Bartender anime review

Genius bartender, Ryu Sasakura makes the most incredible cocktails anyone has ever tasted. Seeking his "Glass of God", individuals from all different walks of life visit his bar. With both a compassionate ear and a godly drink, Ryu helps people with their problems.

Bartender is an anime series that takes an acquired taste to appreciate: its progressively engaging slice of life premise is unlike most anime series that are either exuberant in tone or use emphasized elements to tell their respective stories.  Instead, Bartender takes its time to immerse you in an environment that's enticing and seductive in its own undertones. Like Antique Bakery for pastries, or Yakitate Japan for bread, Bartender immerses you in the world of alcoholic beverages with a mature flair.  Only...it doesn't quite invest in the same humor or flares that define the series aforementioned.

I might be among the right audience for this series, in that I enjoy progressively paced slice of life series that indulge in a central theme, and don't mind if it has an episodic progression if the themes in each are tangible and relate well to each other.  While I've never consumed an alcoholic beverage, I felt enticed by my watch of Bartender, in that it features a rather soothing environment and intuitive approach to the occupation with a charismatic bartender and a multitude of characters who wish to escape their dilemmas, shown in each of the 11 episodes this series highlights. The idea that a choice of a drink can characterize a person completely reeled me into the respective story and up to its rather noted conclusion, though if one is expecting something to culminate into a conflict or central resolution, you are definitely NOT the audience for this series to be able to appreciate it.

The problem also lies in that it is a series that you really have to be in the right mindset to watch it, otherwise, its affect is lost and those who are looking to be easily entertained or engrossed may find it quite dull. I personally thought it was one the best character expansive/philosophical series I've come across in a long time, and literally most series don't give the kind of depth and intricate expansion that this series does, with a soothing flair and at ease progression that takes its time accordingly.