Bartender

[tritoch]

HD version...

*drools*

HD DVD is the next best thing to those elusive Blu Ray discs.

[Lost]

Lunar's releases aren't HD?

Anyhow. I really like how they use real pictures for the bottles. Those are real pictures right? They look so incredibly gorgeous.

[Varion]

Originally Posted by Lost

An EDENHALL COASTER?? I KNOW I want one. Who's gonna buy the DVD but can sell me the coaster?

Good luck with that =p If I end up justifying the cost to buy one I sure won't be parting with mine.

Originally Posted by Lost

Lunar's releases aren't HD?

Yeah, they are. What I mean is the DVDs won't look quite as good as a HD version, like if they made a bluray boxset of the series or something.

...I doubt that'd come with a coaster though.

[Lost]

(I'm a hopeless emo but) Damn I had tears in my eyes at the end of episode 3. Is this normal? :/

Someone earlier mentioned that it was unrealistic (?) how the book opened to that page; and I agree, but I also realised something.

We know this whole show is surreal. For example, suddenly encountering that Girl and her grandfather on the street, and they are conveniently standing to face the camera too. Or that conversation with himself in the taxi. Or those two different bartenders in two different places, knowing whats going on at Edenhall (yay they reappeared! See, there is a main cast). Thats because the presentation of this show is akin to a stageplay. It doesnt matter why the players are there, they just are. It doesnt matter why stuff happens, it just does. As long as the story is told.

And it works! It is effective. Because in this way, theres nothing to complicate the storytelling; no need to go round about to lay the foundation, or establish events. Its just plainly told; but at the same time effectively told to bring across, even emphasise, the "moral" or "theme of the day." And it manages to add a human side to it too.

More people should watch this. And really, lime and salt.. how better to symbolise regret?

[GUTB_]

Meh. Emo rich people looking for a drink? Bartender means "bar tenderness" as opposed to what it clearly means, "that which tends a bar"?

Bartenders who are some sort of master craftsmen and not minimum wage workers? Heh.

Drink mixing of the heart? lol.

But the series DOES do a good job of bringing across the luxury and atmosphere of a fine glass liquor in the evening. But that is strictly for rich people who have $20 to spend on a good drink.

[speedpop]

As a bartender myself, I enjoy the heck out of this series. Sure we have our ups and downs throughout each week but the best of nights are always the moments where it is you and the customer in a heart-to-heart conversation of sorts during the quiet moments.

And yes, we do enjoy mixing cocktails to please the customers. Even a simple shooter that brings a smile to the face of the drinker will make me happy. Heck I made some very simple tequila sunrises on Sunday night and the couple were quite happy to watch me craft it.

These are the moments that you enjoy being a bartender. The tiny, somewhat imperfect and insignificant moments where the customer enjoys talking and watching you do your job. There is also no denying that when someone requests a drink that you love to make, you put more effort into it to make sure the drinker enjoys it down to the last sip.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 4.

NOOO!!! I've caught the GAR for Sasakura!

I realize it wasn't the intended focus, but I loved the juxtaposition of cool, calm, in control Sasakura next to awkward, nervous whatshisface (did they even introduce his name?). I'm sure we've all felt like thingy at some stage (I know I have) which made it hard not to sympathize with him... although on the flip side of the coin it was just impossible not to respect Sasakura's almost perfect handling of the situation.

I didn't think the second half of the ep was quite as entertaining as the first half. It does require a bit of suspension of disbelief to totally swallow the way that Sasakura solves his customer's situation with something as simple as a cocktail choice, but I suppose that just comes with the territory. But, more importantly than anything else, it is absorbing to watch.

Still thoroughly enjoying this show.

[physics223]

He's the GARtender. Everyone who drinks his MAGIG MAN JOOZ will be GAR for him. :V

[tritoch]

Ep 4 is... superb. gosh i am moved to tears every darn episode so far.

[Lost]

Grr.. I wanted to post a shot of Ryuu from episode 4, but imgshack isn't working for me right now. Heh, I hope to more of Yuka-san. Such a klutzy cutie.




God's Glass indeed. I just loved this look on his face. That slight smile of satisfaction; it does not pass him off as aloof, yet clearly makes it obvious that there is none like him.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 5.

Ok, so this was the standard "find the will to fight" ep and I didn't really take to the character in this ep, but I still enjoyed it at a purely aesthetic level. Take away the traditional "healing" stories and the characters (which I'd say are varied, in terms of how much I can sympathize with them), and Bartender is still a really good anime, since the directing is so unconventional ("free", I think is the best way to describe it) and the music is just delightful. This anime is all about mood, after all, so they'd be foolish to not put a lot of energy into presenting a visually and aurally pleasant experience.

[SeijiSensei]

I'd say this was the weakest of the episodes so far. Like you I didn't really care much for the put-upon office worker, but the Hemingway portions were gorgeous. The opening sequence showing the old man heading to sea was breathtakingly beautiful.

Did Papa really drink twelve double daiquiris a night, plus another take-home batch?

Regardless of the stories the score, and especially the ED, can often move me to tears.

For those people have problems watching the series in the H264 format, I've been using mencoder to downconvert the episodes to XVid. This is part of the open-source "mplayer" suite of programs and can be found at http://www.mplayerhq.hu/. There are versions for Linux, OS/X and Windows, along with the source code, of course. Mencoder is a command-line program so it doesn't come with a nice clickable GUI, but it works really well. If you're curious the particular command string I'm using is:

mencoder -o bartender-xvid.avi -oac mp3lame -ovc xvid -xvidencopts pass=1 [Lunar]....mkv

This recodes the file to XVid+mp3 and, by specifiying an .avi extension, puts the result into that container format.

