One of 2024’s best anime didn’t get nearly enough attention, but it has a critically important message about manga, anime, and all things that can be cherished.Bartender Glass of God, available on Crunchyroll, is a wonderful series that covers the intersecting stories of characters as they seat themselves behind a bar tended by Ryuu Sasakura, a masterful bartender who somehow always knows precisely what his customers need. It’s one of the inaugural efforts by studio Liber, and it’s been fairly well-received, witha 7.37 on MyAnimeList as of the time of writing. That score, however, doesn’t tell the whole story.
Bartenderadapts a complex manga with a rich history behind it. Many people miss the point of the anime in a critical way, but through a funny reflex,Bartender’s new adaptation weirdly comes to confirm one of the series' most important insights. There are countless reasons why this is one of the most underrated series of 2024, but it all starts with one pivotal misunderstanding.
Bartender Is (Not) A Slice-Of-Life Anime
Bartender Is A Pensive Anime That Scratches Away At The Definition Of Slice-Of-Life
When it’s recommended,Bartenderis frequently presented as an introduction to slice-of-life anime. In a sense, this is true. Nonetheless, “slice-of-life” as a genre tends to convey an air of meaninglessness, however undeserved.Bartenderis anythingbutmeaningless. There isn’t always a coherent plot at work, but the stories it presents are also truly “slices of life”—life as something where people with different intentions, preoccupations, and experiences intersect. In that way,Bartendercan be seen as an anime that exposes a secret depth to a slice-of-life: thateven the most mundane situations are never boring or meaningless, but actually steeped in a common language that everybody can speak.
Others have laudedBartender’s pseudo-shonen presentation, arguing that it evokes shōnen superpowers to an extent through the presentation of Sasakura’s prowess and expertise. There’s an element of truth here, too, but the idea of a shonen-gourmet hybrid might inadvertently gesture toward a series likeFood Wars.Food Warsis by no means bad, but the tone is so distinct fromBartender’s own that using labels like “battle shōnen” and “gourmet” which could (even accidentally) draw a clear line between the two would start to feel like an abuse of genre conventions.
MyAnimeList labels it as a “drama” and “gourmet” anime, which draws closer to the truth. But they also lose something that “battle shonen” and “slice-of-life"didevoke: a sense of prodigal mastery for the former, and a sense of transient levity in the latter.Bartenderis something all its own.
It’s a heartfelt series that sees Sasakura lend an unwavering ear to those seated in front of him.What Bartender shows above allis that everybody has a story, and everybody hassomethingthat connects with their story intimately. ForBartender, this association is always symbolically represented with a certain drink that carries some meaning for a person or which avails them of their present predicament.Bartender, in this sense, is a beautiful ode to humanity and individuality.
Bartender’s Many Forms Represent Its Essential Charm
Based on the Manga by Araki Joh and Kenji Nagatomo
Here’s a fun fact:Bartenderhas been adapted before. In fact, while neither necessarily dogs the other’s reputation,many fans prefer the original over the newer version. Both have their own charm.The first version ofBartenderis even more episodic than the second. Originally released in 2006 as a production by Palm Studio—a defunct animation outfit that only had 4 series under its belt (includingBartender) when it closed its doors—the first series focuses on the customers who come through, sitting down in front of Sasakura and sharing their personal stories.
In some ways, it’s arguably better written and much closer to the source material, the manga by Araki Joh and Kenji Nagatomo. And of course, there’s something to be said for the 2000s charm of the whole thing. Centering more heavily on the relationship between customers, Sasakura, and individual drinks, the series draws out the factors that actually make the series click.
On the other hand, 2024’sBartender: Kami no Glassis more serial than episodic. There’s an element of episodic storytelling, of course, but there’s a more significant relationship between the series' episodes. Characters often return, and the story is driven by Miwa Kurushima and Yukari Higushi’s efforts to get Sasakura to come to work at their hotel’s bar. These relationships are given a far more central focus in the latter adaptation than the former.
Bartender Lets You Pick Your Poison
Which Bartender Viewers Prefer Will Be Deeply Personal
The manga itselfran from 2004 to 2011 inSuper Jump. The series was nowhere close to being wrapped up by the time the first adaptation came around in 2006. On the other hand, both versions have low episode counts. The 2006Bartenderhas 11 episodes; the 2024Bartender, 12. Neither covers enough of the story for the timing of the first release to really make a difference.
So, the question then becomes: which is better?Fans are divided. One only has to search “Bartender 2006 2024” on Google to find countless Reddit threads where people pick apart and distinguish between the two. What’s especially notable, though, is that everyone always has a preference for whichBartenderthey like—and it’s highly personal.
In the world of anime and manga, it’s really easy to get caught up in totalizing discussions about what version of media is the best.Berserk’s 1997 anime is a joke compared to the movie trilogy;Stardust Crusader’s OVAs have nothing on David Production’s television rendition of the same story;Dragon Ball Zis nothing compared toDragon Ball Kai.And of course, with all the aforementioned preferences, the reverse could just as easily be argued.
But all too often, these debates forget that people often have deeply personal attachments to their preferred media. With any sort of art, quality is already subjective. However, even looking “beyond” the seemingly objective qualities—animation standards, voice acting, and so on—there’s no real answer at the core of things.Bartender,in all its versions, cuts right through to the core of the debate by taking something seemingly obvious as its premise: there is no “best” drink.
There’s no objective reason, for example, to say that brandy is better than whiskey, or a vodka martini is better than a gin martini, or a Manhattan is superior to a cosmopolitan.Bartendershows that subjective evaluations aren’t just important; they’revital. When a conversation lingers over the objective qualities of something as perceived evidence of its superiority, too often, it just serves to mask a deeply personal attachment.
Bartenderinstead asks viewers to embrace those attachments. It then applies this question to itself, however intentionally.Bartender’s two adaptations are vastly different from one another, and in the process, they invite viewers to “pick their poison”. Behind the decision,Bartenderargues that there is only a practical finesse that conceals a deeply personal conviction—and that the personal conviction is what actually matters. WhatBartender Glass of Godasked of me would change the way I approach media and criticism: I stopped asking “objectively” what makes a work good or bad, and instead started speaking from the heart about what they meanto me.
Bartender: Glass of God
Cast
Bartender: Glass of God, released on July 27, 2025, follows the brilliant bartender Ryu at the quiet Eden Hall in Tokyo. As he serves the perfect drink to his troubled patrons, each glass tells a unique story and offers solace to those who find his hidden bar.
