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WARNING: May feel mild to strong urges to try out liquor, especially cocktails. This show is rated M for mature, not because of any violent content or anything pornographic. But because the themes in this show have been presented while keeping a mature audience and their day to day life in mind. This is your chance, turn back now.
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INTRODUCTION
"Do you know the meaning of word 'Bartender'?
A 'bar' is a perch,
And 'tender' as in gentleness.
Together, it means a gentle perch.
This wood here is the bar
By itself, it's a mere board for placing liquor upon.
But because a bartender is there, 'bar' and 'tender', gentleness is born."
...
Alcohol is considered as one of the greatest inventions of mankind, of course it is, that's why humanity and alcohol are going hand-in-hand since time immemorial. Today, alcohol has become an inseparable and integral part of our lives and culture, from medical supplies and cosmetic products to that beautiful art of a bottle of Johnnie Walker (sorry for my predilection towards scotch whiskey). 'Bartender' tries to pays homage to a small part of this long history with arguably one of our oldest friend. Liquor usually has always been presented in a negative light through art and literary mediums all over the world for as long I remember, further more being born and raised in a culture where even the mere act of drinking has been frowned upon as something against society's virtue. I naturally grew up with this notion of disliking liquor, hammered and engraved into my very soul since childhood. I bet quite a lot of people can relate to this predicament, it's pretty common in India. But then because it was like the forbidden fruit, I became more and more lured by it and when I did finally consumed my first shot of liquor (vodka), It was an epiphany of sorts.

Have you ever been to a bar before? A bar is a special place for relaxing and socializing, but above all, as Sasakura Ryuu puts it:-

"A bar, after all, is a hideout. Because it's a hiding place, the bar's door is heavy. In exchange, once you enter inside, you can forget the whole world. Then you can forget your status and age, and face your true self."

For the limited amount of time you're there, you can just relax and be yourself. If you happen to find a good bar with a good bartender, you may end up talking (even confessing) about various aspects of your life, your worries, your joys, etc. that you even find difficult to express to your loved ones, at times especially to your loved ones. A brief hint on the setting of another anime "Death Parade", which uses bar and characters dressed as bartenders to make their "customers" confess. As this 'bartender' describes it:-

"Being a bartender is a strange job. In a bar, any customer returns to being an ordinary human. Because, while the customers speaks to us, they are actually conversing with their own hearts and their own past. Perhaps, that is what a bar is. Therefore a bartender's number one job is to listen to the stories of the customers."
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EXECUTION

It's an episodic anime with the only difference that many of the newly introduced characters in each episode doesn't disappear from the show completely and have their particular parts to play later on, much like a good cocktail. The show gets rather informative and philosophical at times while remaining significant. It talks about the history of various cocktails through a documentary-esque direction, narration and editing, with a bit of trivia sprinkled over it. That's why I believe it demands a mature audience, those who have seen (or have began to see) enough in their lives to feel a connection. So, strictly a NO for people looking fast paced, action filled anime.
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CHARACTERS

Characters felt as a breadth of fresh air. Surely, for the sake of creating drama and making them relate-able to the tale(s) of cocktail(s), certain attributes/roles have been assigned to them. But as they seem totally comfortable in their skins as if the actions performed reflects a free will, they still come out as realistic. We eventually discover more and more about them through many sessions, but the past of our bartender, Sasakura Ryuu, remains shrouded in mystery the most. Which I felt was very appropriate because ---> "a bartender's number one job is to listen to the stories of the customers" and not to talk about/impose themselves.

Though at times I felt it to be somewhat draggy because of actions totally unrelated to the show, that's certainly a negative point there as it doesn't ass any significance what so ever.
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ART/ANIMATION

Art compliments the theme of the story quite well. Character designs are pretty "simple", with little shading wherever required, as if to complement the complexity of their "human" struggles. Low-key lighting, reflections of glasses, though not photo-realistic but a commendable effort regarding the details of liquor bottles, glasses and furniture. It creates this feel of mystery and intoxication. The use of CG gives a certain liquidity to animation especially concerning the liquor pouring scenes. Overall it has this powerful sense of serenity that consumes you completely. For a better experience, night time watch is preferable with little to no lights.
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MUSIC

