Episode 2 aired, and we finally got our visuals for the anime's OP and ED. As with my previous episode's blog post, this'll include my thoughts on the episode as a light novel reader, and at the end, an update on whatever extra anime news was posted recently.
Let's start with showing off the opening and ending, as aniplex has kindly uploaded both of them (without credits too!) to their YouTube channel.
Episode 2 Thoughts
As the 1 minute scene in the beginning is there just to set the scene transition for where this episode will take place, I'll start with the opening. While I don't think there's much to talk about regarding the OP, I really like the two shots with all the other characters watching over our main characters Jess & Mister Pig play in the water. It's not a story spoiler moment, but more of a characterization of what volume 1 is about, which I enjoyed seeing.
Now, with Mister Pig going on a shopping date with Jess, we're introduced to the world a bit more. One thing I noticed during this scene (which is also anime original) where Mister Pig talks to Jess about going on a journey is that it's trying to set a more ominous tone than the more subtle approach the novel took. I do think this has to do with the fact that the novel takes its time to build up the mystery element with a long chapter 1, but with anime, you're forced to split it up due to the time limit and it's harder to sprinkle these moments of suspicion. As weird as this may sound, this anime could have probably benefitted a lot from a 3 or even 4 episode chain release in order to cover most or all of chapter 1, since the viewers won't get a full picture of what this story is really about until then.
Next, there's the shady back alleyway scene. It's here that I wished the animation quality was higher, since the novel's description of this scarred-eye man's actions during the entire exchange would have helped clue in the observant viewers. In addition, a lot of Mister Pig's monologue in this section was cut in favor of a few simple questions; this was a much bigger loss because it's these moments that we really get a sense of Mister Pig's detective abilities, and that this is a mystery series that asks of its viewers to question what they've seen.
The haggling scene at the rista shop was mostly unchanged, with a flashback used to simplify a lengthy dialogue of Mister Pig talking with Jess before entering the shop from the novel. My only gripe here, which is similar to what I wrote just earlier, is that they should have tried to retain more of Mister Pig's monologues in order to showcase his intellect. In the novel, he reveals that he had planned for the conversation to end with himself being sold for the black rista, and thought this up in the corner of his mind in order to prevent Jess from finding out. Knowing she would have objected had he told her in advance, he intentionally made her corner herself with the haggling conversation first, then stepped in with the real plan.
The dancing scene is next, and that was just pure fun hearing Matsuoka even voicing the DDR button press responses!
Some minor conversations were cut short here and there, before Mister Pig is then given a collar. Interestingly enough, the collar seems to be tethered to rope instead of chains? That's odd, given the story context of what will happen after this, but maybe he'll be chained later on...
Before the episode ends, we get to see Jess in a maid uniform. It's worth noting that in the novel, she kept the apples inside the waist area of her clothes, but in the manga, she kept them in her chest area. It seems the anime took a page from the manga and used that for a more comedic effect. Some monologuing prior to this scene was cut, but I'm hoping it was simply moved to next episode. There was also some cut dialogue that helped characterize Jess more, as she was really worried about Mister Pig, and helped explain why she carried the apples in her clothes (she couldn't find a basket and was in a rush to return).
Lastly, we have the ending. Although I like the idea with the spotlights, the overall MV felt a bit plain as it was a lot of still shots with black backgrounds. That last moment with Jess tearing up as she's praying with a rista is great though.
Overall, it was an alright episode 2 that was perhaps weaker than I had hoped. There were a lot more noticeable changes compared to episode 1, and it's mainly the cut content which bothers me due to the weaker characterization of the main duo. If we the viewers don't learn more about Jess and Mister Pig, how are we supposed to become invested in the story?
P.S. This episode's title is actually a play on the Japanese proverb: 豚もおだてりゃ木に登る (even a pig could climb a tree when flattered), as the title is called 豚もおだてりゃダンスする (even a pig could dance when flattered).
News Update Section
This time around is going to be a bit of a shorter one.
Episode 1 of Heat the Pig Radio (web radio program) has aired, and you can find it on Onsen, or on Aniplex's channel as well. They're only up for a limited period of time, so check it out when you can.
Heat the Pig Lever was updated to include Mister Pig's dialogues from episode 2. Let's see what you roll from the gacha, shall we?
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