Bartender



Bartender is the title of a Japanese manga series written by mangaka Araki Joh and illustrated by Kenji Nagatomo. Its focus is a genius bartender who uses his talents to ease the worries and soothe the souls of troubled customers. There are also anime (2006) and live action (2011) adaptations.

Bartender follows the nightlife of Ryu Sasakura, a bartending prodigy who is said to mix the best cocktails anyone has ever tasted. Sasakura bides his time in his bar, Lapin (or Eden Hall in the anime), hidden in a nook of the Ginza district in downtown Tokyo. Over the course of the series, various figures of high and low stature, all of who share unusual troubles and heavy burdens, are "invited" in and are treated to Sasakura's fine drinks, which, with guidance from the young bartender, lead the customers to reflect on their lives and decide on a course of action to tackle with their problems.

"Ernest Hemingway: My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita"
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: Ryu, thanks to his Sherlock Scan.
 * Barbie Doll Anatomy: Used in the only instance of nudity in the manga, so far, involving Miwa.
 * The Bartender: Unbelievably enough!
 * Billy Elliot Plot: Only hinted at. Ryu comes from a very privileged family, and his father is a powerful figure in Japan, most likely a high-ranking Diet member, since he's nicknamed "The Monster of Nagata-cho", and yet he gave up everything to follow his dream.
 * Bottle Fairy: Kyoko. Miwa, to a lesser degree.
 * Captain Ersatz: Kuzuhara is most likely based of Kazuo Ueda, one of Japan's most famous bartenders.
 * Cocktailgasm
 * Con Man: Ryu has a battle of wits with one.
 * Compressed Adaptation: The animated series. In fact, they compressed about 46 chapters, and three arcs, into 11 episodes.
 * Credits Gag/Genius Bonus: The credits for each episode includes the recipe for the main drink featured and a bartender showing how it is prepared.
 * Did Not Do the Research: A minor tequila-related error appears in chapter 59. Ryuu states that Mezcal and Tequila are virtually the same drink, the only difference being that Tequila is manufactured in Jalisco. This is both true and false. Mezcal and Tequila are both made from Agave, but only a specific type of Agave (Blue Agave) is used in the manufacturing process for Tequila, and while Jalisco is the major producer of Tequila, other regions within Mexico, by Federal Law, can also manufacture the liquor and be legally recognized as Tequila, that is, certain regions within the states of Guanajuato, Nayarit, Tamaulipas and Michoacan; this is because Mexico holds the exclusive global rights to the word "Tequila".
 * In-universe, with the conman, who was beat by Ryu because he failed to do research on certain minor details.
 * Drowning My Sorrows
 * Good Old Ways: Bartending, in general, in the series. They make a point distinguishing traditional bartending over the more commercial bartending.
 * Generation Xerox: Miwa looks just like her grandmother did in her youth.
 * Greek Chorus: Seen mostly in the anime. The best example has several clients of Ryu's explain his backstory to each other in "The Face of a Bar"; it is also used in other episodes to a lesser degree.
 * Hidden Depths: Many of Ryu's customer, who appears as jerk at first, actually shown to have tender sides or insecurities that makes them appears that way.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: Don't we all?
 * Just Friends: Ryu and Miwa, for the time being. Some ship tease moments have been scattered here and there, and was lampshaded by Kyoko that they could become more than that.
 * Man of Wealth and Taste: Several of the clients fall in this category.
 * My Greatest Failure: Ryuu feels he failed because a drink he served to a client did not dissuade him from committing suicide.
 * Off-Model: The anime tends to run into this, due to it's low budget.
 * Old Master: Kase Gorou, Ryu's first master, and Kitagata, his senior.
 * Real Men Wear Pink/Truth in Television: Ernest Hemingway loved daiquiris. It's his love for daiquiris that gave birth to the Hemingway Daiquiri (also known as the Papa Double). His love for Mojitos is also mentioned.

""No matter how much pain you feel inside, a bartender can never wear a painful expression on his face in front of the customers.""
 * Secret Test of Character: The Martini competition.
 * Self-Made Man: Ryu, the second son of a powerful man in Japan, most likely a high ranking diet member, yet he decided to run away from home and start working at restaurant and bars in France. It was there where he got his first big break.
 * Serious Business: Some people are way too impressed by Ryu's skills.
 * Sherlock Scan: Ryu has something similar just by looking at people's hands.
 * Ship Tease: Some moments in the manga, here and there, for Ryu and Miwa.
 * Shout-Out: Hemingway, The Luck of Edenhall, amongst other things -- mostly references to the story of several spirits, famous cocktails and some real life celebrities.
 * Shown Their Work: At least when it comes to how drinks are prepared and the history behind the featured spirits and cocktails.
 * Skilled but Naive: Ryu is at times shown to be this, in spite of his experience.
 * Slice of Life: A rather unique entry in the genre.
 * Stealth Mentor: Mister Perfect Ryuichi Kuzuhara and Master Saito Higashiyama to Ryu. And Ryu, and Minami-san, to Kyoko, a young bartender girl.
 * Stepford Smiler: A good deal of Ryu's clients. It's considered a sacred duty of the bartender to allow this facade to be perpetuated, at least as long as the customer's still in the bar. However, Ryu will make some exceptions to the rule, such as when a con man tries to marry a girl for her money, after which he will presumably skip out on her; Ryu considers adding such trauma to a proposal, which is supposed to be the happiest moment of a young woman's life, to be unforgivable.
 * Ryu himself is one. Lampshaded by a client that says that no matter how bad or rude the client is, or how depressed and troubled the bartender is, its the bartender's duty to keep smiling as part of his job. Ryu confirms this in a later mini-arc.


 * Tall, Dark and Snarky: Ryu, mostly when he's not on the job.
 * There Are No Therapists: Bartenders are just as good, it seems.
 * Walking the Earth: An interesting variation. Ryu moves from bar to bar on recommendation of his seniors, in order for him to improve even more. At this point, arriving back in Japan after spending 8 years in France, he starts in Bar Lapin, then moves on to Bar Saito, under the apprentice of Master Saito, and now moves on to Bar Eden Hall,.