OP feels much brimming with energy and positivity, a lot (if not complete) different from the overall slow and shady aura of the anime. ED however, is quite appropriate and lovable. A touch of jazz while a "real" bartender prepares a cocktail, being superimposed and juxtaposed through motion graphics ---> umm! tastes good. The in-between tracks, also helps setting up the atmosphere through the use of piano, violin, cello, etc.
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VERDICT

It's been more than a year since I watched it and while the synopsis does states the important facts, it's still a red herring going by the bigger picture. I've been to a substantial amount of bars since then, mostly with friends, sometimes with my own company. I noticed that each and every cocktail is different, since humans can only be as precise as they come. Even if the same bartender mixes the same ingredients to create the same drink again, it'll still be different from the previous one somehow. In short, each cocktail is unique and especially prepared only for YOU, your own "Glass of God". Cheers!

"No matter which cocktail, every single one of them contains a magic that is able to change the life of the customer."

Believe it or not, but NGNL is the hip thing of 2014. A lot of people liked it, similarly a lot of people disliked it, but all in all, they were all watching it and talking about it. I've recently been to MAL and learned that even after accountable negative criticism, the rating still stands at 8.76, which can be round-off to 9, which in MAL terms comes under "Great". Although this isn't the first case, and pretty likely, not the last, but let's use this as an example and try to think "How?" and "Why?"


As we can clearly make it out from the synopsis, ... it's a series about people playing various games for resolving everyday issues, from trifling matters to the ones concerning national interest. Our two main protagonists gets sucked in to this world after they accept a challenge from an unknown person. Let's just say they are supposed to be the ultimate bad ass when it comes down to games, as a combo [Blank], they have the record and confidence to beat anyone at any game, hence their motto - "Blank never lose". Our protagonists have been introduced as NEETs, shut-ins and are suffering from communication disorder. Although I've seen anime based on "gaming reality" before - SAO, Accel World, etc., and I agree that parents/guardians in anime world can be a bit extreme (ex - opens door, the girl and boy are in awkward position, says best of luck to them and closes the door), but what kind of parents/guardians let their children remain totally cut-off from the world and be cooped up in their rooms, where they can play games day and night? This, along with other incidents, leads up to the apt image of the show as wish-fulfilling and an escapist's fantasy. It's true that most people turn towards entertainment to escape from daily lives, so watching characters do the same immediately forms a bridge between viewer and those characters. This becomes one of the biggest selling points of such series, which in business sense, is a good thing. But..


But the characterization is pretty much messed up. It's easy to see that both Sora and Shiro aren't the most sociable people around [Even while you are sociable enough on net, sitting behind a monitor, it's altogether different from when you are sitting face-to-face with someone]. Still, the way Sora communicates and reacts in the other world, quickly makes one question the character description they've been spoon-fed just minutes ago, more so, when that person supposed to have communication disorder. Writer must be smoking joint. Anyway, then you have a loli with striped panties - Shiro, who is insanely intelligent, however in a slightly different way than her aniki. Together they cover for each others weak spots and hence as a combo they are unbeatable. Now what does that tell you? The statement "Blank never lose" is pretty much a boner-killer, especially when the stakes are ridiculously high, it not only ensures the victory of our duo even before the actual game even starts, but also take away that "doki-doki" factor as in "how will it turn out? what's going to happen? will they win?". The tagline itself gives a major setback to the "gaming" theme.


Well this isn't the only show which is home to many pop-culture tropes such as cat-ears, elfs, etc. So criticizing it just because of that doesn't seem the right thing to do. But what's the deal with these Japanese otaku fetishes? LOL. Since the series is heavily focused on otaku pleasure, setting wise it's only the right thing to do to ensure maximum profit, but what has happened to originality lately? The show is about characters getting sucked in another world, which although being one of the most generic settings, provides a lot of room to explore and experiment, to create some original character and world designs, to explore and push some creative boundaries. Take a look at Monogatari series, which also use many pop-culture tropes and even cliche' events, but still is able to pull off a refresh feel because of rich and uniquely explored characters and it's overall execution, it's impact-full. But NGNL was made to just earn money, we can't blame Madhouse for our disappointment, they are also suffering from declining market for innovative and intellectual stuff.


