idea but ‘solves’ the whole thing by claiming they are on that sort of siblings relationship since it’s his duty as the big brother to look after her. Oh well, is this going to look weird when she calls him onii-san???!!! In the middle of the night, Buta realizes Jess is up. It seems she can hear a voice of a Yethma named Blaise calling out for help. She lets Buta here it. It is an endless loop of her pleading to save her from this terrifying darkness. Scary.
Episode 7
Jess wants to immediately go save her but Buta has his reservations. They let Naut hear it and immediately he sets out to go save her. Buta throws more caution what if this is a trap to lure Yethma in. Even more so when the voice leads Jess to a church. You see, Yethma prays to the stars and because of that, they do not enter churches. To be more precise, they are forbidden. Naut knocks on the door and talks to the priest who claims he is the only one living here. Feel free to check for yourself. As Naut goes in, Buta realizes someone coming out from the back and ready to pounce on Jess. Before he could do that, Rossi and Buta jump in to protect her before Naut knocks him out. The priest is also knocked out and tied up. Jess follows the voice and it seems there is a secret underground passage. Cellars that reek stenches of blood. Then they see Blaise praying to a Yethma statue in a cell. Her fervent prayers is perhaps what allowed her voice to reach others. They rescue her and from her brief introduction, it could be that Blaise is also on her way to the royal capital. They rest up for the night and come morning, they are to part ways. But Buta wants Blaise to come with them. Doing so might put Jess in danger but Buta knows the risk. And so they’ll have another Yethma with them. But unlike Jess, Blaise is very silent and reserved. It’s like she’s a zombie. During the journey, we have a minor distraction of Buta talking about boobs! He doesn’t know Yethma also come in such different sizes. Jess a bit jealous since Buta seems to indicate Blaise is much bigger than hers so he has to reassure her that he will only look at hers. Did that turn out correct? Sounds like a pervert… What’s this about boob size comparison like sunflowers and violets?! Then there is this onii-san thingy Jess calls Buta and looks like he needs to put a stop to that before it turns weirder. Even more so because Jess heard Naut sleep talking about some onee-san but he denies he has an older sister. Well, we all know who that onee-san is. Now they arrive at the Impaling Stones area. In the dark ages, mages at war used to fling their enemies here to kill them, hence the name. As they camp for the night, Buta notes that Naut is more reliable and a good leader than he thought. Soon Naut talks to Buta and asks if he is prepared to die.
Episode 8
What Naut means is that no Yethma or her chabirone has come out alive from the capital. It could be they are heading there to be killed. He gives Buta some chains like Rossi. This allows him to use some ice magic. Naut further reveals he has never killed a Yethma hunter and got lucky to steal Eise’s collar back then. So he doesn’t know what will happen if he fights a real one. That’s why he wants Buta to be his aid with Rossi when the time comes. Worst case scenario, he may abandon him. Also, when the time comes, it is up to Buta to choose who dies. His or Jess. Continuing their journey, Blaise remembers her mistress telling her about that red star in the sky, Salvia. It is said if you can get your hands on it, any wish will come true. Blaise has been praying to it ever since. As they stop at an inn, this will be their last night together so Naut wants to at least hold a last supper. However Blaise doesn’t feel like it and retires to her room. Naut then talks to Jess. They have decided that if it really comes down to whose life to choose, they will protect Jess over Blaise. Blaise is in anguish and has given up hope so you can see where their logic lies. Jess feels sad about it so Buta reminds her that he is her chabirone. Naut adds about his dream to be someone’s chabirone to the royal capital. But she’s dead and her bones form his swords. Since Jess looks so much like her, he wants to at least accompany her there. He wants her to live the life she didn’t get to.
More Blaise flashback as a boy talks to her about praying to the star. He calls it nonsense since wishes don’t come true. Blaise then explains by doing so, you can forget everything and just focus on the wish even if she knows all the praying will not make it come true. The day before she left, she talked to him 1 last time about using the star as a guide if he ever gets lost in life. As she started her journey, she knew it was never going to come true and it would happen anyway. It is hinted those guys kidnapped and raped her. Then they imprisoned her and she continued to pray. All of a sudden, Naut and co popped up to save her. She has never been held so tightly before but no longer has the strength to keep holding on to hope. That night, she wakes up Buta to talk to him. She wants to know about his world. Especially if people love small boobs?! Well, uhm, yeah. Some love it small. Like Buta. Blaise his happy to know such a world exists and hopes to reborn there. As she serves a household of grave keepers, she thought there must be another world for those who are dead. And since Buta comes from another world, she wants him to hear her final prayer. She shows her mutilated tummy???!!! Well, her attackers already have removed her organs so there is no hope for her. The rista cannot heal her as there needs to be someone whom she is attached to for it to work. Thus she will not make it to the royal capital and will give her life to them. That’s why when she dies, she hopes to reincarnate in his world. She also mentions one last thing. Before she left, she was told about the strange rumour of the royal capital: It has no entrance. Could this mean all Yethma are bound to die here? Because no Yethma who entered it has appeared outside, people started hearing rumours of a way to get inside: Appeal to the king. How? Dunno. But she prays hard so that all of them can live.
