Bartender

Bartender is an anime that for me I might consider a guilty pleasure. but that is not to say that it is something to feel guilty about watching. Bartender is simply a quaint little anime, offering itself as an escape from the constant humdrum of life and allowing the cast of characters and the audience alike to come into a hole in the wall bar that seems like it belongs in some fantasy setting, cast off their stress, and come out feeling ready to face the world once again. It is absolutely a feel good anime, that somehow sucks me in every time I watch ... it and I suspect it might have that effect on others too. short episodic stories lazily play out on screen, told by a soft spoken narrator, almost as if we were hearing the story from a bartender themselves. It is a slow anime, meant to be savored and enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

I can't say for certain but this anime is probably the best embodiment of the famous Japanese Hospitality that they hold in such high regards. I didn't even care about alcohol when I watched this show the first time, it was just so uniquely captivating in a way no other anime I had watched had managed to do. It manages to emote so many different feelings in such a short amount of time. Its brevity almost makes it feel fragile, as if speaking above a whisper while watching it might shatter the illusion and it might never return. I don't think I would ever call it one of the best anime of all time, but it was undoubtedly an anime worth the time I spent watching.

the only bad thing about this anime is that it will ruin your expectations about what bars and bartenders are actually like; the last one i went to the bartender all but spat at me and said go f-- yourself when i asked to see a drink menu. I really wish there were more Iyashikei anime like this. Peak Cinema.

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