Even side-characters are not a relief, they are just there to please the audience with fan-service and to help further the esteemed goals of our protagonists. What am I supposed to feel for them, "Good boobs you got there" maybe.


The show is about games but weighs heavily on random ass pulls to make our protagonists look like the ultimate bad ass winners. Ass pulls leads up to logical fallacies, which ultimately results in plot holes. For ex -

Jibril vs Blank game -

[SPOILER]
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The rules say - "if the thing is present there, it'll disappear and if it's not, then it'll appear". Sora says "Hydrogen Bomb", which appears. Okay, now where does it say that it has to be a hydrogen bomb which is about to go off. Last time I checked, Hydrogen Bomb doesn't go off on their own.
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[/SPOILER]


Even the infamous "last fight" in which Sora gets praised for his smartness, is nothing but the result of convenience in writing.

[SPOILER]
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The level of assumption without actually knowing and analyzing the full extent of your opponent is not just dangerous but can be fatal. Even if Sora had assumed that Izuna has some kind of technique that pushes beyond the normal psychical boundaries, the extent of that can't be known precisely, even after being released, because one can't be sure of the extent up to which it can transcend. But somehow Sora and Shiro had it all figured out from the scribblings that Shiro did on the sand, without any proper explanation given, to the point of saying - "Oh! I made it in time". That's not intelligent thinking, that's convenient writing.
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[/SPOILER]


The show also make use of references to a lot of famous anime and gaming titles, as an addition to the comedy aspect. Needless to say this isn't anything original either, series like Gintama are pawning major titles with their sense of humor for a long time now. Even so, I believe the jokes in NGNL are pretty good, if there's anything good in the series, then this is clearly it. I followed this series weekly, so it served as a time-pass and mood changer from the TV series I was into that time.


Art & Animation wise, the show did a fine job. It was colorful and vibrant, pretty good for lightening up the mood after watching something serious/depressing. Music wasn't memorable enough, in fact I can't even recall a single soundtrack. So no points there.


The sense and meaning of "entertainment" can vary from person to person. Some people just look for and enjoy a good time-pass, some have their fetishes to deal with, some look for creativity and originality and some look for a certain smartness. A fair warning though, it can be irritating at times, especially if you are the type that seeks and enjoy a certain intellectual depth in any art or literature form. It is as good as the majority of anime out there. So do I recommend this anime? Personally NO, since I didn't find it good enough for anyone to purposely use their bandwidth and time over it. But, at the same time, if you have read the whole review and are fine with whatever is written, be my guest and watch the show.

Chihayafuru

Roughly 2 years back a female friend of mine urged me to watch a certain anime, but as I was busy in my own shit at the moment, I just took the recommendation, downloaded the series and that's it. Then came along it's second season, I thought - "Will start it after second season gets complete, maybe" and yes, I forgot again. 5 days ago, browsing through my collection I stumbled upon this title once again, this time I'm happy I chose to pick it up. Sometime the hype is right.

The plot is generic, in fact so generic, that this is probably the biggest reason ... why I felt hesitant to pick it up two times before. But the tags "Sports", "Josei" kinda piqued my interest. It's been almost 6 days since I fell in love with this series, thinking back now I feel sorry for not picking it up earlier. In layman terms, it's a story about various people coming together and working hard to achieve their respective dreams. Let's see what are the things that makes "Chihayafuru" unique among various other titles with similar plots.


Game: - "Karuta" - A traditional Japanese card game. This game had been mentioned in some of the other anime, but I always took it as some Japanese version of playing cards, not to mention one can't really think of it as a sport of hard work, mental & physical abilities and passion, much like how we view Football, Baseball, etc. But this anime will make you think twice about that prejudice. Instead of dwelling into the details of karuta, I leave that part for the anime since it does a great job in explaining all the rules and procedures quite well over the episodes. But let's just be clear about few things, karuta is a game that can be played in many ways and each style have it's own set of rules. However, In this anime the karuta we see is "Competitive karuta". When you think of a sport, you also think about the players, here the various stages of a player learning and playing the game has been covered quite extensively, let's devise an example from anime -----

In terms of player levels (not official, but just to make the explanation easier) -

1. Noob class - Beginners who have just started playing the game. It provides a good opportunity for audience to learn the game with them and also to witness their evolution from the start. Ex - Kana.

