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NoName Web Comic #9
A bit of an inside joke
Bartender Chapter 52 – Cocktail Competition (Part 1)
Links:
Drink of the Day:
Gin & It
- 3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
- 1 1/2 oz Gin
Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):
The long-awaited cocktail competition finally begun! Although the story has been focused on this competition for the last 4 chapters, we don’t have much information about the competition. The only thing we know is that it will be held at Hotel Bishop, and Kurushima intends to use this chance to find a good bartender. In this chapter, they explained a few rules, such as not being able to use a measuring glass; however, we still don’t know anything about the contestants or the restrictions on entry. There doesn’t seem to be anything that’s preventing a veteran to join. But from the looks of it, the competition is a lot smaller than expected. There’s only 8 contestants, and none of them looks like pro. Yuri and Kawakami are the most composed, and it seems like it’s down to those two to see who will win.
There are instances in Bartender where Sasakura said some weird things, or the connections he try to make is too far. What he said in the end about bar counter being a live is just a bit too cryptic for my own taste. I know what he’s trying to say, but there’s no reason to explain it like that. It’s not like he’s currently working, and trying to console a customer or anything that like. He’s just talking to Miwa, and it just feels like he can be more direct, and just come out and say “Kawakami screwed up because she saw Minami-san, which made her more nervous.”
Lastly, I think it’s kind of unfair that Kurushima changed the rules at the last minute. From the things they needed to do, it seems like not being able to use a newly opened bottle is a major disadvantage. It’s one that can completely alter the results of the competition. It’s definitely not something you can just brush off by randoming the contestant order.
Bartender Chapter 51 – Summer . Taste of the Second Glass
Oops, forgot to change this part. But I started using MediaFire now due to demand. Uploading does seem more intuitive than Megaupload. Hope this is good news for everyone.
Links:
Drink of the Day:
Mojito
- 45 ml Rum
- Sugar
- Lime
- Fresh Mint Leaves
- Crushed Ice
Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):
More buildup to the upcoming competition, and Sasakura became more involved as well. He is given the sacred task of picking a bartender for Kurushima’s new hotel. I believe it’s the same hotel that started this whole series (where Miwa’s manager initially tried to find a bartender). The story has made plenty of progress since it started 7 volumes ago, and this is one thing I really like about Bartender. Although there are many isolated chapters that doesn’t do much for the story overall, the author never allow the story to stand at one point too long. He also try to create new circumstances so the story doesn’t become boring. Even the people around them continuously evolve. In contrast, one manga that I really liked, but completely stopped reading is Detective Conan (Case Closed in US). The series lasted so long, the tricks have started to become lame. Some are outright impossible or are reused. And yet, after so many years (about 20 now), the story hasn’t progressed all that much.
Sasakura made a good point (although Miwa’s grandfather rejected his idea) about bars in hotels vs bars on the streets. Although both are bars, they serve different purposes, have different scales, so it makes sense for the bartenders to act differently. The key here is to adapt. Most of the adaptation mentioned before are on a smaller scale. Sasakura would often think about (and he did so in this chapter too) how to make the cocktail just right for the customer. But aside from adapting a drink to each customer, a bartender need to adapt how he works depending on the environment.
Lastly, Miwa’s grandfather revealed that he doesn’t have much time left, though he quickly changed the subject. I’m surprised Sasakura didn’t catch on to that. I thought with his keen observation skills, he would’ve spotted that and realize something is wrong. It would’ve made more sense for the author to have used a more subtle way to show that something is wrong with Miwa’s grandfather. Sasakura not picking up on something like this is just too unlike him.
Question of the Day:
Sasakura needs to pick a bartender from the competition, and he’s already set on picking either Kyouko or Yuri. Who do you think he should pick and why?
Bartender Chapter 50 – Lemon and Olive
Just got back from a one-week vacation. Sorry I didn’t put a post, but I was already out of the country by the time I realized I haven’t said anything on the blog. But I tried my best to get this chapter up as soon as I could. Enjoy 🙂
Links:
Drink of the Day:
Buckeye Martini
- 45 ml Vodka
- 15 ml Vermouth
- Garnish with Black Olive
Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):
This chapter is focused on the new girl bartender, Kanagi Yuri. She made her first appearance in Chapter 49, and she seemed like a confident and skillful bartender, who is only a totally different level as Kawakami. However, in this chapter, we find that she is also far from being a professional bartender herself. There are still much for her to learn, which makes sense, since she only have 3 years of experience. The author took some time to explain her background, and what she wants to achieve. Uehara said that she is similar to Sasakura in terms of their personality, but I think their ultimate goals are opposites (at least at the moment). Sasakura is all about helping the people that comes to him, but Kanagi just wants to make a name for herself and work at a famous bar. The author didn’t explicit state this, but it’s possible that she must have seen some hardship in her past to make her want to become independent and accomplished.
Uehara said that in anyone in the service industry should have a pair of good eyes. We have seen this demonstrated many times before, not only by Sasakura, but by other bartenders in the story as well. The first step is always to identify the customer and understand as much about them as possible. There is a lot of information you can get just by how someone dresses, acts, and speaks. I think it’s a great skill to have even for people that’s not in the service industry.
One last note, there have been several hints now that Sasakura was a hardball back in the day. There haven’t been any explanations as to what exactly happened to change him so drastically. I really hope the author would touch upon that part of the story some time.
Cityshrimp's Scanlations (and stuff) 