[Final] Bartender Glass 166 – The Farewell Lesson (Part 3)
It’s finally over! This is the last chapter!
Links:
Drinks of the Day:
Vat 69 with Water
Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):
I read this final story with mixed feelings. On one hand, I liked how the story ends. It wasn’t anything too crazy. Some major changes are happening, but the author put in a good amount of content that can be conveyed in 3 chapters. This manga also ended with the same cocktail that started it all – whisky with water. I still remember reading that first chapter, expecting a fancy cocktail from Sasakura, but instead, I get completely blown away by whisky with water. That’s what really got me hooked and wanted to read more. It’s almost obligatory to end with that cocktail, but it felt very appropriate for this last story as well. The situation fits too if you think about it. Kuzuhara is probably stressed out by the merger. A whisky with water is probably the best choice to revitalize him.
With all that said, I still felt this ending didn’t give the readers enough. It makes me wonder if this manga was cut off due to a lack of popularity. If the manga was popular enough, I believe the author would’ve been given more chapters to work in a longer ending. Sure, Kuzuhara is an appropriate person to bring in for the finale, but I really would like to see the author at least touch on what happens with some of the other main characters. Miwa showed up in the end, but what about Kawakami? What about Yuri? Or even a one-shot cameo of Kitagata would be cool.
All in all, Bartenders will remain as one of my favorite mangas. I’ve been reading more seinen slice of life, and it’s hard to find another manga with the same combination of seriousness and chillness. Not to mention all the LPT (life pro tips) that it contains.
I hope everyone enjoyed this series as much as I did. I’ve set my eyes on another manga to translate already. Something very different. I will be working on a different project first though (a game of sorts). Once I’m done with that, I will resume scanlating.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me over the past 8-9 years (I lost count really). I’ve probably gone on more hiatus than Hunter x Hunter’s author (lol probably not). I know it’s frustrating to wait for these new chapters to come out, and yet I’ve seen nothing but encouragements. You guys are awesome!
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Cityshrimp's Scanlations (and stuff) 
Thank you for completing this wonderful series! It’s been a great ride!
Been reading Bartender since 2 or 3 years ago, thanks to your translations. And I could never say enough “Thank you” to pay back.
Talking about the lack of popularity, I don’t know about that since there’s supposed to be other series in the Bartender franchise: Bartender á Paris, Bartender á Tokyo and Bartender 6stp; all of them shorter than Bartender but I’m curious about them. I wonder if you’ll work on those, and I hope so.
This will remain as one of my most treasured mangas, geez It gave a lot of interest about mixiology but I don’t think that the Bartending the series shows correspond with the reality in my country.
The last thing that I can say it’s: Thanks you CityShrimp.
Cityshrimp, I would just like to thank you for all the work you’ve put in. We’ve followed you for years, and always believed you’ll come through. Thank you for all that you’ve done, and I hope you continue your excellent work.
By the way CAN THE NEXT PROJECT BE PICKING UP DROPS OF GOD PLEASE.
Just hoping haha
Thanks cityshrimp!
I only started on Bartender very recently, but when I went and looked at its release archive on MU, I was amazed at your almost-decade-long work on the series. Thank you very much!
And, like a previous comment mentioned, I also don’t think this was axed: seeing as it has a couple of sequel series, one of which is ongoing.
Been following for many years now, thanks for your continued work on the series even during those times you were busy with RL stuff. It’s been a pleasure reading Bartender and I hope to read whatever you pick up next.
Thanks again!
Thanks for translating these chapters for us over the years (it’s been only a few months for me though). I’m now off to search for the legendary chapter 167 (fingers crossed!)
Thank you very much for your persistence. It’s been a long road, but I’m glad you were able to let us read the entirety of this wonderful manga. One of my favorite seinen series, with a mature plot that doesn’t rely on sex or violence to be interesting, but instead uses the many nuances of adult life seen through the eyes of a humble bartender.
