Retsgip’s Anime Blog

Rating: 9.0/10

Although this episode might be a stretch in terms of believability, I still enjoyed the messages it got across to the viewer. There were a lot of coincidental happenings, which I always tend to hate, but they were well done in this case. They weren’t major plot developments, but they helped the two other gentlemen, who stood in, do a splendid job helping two confused customers.

“Save the dreams for when you’re sleeping.”

I just really liked this quote and figured I’d plug it for everyone who didn’t notice it or doesn’t watch this anime. It really sums up how I view people who take life a little too seriously and can’t seem to experience all the “good” that it offers.

Well, this guy realizes he’s fallen into that category, and was somehow convinced by the bartender that he wasn’t soulless. As the bartender said, “If polished, even a rusty nail* can always regain its shine. Bars exist to polish customers’ tired, rusty hearts with spirits and make them shine.”

Seriously, watching this anime and receiving well thought out conversations like this makes me feel like I’m reading a good book. Sure it doesn’t compare to some that I’ve read, but it’s definitely the most thought provoking anime I’ve ever watched, and it didn’t have to mind-fuck me to do so. Truly wonderful.

*Rusty Nail was the feature drink.

I like the second customer’s story a little better, but for some reason the first customer received the feature drink. The bartender apparently thought she reminded him of some lawyer in a book he’s read, and served her according to what he read. The connection between the two makes it a stronger story, but doesn’t really add anything to the message that was being discussed. Both the first customer and this woman had problems with their lives, and both of them got lessons on renewal.

Anyways, they talked about piece-of-shit jobs that get stuck taking orders from piece-of-shit people, which then led to the significance of the phrase “One for the road.” The bartender claimed that the dictionary definition meant “a drink shared to delay parting” but posed the question “who exactly are they parting with?” (kids remember, asking questions to drunks isn’t always the best idea, it just worked this time)

The world we live in is full of misrepresentation and deception, and a lot of times these things are brought upon oneself. So we aren’t really delaying the parting of a friend, but rather we’re saying goodbye to ourselves. Good bye to the unplease, piece-of-shit self that has assimilated into this crazy world. That way, when they head home, they are no longer that POS and have renewed and cleansed their soul.

Yeah, something like that. God, I feel warm inside whenever I experience such romantic thoughts that seem to be effortlessly transfered into an anime setting. Chalk up another lovely episode of Bartender. Sorry for the huge wall of text. Maybe I wrote a little much this time

-Retsgip