Bartender

Bartender is not your everyday slice of life in a workplace. Bartending genius Ryu Sasakura runs Eden Hall, a bar in downtown Tokyo where he serves different customers a spirit to sooth their soul every episode.

There is no overarching plot in the anime, it's an episodic series. Each story is self contained with the consistent character being Sasakura. Everyone else only returns to narrate the customer's story in a later episode. Every guest presents a new challenge for Sasakura as he crafts the perfect drink to the person's taste. He uses cocktails to rectify relationship, call people out, break writer's block, and so many ... more. Most character development is left to the new arrivals, but Sasakura goes through his own arc as we learn his backstory and of some past failures. The only time I was bored was during the middle batch of episodes. I didn't find myself caring as much as I did during the early and later episodes.

Being a laid back show, Bartender's characters are never larger than life or over the top. Everybody is grounded in reality and wants to improve their own life. Sasakura is a calming presence for both the bargoers and audience watching as he showcases his level of caring for the person in front of him. If every bartender was like Sasakura, the world would be a much better place, but even in the show he is unique. He is known as the "Glass of the Gods," a bartender who knows the perfect drink fir any situation. This title never goes to Sasakura's head despite the praises from everybody around him. He remains humble bearing the title as a responsibility to his patrons. The level of depth is quite surprising considering the length and episodic nature of the series. Despite Sasakura being a great main character, the supporting cast is nowhere near as consistently entertaining. The support cast can be well written and carry the narrative of the episode or make you keep looking at how much time is left until the end.

The animation is OK. Its not bad and the still frames are often beautiful, but there's not much going on visually. It's difficult to make the show stand out due to the nature of the story. Bartending is not exciting to watch aside from seeing the drinks be made so the animation is at its best when cocktails are prepared. Even for 2006, the animation is only fine. The animators did what the could with backgrounds and such, but they can only compensate so much.

The soundtrack is where Bartender really shines. The opening is fantastic and the ending is great. Music always plays well into the scene at hand without being overbearing. Smooth jazz and chill beats make up the majority of the OST. It adds to the ambiance of the bar setting and drama of character backstories. It truly is wonderful.

I enjoyed Bartender for the most part. Besides the boring middle episodes, the slice of life seinen combo is something I've grown to enjoy. If you want something to relax and watch, choose bartender. You might also learn a thing or two about cocktails while your at it.

Plot: 8
Characters: 7
Animation: 6
Sound/Music: 10
Enjoyment: 8
Overall: 7.8

Bartender is a fine example of a show which is driven by its premise and nothing else to back it up.
*lifts bottle*

As long as you fancy the basic formula of how each episode plays out, you will get one hell of a series. If on the other hand you expect something more… mainstream should I say? With action, plot, plot twists, development, and a powerful ending, then DON’T EVEN BOTHER!
*bottoms up*

The story is quite the simple one. There is this fancy bar where people go and tell their life’s problem to the barman. The barman listens to them and after a cool metaphor regarding different ... types of liquors from around the world, and how combining them into a specific cocktail creates a very specific flavor, the customers feel refreshed and may even reach to important revelations regarding their issues.
*stares at an ugly woman who now looks gorgeous*

As cool as all this sounds, it is a completely episodic show and it is basically the metaphors that matter and not the actual issues the customers may have. To be honest, I hardly cared how cruel their lives are, how bad is their boss or how unfaithful is their wife. All I cared about was seeing the barman doing his weird allegories and mentioning the historical facts behind some drinks and then combining them into a super elixir of sorts that produces a flavor akin to the needs of the customer. At the same time though… it is not what most people would call entertaining. Since each episode follows the same pattern without deviating or evolving past its initial form, it eventually becomes duller with each episode. The premise is great for the first three cases but after that the excitement simply starts to wear off and you are now staring at a formulaic show with predictable outcome.
*hic!*