2. Middle class - They have played and still playing the game from a long time. They are strong but are still inconsistent as players. They serve as a good measuring stick between beginners and very good players. Ex - Taichi.

3. First class - These players have refined their play over years of practice, both shining their skill and talent. Just having one of them in your team gives you mental assurance and having one against gives you the scare. Ex - Chihaya.

4. Monster Class - These players have dedicated their whole life for the game. Their mere presence is enough to intimidate their opponent. They have honed their skill and talent as close to perfection. A match between two such players is something to look out for. Ex - Arata.

5. God Class - Their level of play exists on a different plane of it's own kind. Very few people have managed to reach that level, even among monster class, not many can even dream to reach it. Ex - Queen and Master.

In this way, the viewer is able to briefly understand the players and follow their evolution over time. Also, even among the same class, the individual player's game attitude (offensive/defensive), techniques and fortitude can put one miles ahead than the other. Anime explores each aspect of it very well, as a sports anime it brings out the best of karuta.


Characters:- While story can be quoted as the bone structure, characters are the muscles and flesh, more so in series like this. It is also the part where this anime excels the most. First, we have Chihaya, a high school freshman, pretty, tall and the younger sister of a famous model, but she's also an airhead, simple-minded, dumb and weird person - often referred to as "Beauty in vain" or "karuta baka" (since all her thoughts seems to be centered around karuta only). Even though Chihaya's character comes out as a typical airhead stereotype at first, she has more to her than that. As the story progresses we bear witness of the changes and the events that leads to those changes in Chihaya's personality. Also, regardless of what idiotic things Chihaya does, one can't really help him/herself from feeling admiration towards her passion for the sport. Second, Arata, belongs to a lower middle-class family, average-looking, grandson of the man respected as the "Eternal Master" (Master, Title granted to the best male player), in the world of karuta. His love for karuta comes from his grandfather who also taught him how to play as a kid. Arata is an honest, straight-forward and kind person, though he can look extremely scary in the eyes of his opponent. He's the one who introduced Chihaya to the world of kaurta when they were kids and also the one who gave her the dream of becoming the "Queen" (Title granted to the best female karuta player in Japan) one day. He moves away shortly after befriending Chihaya and Taichi due to family reasons. Since Arata doesn't get enough screen-time in both the seasons, it's pointless to talk about his character development. Third, Taichi, high school freshman like Chihaya, handsome, first in academics, belongs to a rich family and basically a "Jack of all trades" but Taichi doesn't think of himself as privileged. He's also the third member of Chihaya and Arata's team when they played karuta as kids. "You are a good student and good athlete, so only do things where you know you can win" - Because of this constant reminder by his mom, Taichi has developed a complex towards things which he isn't good at. This is also one of the reasons why Taichi doesn't like Arata, he thinks he can't beat him no matter how much he practice and that Arata will always be better than him. Ironically, the most brilliant character development also came out in the form of Taichi. He breaks away all the stereotypes over the length of the anime and comes out as the most dynamic personality in the whole series.


The Dreams:- Arata wants to become the Master, Chihaya wants to become the Queen. Having a dream and then trying hard to achieve it is such a wonderful thing, but then what is Taichi's dream? In the beginning even he didn't knew it himself. He seemed to be playing along because it was fun and later, because he wanted to help out Chihaya in fulfilling her dream, he wanted to support her as a friend and as someone who loves her. But as Arata once said - "Your dream should be about yourself", Taichi too begins to realize the meaning of these words through various experiences and people he meets. Also, what's more interesting than watching two people working hard to realize their dreams? It's to witness the voyage of a person who is still having a hard time struggling with his emotions, self-hatred, self-loathing and limitations, in order to search for a dream first, a dream that's only about himself. I have this feeling that Taichi will come out as the dark horse.


