Otakuism

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: twelve I CAN’T BELIEVE IT TASTES LIKE BLACK VELVET!’s, eleven HYPER CLOCK UP’s, ten EVERYTHING FOR BIG FIRE’s, nine SKULL MAN’s, eight SYNAPSE ATTACK’s, seven GARO’s, six OH GAWDS YUNO IS MOE!, five ZERO!, four VOLTEKKA!, three PRIMAL SCREAMS OF HOT BLOODED FURY!, two(million) RONs!, and one GIGA DRILL BREAKER!

This is the twelfth post in a series as I look at the twelve best anime moments of the year from shows I watched. Key there being watched, as a few of these moments are going to be from some pretty old stuff, but I think they’re damn good enough to talk about at any time. This is a joint ABC blogging project with other contributions from Roxas, CCYoshi, Orion, Owen S, Xerox, Nekoron, Martin, Michael Huang, usagijen, and Moogy. Yeah, there’s a lot of us.

So here we are at the end of this little summary of my awesome moments of the year, and what better way to celebrate christmas than with the greatest anime christmas episode ever? Yes, I’m talking about the christmas episode of Bartender. It’s no secret around here how much I love this show, and my favorite episode is definitely the christmas one. It’s partly because I love christmas and partly because it’s a very well put together episode. It has everything: a hapless protagonist looking for love, unique direction, crazy bartending action, and even a christmas miracle. Like every Bartender episode it soothes my soul, while also imbuing me with a bit of christmas spirit, even if I’m watching it in the middle of summer. Of course the strength of Bartender has always been in that soothing feeling, no matter the season. There’s never a wrong time for a Glass of the Gods.

Merry Christmas everyone. Now I’m going to go watch the anime I got as gifts, namely Tekkaman Blade V.3, G Gundam V.2, Gundam 0083, and Big O V.1

It’s easy to forget just how great this series is. I am amazed by it every time I watch an episode. Its themes, style, directing, editing, acting, everything is on a completely different level than normal anime. One of the few anime I can definitely say deserves merit as a mature work of art. I would dare say that Bartender eclipses even ARIA as a healing anime. ARIA fills you with feelings of nostalgia and appreciation for the world, while Bartender reminds you of the happiness in being human. But if Bartender is better than ARIA, it’s only by a 1/10%. Moe is hard to beat after all. Shame more people don’t watch and appreciate this series. It has so much more to give than mindless shounen and moe harem crapfests. I would actually like it if it was licensed, just to expose it to a wider audience. That and being able to watch the gorgeous CG in DVD quality. More people need to take a sip from the Glass of the Gods.

Story:

In Tokyo there exists the bar Eden Hall, where resides the genius Bartender, Ryou Sasakura. He is reknowned as the ” Glass of the Gods, ” the man who knows the perfect drink for any problem. Ryou puts this ability to good use throughout the series, encountering a number of people and their problems. From the young to the old, from problems of love to problems at work, all can be solved with the Glass of the Gods. A mature healing anime where the medicine is alcohol and there’s always a seat at the counter.

Animation and Music:

As befitting an anime about drinking Bartender has a very stylish look. Eschewing moe aesthetics, Bartender strives for a realistic and adult look in both characters and setting. The characters can look a little plain, but there’s enough distinguishing characteristics to tell them apart when you have to. Not that you will have to often, since rarely do characters show up for more then one episode. Bartender uses a hefty bit of CG to depict the ethereal bar of Eden Hall and the many drinks in it. Unlike most use of CG in anime it wasn’t obtrusive at all, and, in fact, enhanced the overall experience. The way Bartender is stylish is how well the animation mixes with the narrative. Even if Ryou is the main character, we never hear his internal monologue. Rather, the story is told from everyone elses point of view, and the animation meshes the varied people and their situations into a cohesive storyline. The music, composed and performed by the wonderful Ootake Kaoruko, is mostly comprised of piano tracks that fall into the jazz or blues genres. They’re all perfectly fitted for the world of smoky and dimly lit bars. The OP, Bartender by Natural High (oh the irony), is a wonderful vocal piece that is also piano heavy. The ED is ok, but I didn’t like the singer very much. If ARIA makes you nostalgic for sun-drenched Venice, then Bartender does the same for bars, creating a beautiful world where problems seem to melt away.

Impression:

Bartender is a show that I enjoyed immensely, even if I didn’t always blog about. Bartender is a healing-type/slice-of-life anime, like ARIA or Manabi, if a bit more mature. I have a hard time describing what exactly I like about Bartender. Nothing really happens, but it definitely leaves you with some powerful emotions at the end. Whereas in ARIA these emotions come from cute girls discovering the magic in the world, in Bartender it comes from people discovering more about themselves, and life, than they expected. Revitalized dreams, hopes, and love; this is what Bartender is all about and it does an excellent job of it. And if your not an alcoholic, Bartender will probably make you one. Seeing as how the whole show revolves around drinks it uses a lot of terminology, brand names, and ancedotes to highlight the story. Fortunately, the show manages to educate you about drinking without making it boring. It’s actually some pretty interesting stuff, like how the margarita got it’s name from Hemmingway. Of all the stories, I would have to say the episode where Ryou is sick for a day or the christmas miracle one were my favorites, though, the final episode did have a certain poignancy to it. Sadly, Bartender clocks in at only a measly eleven episodes. I know it has a lot more stories to tell, seeing as how the manga is still running. Hopefully that will be scanned soon. So if your looking for the next anime you want to just make you feel good, give Bartender a try. It will have the perfect Glass of the Gods just for you.

Gartender

I can confidantly Bartender is one of the best things I’ve watched all season. The atmosphere, the characters, the animation, the music, the drinks, everything was perfect. This IS what you call mature (and manly) anime. Bartender is obviously about a bartender. However this is a special bartender. Ryuu Sasakura is the bartender for Eden Hall, a small, picturesque bar in Tokyo. He is famous for his ” Glass of God ” ability, basically being able to make the perfect drink for each person by closly observing them. The main story is told in flashback narration by Kamishima, a man who hates bars and bartenders who has been given the task of designing a bar. After having his design rejected, he wonders the streets until he finds Eden Hall. There Ryuu greets him and serves him his perfect drink, restoring Kamishima’s faith in bartenders and making his bar a success. Also a girl Miwa Kurushima also helps narrate, though she’s more of a main character.

It may not sound like much but Bartender’s appeal lies in it’s ability to completely wrap you in an atmosphere. It’s very hard to describe without watching it. It’s the way cg is used to render the glasses and bottles, looking life-like but not intrusive, the blend of music always in the background, the way the light just shines on Ryuu like he’s an angel. It strikes the perfect note for everyone who has romantic ideals about bartending and the guy always willing to listen to a problem. It all just makes you feel warm inside. On other notes the Op is nice, a jazzy duet with nice animation. The Ed is unique, as the whole thing is real, with the actual singer singing while a real life bartender makes the special drink shown in the episode. A very nice touch for a show that strives to be realistic in every manner. After so much moe eroge and bishoujo mecha it’s nice to just sit back and watch a show about…well just sitting back with a drink. I’m gonna follow this one closely. Hopefully the guy who subbed this won’t make it a one time thing. Also I can say I am terribly GAR for Ryuu.

Notice a trend in the pictures?