Episode 9
As they continue their journey into the woods, Naut finds something strange and tells the Yethma to hide. He manages to deflect an attack from a Yethma hunter. As Rossi goes after him, the other Yethma hunters arrive. So what is Naut doing here with a pig? Emergency food?! Obviously they’re not buying it so they hold Naut hostage and wants him to point out where his Yethma is. At this point, Blaise comes out of her hiding and claims herself to be Jess. Rossi tucks Jess back in hiding. When their boss arrives, Naut remembers he was the one who killed and took away Eise. And for Buta, this guy was the one who sent that guy to Kiltyrin’s house to kill Jess. Naut signals to Buta to use his magic to distract them so he can take on the guy holding him hostage. Then they’ll reunite behind that big tree. Buta does his water magic as distraction and the plan flows flawlessly. Big bad boss obviously tries to incite Naut by claiming the things they did to Eise before killing her. She was clearheaded until she died as she was left begging for her life. Now he tries to do the same to Blaise but after realizing she has already been gutted, he will kill her. This is when Naut and Rossi goes to attack and kill a couple of Yethma hunters while Buta as ordered to head to Jess’ side and run to safety. As Naut fights the boss and losing, big baddie now turns his attention to Blaise and Rossi. Not sure how but thanks to Jess and Buta felling a huge tree to block his path. Naut continues to keep him company while the rest reunite. However Blaise sees a Yethma hunter creeping up from behind and goes to him just to get stabbed?! Well, I really suppose she wants to die as it is her only salvation. She hopes to reincarnate in Buta’s world. That Yethma hunter is now targeting Jess but Naut’s raging fight with the boss accidentally blows some fire magic and burns him. That was convenient. Blaise dies so no time to cry over a corpse because you better get the hell out of here while Naut still keeps that guy company.
Episode 10
Buta apologizes that he never told Jess about Blaise knowing she was going to die. Before Jess blames herself for not being attentive, Buta blames himself for letting his guard down. Buta wants her to promise to enter straight into the capital no matter what. However she is reluctant to go in without him. As they arrive, what now? Uhm, maybe shout open sesame for the opening? Not working. Maybe the entrance somewhere. So they walk around the area and do the same thing but nothing happens. Suddenly an arrow grazes Jess’ arm. As they lie hidden, a Yethma hunter telling Jess to give up seeing the arrow is poisoned. But Buta doesn’t smell any poison and believes it is a lie to smoke out her allies. Buta can smell this guy isn’t working alone but a partner hidden nearby. Buta has Jess make a bluff to call out to Naut so as to trick them she is not alone. Then he has her activate one of the few tools Naut gave her. This is to call the wolves for backup. Buta tells her to get away while he distracts the Yethma hunters. Using another tool to bomb a tree, this splits them up. Buta then rushes in and attack the partner. Then he hears Jess calling for help. Fearing another Yethma hunter, he rushes to her but she grabs him and activates another tool that shelters them. You see, when the wolves arrive, they might also target Buta. Speaking of which, their howling is heard so the Yethma hunters get the hell out of here. Buta believes being a distraction to those Yethma hunters is a better plan but Jess is adamant she doesn’t want him to die. Jess and Buta lie close to each other until the threat is over. As they emerge, they talk about things. Like Buta wanting to reincarnate as a dog. Jess? As a pig?! Well, just in case Buta doesn’t turn back. Noticing a heckripon watching, this has Buta to realize from what has been said about them, he speculates they are surveillance tools by the mages. After all, many animals in this world do exist in Buta’s own world except these heckripon. He further speculates that such surveillance is so because they might be afraid Yethma who escape their eyes may increase in numbers. Remember, Yethma are not allowed to be transported or engage in sexual activities. Hence this weird system of needing them to reach the capital by 16 years of age or they die. Jess then talks to this watching heckripon to let her in. Uhm, nothing happens… Oh wait, an opening nearby! Stairway to heaven now, eh?