Side - Characters:- When I said that - "It is also the part where this anime excels the most" for character department, that also included my views about side-characters. Chihayafuru has wonderful side-cast. Unique personalities, character designs and their thoughts make them stand out and prevent them from suffering the same fate as many side-characters do in most of the stories. They enjoy, suffer, evolve alongside our main cast in a way that the viewer ends up connecting and be concerned for them. We as viewers starts to feel as if their story is equally important to tell, and undoubtedly it is. For ex - There was this match between two side-characters, and it ended up hogging more limelight than the match of a MC which is taking place simultaneously.

Both side cast and main cast, they may not necessarily be what people call "lovable characters", since you may or may not like some of the things they do, but you'll feel your own emotions resonating with them regardless. That's a very important aspect which all entertainment mediums aspire to attain. Emotional and intellectual involvement is directly proportional to one's enjoyment, though the level of that involvement vary from person to person.


Romance:- Though the show is mostly focused on players' hard work and passion towards the sport, and the love of friendship, romance among characters has been introduced and explored briefly, but in the background. It doesn't try to take over the story, it's been hinted upon at appropriate places, which in turn, also makes the relationships among characters to come out naturally. It wouldn't be a spoiler to say that there's a love triangle among our MC's and a love polygon (if we also include side-cast). But people who are hoping to see brief amount of romance, I must warn you before hand that it'll not happen. Anime only gives very little (yet strong) moments dedicated towards it. Some people might even find the whole triangle situation to be frustrating, more so if they watch it with only one set of mind and without putting themselves in each character's shoes. It is a josei anime, anything can happen as far as romantic relations are concerned. *coughs in* Nana, Honey and clover *coughs out*. Viewer discretion is advised.


Art & Animation:- "Chihaya is cute!", that was my first impression about the series. LOL. Art-wise the show is quite good, the beautiful patterns on hakamas, the level of details that adds up to the charm , use of vibrant colors. Madhouse has done "one fine job" with the animation, especially in the games department. The hand movements accompanied by the effect line and after-image blends quite well with the camera angles. Both Art & Animation adds up a lot to the whole passion and tension factor befitting a sports anime. I tried reading the manga till 5th chapter and stopped, it doesn't have the same "drive" that anime has because of the wonderful animation. Most likely, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for a third season to come, I don't want to read it's manga if i can help it.


Music:- It doesn't stand out but it goes well with the flow of the story. Sound Effects, on the other hand stands out, like they are supposed to, and adds up to the scene as a whole. Chihaya's seiyuu, Asami Seto, has done a good job. Even though she has mostly done supporting roles, I believe she has a nice voice for a main cast. Taichi's seiyuu on the other hand is no no-namer, Mamoru Miyano (Light Yagami, Setsuna F. Seiei, Okabe Rintarou) and undoubtedly, he has done his thing correctly. What was shocking is to learn that Arata's seiyuu is a girl (though I absolutely loved the dialect), Yuka Terasaki.


I've also watched the second season, and if you ends up liking the first season, then you'll definitely like the second one too, since it follows the same exact pattern, just more karuta matches. Chihayafuru in all it's entirety, is a bittersweet experience and I have this very strong feeling that it'll also end on a bittersweet note. Regardless of however the mangaka choose to end the story, it will remain in my memory for a very brief amount of time. Strongly recommending it to all.


Some memorable quotes:-

1. "You have to do the things you don’t want to do, before you can do the things you truly want to do." - Tsutomu Komano to Ayase Chihaya

2. "Love is when it isn't fun to be with that person. It's when nothing goes the way you want. When you're not having fun...and yet...You still want to be with her." - Mashima Taichi

3. "I can't cry, not when I haven't put in the time. But it still hurts." -Mashima Taichi

4. "Frustrations will not last forever. Nobody can keep on going without some measure of reward." -Harada-sensei

5. "As long as you have a smile on your face, karuta will always be fun. That's the truth, Captain!" - Mashima Taichi to Ayase Chihaya

5. "My grandfather always used to tell me...you don't need game sense to play karuta, you just have to take cards faster than your opponent. It's difficult to achieve a similar level of game sense, but there are many different ways to become faster" - Wataya Arata. In response, "Arata...in your world, there's no such thing as a prodigy" - Mashima Taichi

"We ultimately fear what spawns from within us." — Shun Aonuma


Eve of 30th September 2012, It had been roughly three years since I started watching anime. I was sitting on facebook, trying to scroll my boredom away. The past two seasons of anime haven't brought a single good show and my enthusiasm for anime had hit rock-bottom, more like for modern anime. Suddenly I received a message from a familiar name who I haven't talked to much recently, the basic contents of message just said - "Shin Sekai Yori - anime - must watch - first episode out". That recommendation, on that fateful day ended ... up restoring my faith.


