The Spring 2024 Anime Preview Guide

Bartender Glass of God

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 Glass of God is based on the Bartender manga series written by Araki Joh and illustrated by Kenji Nagatomo. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Wednesdays.

So, I'm not a drinker—never have been. And it's not some kind of religious or ethical thing. It's simply that I A) hate bitter tasting things (so beer is out) and B) would rather spend my money on hobbies that give me days or weeks of entertainment than on a single night out. All that is to say, I suspect that people who do drink regularly will get more out of this anime than I did—simply by imagining the taste of each drink that appears in the episode if nothing else.

Yet, I still enjoyed my time with this anime. While low-key, it's never boring. Our three Japanese office workers have the unenviable job of finding a bartender for their high-class hotel bar when their only direction from the hotel owner is “find someone who can make the glass of god”—something so obtuse the only clarification they get is “you'll know it when you see it.”

To anyone that's ever worked in a corporate environment, this is completely relatable. It doesn't matter if your job has to do with hotels or alcohol, everyone has had a boss give frustratingly unclear orders at one point or another.

And then there is our titular bartender, Ryu. What we have here is a man who, unlike our corporate trio, has learned to separate his personal and professional life. On his own time, he is scatterbrained and out of touch with the times. But behind the bar counter, he becomes a different person—completely in his own element. He is a true professional—using his ability to read people and his extensive bartending skills to make them the best drink possible.

Other than that, we don't have much to go on with this opening episode—we know little about Ryu's life or motivations. However, I'm more than willing to give the series another episode or so to see what it's like once it hits its stride.

I've never seen the first Bartender anime, but from reputation I know it was generally viewed as either a low-key and relaxing watch, or a stultifying waste of time depending on who you asked. I was both hopeful and skeptical about this remake/reboot/rewhatever, since I generally like chill iyashikei shows, but I'm also not much of a barfly (I prefer to do my drinking alone, in the dark, the way God intended). I was hoping this first episode might sway me one way or the other, but by the time credits rolled I still wasn't sure how I felt about it.

On the one hand, I like the premise – an empathetic and attentive bartender making the perfect drink to soothe the nerves of whoever walks into his bar, listening to their stories and offering comfort in a quiet yet earnest manner. Unfortunately we don't really get to see that in action through this premiere. Instead we're stuck in the framing device of a couple of beleaguered hotel employees trying to find a bartender that can meet their boss' incredibly vague and frankly unprofessional demands for a hotel bartender. Savvy viewers will know immediately that Ryu is going to be the guy making a “glass of God” by the end of the episode, but by the time we actually see him working, all we have time for is him making a lower-alcohol drink to help Miwa unwind. That's nice and considerate, sure, but it doesn't really live up to the godly title.

Though that divinity may also be part of the problem. I get the appeal of a story setup like this, letting us peek into different peoples' daily struggles as they try to decompress, and complementing that with a thoughtfully prepared offering to ease their mind. Yet that only works if the delivery is understated enough to feel believable. So making Ryu out to be not just a kind soul and professional bartender, but God's gift to alcohol feels like it's going too far. Grand visual metaphors are nothing new to food/drink-based series, but having Miwa mentally teleport to a serene lake and floating on air, after taking one sip of a highball, feels like you're overselling it. It takes the focus away from whatever human connection might exist between Ryu and his customers, and puts them solely on his peerless skill.

That's a lot of complaining for a premiere that was, in total, just kinda okay. I like the chill vibes the OP promises, and now that we've gotten our recurring cast and premise established, hopefully the next few episodes will give a clearer idea of what the show will really be like. I may not be much for drinking, but I love anthology stories that try to capture something relatable and universal through different angles. There's certainly room here to be a charming, heartening experience. Right now, it's just not hitting the right notes for me to want another round.

If I may be allowed a moment of terrible, pedantic nerd rage, the definition of “bartender” in this episode made me see red. Sorry, Sasakura, but “bartender” derives from the combination of “a straight piece of …rigid material long in proportion to its thickness” and “one who tends, or waits upon, another,” not the synonym of "caring" as cited by the character. I appreciate what it's trying to do, but no. That is not correct. Just ask the OED.

Rage aside, this is one of those series that I could see getting much better than it starts. This episode is largely set up: a new hotel needs the world's best bartender and is, predictably, having trouble finding one based on the nebulous criteria of needing to be able to produce the “glass of God.” Kurushima and Higuchi are sent out to hunt for one and end up having a bit of a meet cute with Sasakura, the otherwise awkward and clumsy genius barkeeper of the mysterious bar Edenhall. The episode ends before they can try to hire him, but we get to see that he's preternaturally good at his job and rubbish at definitions. It's not a terrible set up, but it does feel as if it might be undercutting the allure of the show. We barely get to see Sasakura work his magic, and the scenes of him demonstrating why he's a better bartender than all others are a bit too understated. Of course, that could be because I have exactly zero knowledge of alcoholic drinks, so I may be missing out on some clues or cues that others can see plainly. But that, too, feels like a handicap, because ostensibly anyone ought to be able to watch a show about something they know nothing about and still understand what makes it special.

Still, Sasakura is an appealing character. Even if we discount the dead yellow bird of prey eyes everyone has (well, his are red), he's charmingly soft-spoken and gives the impression of great kindness. Even if he wasn't a keen observer of humanity he feels like he genuinely cares about everyone he interacts with, whether that's Kurushima and her missing button or a random man he meets at a different bar. There are a few too many efforts to make him endearingly quirky, such as his inability to use a smartphone, but he feels like the sort of character who could make you forget many other problems with the show.

All of that said, this is giving me serious Drops of God flashbacks, and as you may recall from last fall's Manga Guide, that's not my favorite series. On the other hand, if you are a fan of it, then give this a chance.

The original Bartender is a series that passed me by during its original run, on account of my being a snot-nosed teenager who had never tasted a beverage stronger than a Baja Blast Mountain Dew. Despite my complete lack of nostalgia for the property, though, a good OP is a great way for a premiere to earn some goodwill, and Bartender: Glass of God had me straight up grooving in my desk chair along to its opening song. Another point in the show's favor was the subject matter, since, these days, I now consider myself connoisseur of both delicious cocktails and anime stories that are about actual adults with real jobs and problems. In other words, I was intrigued from minute one.

By the time I finished the premiere, I was still intrigued, though this is definitely the kind of low-key workplace series that will turn away folks looking for thrills, chills, or even moderately exciting spikes in drama. In other words, not a lot happens in this first chapter of the story, other than Kurushima and Higuchi going to a very chill bar and getting served some tasty drinks from an equally chill bartender (the preternaturally skilled Ryu). The part of me that loves watching Cocktail YouTube and other culinary infotainment was pretty interested in seeing how Ryu does his thing, especially since the show's music and production values are on point. The part of me that looks for gripping characters and narratives was left a little more parched.

That said, even though this kind of low-impact premiere would normally not work for me, there's something about the whole vibe of this show that I'm digging, and I want to give the show at least another episode or two to fully win me over. It's funny, because if this were your typical slide-of-life cooking show that took place in some generic Dungeons and Dragons world, then I'd be much quicker to write Bartender off, but the presence of pantsuits and whiskey glasses scratches enough of that aesthetic itch for me. Is this what it is to grow…old? Maybe, but even if that's the case, I'll be happy to embrace my inner Middle-Aged Whiskey Snob and hang out with the Bartender crew every week so long as the series picks up the pace, even if just a little bit.