Episode 11
Wow. Who this beautiful babe at the top of the tower? Wyss welcomes them as the stairs behind revert to being rocks. To allay their worries, she says Naut is fine and has left Needle Woods. They clean themselves up and rest. Not sure if Buta is commenting on how beautiful Jess body is or the luxurious bathroom. Maybe it’s both. Then it just feels odd as Jess and Buta share a bed. But sorry, no horny beastiality moments! Next morning, Wyss brings them to the top. Buta tries to ask if she is a Yethma but she doesn’t answer. They enter a huge room where the king awaits. He introduces himself as Eavis and also in this room is Sharvis his grandson. Wyss is Sharvis’ mother. Since Eavis can read Buta’s mind, he admits that he is a mage. In fact, all mages can read minds which is a fact not known by many. Eavis gives Jess the opportunity to ask any question. Immediately she asks if Buta can revert back to a human. Yes he can. But with a condition that Jess must witness it all the way. After she agrees, he reveals he is not going to do so via magic. He will kill Buta! It is the only way for his conscious to return to his body in his original world. Right now that body is in coma and will eventually die. This also means Buta will no longer be in this world. If this makes Jess sad and doesn’t want him to part, Eavis is willing to make Buta part of the royal family. After all, they’ve been waiting for exceptional mages. This confirms Buta’s suspicions that Yethma are mages. Eavis even breaks Jess’ collar to officially make her no longer a Yethma. As Buta still has some questions about Yethma, the king believes most of his suspicions are correct but will tell him as goodwill and parting gift for Jess.
Buta explains all he knows about Yethma as well as mages. Now you see, the reason mages start wars and fell into decline is because magic that was ill fit for physical bodies and became the source of their excessive egocentrism. Lady Vatis who was the great ancestor placed those silver collars on surviving mages to control their power and seal off such pride. That also ended the dark ages. Because of that, they stopped rebelling and became slaves. While it is too cruel a system, as long as humans exist, they will want to pin the blame on others and Yethma became that subject. As for Yethma turning 16 needing to begin their journey, it is to trim their numbers down and only the most competent shall survive and make it here. Then they will bear children or welcome into the royal bloodline. As for why there are no males, since no one knows when males might produce children, they are disposed before being born to avoid bearing children capable of magic without their knowledge. So uhm, how are current Yethma being born?! Who planted the seeds in them?! Don’t tell me it’s magic!!! As for society producing rista for Yethma, this system might not last forever and Eavis admits it is not the best but still more ethical than the dark ages. He promises not to change this as long as he lives and will fight those who wish so. With Q&A session over, they are free to do whatever they want till sundown in which they are to come to the cathedral for, uhm, Buta’s humanization ritual if I should say? So Buta and Jess hang out and talk about their journey. Jess insisting it is because of Buta that she made it this far and also vice versa. Jess then reveals a secret. That rista she used as a prayer was actually to wish for someone to accompany her to the capital as she was afraid to set off alone.
Episode 12
We see Jess praying so hard that she doesn’t want to go to the capital alone. So as Buta’s soul was floating about, he got caught up by Jess’ ‘magic’. It is also her wish that made him into a pig because if he was human, he might not come with her. Now she feels guilty about dragging him but also thankful that he did. So for half this episode, we see an emotional and mushy ‘argument’ between Buta and Jess. Buta wants Jess to take this chance and find her own happiness but Jess despite all that, prefers to be with him despite being an otaku virgin. Why is she making it hard for him? Well, did he not tell her it is okay to be selfish?! In the end, she realizes that he has granted her wish and now it is her turn to grant his. Since they still have time, they head down to town. Uhm, this is the royal town? Wow. It’s bigger than it looks! Sure, a few inhabitants but nothing peculiar. They had fun and at the end of the day, they return to Eavis who promises a swift and painless death for Buta. Jess is allowed to be with him till his final moments. Another round of tearful goodbyes :’(. The next thing Buta knows, he wakes up in hospital. Looks like he survived the food poisoning ordeal. Yeah, mom was really worried. He returns to his normal life although he felt part of his soul lost. Because of the poisoning, he failed to take his exam and has to repeat a year. Fearing his time at Mesteria would be nothing more than a dream, he started writing his adventures via online web novel. His final advice in the novel? Don’t eat pig liver raw! Always heat it up! Yeah. Roll credits! This novel of his garners a few fans and they would like to meet more and talk about it. As they do, they talk about the Mesteria adventures and our otaku virgin thought they were trying to add more fantasy garbage into the story. Until he realizes that they too returned from Mesteria! Hence the ‘mission’ now is to return to Mesteria! Will our otaku virgin miss this chance to see Jess? Let’s go back to Mesteria! In the end, we see a pig peeking out from a barn…
The B(e)acon Of Hope: Part Man, Part Pig, Full C(ham)pion!