"Sometimes, the truth is the cruelest thing of all." — Maria Akizuki

As if being true to the quote, SSY doesn't shies away from letting it's viewer know that things are going to get ugly from the get go, as one begins to question "the truth" behind the utopia. In fact when the chips does go down and struggle begins - It feels "organic" and nothing alike a forced development. It really had been a long time since an anime had engaged and intimidated me and with later episodes, I also begin to understand why it got categorized under science fiction, which is hard to explain here without giving out spoilers, though one might argue that it has both pseudo-science and scientific elements entangled with one-another. What fascinated me more, is the mix of spirituality and science in a few scenes, the age-old question(s) and the controversy that comes along with it.


Typically, SSY is a show of "details", if you don't pay attention you'll be left behind along it's uneven pace and at times, non-chronological execution. There are a lot of elements, quotes and events that mimics and symbolizes our current society and the ideologies behind it very well [the quote I wrote in the beginning on this review, yes the one which you may have already dismissed as a cheesy line - keep it in mind while watching and you may see]. I've been told many times -"Hey! it's just an anime...don't think too much", I'd say it's precisely the result of this type of thought process which doesn't let people to really appreciate and explore a genuinely good series and to judge for what it really is. Instead more and more dumb, wish-fulfilling, moe and cliche' shows hogs up the limelight, even get revered as "smart", "intelligent" and "best" by the masses. That's also why most makers take their audience for a fool and we get less good shows.


Another thing to praise here is the music, that resonates within you from the inception. A beautiful, traditional, innovative and befitting set of scores brings out the best in the story. Listening to "Going Home" still creeps me out. The ED sung by Taneda Risa - Wareta Ringo [http://goo.gl/bRZArn] is another likable addition, both for anime and my playlist. Also, since I've come to develop a taste for classical music during "Nodame Cantabile", in Shin Sekai too I can't help but appreciate the symphony by Antonín Dvořák (From the New World) - [http://goo.gl/nfa5xz]. The VA's have also performed very well. In fact, it becomes an important part of the narrative by the end of first episode, if you can catch the "hint" fast enough.


How can one forget to mention the unique art style of SSY! Not only is it hauntingly charming but the character designs also carry a freshness to them, which is a much required relief from the recent moe-fication of anime industry and ultimately becomes a driving force for the story. One can clearly notice the "jumps" and inconsistency in art, as the result of multiple directors directing different episodes in their own style, not just in art but in story too. Where as it might be frowned upon as "link-breaking", it doesn't defy the logic of SSY and is more aligned with the narrative, so it might not necessarily a bad thing. Also, one of the episode directors, Yamauchi Shigeyasu, whose direction I come to like after watching "Casshern Sins" (which I strongly recommend) brings his unique style to SSY's particular episodes and raises the bar of aesthetic perception.


It's really sad that I can't be much descriptive about the storyline itself since I'm trying my best to avoid giving out possible spoilers and ruining it for you. But as far as character development is concerned, I'm more than happy that this coming-of-age anime remains truthful and realistic towards the events/confabs/relations, that shapes up the thought process of our characters much like how a real person may react. Personality development comes out as natural and "i-don't-know-who-the-fuck-is-he/she" moment never comes, character remains [comfortable] in their skins throughout.


In short SSY is a dark tale of "humanity", twisted moralities, conflicting philosophies, friendship, love, lies, betrayal and of survival. It, however contains some controversial scenes and themes, which although doesn't effect the overall anime, might put off a few people, I advice them to be wise and try to see the broader picture here. The moment I had finished watching first episode of SSY, even the pessimistic and skeptical side of me admitted that this one has promise. And after finishing the last episode I felt sad, I had found a good series that I followed weekly and now it had ended. SSY, in all it's entirety, is a very good series and for me - the best anime of 2012.