バーテンダ

BARTENDER

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
21
RELEASE
November 4, 2009
CHAPTERS
166

DESCRIPTION

The story of the Sasakura Ryu and Eden Hall, a small cocktail bar in the Chiba area of Tokyo, where troubled customers come for the "glass of the gods," which with Ryu's assistance helps them to resolve their often highly emotional problems.

CAST

Ryuu Sasakura
Miwa Kurushima
Taizo Kurushima
Ryuuichi Kuzuhara
Mieko Yuzuki
Okita Kyouju
Lawyer
Shibata
Miwa Kurushima no Chichi
Ryuuichi Minegishi
Yuka no Kareshi
Shimaoka Shachou
Ryuuji Mineyama
Bar Saitou no Master
Yuka
Masahiro Oda
Tajima
Aki
Kouji Souma
Kanako
Minoru Higashiyama
Mika
Shizuo Kazahara
Tsubasa Wakui

CHAPTERS

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REVIEWS

Cookiefudge
75/100
Slow burn manga that explores meaningful themes and provides a touching and heart-warming experience.
Bartender is an outstanding manga that provides an interesting and memorable experience. The story follows the life of a bartender named Ryuu Sasakura who runs a bar called "Eden" in the middle of a busy city. Ryuu is a genius bartender who can mix drinks that can bring hope, courage, and comfort to the customers who visit him. He has the ability to read people's hearts, and finds out what they need through their drinks.

The artwork and character designs in Bartender are simple and straight forward. The backgrounds are drawn in a realistic way, which makes the setting very believable. The art style has a heavy use of shadows and light to create a sense of mood and atmosphere. That is how the author manages to portray the emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of each scene without relying on any dialogue at times. The character designs are mostly unique and memorable, with a few exceptions.

The story is captivating, as it follows Ryu's journey as he meets different people and helps them through their troubles. The themes explored in the manga are varied and thought-provoking. It explores the power of relationships, the importance of communication, and the struggles of life. It also reflects on the idea of hope, and how it can help people overcome their struggles. With the way the storytelling is structured, there is almost something for everyone regardless of age or situation. The pacing of the manga is well done, as it builds the story slowly and steadily. It takes its time to explore the characters and their relationships. There are also some chapters that are more focused on the bartending aspect of the story, which provides a nice change of pace. It also gives readers time to understand and appreciate the stories told thus far. It is a bit of a slow burn so it definitely isn't for everyone and some chapters can feel a bit dragged out or simply boring but overall it does a good job of keeping your interest.

The characters in Bartender are also well-written and some reoccurring characters have good development. From the reoccurring customer/narrator Miwa Kurushima, to the new figures that appear in each chapter, the characters all have distinct personalities that keep the story interesting. The relationships between the characters are also explored in depth, from Ryu-san’s relationship with his friend Miwa Kurushima, to earning Motomitsu's respect.

Overall, Bartender is an excellent manga that is worth reading. It has a compelling story, fitting artwork, and captivating characters. It is a touching and heart-warming story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
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SalWise
93/100
A charming story that deals with mature themes in an intelligent and entertaining way
Alright I don’t really know how to write reviews so this will be pretty rough I apologize in advance for that, but I feel I have to write this review because this series has only one other review and I feel I need to say my bit. Anyways, let’s get started.
Bartender‘s synopsis is right there so there’s no need to rehash that but basically, this series is so damn good and it needs to be talked about more and suggested more and really deserves way more attention. It’s a very warm manga that deals with various themes in a calm and compelling way while being entertaining at the same time. The moments are neither ham-fisted nor forced like is the case for many manga that force different moments to make you feel a certain way. Events in this manga happen organically in a way that would suggest that there is a real world in there and not just a writer making things happen which I thought was sweet because things felt real, things felt grounded. I’ve read other series where there are tons of emotional moments or whatever but every time they happened you’d wonder if the author was messing around because things just didn’t feel natural. The bartender does not have these moments, but the author seamlessly weaves all of these moments into the story with sincerity and lots of skill. A lot of serious moments in the story are handled with charm and they make you think and ponder about them and think about how they relate to you and how you can learn from them. I really don’t think I’ve read a series quite like this one and I was quite impressed by the way these themes were handled within.
The characters are pretty solid too, with a diverse set of people with different and similar journeys goals, and values and the story shows how they’re all connected with each other, being the bartenders they are or the politicians or doctors and the others that visit the bars. Characters aren’t discarded and they do come back and we learn more about their lives outside I enjoyed the fact that these characters were given proper conclusions that left me satisfied and happy. No stupid and pointless melodrama and no meandering, just a hearty and truly enjoyable series all around that I would strongly recommend to anyone. It’s a very refreshing series that heals the heart.

This is a bit of a personal thing so you don’t have to read this but yeah basically I really appreciated one part of this manga for giving me a reality check and something to reflect on. Perhaps it was me being childish but anyway, the manga talked about how you don’t really know what people are truly going through and the burdens they bear, and no matter what expressions show on their faces you can’t truly grasp what they’re going through and I felt this in my heart because even though I KNOW other people have their own problems, sometimes I get the vibes that it’s all sunshine and lollipops for others and that I’m the only one going through things even though that’s wholly incorrect. Oh well, it's a bit cringe lmao but yeah I feel like the messages in the series are really interesting and nice to discuss and they’re handled in a very intelligent and charismatic way so you don’t feel like you’re being preached to or lectured and yeah would recommend it to anyone.
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