A place where you wish they knew your name.
What They Say:
Situated in the Ginza district of Tokyo is the Eden Hall, a quiet bar that few people manage to come across. It is run by the legendary bartender Ryu Sasakura, a genius at mixing the right drink for the right customer. Throughout his period at Eden Hall, customers from all walks of life, carrying all sorts of burdens, arrive for a godly glass at the Hall and a kind word with Ryu, both of which assist in clearing their problems up and reviving them for another go at life.
The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this series brings us the original Japanese language track in stereo using the PCM format. This was a series that I do wish that there was a dub with it, even if I understand why there isn’t, as there’s so much fresh and interesting material for the actors to work through and connect with when it comes to their characters. The show is one that has its moments of good material to it but tends to be more about the music and incidental sounds in order to set the moment or mood. It’s not a mix that will stand out but it works the soundstage well for the dialogue in general. While not a rich mix we do get one that’s well put together and enjoyable, especially when there are multiple characters on screen at a time and the conversation moves about them in a very good way.
Video:
Originally airing in 2006, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The eleven episodes are spread across two discs to give it plenty of space to work with. Animated by Palm Studio, which closed up a couple of years after this, the quality is definitely here from start to finish in something that’s richly detailed, beautifully colored, and has some great blending when viewed in the here and now. There’s a labor of love element to this series to be sure and it really does shine through with the look of it. The backgrounds are fantastic, the variety in character costuming is a big plus for me, and the detail and variety in the designs are just as strong. All of this comes through beautifully in the transfer with great colors and a wonderful representation of detail, making it a fully engaging experience. With the fully realized world that we get here, it’s important to have a strong transfer and this one pays it off.
Packaging:
The packaging for this collector’s edition release is really nicely done while not taking up a ton of real estate on your shelf. It’s done in a heavy chipboard box that has a digipak inside and a paper bonus. The box has a great visual of our title character as he puts together a drink while the bottom showcases one of them, using the logo as a smooth separator that works really well. The back of the box goes for an all-black piece that has the Eden hall logo on it that gives it a nice bit of class as well. The digipak itself is nicely put together with the two main characters getting their own panel where it focuses on their upper halves so we get some nice outfit details and their expressiveness as they’re across the bar from each other. While part of me would prefer this done in square-bound booklet form, I really like the thick cards that we get which showcase cocktail recipes with the ingredients and visual. I believe these were all done for the Japanese release, or as part of the show itself, so it has the right kind of authenticity to it. The backside of them goes into the history of particular drinks along the way and that’s really interesting to sink your teeth into later on. Additionally, the set comes with a couple of Eden hall themed coasters which are just fantastic.
Extras:
The main extras included with this set are the clean versions of the opening and closing sequences, of which there are about sixteen minutes worth as each one presents a different drink configuration. Add in the bumper pieces as well, which look fantastic, and there’s a nice bit of montage material worth putting on repeat.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Bartender is a show that fascinated me from when it was first announced and I’ve lamented for years that it was never licensed for release until now. With it picked up by UK distributor Anime Limited, Shout! Factory stepped in to help with North American distribution and looks to have replicated the UK set just right. The show is based on the manga by Araki Joh and Kenji Nagatomo which began in 2004 and wrapped up in 2011 with twenty-one volumes. Sadly, because of its style, none of it has been picked up as these kinds of episodic works just don’t generate big sales overseas. They work well in magazine form, allowing for easy drop-in reading without needing continuity. But they’re works that I love and really enjoy.
The anime itself is definitely interesting from a production standpoint as well. Airing in the fall 2006 season on the noitaminA block, it was an eleven episode series written by Yasuhiro Imagawa of all people. The allure of a show about alcohol draws in the unexpected. Directed by Masaki Watanabe, it was one of just a handful of projects by Palm Studio, which was started in 1999 by a former Triangle Staff member. Oh, such fond memories in the 90s of Triangle Staff projects. Here, we get some sense of that in that a large chunk of it naturally takes place in the bar with piano music playing so it has a particular feel for a lot of that. It’s working darker colors with woods and the like but it also places the light right on the bottles and the characters and even uses CG well at times for the glassware. It’s a really neat series in the fine details you can be drawn to while still working somewhat simple character designs, especially since it’s a rotating cast of characters that are all different and unique.