With the anime and live action adaptations, plus the sequels, I believe the series is still popular, but I’m inclined to believe that the author simply decided to change the settings since the immediate follow-up, Bartender à Paris, was started as soon as this one finished. Perhaps he just is no longer fond of long serializations. It could also have something to do with an issue with the artist, Kenji Nagatomo, seeing that he didn’t return to do the sequels.
Once again, thanks a lot for translating the series from start to finish.
Hello Cityshrimp, thanks a lot for your translation and all your efforts along those years. You allowed me to discover a great manga, and I can not say thank you enough 🙂
2 years ago I spend some months in Japan and I had the chance to discuss my favorite mangas with one of my lodgers, she was absolutely astonished that we knew Bartender in Europe and North America 🙂
Thanks for doing this all these years.
I’ve read this manga now for 8 years with your translations and are truly thankful for that.
This manga is besides my longer stay in Japan why I became a bartender and it’s a bit fitting that now when I’m reading the last chapter I’m switching from a hotel bar to a standalone classic bar.
I hope one day I can open my own bar too.
“With all that said, I still felt this ending didn’t give the readers enough. It makes me wonder if this manga was cut off due to a lack of popularity. ”
Well, it went on with Bartender a Paris, Bartender a Tokyo and even a pretty new one which is still ongoing called Bartender 6stp. So I think it wasn’t so much because of popularity.
Good fortune with your next endeavors!
I’ve been reading this for years, and appreciating it the whole time. Thanks!
Thank you very much for bringing this series to a close. I’ve been following this series for a large chunk of my adult life including a couple years living in Japan. I started in part because I thought I was gonna learn some cool drinks out of it, but I’ve gotten so much more out of it than I could have imagined. Its been a heck of a ride and thank you again for your persisting to the end Cityshrimp. がんばる.
Bartender is my favorite manga of all time. I can’t thank you enough for going through the effort to translate it. This manga has changed my life.
I doubt that it was ended due to popularity issues on the grounds that it commonly reached the top tankoubon sold list in Japan during the years of its release.
Do you have any plans to translate Bartender a Paris or Bartender a Tokyo?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bartender_chapters
Thanks a bunch, this was a really great work and the story has turned in one of my all time favorites series, I can say this series is going to be memorable and the weird thing is that even if I felt it lacked in strong characters per se compared to other big series, the story was deep, the stories were great and even if most of the time they were one new customer and the drink to follow that chapter, it left all the tme wanted to keep reading to know more about the interactions with the bartender and even if he was called a genius he always worked hard and there were stronger and more famous bartenders and he learns that with time.
again thanks a bunch, I’m really grateful to have the chance to read this grea work all translated.
Hello, thank you for completing Bartender. I started reading since high school, and I’m graduating university next month. It’s been a long road, and I’m a bit sad to see it end, yet glad. You’ve worked so hard! You should be proud that you finished this series. There are so many other manga I am reading that are abandoned, so the fact that you stayed til the end is something to be proud of. Whatever work it is that you’re working on next, I look forward to it. I bet your Japanese has gotten really good now that you’re done with this series! Also, I read your other post that you’ve settled in your new job and you have your own kids now entering school. Congratulations, and take care! Cheers to more of your work!!
Hello, I have been following this series for many years, and it is with bittersweet feelings that I read the final chapter. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the years of hard work that went into releasing this manga.
Thanks for your hard work! I haven’t been around for 9 years but I always did appreciate catching the updates, savoring them like fine liquor.
Hi there! Thanks for translating Bartender until the end! It’s one of my favourite ever and I’ve been around for a long time now because of it. I’m kinda sad to finally see the end! But, as the manga put it, it’s only the end of a chapter and the start of the next. So cheers! And again, Thank you!
I lost track when i started reading this.
Buy thank you, a lot, you deserve the best in the world and thanks for the final sprint
Thank you very much for all your translation over the years.
Thank you so much for all your hard work over the past years!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was nice while it lasted. Thanks for scanlating it to the end.
