Score: A-

The era of ridiculous isekai stories has certainly been interesting. Some of them have really worked out quite well and some of them just were a bit too odd for me to get into. I’m surprised to say that Buta no Liver after one episode is feeling like the former. It’s extremely ridiculous in terms of the premise and the main character sells that angle of it. But it’s kind of fun watching him and Jess interact. Pig (I’m just going with that) is a lot as a character. His thoughts just go off and I give full props to Yoshitsugu Matsuoka who must be having a blast with this character! Jess is extremely cute, but there’s something going on there that is undoubtedly going to get explored in episode 2 and beyond. She handles Pig’s personality with angelic grace (no matter how much she’d deny being an angel).

This Pig’s imagination is good!

It would actually be quite the difficult situation having one’s thoughts constantly on broadcast. In that respect I do feel for the MC who can’t help some of the thoughts popping into his head. There’s no harm in thinking things, but it does get more complicated when the other side can hear it. Of course, it’s not like he’s going to be like that with everyone. It appears this telepathy is limited to the Yethma class. Part of me thinks that people in more powerful positions would want that kind of ability, but I guess they might limit that to keep conflicts from breaking out. Powerful people hearing the insults others think in their presence could spark serious conflict…

It does make me wonder about this society though. We didn’t get to see anyone besides Jess so we have to work off what she said and infer the rest. A sad note that she hasn’t spent a lot of time around people with good thoughts to share. That this pig with some wild thoughts is considered great compared to her usual company is…unfortunate. Doesn’t seem like anyone feels the need to consider her or care about her because of what she is and her position in society. I’m sure the next episode or two will help show this society off a bit, but for now it doesn’t look all that great.

If he doesn’t restrain himself, she might do anything

It really says a lot that Pig had to pull the breaks so that Jess didn’t go beyond belief to cater to his every whim. She just seems thrilled to have someone interested in her at all. There’s little grasp of her own beauty or good nature. In that sense I hope Pig just keeps showering her with attention. Whatever reason she hasn’t been getting enough of it aside, she does deserve the praise. This guy couldn’t have asked for anyone better to find him. She got him out of the pen, took him inside, cleaned him up, and explained as much to him as she could. Part of that might be being treated as a servant and being a Yethma. But I think her good nature is part of her.

What has me interested is what might be going on. The trailers gave a good hint of it, but I want to just focus on this episode. There’s clearly something weighing on her. And I think her attachment to Fairy Tales goes beyond just enjoying the stories. There does seem to be something she wants to be saved from, but she just can’t bring herself to ask for that. Seems to have steeled herself for whatever is waiting for her. And that does seem to have a connection with her about to start traveling to the capital.

That’s a smile worth watching for

The dynamic between Pig and Jess is something I can just get behind. It’s a bit chaotic, but there’s fun to be had. There’s a lot going on, whether it’s Jess’ sweet attempts to be stern just KO the guy from the shear cuteness or when his monologues become too much for her to pretend not to hear. This guy just can’t help but let his thoughts go places around this girl. Sometimes she remembers not to respond to his monologues but other times even she has to give a cute response. We’ll see how the banter plays out as time goes on. But for now, I’m not expecting to get tired of it. It might even get more entertaining as he starts not caring about the fact that she can indeed hear all his monologues.

That’s a sight to wake up to…

I do wonder a bit about where this guy’s head is truly at. Does he seriously think it is all a dream he’s having after eating some raw pig liver? Or is he just trying to avoid facing reality that he is indeed a pig right now? He might just be acting out a bit to try and take away the severity of it all. I did enjoy his thoughts and breakdown of waking up as a pig. No surprise it took him some time to figure that out. If he is trying to trick himself I suppose that is fair. Not sure I’d want to openly embrace getting dropped into some other world…as a pig.

Whether he can be turned into a human is another solid question. I feel like this is more of a legitimate issue and goal than some other isekai. In part because he’s in a living body. I mean sure pigs can have decent lifespans (sometimes getting up into the 20s), but it’s not like being turned into a sword or something. There’s a bit less pressure to figure things out right away since…no one is eating a sword. It would be nice if he could reach that goal since I’m sure he’d much rather go after Jess…as a human being. But it might not work out. No clue if he was turned into a pig by someone in this world or by some deity as a divine prank.

A big world out there for these two to explore

Some first episodes are just fun, and I’d say this was one of them. The voice acting for both sides really helped add to the flavour of the episode. Just a girl and her pig hanging out would make for a decently enjoyable show. But it does seem like there will be a journey ahead with some stakes. Will see what destiny has in store for these two. But this was a pretty good start. They just jumped into the crazy premise and let the main characters bounce off each other a little. Not a bad way to get people immersed into the world. I think this kind of silly premise can work so long as the characters are good and there’s some fun being had with it. Here’s hoping the coming weeks will be equally entertaining.