Man, I hope they didn’t do it again. Oh you know, eating raw pig liver to food poison themselves and return to Mesteria! Holy sh*t! Is that the only way to return to Mesteria?! Maybe. Because I surmise that eating other uncooked foods may send you to other different worlds instead! But yeah, in the end, it is up to our interpretation whether Buta has returned to Mesteria along with his other friends. It is very likely but nothing conclusive. It could be just ordinary pigs in a barn. That’s all. Oink. Buhi.
If you think about it, the entire story is just one long draggy road trip of a pig and a female slave towards the capital. Of course, the intriguing thing that kept me interested throughout the season are the mysteries about the Yethma. We are given hints, tips and mostly speculation about this strange race of people and as more episode passes, the more my curiosity builds up about these maids that are sent to journey back to the royal capital they came from after reaching a certain age. Yeah, in that context, you could say that the tension was killing me was I was really dying to know the answers to all the questions and can’t wait for the next episode to come out. This somehow overshadows the drama and draggy pace of the journey and perhaps it was some successful psychological tactic to keep viewers like me hooked. Because otherwise I would have just scorned this series and called it absolutely a big bore. Even more so the ending doesn’t have a big twist (as I disappointingly expected it to have, like oh you know, Jess and Buta eloping and getting married!) and just one draggy sappy drama of goodbye between the girl and the pig.
However, if there was one thing that I irked me was the initial synopsis. You see, one reason why I was curious to take a look at this series was because the premise stating that our main character had turned into a pig in this isekai. He has to travel with a companion. The thing that caught my attention was that she wants to eat him! Whenever this happens, our piggy boy will use his quick wits to give excuses to get out from this situation! OMFG! This sounds a whole lot like some twisted comedy! Treating piggy on this journey like some emergency ration?! Sign me up! I gotta see this! And then it turns out it wasn’t that sort of comedy I thought it was to be and well, it’s a whole lot darker drama. So yeah, that synopsis really got my attention and although most sites have now changed and reflected the true story, I wonder if that initial plot was not worded well and led me to think so. I swore I could have imagined Jess as some sadistic glutton who can’t wait to sink her teeth into some pork meat. But now after watching her character, I find it real hard to imagine so! That can’t be Jess! Damn. And the title of the series turned out to be just a warning on what to do with raw pig liver, huh? Well, let’s hope in real life there won’t be any YouTube or TikTok challenges of eating raw pig liver! I can’t imagine the amount of dumb people popping up as a pig in Mesteria!
Anyway, back to the story. Because of the mystery and enigma surrounding the Yethma tribe and the royal capital, this would naturally had me form super dumb conspiracy theories. Oh you know, Yethma are actually androids and that is why they have to return to the capital to be retuned so that they can be sent out and repeat the same process all over again and again. This is why you can’t have sex with them because they don’t have sexual reproductive capabilities! Hey, this isn’t our world where sick people can even do it with a sex robot! As for why they can’t ride vehicles, uhm, maybe because they’re highly inflammable and will explode! Oh silly, carriages here are not gasoline driven, dummy! And so when the much needed revelation came in the penultimate episode, I have somewhat mixed feelings about everything. Whatever Buta has speculated mostly turned out to be true. I don’t know if I should feel disappointed or not because I thought and really expected the truth to be even more. Yeah, like my outlandish conspiracy theories. So it turns out Yethma are descendants of mages, blah, blah, blah… Well… Uhm… Okay… Feels a bit unsatisfactory but okay, I guess.