I started reading bartender when I was in high school. I tried alcohol at that point and didn’t like the taste because I was a kid. I still loved the story though. Sasakura is a gentle character and gave some wise words to heal his guests. It felt as though he was there giving me words of encouragement when I needed it. Years later I came to find some comfort in a glass of scotch after my uncle passed. I went into the restaurant I worked at and my manager taught me about whiskey and scotch to make me feel better. In that moment I didn’t feel alone or sad, I remembered what it felt like reading this manga. “Ah, this is what Sasakura’s guest must have felt.”
My point is, thank you CityShrimp. Sure you translated a cool manga, but what you really did is made a beautiful story available to someone who needed it.
I drink the same scotch I did that day to remember my uncle and all he taught me, and I read this manga to put it all into perspective.
Thank you
Wow, finally the end. Thank you so much for keeping at it for so long. Double thank you for taking the time to research the stories and references, and for putting the recipes in your posts. This manga (and anime) has meant a lot to me. I discovered it before I could legally drink, but it got me interested in cocktails and how they could be greater than the sum of their parts. Once I was finally out of college and old enough and earning money I started buying bottles. The first cocktail I ever made was a Jack Rose, years before they started getting trendy. Another great one is that mysterious Polar Shortcut. I made my own cherry brandy to be able to try that, and so worth it. Real life is not as dramatic as a manga, thankfully XD, but mixing has been a lot of fun for me and it all started here. The ending did feel like they pulled the plug, but the author did pretty well if that’s the case. Its not as abrupt and disappointing as some. The story of Sasakura’s bar feels incomplete though. I’d have liked to see it as a middle aged place, with everyone still stopping in. Maybe Tsubasa at his own place with his own style, Miwa moving up corporate…
But, it’s been a good ride and thank you again for all the time and effort you gave to this project. Cheers!
Thanks so much for translating it all this time. I think this is my favourite of all times. I stopped reading almost every other licences I had previously started, but I always came back to Bartender with pleasure. I’m so sad it’s stopped, I don’t have anything to read now T.T But I am really thankfull for all the work you’ve put in it, and giving me the opportunity to read it. You have my most deepest thanks.
Thank you for translating Bartender! I’ve been reading chapter by chapter for many years and I am so glad to see the story completed. Thank you for all your hard work!
thanks for the years of hard work , the first time reading bartender was so long ago that I don’t remember the exact year or time and yet you continued the series all this years until the end thanks again and again.
The ending was really nostalgic from the whisky with water and even miwa asking sasakura to make his cocktail. I like it but no love it I think there’s was a lot of development room left from the characters especially tsubasa (he was the comic relief until the end) .
I think that independent of you country you can really enjoy a history if it is human and bartender is one, and last for third time thanks for made possible to enjoy this from this corner of the world!, you probably don’t remember but I am the Chilean person that post in the mercedes sousa/ violeta parra chapter so I will left my last comment in spanish “gracias a la vida que nos dio esta gran serie “
I’d never expect to read the Bartender manga translated to completion. Read it in a breeze in just 3 days, while also reading yours and the readers comments. One of the best manga I’ve read, also thanks to the translation.
Just a cultural question. I notice that the bar lodgers sip through the same glass , not even using a straw. It would be inconceivable for a woman to taste the same glass after a guy touched it, especially when they are not a couple, just acquaintances.
Did the author choose this for convenience to move the story faster?
Got late here but ler me leave my thanks you for you here. I’m reading this manga for about six years and it got me hook right on the start, it was fun ride. Thanks a lot.
This was a nice read. The ending itself wasn’t that great but I’m glad to have finally read it. Thank you for all your hard work with this manga and good luck in your future endeavors.
As usual, I’m late to the party! I just want to say thank you for introducing me to this wonderful work! And thanks for many years of great reading! Thank you for all the very hard work you’ve done on this. This is a work I always come back to and re-read; thanks to you, I can do that!
I couldn’t possibly thank you enough for your years of dedication to this project. Expanding access to art like this is incredibly important, and I hope you continue on this path. The world needs more cityshrimps.