Raise a glass to Bartender: Glass of God

Bartender: Glass of God might not be exciting or fast-paced, but it has soul.

I haven’t had a drink in a long time.

Way back at the end of March, I told myself that I’d take a three month break from alcohol to focus on physical fitness. When June rolled around, I asked myself if I really missed drinking. Surprisingly, my answer was “Nah”. As I’m writing this, it’s the end of July, and I’m currently four months sober. This article is probably going to publish in September, so hopefully by then I’ll be at six months. Don’t worry, I’m not fighting some kind of addiction, I just find it easier to do my Saturday and Sunday morning runs not feeling like tired hungover shit. I don’t think this will be a permanent thing, and I’m sure there will eventually be occasions that I drink. But for now, alcohol is just empty calories to me and I’m avoiding it. I like being able to run 7+ miles and not feel like shit.

I don’t regret my decision to go sober, but I’d be lying if I said that watching Bartender: Glass of God didn’t tempt me to go mix up a few cocktails.

I’m big on using the AJnet Anime Club to introduce readers to lesser known anime that they probably wouldn’t have found on their own, and this series definitely meets that criteria. I guarantee you that, if you were to ask ten random anime fans if they’ve seen Bartender: Glass of God, at least nine of them would look at you and go “Huh?”. I’d actually go so far as to say that all ten of them would have never heard of it, and you’d probably need to ask at least 100 people before getting someone who’s even heard of this great and underrated series let alone watched it.

Not everything has to be exciting and full of hard-hitting action like Jujutsu Kaisen or Solo Leveling. While I still love both of those series, sometimes you just want to unwind and watch a show for a good story. Bartender: Glass of God is all talk and no action, but it’s got just as much heart and soul as an action-packed series, if not more. This series is the definition of comfy.

Bartender: Glass of God is about a bartender named Ryu who has the ability to analyze the customers who find their way into his Ginza basement bar, named Eden Hall, and make them the perfect drink to soothe their soul. Each episode is mostly a self-contained story about Ryu helping a different troubled person resolve whatever’s bothering them, but the overarching plot revolves around two hotel employees, Miwa and Yukari, trying to convince a reluctant Ryu to come run the hotel’s new bar. What starts out as the women simply trying to sell Ryu on the job evolves into a deeper friendship, with Ryu accompanying the women to various places and even attempting to help them evaluate other potential candidates. Along the way they befriend other bartenders, and we slowly learn Ryu’s mildly tragic backstory and why he’s hesitant to come work at the hotel bar. His ability to always hit the metaphorical nail on the head with his drinks is deemed the “Glass of God” by the hotel’s owner, and this is where the title comes from.

I’ve never been one to use bartenders as therapists, but I feel like I could walk into Eden Hall and Ryu would do in five minutes what none of my psychologists could do in 15 years. This guy isn’t just good, he’s fucking great, and his ability to profile his customers is second to none. From a two minute exchange, Ryu can come up with the perfect drink that puts the customer at ease and relaxes them enough to help them sort through their problems. Anybody can figure out how to throw in a shot of this, mix it with a splash of that, then throw in some juice and make a palatable drink, but Ryu has an understanding of the craft that I don’t think most bartenders in real life do. He breaks down why the drinks he mixes use the liquors that they do, explaining the subtleties of the flavors and how they’re carefully chosen to complement each other or invoke association with things like seasons or old memories. Sometimes he’ll even swap out ingredients to better suit the customer’s mood. I wish bartenders in Philly were this good. Most of them don’t even know what a Four Horsemen is.

When you’re drinking one of Ryu’s drinks, you’re not drinking it to get fucked up, you’re drinking it to relax and enjoy it. In a way, this series is like sipping on one of those drinks. It’s not full of fast-moving flashy fights or slapstick comedy. This is a slice of life drama that you’re meant to enjoy on an emotional level, with simplistic yet elegant exchanges between the characters that pull you in and make you want to keep watching to see how their stories are going to play out. I’ll be honest, I only half-read the summary on this one before watching it, so I completely misunderstood what it was about. For some reason, I expected it to be about some kind of afterlife bar akin to the Quindecim in Death Parade. As I watched the first episode, I realized my mistake, but I still found myself becoming invested in each of these characters and their struggles.

There’s no denying it’s a boring series, and if you prefer your anime to be fast-paced and full of action or comedy then it’s not a series for you. But if you’re looking to just chill out, enjoy a solid drama with emotionally complex characters and a good story, and even learn a few things about making cocktails, then you’ll definitely enjoy Bartender: Glass of God. I give this series a 7/10.

Angry_Jerk

Adam “The Angry Jerk” Baker is the CEO of The AJnet Organization and Editor-in-Chief of AJnet Magazine. A grizzled internet veteran of over 20 years, he writes about politics, culture, and whatever else manages to annoy him that day.

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