Hey guys, as promised, Wolvenciel here bringing you yet another review. It seems like a miracle for this boy to be able to give you so many reviews in so short a time. So be it.
Today I'll be reviewing something from my all-stars list, my top tier anime of all time, Bartender. Enjoy.
Of Sasakura Ryuu and Eden Hall
Bartender came out in 2006 so I'd be surprised if anyone reading this have actually heard of it. I'm worried too that because no one has ever heard of it, no one would care to bat an eye on the review. I really am.
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| The man himself |
The anime tells the story of a bar, Eden Hall and its owner cum bartender Sasakura Ryuu as people come to his bar and enjoy their time there in various ways. It does sound pretty simple and straightforward, yet the way this anime is presented is far from that.
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| I don't know whether this is a legit legend or anything. |
Not For The Graphics
Now before you say "What presentation? The art looked like crap!", its not about that. I didn't mean visual presentation. I meant the way the anime is told. Now let me ask you, just how many anime nowadays use monologues to convey their story?
Bartender is very unique in the sense that it does that. Most of the storytelling is done by the characters as if they're speaking to you. It gives this sense of connection to them in a way and you can actually feel their emotions more this way, in my opinion.
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| One such example of the many monologues in the anime |
A Story of Spirits
Sure the stories they tell are mostly related to some cocktail I've never heard of (due to reasons, I can't drink so yeah), but more than that it tells us of the character's problems and worries and let us delve in them. The stories aren't just random funny slice of life you see everyday. They have more depth and moral values in them and sometimes even hints of nostalgia (I guess because most of them characters are old people).
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| Yeah. Old people. (There are young adults in the anime don't be silly.) |
I guess its a more immersive and seinen* kind of slice of life in a way.
And yes of course there are a plethora of cocktail trivias in the anime that you just can't help but "ooh" and "aah" if you don't know crap about alcohol (like me).
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| One such trivia |
*a genre/demographic that is aimed primarily at the male, college-aged/young adult demographic
Cool Endings
The show doesn't stop at just random trivia though. At the ending of each episode, the anime provides a list of recipe for a cocktail and even clips of someone making them just to kind of tease you and give you that "boy that looks delicious" (again this only applies if you don't know anything about liquors) and leave you staring at the screen in awe.
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| One such cocktail recipe |
Sure the bartender in the clip isn't as good as Ryuu of Eden Hall but hey its a good show of skill anyway. The ending song kind of gives it a sad nostalgic feel though.
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| The finished product |
Too Bad For Me
Before I end this review, I'd just have to say that the whole review is coming from me, a guy who had never even bat an eye at this kind of thing because I kind of can't do it anyways. So don't you snicker and read this and say that the anime is silly and you did far more classy things and the anime exaggerated etc etc.
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| Again, I don't know if this is true or not. |
I'll punch you.
That aside, I would really recommend this anime to those of you trying to take things a bit slowly and looking for an anime that could help you relax. This is exactly what you would need. I enjoyed the show and I hope that you will too.
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| Don't ask me. |
Wolvenciel, signing off.
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