Bartender

To my knowledge and after a quick search, there's never been a thread on Bartender. This version; Bartender - Kami no Glass, is the one that just started airing today. However, there was also a 2006 anime simply called Bartender. Both of the anime are based off of the manga Bartender by Araki Joh, although in the case of the 06 anime it was more of a distillation than anything else although still a good time if you were looking for a more relaxed, down-to-earth thing to watch.

I can already tell from some of the characters that appear in the OP that this anime is going to be closer and incorporate more elements from the manga than the 2006 version did. It's not to say that the 2006 anime was bad, but it very much a looser adaptation that cut out a lot of characterization, especially from the protagonist himself: Ryuu Sasakura. This time around Ryuu is a lot truer to his manga counterpart in that he's honestly kind of flighty and ditzy when he's not on the job, but the second that you put him behind a bar counter that all changes dramatically. It's going to be fun to see this more rounded take of Ryuu on screen, since in the 06 there was rarely a moment when he wasn't behind the bar and so you only really saw him in professional mode.

I'd highly recommend the manga if you're interested in just some really good history on liquor, drinks, and some musings on the ups and downs of life in general. Although it's nowhere near as fanservicey - which is to say there's pretty much none - I'd call it as close to a love letter to liquor and alcohol as the the early Food Wars was to cuisine. The manga is fully translated online if you know where to look, although be advised that it's a slow burn. Even this adaptation although it'll be more faithful has already taken some liberties.

Manga spoilers: Namely with Ryuu already being in Eden Hall. He doesn't actually begin at Eden Hall in the manga and in fact it takes over 30 chapters for him to wind up as its' bartender. Until then he works at two other bars, and even under the tutelage of one of the other characters: Minoru Higashiyama, who oddly I didn't actually see in the OP at all so I wonder if he'll be in this adaptation.

I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't a partially nostalgia motivated watch for me, but I definitely enjoyed what I saw out of the first episode. If you're looking for something a little different give it a try, it might just end up being to your tastes.

Episode 2: Now I have to wonder how long Sasakura is going to blow the recruiters off. I hope we go the entire season with him rejecting the offer.

We got two skits this time, and I do have to say I'm impressed with the liquor trivia. Not a fan of alcohol myself but the history is interesting. I also rather like that the show is clear that while Sasakura is highly talented, he's not infallible and he can fail to capture someone's vibe on the first go.

It is nice that Sasakura doesn't automatically have the perfect drink every time. In the 06 series he mostly did, but like I mentioned that series is very much a condensed telling of some of the more charming stand-alone stories, while leaving out the overarching narrative.

Spoilers for episode 3 (which I know isn't out yet but the title gives it away).

Next episode will lean into that fallibility a little more. It will also introduce another tertiary character of a decent amount of importance: Ryuuichi "Mr. Perfect" Kuzuhara. Should be a fun one.

Episode 3: We meet Mr. Perfect, who is for all intents and purposes a superior bartender to Sasakura. Another decision that I like, because it's interesting to watch characters that can grow. I wonder how Sasakura will balance catering to the customer's needs vs making the perfect cocktail... not that I understand how the latter works haha.

This episode also had an interesting contrast by introducing Kyouko, a bartender who is still unsure of her skills. Sasakura here is a little softer on her than he is in the manga, and their second meeting is cut. In the manga she comes to the bar and orders a B&B, but then after work when Sasakura and the other bartenders (in the manga he's not working alone in Eden Hall yet) head to one of their usual places and she's there. He criticizes her fairly harshly, saying what amounts to "if one mistake is enough for you to give up, then you're right and you shouldn't be a bartender". When she gets angry at him, he says that if she wants to prove him wrong that she should focus on making the best cocktail she can.

Their coincidental meeting on the street where he offers to buy her coffee is their third in the manga, as opposed to the second in the anime. In the anime he does still needle her a bit, but it doesn't come off nearly as harshly to me at least as it did in the manga. In the manga he actually apologizes for his somewhat harsh treatment of her, and also gives her an anecdote as to the purpose of a bar stool, leading in with quote from Henry David Thoreau. It's a much more high minded thing he tells her, as opposed to somewhat more generic "do you best". Both still work, but I'd imagine that they cut the bit about the bar stool due to time.

Thanks for the added context from the manga. Will Kyouko be a recurring character?

I assume that because they've included her here that she will be. Maybe not to the same extent because of what they need to exclude for time. That being said she has number of chapters in the manga where she comes into her own and improves herself. I think that based off the title of one half of the next episode that it'll be focused on her.

Manga only spoilers, spoiling some things that probably won't be in the anime:

There's a couple of chapters spread out early on about an apprentice bartender named Uchida. He was under Kuzuhara's employ until he botches a martini and Kuzuhara fires him on the spot. He later comes to bar Lapin (it's one of the places where Sasakura works in the manga before going to Eden Hall), and because of a couple of chance encounters as well as a little help from Sasakura, he regains his pride as a bartender and opens his own place. It's a neat little story.

There's actually a lot of side characters that probably won't be in the anime adaptation, including a pretty significant one in the form of Minoru Higashiyama who is the owner of bar Lapin. He's a decently important character in the first part of the story, and he's the one that ultimately gets Sasakura into Eden Hall, by putting him in touch with that bar's owner.

That’s cool. I honestly thought this would be more episodic i.e. there’s a guest or two of the week, who are dealing with stuff, while MC makes them the perfect drink to soothe them.

That was very much the way that the 06 anime worked, and there are plenty of stories that are just stand alone "customer comes in, has personal/work/whatever problems, gets a drink that lifts their spirits" in the manga as well.

I'll probably get a little more into it once this cour of the anime is over, but the manga does have a more overarching story. It's not to say that it's somehow radically different or high stakes or anything, but it's much more of a story that follows the lives of bars and bartenders, if that makes any sense.

I'm glad to see someone else appreciates this around these parts! I read up to around chapter 100 or so and just need to get back on it.

Episode 4: Okay, now that was amusing. Sasakura managed to convince a three-star chef to sign on to the hotel he himself has refused. I do like his “trick” with the mirin.

I’m also enjoying every time Kyoko comes onboard. She’s sort of an audience surrogate, a bartender still learning the tricks of the trade, which provides an opportunity for Sasakura and other bartenders to discuss history and techniques with her.