Finally, the long awaited final episode! Although episode 11 answered a lot of questions, there were still some lingering ones yet to be addressed, as well as what exactly is to become of Mister Pig. As there was a month long delay until this final episode's release, Aniplex released a finale PV just a few days prior to recap the past episodes (link to my translation upload).
This post contains my thoughts as a novel reader, but since episode 12 wraps up volume 1 of the story, there's no real spoiler warnings to be had as it'll just be me filling in the details that were left out by the anime adaptation. Lastly, you'll find any news regarding the series which came out over the past month in the update section at the end.
Episode 12 Thoughts
We open with the scene taking place the day prior to Mister Pig being transmigrated to Mestria. Jess had used a black rista that night to pray for a companion that would help her on her journey.
Following this, we're brought back to the present. As Jess explains everything, Mister Pig thinks back to those memorable moments he had with her. Though I do think the reuse of previous episodes' animations fits the moment, I think it should've been shortened, since those flashbacks were nearly 2 minutes long.
We then have a final heart-to-heart moment between the two. Jess expresses her genuine feelings of not wanting Mister Pig to leave, and Mister Pig pushes back for her sake. It's worth noting that the anime dropped the differentiation between monologue and "spoken" words from Mister Pig; if they figured out a better way of incorporating it, I think it could've elevated this scene much more given the cut monologue moments that gave a better glimpse into his thoughts. Furthermore, there was a specific moment that was removed here to be put back in a later scene (which I'll talk about when we get there), and it really weakened the emotions for this key moment just for the sake of drawing out the episode. Putting aside my gripes, I quite liked Kusunoki's acting here for Jess, especially when she cried out "You were the one who taught me to be more willful, Mister Pig!" On top of this, the music did a great job of setting the mood.
After the title drop, which is also the series' name (same thing as volume 1's final chapter title in the novel), we get an anime original scene. This is a good addition that highlights how far they've come, and now that Jess has gained her freedom, they're no longer bound by her collar to act with a goal in mind; they can do what they want on their own terms.
Finally as the sun sets, Mister Pig accidentally blurts out through his monologue that he likes Jess; Jess then also expresses her love towards Mister Pig. This was actually the cut monologue from the scene near the beginning of the episode, and keeping it as it was written in the novel would've made that moment more heartbreakingly impactful, as the two have to come to terms with the fact that their love is something that can't happen. This feeling could then be let to linger during this anime original scene, as they try to put on a brave face for each other's sake - trying not to think about their impending farewell.
We get a quick moment with the other characters Jess and Mister Pig met during their journey, before cutting back to Jess and Mister Pig having entered the Golden Sanctuary. As the two have their final talk, and the sun sets, everything fades to white for Mister Pig. This is a nice moment, but because of the way the anime original scene handled things, I feel like there was too many moments of Jess being sad and crying, which watered down this final goodbye...
With Mister Pig back in Japan, the rest of the episode follows volume 1 of the novel's final chapter as it acts as an epilogue. Given what was included in the final few minutes before the credits, I wonder if it's meant to be a teaser for season 2, because I would've normally expected the ending to stop short, with a bittersweet note telling us to remember to heat the pig liver... In terms of my opinion for this conclusion, there isn't much to talk about since it's all still shots except for the post credit scene showing Mister Pig having returned to Mestria; instead, I'd like to mention an interesting tidbit. It seems volume 1 was uploaded to Kakuyomu (owned by Kadokawa, the parent company that also owns Dengeki Bunko, which publishes the original novel), and they even broke it up into smaller chapters with their own names like what a WN would do, though it's only available to read up until 1 week from the episode airing. It's also worth noting that the anime doesn't actually show any of the characters' faces for the events taking place in Japan, I like how they approached this, as compared to the manga where they were ear given a fairly generic face but without eyes (since they're all glasses-wearing otakus, the lenses hide their eyes).
Overall, my thoughts on Heat the Pig Liver's anime is that it's average. Not because of the story, but rather the utilization of the anime medium was pretty poorly done, and some of the story beat changes really negatively impacted the flow of certain story progressions. I was hoping this final episode would hit the mark and close the story on a strong note, but unfortunately, with all the reused animations and still shots, I don't think that ended up being the case... If there is a season 2, I genuinely wish they would put a lot more effort into it, given Heat the Pig Liver kind of got shafted by No.9 in favor of Hikikomari last season. With the right care, I'm certain it'll perform very well; plus volume 2 & 3 has some amazing moments that I would love to see. The payoffs in the novels were incredibly satisfying after all.
News Update Section
The second volume of the Blu-ray/DVD has been released, this one containing the first half of a new Drama CD story (the second half will be released with volume 5 near the end of April this year).
The final Heat the Pig Radio episode was broadcasted on 1/26, and Retrospect the Pig Liver episode 4 was uploaded just a day before the final episode of the anime.
The cover for the final volume of Heat the Pig Liver was posted recently!
The Valentine event is also coming up soon, I hope something interesting comes out of it.
During the downtime while waiting for the final episode, I updated the novel page to include all the short story titles that I know of, for those that are interested. And though I posted a couple of SS translations the past month, those were my last batch for the first three volumes, so I don't expect to post any more updates on that front unless someone else has copies of the other limited SS.
Until the next time I have something interesting to share, see you all...
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