Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig

Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig (豚のレバーは加熱しろ, Buta no Rebā wa Kanetsu Shiro), also known as Heat the Pig Liver, is a Japanese light novel series written by Takuma Sakai and illustrated by Asagi Tōsaka. ASCII Media Works published nine volumes under their Dengeki Bunko imprint from March 2020 to March 2024. A manga adaptation with art by Minami has been serialized in ASCII Media Works' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Maoh since August 2020. An anime television series adaptation produced by Project No.9 aired from October 2023 to February 2024.

Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig
First light novel volume cover
豚のレバーは加熱しろ (Buta no Rebā wa Kanetsu Shiro)
Genre	Isekai[1]
Light novel
Written by	Takuma Sakai
Illustrated by	Asagi Tōsaka
Published by	ASCII Media Works
English publisher	NA: J-Novel Club
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	March 10, 2020 – March 8, 2024
Volumes	9
Manga
Written by	Takuma Sakai
Illustrated by	Minami
Published by	ASCII Media Works
English publisher	NA: J-Novel Club
Magazine	Dengeki Maoh
Original run	August 27, 2020 – present
Volumes	6
Anime television series
Directed by	Masayuki Takahashi
Written by	Deko Akao
Music by	Kenichiro Suehiro Mayuko
Studio	Project No.9
Licensed by	NA: Aniplex of America SEA: Muse Communication
Original network	Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, BS11, ytv, CBC, AT-X
Original run	October 8, 2023 – February 6, 2024
Episodes	12

Characters

Pig (豚, Buta)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka^[2][3] (PV, anime), Satoi Shibuya^[4] (audio drama)

He was previously a 19-year-old man who finds himself in another world as a pig after falling unconscious after eating pork liver. He has a somewhat perverted personality. When he returns to the real world after being put to death in the other world, he writes the story of his adventures as a web novel, which gains popularity online. However, he ends up returning to the other world.

Jess (ジェス, Jesu)

Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki^[2][3] (PV, anime), Kana Ichinose^[4] (audio drama)

A 16-year-old girl who aiming to visit the king. As a member of the Yethma people she is always wearing a collar. She is able to telepathically understand Pig's thoughts and feelings, and is aiming to help him turn back into a human.

Ceres (セレス, Seresu)

Voiced by: Miyu Tomita^[5] (anime)

A 13-year old girl and a member of the Yethma people. She has feelings for Nott and is opposed to him accompanying Jess and Pig to the capital.

Nott (ノット, Notto)

Voiced by: Kent Itō^[5] (anime)

Brace (ブレース, Buresu)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto^[6] (anime)

Media

Light novel

In September 2023, J-Novel Club announced that they had licensed the novels for English publication.^[7]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	March 10, 2020[8]	978-4-04-913013-3	December 7, 2023[9]	978-1-7183-0944-9
2	August 7, 2020[10]	978-4-04-913217-5	February 22, 2024[11]	978-1-7183-0946-3
3	December 10, 2020[12]	978-4-04-913455-1	May 19, 2024[13]	978-1-7183-0948-7
4	May 8, 2021[14]	978-4-04-913835-1	August 6, 2024[15]	978-1-71-830950-0
5	October 8, 2021[16]	978-4-04-914045-3	November 19, 2024[17]	978-1-71-830952-4
6	May 10, 2022[18]	978-4-04-914351-5	March 11, 2025[19]	978-1-71-830954-8
7	December 9, 2022[20]	978-4-04-914749-0	September 3, 2025[21]	978-1-71-830956-2
8	October 6, 2023[22]	978-4-04-915080-3	—	—
9	March 8, 2024[23]	978-4-04-915438-2	—	—

Manga

A manga adaptation with art by Minami has been serialized in ASCII Media Works' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Maoh since August 2020. It has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes as of October 2024.^[24]

During their Anime NYC 2023 panel, J-Novel Club announced that they also licensed the manga for English publication.^[25]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	February 27, 2021[26]	978-4-04-913657-9	February 14, 2024[27]	978-1-7183-3304-8
2	September 27, 2021[28]	978-4-04-913982-2	May 15, 2024[29]	978-1-7183-3305-5
3	July 27, 2022[30]	978-4-04-914318-8	August 14, 2024[31]	978-1-7183-3306-2
4	February 27, 2023[32]	978-4-04-914883-1	November 27, 2024[33]	978-1-7183-3307-9
5	September 26, 2023[34]	978-4-04-915254-8	March 19, 2025[35]	978-1-7183-3308-6
6	April 26, 2024[36]	978-4-04-915744-4	June 11, 2025[37]	978-1-7183-3309-3
7	October 25, 2024[38]	978-4-04-916080-2	September 3, 2025[39]	978-1-7183-3310-9