Do you remember how each episode of Pokemon was following pretty much the same pattern? Well, despite being a very immature show for little kids, most of the times it would have something new for the viewer to take notice. They would go to different cities, meet different trainers, fight different critters, and even Team Rocket would occasionally change its punchlines and role in the show. Plus there was action; simplistic one but definitely something regarding energy beams and things blowing up. Bartender does not have this sort of variety and this is basically what makes it boring past a few episodes. It is always the same place, always the same rhetorical questioning, and always the same conclusion, without any action or even much of motion in general. It’s people standing still, looking all gloomy, and talking all emo about something. Hardly as exciting as watching a bunch of high-spirited kids fighting with weird creatures popping out of spheres.
*Whiskey on the rocks, I choose you*

Although Bartender also has to do with lifting one’s spirits through … spirits (the drinking kind) and despite being very mature and interesting as a premise, this is not the reason most people are watching anime for. If they wanted enlightment, they would read a philosophical book or join some religion. They would NOT watch an anime, where its main objective as a medium is entertainment. Sure, we could say that the show is directed at a very mature audience who has aged significantly and no longer looks for excitement but rather for insight and maturity. To those kinds of people Bartender would appear as a holy book or something. For the rest of us (almost everyone) it will be a series of drunkards in a bar, talking all emo in front of a cool bartender. ALL THE TIME AND IN ALL EPISODES!
*burp!*

Do you know how easy it is to get bored with all that? Or do you know how eventually the characters become nothing but plot devices that are forgotten as soon as the episode is over? Instead of caring about them as characters, the customers end up being nothing but ephemeral excuses for the bartender to start blabbering about booze. Some stories were cool stories, I admit, but the characters were just excuses for fancy allegories. Not even the barman is a character since he just talks about stuff and we never get to know anything about him … other than being the Buddha of alcohol, offering his wisdom to the tired customers. WHO WOULD WANT TO WATCH A SHOW WITHOUT CHARACTERS? This is closer to a self-aid book than a series. And for the medium it’s part of, it’s not the best implementation of such a concept. Something like Welcome to the NHK or Tatami Galaxy is preferrable for having a basic, non-episodic plot, with the same characters.
*hangover kicks in*

I mean, it’s still a good show if one goes in with the proper mindset, and it can become special to a very niche audience. And the production values are actually not bad at all; the artwork in specific is almost photorealistic when it comes to backgrounds. You watch an episode and you get the urge to go buy yourself some Gin&Tonic. I mean just look at those bottles! They are so amazingly drawn! The sound of liquor pouring in the glass, the ice slowly melting, the soft music playing in the bar, the low lightning, the mesmerizing voice of the barman, YOU JUST WANNA TURN DRUNKARD AT THAT SECOND! Do you know what Gar means? It’s Gay for Archer. Well, this show is all Drub (Drunkard for Bartender).
*puts eggs in a blender*

It is THAT successful in terms of atmosphere; it just sucks you in! … Of course chances are you will be bored and ask to pull out after a few episodes, because the formula becomes repetitive. But for those few initial episodes the show is successful at what it’s about. So in all, I find this show to be VERY SPECIAL and HIGHLY CAPTIVATING IN THE BEGINNING but also NON-EVOLVING and eventually BORING FOR MOST PEOPLE.
*wakes up on an unfamiliar bed, shared with a very ugly woman*

Bartender: an anime about a little known hole in the wall bar where they don't display the menu or price because this place is waaaaaay too classy for that noise. It's the kind of joint where everybody knows your name (except we don't, because every character is some faceless nobody who is gone by the end of the episode) And they're always glad you came (except me because this anime is boring pretentious drivel)

You know, I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of alcohol (an alcoholic) so you would think I would like an anime all about alcohol. But dear lord does this ... show suck all the fun out of drinking. The whole thing reads like it was written by some sad shut-in who only ever viewed booze from a distance or read about it in a scientific journal.

The characters are boring, the plot is non existent and they reduced all the fun of drinking down to some insipid exposition about the history of distillation or some other nonsense. The only redeeming factor is the barely competent animation and sound design. But that's far from enough to save this captain-come-down-train-wreck.

If you ever need to quit drinking watch this show,
because it will make you want to never drink alcohol again