With such revelation, this also brings about a whole lot of questions. Because if successful Yethma who managed to get into the capital and become mothers for future Yethma, I’m thinking right here, are there a few Yethma inside the capital? I am saying this because although I am not sure how many Yethma are there currently, but there has to be a number of them. Because they make the journey when they turn 16 and if there are lots of Yethma hunters waiting for them, it has got to be a lucrative business seeing the success rate, right? So which means either there are quite a number of Yethma in the royal capital or there are a few of them but they become baby making machines and churn a few out each year. Thinning their numbers for competence seems to be a silly reason. Because at this point I am not sure if the king wants the race to continue its lineage or not. Sure, status quo on the current system but to avoid such dumb tragedy, why not just let the current few stay in the capital forever? They don’t have to send out the young ones anymore and they can in-breed and live happily with their tiny numbers. After all, nobody knows how to get in there, right? And the most mindboggling part, if males were killed at birth, how the f*ck does Eavis get a grandson?! Don’t tell me Sharvis is a cross-dresser! Maybe they allow only 1 male and any subsequent males get killed. All just to suppress magic and egoism. Yeah, what a strange world indeed.
Another thing I want to point out that sometimes this series feels like of the horror genre to me. There were at times that I caught myself being spooked at some of the events. For instance, those strange heckripon creatures. What the f*ck are those?! Did gremlins and llama had a love child together?! And I bet they don’t know what to call so what the heck… That’s it! Heck-ripon!!! Yeah. Whatever. Anyway, the way they stare with their big eyes and say nothing, does that not give you the creeps? Imagine those are surveillances for mages. WTF. Oh yeah, I guess it is better than the obvious drones or surveillance cameras! The other creepy and horror part is when Blaise’s prayers kept repeating like a broken record the first time Jess caught wind of her thoughts. I don’t know about you, that actually spooked me as I thought it was some ghost or something. Yikes. I hope I won’t have nightmares about it. I’m pretty sure I won’t because you’ll soon find out why… And of course some dark scenes in the forests that keep you on your toes as your mind starts to wander and think some sort of jump scare might happen. So far so good. Phew. My sanity still intact. Even when I saw Blaise’s gutted belly! And you thought she was going to give us perverts some fanservice and show her crotch! Hope you didn’t throw up, perverts!
This series has a few terminologies of its own although some I feel like are borrowed words. Oh you know, the most obvious ones are chabirone and rista. A chaperone is defined as a person who accompanies another. Guess which term they used it here? And doesn’t crystal and rista sound similar to each other? That’s right. And as pointed in my previous paragraph on how they arrived at the name heckripon, right?! As for Yethma, “Yes, ma!”. Holy sh*t just kidding. I just pulled that out from thin air.
Character wise, the entire series is about the dynamism between Buta and Jess. This is why the draggy drama and the road trip so as to also help flesh out their relationship. At the end of the series, you can definitely vouch that the duo are close enough and don’t want to be separated from each other. Sure, it was instant chemistry when they first met, when Buta first opened his eyes in this new world. But as they journey together, they get even closer, learn stuffs about each other and you will start to believe that they are just more than some master-servant or pet relationship. Both start to rely on each other a lot and trying to credit the other but at the same time being modest and all. In a way, making the whole drama somewhat a bit sappy. But I guess it’s okay since we’ve got a beautiful chick and his cheeky pig. I mean, Jess is such a nice and kind person that it feels really wasted to be your girlfriend! I suppose one of the ‘comical’ moments is when Buta starts talking about his perverted desires. He is after all some sort of perverted otaku. And then Jess won’t get offended but instead welcomed such deprave acts instead. Buta being the virgin and at least have some honour and pride, would just brush it off as a joke. A lot of their drama and interaction revolve around something like this. They could be a great manzai comedy duo in another world. Just saying. Yeah, remember Buta can dance! Show off those dancing chops and amazing combos once more!
There are not many other characters here so the only notable one is Naut. In short, this guy is just feeling guilty from his inability to save the Yethma he fell in love with. It’s like he is trying to repent for that and that is why he went on this journey. Of course Buta needed him for some protection. In a way, this journey gives him the much needed redemption he needs to get over Eise. What is done cannot be undone and the only way for him is to move forward. Might be his character since he is somewhat giving off that grumpy I’m-not-impressed looks most of the time. Sure, still bitter about the past but he is a good ally to Buta and Jess, enlightening them and providing them with many stuffs along the way. It was just weird and unceremonious after Buta and Jess got into the capital, he was like, gone. No longer needed so no need to stay anymore. Maybe this journey would also give him some experience because in the future when Ceres’ time has come, he will know what to prepare for. Lastly, Blaise. She was a gone case from the beginning and her very sombre demeanour serves as a reminder the tragic fate that befalls on all if not most Yethma. It’s a sad thing she lost her life and maybe this might start up my trauma as you will soon learn why…
While the art and animation are standard, somehow I feel that the female characters gave this one kind look. I don’t know if this is the trademark look for Yethma because all of them look like dolls. Sure, they look cute and all but the more I stare at them, the more doll-like they look. Sometimes it got me thinking that one of the reasons Yethma can communicate telepathically and read minds is to save animation effort! I know it is BS but with Jess being able to do so and our piggy boy doesn’t even have a mouth to animate, this makes animation a hell lot easier since they don’t have to animate mouth movements. Yeah, isn’t this piggy looking cute and like a darling too? As mentioned, heckripon look as strange and creepy as f*ck but oh well. If they were looking as cute as bunnies, I guess most of us won’t even notice cute boy Rossi. Sorry, piggy is the pet mascot! Also, there are some scenes that are quite dark and so it may be annoying to strain your eyes to see what is going on. This anime is done by Project No. 9 who other than animate loli animes, also did others like Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun, Otonari No Tenshi-sama Ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen Ni Sareteita Ken and Mamahaha No Tsurego Ga Motokano Datta.