Anime

On December 11, 2021, during the "Dengeki Bunko Winter Festival 2021" livestream event, an anime television series adaptation was announced.^[1] It is produced by Project No.9 and directed by Masayuki Takahashi, with scripts written by Deko Akao, character designs handled by Susumu Watanabe, and music composed by Kenichiro Suehiro and Mayuko.^[40][41] The series aired from October 8, 2023, to February 6, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.^[a] The anime series mainly covers the first volume of the novel series.^[43] The opening theme song is "Watashi ga Warau Riyū wa" (私が笑う理由は; "The Reason I Laugh Is") by Asca, while the ending theme song is "Hitori Janai yo" (ひとりじゃないよ; "I'm Not Alone") by Myuk.^[6] In December 2023, it was announced that the 12th and final episode would be delayed, which was eventually broadcast on February 6, 2024.^[44]

In North America, the series is licensed by Aniplex of America,^[45] and streamed by Crunchyroll outside of Asia.^[46] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.^[47]

No.	Title [48][49]	Directed by [48]	Written by [48]	Storyboarded by [48]	Original release date [50]
1	"Otakus Enjoy Being Treated Like Pigs" Transliteration: "Otaku wa Bishōjo ni Buta Atsukai Sareru to Yorokobu" (Japanese: オタクは美少女に豚扱いされると喜ぶ)	Kentarō Tanaka	Deko Akao	Masayuki Takahashi	October 8, 2023 (2023-10-08)
2	"Even a Pig Will Dance If You Flatter Them Enough" Transliteration: "Buta mo Odaterya Dansu Suru" (Japanese: 豚もおだてりゃダンスする)	Akira Katō	Yūsuke Kaneko	Yū Nobuta	October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)
3	"You Must Not Fall in Love with Your Oshi" Transliteration: "Oshi ni Gachikoi Shite wa Naranai" (Japanese: 推しにガチ恋してはならない)	Michita Shiraishi	Yūsuke Kaneko	Mie Ōishi	October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22)
4	"Be Careful How You Ride a Pig" Transliteration: "Buta no Nori-kata ni wa Chūi Shiro" (Japanese: 豚の乗り方には注意しろ)	Shin'ichi Fukumoto	Deko Akao	Chihiro Kumano	October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29)
5	"Nearly All Handsome Guys Are Scumbags" Transliteration: "Ikemen wa Jutchūhakku Gesu Yarō" (Japanese: イケメンは十中八九ゲス野郎)	Ying Chen Lin	Deko Akao	Masayuki Takahashi	November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)
6	"Honest Feelings Should Be Shouted Out Loud" Transliteration: "Omoi wa Sunao ni Sakebu Beshi" (Japanese: 想いは素直に叫ぶべし)	Takashi Kojima Masato Uchibori	Yūsuke Kaneko	Noriaki Saitō	November 12, 2023 (2023-11-12)
7	"No Two Flowers Are the Same" Transliteration: "Hitotsu Toshite Onaji Hana wa Nai" (Japanese: 一つとして同じ花はない)	Shinji Itō	Yūsuke Kaneko	Yasuyuki Ōishi	November 19, 2023 (2023-11-19)
8	"Don't Laugh at Someone's Prayers" Transliteration: "Hito no Inori o Warau na" (Japanese: 人の祈りを笑うな)	Kimihiro Satō	Deko Akao	Noriaki Saitō	November 26, 2023 (2023-11-26)
9	"Live and Go Set Your Feet on that Ground" Transliteration: "Ikite Sono Tsuchi o Fumi ni Ike" (Japanese: 生きてその土を踏みにいけ)	Masayuki Takahashi	Unknown	Kai Hasako	December 10, 2023 (2023-12-10)
10	"There's Always a Reason Why Things Are the Way They Are" Transliteration: "Kimari ni wa Kanarazu Riyū ga Aru" (Japanese: 決まりには必ず理由がある)	Masayuki Takahashi	Unknown	Masayuki Takahashi	December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)
11	"Keep Rewards for When They Really Count" Transliteration: "Go Hōbi wa Koko zo Toiu Toki ni" (Japanese: ご褒美はここぞというときに)	Masayuki Takahashi	Unknown	Masayuki Takahashi	December 24, 2023 (2023-12-24)
12	"Heat The Pig Liver" Transliteration: "Buta no Rebā wa Kanetsu Shiro" (Japanese: 豚のレバーは加熱しろ)	Masayuki Takahashi	Unknown	Chihiro Kumano	February 6, 2024 (2024-02-06)

Reception

The light novel series won the gold prize (effectively second place) in the 26th Dengeki Novel Prize in 2019.^[51]

See also

• Girly Air Force, another light novel series illustrated by the same illustrator
• The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, another light novel series illustrated by the same illustrator
• Seiyū Radio no Ura Omote, the winner of the grand prize (effectively first place) of the 26th Dengeki Novel Prize

Notes

1. Tokyo MX lists the series premiere on October 7 at 24:30, which is effectively October 8 at 12:30 a.m. JST.^[42]