By this time, I don't really need to tell you what reincarnated Isekai shows are like; it's the same doofus premise that we've seen time to time again. But, in a case of silver lining, there's the "I turned into XXX" plotline, which gives a somewhat refreshing take to the reincarnation angle. From 8-bit's Tensei Slime franchise (which has continued to go strong even as the series hits its 10th anniversary in 2024) to Studio Gokumi X AXsiZ's last Summer's offering of Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou a.k.a Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (which I really like), everyone has a reason to like or hate them, but as repetitious as they are, they're here to stay. And that leads us to Fall 2023's final show: novelist Takuma Sakai's only work, Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro a.k.a Butareba: The Story of a Man Who Turned into a Pig, which, aside from its production issues, is a plot that, I think, only mainly serves to sell the oinks to the most extreme people who dreamt they can be pigs for fetishes.
For context, I just love J-Novel Club's phrasing synopsis:
A run-of-the-mill otaku collapses from stomach pain after tasting raw pig liver and wakes up in a whole new world—as a pig, of all things! He's helplessly trapped in his pen until Jess, a girl who can read minds, comes along and rescues him. Our porcine hero will have to work to keep his boar-ish thoughts to himself, but sweet Jess isn't deterred. In fact, she wants to spoil this little piggy rotten! By Jess's side, it seems like life as a hog might not be so bad after all, yet there's more to this strange fantasy world than meets the eye. Jess is a girl of many secrets, and she's in danger. But what can a mere pig with no special powers do to protect her from her cruel fate? Will his modern knowledge, quick thinking, and sharp nose be enough to ham it up and save her?
Sounds quite the degenerate and serious synopsis, eh?
But in hindsight, that's really as much as the story is rather "unique" in: the reality that the MC-kun (VA-ed by SAO's Kirito of all people) must've ate some poisonous or inedible pig liver, only to be reincarnated into the body of a pig. and taken care of by a girl who's as much as the pigpen's lowly maidservant. The pervertic Otaku, who is at first brandishing himself as the pig who tries his best to act like a human while looking the same, meets the girl, whom he comes to know as Jess from the House Kiltyrin. However, as he's soon about to learn, Jess is no ordinary girl, as the collar that she wears on her neck exmplifies her as what the fantasy world calls Yethma, girls who can telepathically understand other people who have similar collars as her but who are also discriminated against from birth to be slaves to their masters. Yethmas like Jess can (presumably) only purchase one item: Ristae crystals of various colours, one of which is the rarest: the black Ristae, said to grant its user a wish. And Jess's wish is for her to be free of her Yethma life, though the temptation to turn Mr. Pig, apart from all of the dodgy DDR-dance frenetics, back to a human again. Of course, the other way is to visit the King in the Royal Capital, but to go there, the risks outweigh the benefits, as Yethma hunters will relentlessly seek out girls and sell them, thus repeating the entire cycle all over again.
It's a rather lengthy journey for both Pig and Jess as they circumnavigate around the dangerous areas to get to the hidden Royal Capital, and their relationship is quite mutual. Since Jess saved his life at times, Pig attempts to do the same, albeit in his rather bulbous pig's body at the very best. But they don't have to go through this alone. The other half of Naut and his dog Rossi, along with yet another Yethma of Else, are also another duo who are following both Jess and Pig on the same trajectory; they're also here to fulfil their needs, as much as the danger proves omnipotent for all since, they have accompanying Yethmas with them. At times, Jess and Pig do look good together...if you don't see them from a degenerate standpoint, and their relationship has that kind of charm of sacrificial "love", so much so from reaching their goal to the Royal Capital and releasing the chains off of Jess, even if it means turning Pig back to a human.
But all this while, when the goal seems to be within reach, something gives off the ominous thought that what if this has been a journey through the highs and lows — a measure of recording somebody's life? That's the stark reminder I got while watching this show, more in the curiosity of its world-building, which has been vague from the start, and like a banana, its peels opened to finally get a realization of how the fantasy world operates and why there is a need for the discrimination of the Yethmas. This is where the show excels, and though rookie director Masayuki Takahashi doesn't quite have the skills to reach his potential yet (after doing assistant directorial duties for Spring 2021's HigeHiro, Winter 2022's Shikkaumon and most importantly, last Summer's Jidou Hanbaiki), this show serving as his debut job is a rather good starting point for him.
Speaking of the director, switching gears to focus on the studio now, Project No. 9 really got off into the biggest foil of their biggest move yet. 3 shows within the same season only create a recipe for disaster: Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon a.k.a The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess is the summation of the best effort the studio has given in the season; Ojou to Banken-kun a.k.a A Girl & Her Guard Dog got trashed so hard; and now with ButaReba, it rests in-between both shows in terms of production capability. It's neither the best nor the worst, but mediocre to decent at best. Even ASCA's OP and Myuk's ED just sound decent, but really nothing memorable.
In the end, this show is just wish-fulfillment purposes of a "what if" scenario when someone thinks of being reincarnated as a pig, and I can't say that I enjoyed or hated what I watched the hell out of ButaReba. It's just, overall, fine as it is, and unlike Summer's Jidou Hanbaiki, this is just all sorts of messed up. That's the reason why this show, to me, is one of a handful where Isekai reincarnation has truly gone bonkers, with no thought process other than its obvious tagline.
Decent try, but try harder.