For the voice acting, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is identifiable as Buta. So you know why I said Kirito is a pig in my opening statement, eh? A few other recognizable ones include Saori Hayami as Eise and Kikuko Inoue as Wyss. Of course the one that takes the cake is Mamiko Noto as Blaise!!!! OMFG!!! BANZAI MAMIKO NOTO-SAMA!!! Even if she sounds very subdued and weakened, I still love her voice. This is why I don’t get spooked by that broken recorder prayer moment. But hell they killed off her damn character so I’m going to go into that freaking trauma mode of mine again! WTF THEY KILLED OFF ANOTHER MAMIKO NOTO CHARACTER!!! NOOOOOO!!!! The other casts are Tomori Kusunoki as Jess (Annette in Spy Kyoushitsu), Kent Itou as Naut (Majima in My Home Hero), Miyu Tomita as Ceres (titular character in Gabriel Dropout) and Takaya Hashi as Eavis (Phoenix in Dekoboko Majo No Oyako Jijou). Holy f*ck, even Rossi got his own seiyuu, Shinya Takahashi (Kogure in Tokyo Ravens)?! Doggie doesn’t even speak…
The opening theme, Watashi Ga Waru Riyuu Wa by Asca is quite a lively anime pop. In a way, it feels it doesn’t fit the flow of this drama but I guess we need some positive vibes. As for the ending theme, Hitori Janai Yo by Myuk goes at a slower pace but has some hip hop elements and a bit dramatic. I guess it sounds pretty decent but it’s not something I would go crazy over. Jess fans can drool over her as the entire ending credits animation is on her. And some fabulous rainbow coloured fields… What…
I don’t know, it all seems suspicious that the final episode got delayed because one of the episodes got delayed during airing and hence pushing the final episode out of its actual timeslot. I’m saying this because as the season reaches its end, an announcement was made regarding the final volume of the light novel source which will be released somewhere in early 2024. While it was also stated that it was production issues causing the final episode delay, here I am thinking they might want to tweak and change how the ending will play out. Yeah, 1 more volume left so we’re not going to make another season just for it, right?! Maybe some extra OVA episodes but all I’m saying is that with the anime reaching this point, they don’t want to wander off too far from the original source so they are just waiting and see to get some ideas. Get what I’m saying? Of course just a speculation on my part but I can’t shake off this feeling. After all, I am assuming the entire series has adapted all the released volumes because it is endgame once they reached the royal capital, right? Unless you tell me this is all somewhere in the middle chapters.
Overall, an intriguing and fascinating series to follow but nothing that would break any new grounds. Just a long road trip drama and they add some mystery tropes to the theme, that’s all. Perhaps this entire series is about a girl and her pig but at this point I am not inclined to see just that. Imagine it could end up having the worst kind of ending because you know, Buta wakes back up in hospital and everything was all just a dream! JUST A DREAM!!! Uh huh. Almost had that! Yeah, we hate that kind of lazy writing. But it was the best dream he ever had so thank that nasty pig liver he ate that had him go on a date with a hot chick he would never have done so had he stayed in his world. To prove it was not all a dream, Jess gets reincarnated as his pet dog or cat or hamster in his world! Sorry, getting ahead of myself here. So yeah. This little piggy went to isekai, this little piggy went on a journey with a beautiful girl, this little piggy then died and went home. May I suggest having siu yuk (crispy roast pork belly) and char siu (BBQ pork) next time? Yum, this little piggy looking very delicious now!
Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe! 