The premise for this is definitely interesting as we’re introduced to Ryu Sasakura, a gifted bartender who has some of the best mixes ever tasted. Considered a prodigy, he works out of the Eden Hall bar that he owns and operates in Ginza, but it’s the kind of out of the way place that you don’t find easily. In fact, there’s a bit of a supernatural superstition in that it’s only found by those who truly need it, so it’s never really very busy and you often get the personal attention of the bartender himself. Sasakura isn’t an old bartender by any means, he has a kind of youthful look to him and all, but there’s a sense of some greater weight behind that, an old soul who knows the ways of the world and is delighted to bring a few moments of joy to those through his drinks, and through simply talking with them when they talk about their problems.
What makes Sasakura seem gifted is that he seemingly is able to draw on the Glass of the Gods, which means he’s able to figure out the right drink for someone that wouldn’t be obvious just by looking at them. So what each episode does is focus, somewhat lightly, on the creation of the drink at hand for the person or couple that are being dealt with while also digging into their issues. The opening one deals with a hotelier type named Kamishima who dislikes bartenders because of a problem from his own past, but through Sasakura he sees the importance of it because Sasakura was able to intuitively see through him to the real issue.It’s through this that Kawashima is able to work on a bar redesign but does so knowing that he came to the right realizations under the most awkward of circumstances.
Across the run, we get similar kinds of stories. One involves an older man that’s retiring from his job after the death of an actress he used to be in love with years ago. Their past is one that features some real problems, and his decision to focus on the business path he did instead of performing with her, but the real charm is in how Sasakura is able to help him see that he can still keep the love alive even if she’s not here. Yes, sometimes it may be cliches or tropes about things, but there’s also truth in the mundane and predictable because it’s been experienced so many times. Another episode involves a screenwriter that’s struggling and one of the things he does to cope is to rattle off questions to bartenders in an effort to unlock things. Sasakura is the type that can glide right through that and again, dig into what the real problem is with the patron, and seeing how they communicate is really nicely done, whether it’s just straightforward talking or showing pieces from the patron’s past with how it impacted them then and in the here and now.
Bartender is the kind of work that really appeals to me in the way that other low-notice shows do like Human Crossing and the like. It’s episodic and focuses on the stories of characters that have to be told in under twenty minutes with a real conclusion or sense of one to it. It moves between character stories and couple stories, love and business and more, in order to dig into it. All while making sure to highlight the drink component of it and nudging that light supernatural element of how the bar itself works. These are the kinds of tales that get told outside of anime fairly commonly, with dramas that work in the same way or in novels, but anime tends to avoid them as fans are looking more for serialized storytelling and not much in the way of adult stories and their nuance and complexities. But it’s exactly why a series like this appeals to me so much, to see these lives in a state of flux and to have someone that may actually be able to help all while serving up a drink.
In Summary:
It’s been fifteen years or so since I first heard of this series when it went into production and I’m finally able to see it. I never placed it on a pedestal or anything but it was in that category of shows where you felt like someone should have taken the risk befor enow and are left wondering why it took so long. Shout! Factory and Anime Limited have put together a great looking release here from top to bottom. While I may kvetch a bit about the lack of a dub, which is understandable as to why one wasn’t produced, the result we have here is one that should have people eagerly acquiring it. This is not a show to binge but rather something to settle into in the late evening, watching it in the dark, and soaking up its atmosphere while sipping on a signature drink. It’s been a long time coming but it is so worth it to have it.
Features:
Japanese PCM 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Opening, Clean Closing. Bumpers
Content Grade: A
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B-
Released By: Shout! Factory
Release Date: January 19th, 2021
MSRP: $69.98
Running Time: 253 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