Bartender remains one of my favorite animes this year. It's nice to see a show once in a while where some of the characters are over thirty, and no one's out to save the planet from destruction.

[Lost]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

The opening sequence showing the old man heading to sea was breathtakingly beautiful.

It brings tears to one's eyes. Papa Hemingway was a man known for living life to its extremes; I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Twelve glasses, and double the rum too. I wouldn’t say this was the weakest episode so far, like Mushishi, I think this is one series where relative comparisons between episodes do not matter, because all of them are still better, or at least different, than that of other series. I liked the story here: of not being defeated, especially how they tied it in with Papa's masterpiece.

What I especially enjoyed here, however, was seeing Ryuu's helplessness behind the counter, and his subsequent apologetic manner and regret; it definitely brought more realism into his character for me. It showed that he isn't all "l33t God-like," but has his limitations too, and what's interesting is that this was a principled restriction; Bartenders can't get involved in the customer's conversation.

“…a bartender will be left with a bad aftertaste.” I just had to go ‘wow’ at that sentence.

[aliensporebomb]

I've been watching this series and though I'm not a drinker I enjoy it.

This is another slice of life series with a quiet mood which I tend to
enjoy once in a while.

I am watching it on a dual processor completely overbuilt computer so
have no issues with watching the subs but I second the mencoder
recommendation if you can't pay the $10 freight to get that other
encoder that's more cpu efficient.

[SeijiSensei]

I have a question for the native Japanese speakers here about the translation of the OP. At one point there is the line whose phonetic version reads "konya wa donna yubi tsukai de yowasete kureru tsumori kashira." This is translated as "I wonder how you will use your fingers tonight to get me drunk." (In ep. 5 it occurs at 00:42.) Is that an accurate translation? In the context of the rest of the song, and of the show, something like "to intoxicate me" feels more appropriate, but maybe the Japanese version really does say "to get me drunk." Given that the show doesn't really promote the idea of drunkenness as a goal, but more the role of alcohol in human psychology, social relations, and personal memories, I've always found that line in the OP a bit jarring.

Oh, and those of us not running Windows can't use that other codec mentioned above; it's not available for Linux (or Mac OS/X, I believe).

[Lost]

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

I am watching it on a dual processor completely overbuilt computer so
have no issues with watching the subs but I second the mencoder
recommendation if you can't pay the $10 freight to get that other
encoder that's more cpu efficient.

Lol I'm watching it on a dated Sempron (yes it only has one core) with no issues.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

"I wonder how you will use your fingers tonight to get me drunk."

I never really had much issues with that, because to me; it has always seemed like a desperate woman was singing that line. While the show doesnt promote drunkeness, thats not to say the customers (especially those jaded and sick of life; see episode 4) can't request to get drunk, and some do. Of course, then, its up to Ryuu to distract them from their worries without getting them drunk.

[Nergol]

Bartenders who are some sort of master craftsmen and not minimum wage workers? Heh.

Look, what Bartender is is the latest in that odd genre of anime, the "enchanted place that has the item the customer is looking for which will make them feel all better" genre. For example, the library where small miracles happen and they always have just the perfect book for you, or the gondola company that will always make you feel better after a ride.

Or in other words, Bartender = Kokoro Bar.

That said, I enjoy Bartender tremendously. It's not for the Naruto/Trigun crowd, obviously, but for those of us over 30 it has a restrained and mature charm to it. I even bought a bottle of Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt that I save exclusively for watching Bartender (Which is why I always save bartender for the very last in our house anime viewing nights - it wouldn't help to get tipsy through Honey and Clover or Karin).

For the little we've seen of her, I must say I like Miwa (the hotel heiress) very much. She's my type - the refined, ladylike, mature sort. They don't make 'em like that anymore - it's a personality type that's getting rare even in Japan.

[Lost]

I just stumbled upon the fact that Bartender's OST and OP/ED single have been released.


/ADD

Oh god, I think my favourite track in the OST is the Hemingway Daiquri track. Featured in episode 5. (It seems it names the track by the names of the spirits they appear with; followed then by that track's title. Nice touch. ) "Million Dollar" and "Red Eye" are very good too; but I'm not sure what episodes they're from.

[Sotski]

Hello , I'm new here ..

please I want a subtitles for bartender all eposides cuz I wanna watch it quickly , I have it raw ^^

anyone help me ? I'll be very thankful

[Lost]

Ah, here you go. Currently, it's only been subbed up to episode 6.


Episode 6

Wow, this one was rather hard to follow.

Spoiler:

It made heavy use of metaphors, to tell a story of a story within the glass. Essentially, what seemed like an argument between two old guys (one a director, the other a screenwriter) was really a story of jaded souls trying to reclaim an originality that had been lost in their "whiskey blends." At the climax of that argument, my dear Ryuu () interjected, and as usual, presented a opposite view about those "blends." He made his point by wrapping up with a drink that emphasised the fire of resistance and passion, similar to the slant he had just given the whiskey blends. And also, interestingly, to thank the both of them. Ryuu later revealed a little more about himself (!) as a ten year-old boy: what motivated him to pursue a career such as Bar-tending. Yes, it was due to their original "whiskey blend."

@__@

One more thing to add, the ED demonstration for the key liquor in this episode; Aberdeen Angus, was a joy to watch.