Bartender Chapter 41 – Cigar Smoke (Part 2)
This chapter was surprisingly difficult to translate. Well, it was okay until the end where Hayase started saying some weird things that is hard for me to pin down grammatically. I tried to translate it several ways, but it still feels odd. Hope you guys don’t mind.
Links:
Drink of the Day:
No Name
- 48 ml Rum
- 12 ml Honey
- Cinnamon Sticks
Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):
One of the few chapters that have a true sad ending to it. It was sad to see that Hayase chose work over relationship, but he definitely seems like the type. I think this chapter was crucial in making this manga more realistic. There were too many instances where Sasakura changed people’s lives with a cocktail. It’s about time for a tragic ending. Also, it would be a bit unbelievable if Hayase-san ended up going out with that lady just like that. I’m not into sad endings, but I think this was the only way for this story to wrap up well.
Something I find odd is that Hayase asked Sasakura to show them how to smoke cigars. I understand that it is mainly so the readers can see how it’s done, but it doesn’t make sense for Hayase-san to not understand how to smoke a cigar when he specifically said that cigars are an exception for me even though he’s trying to smoke. And it was also weird to see that lady ask Sasakura whether they can re-light the cigar after it’s put out, since she lit and watched a cigar burn in the previous chapter. I’m not saying that this is a mistake, but I think it can easily be interpreted as such.
Question:
Sasakura mentioned that Bartenders in Japan do not help customers hook up. Is this true? I can see why it would be a bad practice, but I would expect bartenders to love the opportunity to earn some extra tip.
Thank you very much for the new release!!
thanks again as always but on the question i think is bad practice since a failed relationship would mean a lost of customers and bad rep. its best to stay out of such things….unless you got a love drug….in which case please share with your loyal readers.
thanks for the chapter I am so glad you guys are doing this. a comment for your thoughts (spoiler) I interpreted them asking as a way to get rid of the extra cigar while including the nice bartender into their starting friendship. or that is how my mind excepted it. thanks again!
Great work on the chapter. A sad ending is almost never welcomed in any media but this ending does add realism to the manga and that is why I like it.
Thanks for bringing us this. I love Bartender and reading it is such a pleasure. I really appreciate all the hard work you do in order to bring it to us.
I thought it was great that one of the lessons of the chapter was that love never begins in a bar. I see a lot of people who go to bars hoping to find someone they can connect with, but it never seems like relationships that start in bars last.
Most would refuse because it is bad practice and it is not the bartender’s place to act as a mediator of love. Bartenders in clubs would probably still do it, but bartenders of actual bars would respectfully decline, since they have image and reputation to uphold; they don’t want to be known as a ‘hook-up bar’. Plus, the recipient could feel uncomfortable or offended by it, which would also damage the rep of the bar.
For your thoughts, it could also simply be seen as “a way” vs. “the proper way”. The guy might have known how to smoke a cigar, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he knew how to do it properly.
Maybe his cigars were pre-cut, maybe he cut them with his teeth, maybe he inhaled the smoke like with a cigarette, all of which is considered ‘bad’ in the cigar-smoking society for if you truly want to enjoy your cigar. Maybe he even did everything right, but was just unsure. Maybe he just did it as a courtesy to her, because he didn’t want to seem like a know-it-all.
So yes, it was obviously to show the reader how it was done, but it could still make sense story wise
About the girl’s question, the translation was a bit off, so maybe that’s why you got confused? She didn’t ask “It can be lit again even if it’s put out, right?”, which is more of a question asking for confirmation of information/knowledge you already possess, but rather “If it goes out, will it be fine to relight it?” She asks because she didn’t simply let it burn in the previous chapter; refusing to put it out means that she must’ve taken occasional puffs to keep it lit (though you never did see her do it on-panel)
Thanks for the clarification Hecko, it’s nice to have someone who can make sense of the things that confuses me
What you said about cigar smoking makes sense, I think I like the “courtesy” explanation the most. It just seems natural for someone like Hayase to know the proper way to smoke, but he’s probably trying to indirectly show her the right way.
However, I think the girl should know that it is fine to relight a cigar, since according to Sasakura, she never took a puff of that cigar. I think it makes sense if we also explain this as “a way” vs “the proper way”. Maybe she did relight them previously, but she wasn’t sure if that was the proper thing to do or not.
I acutally am quite fond of sad endings.
Simply because we all know that reality is rarely sweet and if a story feels too farfetched you have a hard time identifying yourself with the characters(a keyelement to any good story imho).
Anyway as far as I know in Japan tips are rather uncommon and even so blieve me tips are almost ALWAYS bad.
You could break your back for the customers and still end up with nothing more than a word of thanks(believe me -.-)
And last but not least:
Thank you for translating Bartender.
It’s one of the few Manga I still read because it’s really original and deep.
You’re doing a mighty fine job at it;)
Thank you very much for scanslating Bartender. I love this manga and I am so happy to be able to read it. ^_^