Imagine the thought of going to a bar for the very first time. Even after going through the trouble of eventually arriving at one, you stand outside the bar idly, wondering whether you should go in or not. Afraid that you’ll be made fun of, afraid you’ll embarrass yourself, you become anxious and the door handle feels heavy, as if it’s shutting you out. But mustering up the courage, you cautiously open the door and take a peek inside. Dim lights, gentle murmurs of people talking, occasional clangs of glasses, classy jazz playing in the background; all of this is very foreign to you. But then you hear the gentle “welcome” from the bartender, and your anxious heart has suddenly calmed down and you magically find yourself sitting at the counter.
In this otherwise foreign place, the simple “welcome” suddenly makes the bar a space where you can express yourself freely; and like the “gentle perch” that he is, the bartender calmly listens to all that you have to say. So starts the story from your heart… and from that story the bartender provides you with the perfect drink that carries with it the words, the emotions, and the memories of your story.
The above description depicts the sort of atmosphere you should expect from Bartender. This anime focuses mainly on Sasakura Ryuu, a young genius bartender nicknamed the “Glass of the Gods” because of his keen sense of discernment for his customers and his ability to make quality cocktails deftly. He works at a small bar called “Eden Hall,” but despite its diminutive size, several people with personal problems frequent here. Sasakura Ryuu listens to whatever these people have on their minds, much like a physician, and then prescribes the perfect medicine in the form of a cocktail.
The concept of solving problems through cocktails is what ultimately attracted me to this anime, but I understand that not all of us can relate to an anime about bartending; some of us detest the idea of drinking in the first place. However, as the anime takes on an episodic style of storytelling, each episode tells beautifully the story about a certain customer and a certain cocktail. Then the anime ties the two stories together masterfully to reach a heartwarming resolution. So if alcohol isn’t the initial attraction to this anime, just keep in mind that this anime focuses more on telling a memorable story to its viewers. The main criticism with the storytelling, however, is that the delivery can be a bit awkward and confusing at times, especially when the anime chooses to have some of the secondary characters start narrating the stories as omniscient third person narrators. In addition, since this anime is episodic, there isn’t an overarching plot connecting all the stories together. As a result, this anime becomes merely a collection of short stories rather than an anime with a continuous plot.
As for the viewers who can relate to this anime and appreciate drinking from time to time, Bartender teaches the basics of bar etiquette, fun facts about certain drinks, and the history behind several cocktails and other drinks. The main criticism here is that the anime is in some ways more educational than it is entertaining, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it having educational value. I, for one, rate an anime highly when it goes beyond being simply a form of art to teach me something new. However, since the anime does spend a good amount of time in each episode to explain the history or list out the various trivia about a certain cocktail, the focus of the story tends to deviate a little.
With the anime busy from telling two stories or more in one episode, there is barely any room for character development. Arguably, the most developed character in the anime is Sasakura Ryuu, because viewers learn about his personality, thought process, morals, and bartending philosophies. However, at the same time the viewers learn nothing significant about him because the “Sasakura Ryuu” introduced to viewers at the start of the anime is a professional with very little room for improvement and development. There is an episode dedicated to how he learned from a mistake he made in the past, but generally the episodes focus on him being a problem-solver and not a problem-maker. As a result, there is actually very little development of the main character and the development is more focused on the secondary characters within each episode. Although I fairly enjoyed this anime, in the end I cannot say I really formed a personal connection with either Sasakura Ryuu or the secondary characters.
To end, I want to point out some of the many subtle aspects that made this anime even better:
1) The music: As fitting of a bar setting, smooth jazz plays in the background throughout the anime to add a touch of elegance that is unique to this type of anime. The soundtrack itself is also a wonderful collection of smooth jazz that I could listen to while studying, reading, or relaxing in a café or library. Overall, the music is superb and ultimately aids in amplifying the “classy” mood of the anime.
2) The ending: Viewers usually neglect the ending because most often than not it’s the same song with the same animation playing every time. In the case of Bartender, however, every ending is special and unique to the episode. This is because an actual bartender makes a cocktail aforementioned in an episode while the ending song plays in the background. This aspect allowed me to appreciate the ending song even more, as well as further my interest in the world of bartending.
3) A touch of reality: Whether it’s the history, the fun facts, or other trivia about alcohol, I could always tell that Bartender did its research in regards to bartending. I could especially tell by Sasakura Ryuu’s movement when making drinks, because his movements mimicked that of the actual bartender when he makes drinks during the ending song. The anime also uses real life alcohol brands instead of censoring them, thus adding another touch of reality.
Bartender is definitely not for everyone; but it definitely has its stories to tell, and these stories are meant to be told to everyone. Much like a cocktail itself, Bartender aims to mend the tired soul laden with burdens, misunderstandings, pains, anxiety, and depression from everyday life.
If you are looking for a truly therapeutic and healing anime, look no further because Bartender will be there to listen to your stories.
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Scoring:
Story: 8/10
Art: 7/10
Sound: 10/10
Character: 7/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
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Overall: 8.4/10
