Episode 4 is the beginning of a journey. This blog post will contain my thoughts about this episode alongside some context that was left out from the novel while avoiding any future spoilers. At the end, there'll be a news update section with whatever was announced regarding Heat the Pig Liver since my post about the previous episode.
Episode 4 Thoughts
We open with Mister Pig waking up, dazed. I think it would've been a neat idea to have this begin through his perspective and have him observe his surroundings before getting up and shifting the perspective to third person, where we then realize Jess is here as well. This would've also given us the viewers that disoriented feeling too.
Anyway, there's a couple small points worth mentioning that were cut from the novel which I'll discuss here for extra context and clarification. Mister Pig's leg wound from falling off the stage was also healed from Jess using the black rista, it's not explicitly mentioned in the anime but should be easily inferred. Second, the reason Jess left the remaining leftover ristas at the mansion is because of her pure nature and she figured they would be useful as evidence against the scammer; to which Mister Pig briefly laments due to considering the ristas could've helped with their journey. It's understandable why these moments were cut, but they're great for characterizing our protagonists.
Speaking of Mister Pig's leg wound, I wanted to bring up a nice and small detail that was anime original which I couldn't talk about in the last episode for spoiler reasons. Because he couldn't use his hind leg well, he inadvertently dragged the dropped sack of used ristas out of the warehouse. It's a nice hint drop for the observant viewers. In the novel, the man was standing closer to the doorway, so Mister Pig had to push him inside, leading to the sack dropping outside the door.
After the OP, we jump to Mister Pig and Jess talking about where they're at currently. The anime cuts out a brief bit of world building where they talk about the time system which Mestria uses, but it's actually not too important for the story, so it was to be expected.
We're treated to some comedic fan service with Jess riding Mister Pig, and then... we finally get to see what a hecklepon looks like. The anime unfortunately didn't animate it, but the novel mentions that it constantly sways its body left and right in an exaggerated motion rhythmically, while its head sits stationary like a gyroscope and stares at the two.
Another small bit of cut dialogue which helps explain why Jess is so knowledgeable is that because she's employed by the Quiltlin family, she also needs to be somewhat educated when receiving their guests, therefore she was given permission to borrow books from the family to teach herself. This is also how she came to love books.
Next, on to the subject of Jess revealing the truth of why she's heading to the royal capital. While I would've liked a bit of that Mister Pig detective-eqsue monologue which was cut from the novel to characterize his tendency to try and deduce things, I think leaving it out helped emphasize the seriousness of what Jess was saying. If anything, I'm actually shocked they included pan shots of some Yesma hunters dissecting a Yesma. And of course, Kusunoki wonderfully voiced Jess' distress and worry that Mister Pig would abandon her when choosing to tell the truth.
With Jess now asleep, Mister Pig regains his freedom to think and monologue without any worries. Quite a bit of this scene's monologue from the novel was shortened (starting to feel like I'm beating a dead horse over here...), and the main thing the scene emphasized besides showcasing Mister Pig is always strategizing and thinking, is that this is not a wish fulfillment story about miracles falling into our protagonists' laps, but a story about our protagonists doing their best to achieve their wishes.
Having finally arrived at their first village, Mister Pig suggests to Jess that she should purchase a scarf to hide her Yesma identity - the silver collar. It's glossed over in the anime, but the novel does reiterate that Jess still has 200 gold because she only had to trade Mister Pig for the black rista, and the price of a scarf is no more than 3 or 4 gold. The scarf selection scene was changed slightly to take place outside of the shop, likely to save on animation budget (don't have to draw the interior or customers); and it's interesting to note that Mister Pig tells Jess to communicate telepathically in the anime, whereas in the novel, she doesn't need to be told and already understands she should do so when she entered the shop where there's other people. It's a small detail, but I feel that the novel's approach helps portray Jess as being more aware and less head in the clouds naive (am I doing what Mister Pig warned about - an otaku's bad habit of being too concerned about trivial things?).
Hm... I wonder why that handsome guy with a dog stared at Mister Pig for a moment?
We then jump to Mister Pig and Jess entering an inn, and the reason for this was left out in the anime, but it's because they haven't eaten anything since yesterday and they've been traveling for some time (around 2 hours with Mister Pig carrying Jess in the morning, and more than 3 hours with Jess pulling Mister Pig along throughout the night prior) before arriving at the village. For the sake of pacing, the anime cuts this out, but Jess does indeed pay for her meal and stay first, which costs 3 gold for her meal, 2 gold for Mister Pig's meal, and 10 gold for the room. Actually, the anime cuts quite a bit of Mister Pig's observant monologuing here, and there's some slightly odd frames of Celes which bothers me... I guess the main thing I would like to bring up here is Mister Pig's cut monologue. He first worries about Jess' carelessness when she acknowledges being a Yesma, then realizes since she can read people's minds she would've noticed if the innkeeper held any ill will, followed by staying cautious due to not wanting to overestimate Jess' ability. This kind of monologue progresses the story much more naturally as Mister Pig then surveys the inn and spots the adorned Yesma collar inside the inn.
Moving on, it's a little weird that the anime chose to rearrange the scenes a little and have Jess explain the Bapsas monastery to Mister Pig before Celes is told the truth about Mister Pig being a human. The two were supposed to be careful about revealing this information, but I guess the story flows a bit better in exchange for making it feel oddly less realistic?
And we end with a scene where we're given a rare glimpse of Jess' thoughts. This wasn't in the main light novel story, but I'm fairly certain this is adapted from one of the limited publication short stories that I wasn't able to acquire (I think it was volume 2's SS because of the story implications). The short story title is 「聞こえない声」 (The Voice You Can't Hear), and I only knew about this specific SS because volume 4 of the manga came with an extra chapter which adapted it! Obviously, the original SS and manga version has a bit more comedy with Mister Pig having some sleazy thoughts, but the essence of this SS is still there in the anime version. It's a welcome addition.
P.S. This short story appears to have originally taken place right after purchasing the scarf, and before the two entered the village inn. The anime moved it to a later scene in order to close out the episode in a more heartwarming manner.
News Update Section
As a reminder, the limited edition of volume 1's blu-ray/dvd preorder closes on October 29 (final chance!). It comes with a bed sheet with Jess on it. For international shipping, it's probably most convenient to order this via Amazon JP (don't worry, the deadline is only for the limited edition, so you'll still be able to preorder the regular version after Oct 29). If you enjoyed the anime so far, show your support by purchasing something!
Also, the bonus for purchasing any edition of vol 1's blu-ray/dvd has been revealed. It's an A4 clear file of Jess and Mister Pig in a santa and reindeer outfit respectively, drawn by Asagi-sensei! Here's the sample image.
Here's another reminder. Heat the Pig Radio (web radio program) was updated with episode 2, and you can find it on Onsen, or Aniplex's channel. This episode has some especially funny moments, like reading a fan mail that said they brought a nine year old to watch the anime pre-screening.
Also, some new information regarding ASCA's upcoming extended play (EP) was released recently. The limited edition looks to include a track with Kusunoki singing 私が笑う理由は (the anime OP) as Jess! That'll be a treat to listen to when it comes out mid-November.
Lastly, the anime website was updated with a new background to commemorate the beginning of Jess and Mister Pig's journey to the royal capital. You can still switch back to the old one by clicking the key visual icon on the bottom right corner.
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