Bartender: Kami no Glass

Ah, Bartender—a timeless classic reborn in the form of a remastered anime, much like the beloved Spice and Wolf this season.

At first glance, you might be tempted to write it off as just another run-of-the-mill series about alcohol. But oh, dear reader, it is so much more than that. Bartender is a journey into the heart and soul of libations, each drink carefully selected to match the patron's mood and tell a story of its own.

Forget your overpowered heroes and flashy romances—Bartender is a different breed of anime altogether. It's a collection of short stories, each one a poignant tale of everyday people and their ... encounters with the magical elixirs served up by our enigmatic bartender.

What sets Bartender apart is its ability to create a sense of calm and tranquility, a refuge from the chaos of the world outside. As you sink into your seat and take a sip of your drink, you'll find yourself transported to a realm where time slows down and worries melt away.

It's hard to put into words just why Bartender is so captivating. Perhaps it's the way each episode weaves together the threads of human experience with the artistry of mixology. Or maybe it's the comforting familiarity of the bar setting, a place where strangers become friends over a shared glass.

Whatever it is, one thing's for certain: if you're looking for an anime with a chill vibe to unwind to, Bartender is the perfect choice. So sit back, relax, and let the soothing ambience wash over you. Cheers to good company and even better drinks—enjoy!

"Do you know the meaning of the word 'bartender'? 'Bar' means a perch to rest on, and 'tender' means gentle. So 'bartender' means 'a gentle perch.'"

This is a line from the first episode that sets the premise and the tone of the show, romanticizing bartending as a sophisticated and almost therapeutic vocation. Except that I am pretty sure that is not where the word comes from. A bartender is the person who “tends” the bar, as in “taking care of,” similar to "tending to a patient." This may sound like a strange nitpick, but it encapsulates the show for me.

The show is at its most ... interesting when it “talks shop” and explores the many kinds of cocktails, flavor, technique and bartending philosophies. If this is enough for you, you will have a good time. But in almost all other areas the show is awkward and unsatisfying.

The writing in the bar scenes feels very simplistic for what is supposed to be a conversation between adults about refined tastes and hardships in life. Sasakura, the genius bartender and the main character, explains every single detail about what he is thinking, what he is doing and what he means by it. Nothing is left unsaid or ambiguous so that the customer (and the viewer) can contemplate and interpret. Sasakura speaks more through words rather than through his drinks, which I feel goes against the premise of the show. When he mixes in some trivia and some life lessons, he often comes across as preachy rather than sympathetic. The stories that the customers bring to the table are also straightforward, like a rough day at work or doubts about a career choice. There are no layers to peel back, unusual personalities, or particularly complicated circumstances.

These interactions may be more enjoyable if the characters are charismatic or likable, but that is not the case here. Sasakura is just a “cool guy,” always poker-faced, both at work and outside of work, and he rarely says or does anything that reveals anything about himself. It is revealed in the first episode that he has some eccentric sides to him, but those have not been brought up again. I think his character is intended to be an enigma of sorts, but at the moment he just comes across as dull. Other characters are completely flat and get one-word descriptions like “perfectionist” or “workaholic,” if they are lucky. There seems to be an overarching story about recruiting Sasakura to work at a newly-open bar, but there is not much to it, and little progress has been made.

Unfortunately, not much is going on in the art and animation department, either. The cocktails themselves look nice, but the rest of the art is very bland; the bars look mostly flat and featureless. Characters are not very expressive and barely move, and most scenes unfold with characters sitting still and flapping their mouths. I understand that this show is a drama where people sit down and have drinks, but it does not look like the director is trying to do anything creative here at all.

I have not read the manga or seen the original anime adaptation, but I knew that they were well-regarded, and this show has not met my expectations so far. Going back to the “bartender” quote, I feel similarly about the show itself; it feels mildly pleasant but does not hold up to a closer look. This show is just not doing anything nearly as interesting or “elegant” as the subject matter itself, which makes the little annoyances all the more glaring. If you simply want to see great-looking cocktails, or if you want a calm, relaxing show to chill out to, you may enjoy this show. If you are looking for anything beyond that, I really doubt this show will deliver.

I'm curious as to why they made Sasakura so clumsy and forgetful in the first episode and then we never see that kind of behaviour again in the following eps. Not only that, but the show has an air of pretentiousness when they're talking about drinks and bartending as a job. Especially when Sasakura serves drinks to elderly people or any persons in an authoritative position then they say some random shit like:

"Mmm your drink is lacking a face"
"your beefeater doesn't have enough character"

What the hell does that even mean? lines like this just make me cringe because nobody in real life ... would talk to a bartender like this. So pretty much, the difference between an average drink to an amazing one is either a slight change in temperature or whether it's stirred too much or too little.

In real life, yes this is a real thing. A drinks temperature can drastically change how the drink will taste but the way it's explained just seems so high-sounding. Bartending isn't some kind of craft you need to master where every drop counts and the temperature needs to be just right, it's just a job to serve alcohol but it's glorified too much.

Lets say, you're working a mundane job like a sales assistant and a somebody tells you that you're lacking "a face" when serving customers, then starts telling you how you SHOULD be doing your job, they're being a pretentious asshole. It would be so much easier if they just said "your drink is too warm, that's why it tastes different" but no, they gotta say eloquent nonsense to make it seem profound.

I had a feeling I would run into this kind of annoying behaviour when watching this show and I was right.