Bartender ~ バーテンダー at first glance

[spsn]

 

Just watched the first episode of Bartender. My Japanese is not fantastic so there're parts here and there that I don't really understand but at least I think I get the general idea of the episode and what to expect for the rest of the drama, and I like what I see. Honestly, I had doubts when I saw the news that there's going to be a drama for Bartender and Aiba is in it. Don't get me wrong, I love Aiba in My Girl, but I have doubts on how he's going to portray Ryu, the bartender. Then the doubts doubled when I saw the OST song, it's a dance song by Arashi (well, no surprise with the rate they're going), Lotus. A dance song for drama on cocktails? I seriously can't imagine on what to expect of it anymore since I love the anime version and it's a slow phase anime with the calmed bar setting focusing on the cocktails and customers' problems.

I was going to rewatch the anime while waiting for the subbed version but curiosity beats me. And, I'm so glad I didn't rewatch the anime first because it'll be a disaster if you compare the anime and the drama side by side literally, just based on this first episode. Unlike the anime, the drama setting is more dynamic, not only inside the bar. Maybe this will change as we go to the next episodes but as of now, we get to see where Ryu actually stays (the boat), and Ryu doesn't just stand behind the bar serving drinks, he gets to move around too, and I find that refreshing for live-action drama. Moving on to the plot, my limited Japanese only can sense some rivalry will partake the later episodes and so do some hazy past of Ryu, totally different from anime, and that's why you can't just compare the drama vs anime apple to apple (different from Nodame or Honey and Clover case, to name a few). For a trivia, this episode idea can be seen in episode 2 of the anime, the idea and characters are the same, but the way the story is told is totally different, so again, it's not a good idea to compare for this case. Character wise, I find that Ryu is portrayed in totally different personality that I feel like I'm totally watching a new drama, not just a realization of an anime. In here, Ryu is more human with his insecurities and worries, not just as a cool but gentle bartender who always listens to his customer's problems.

Acting wise, Aiba's acting as Ryu is quite descent for a starter, since there's not much emotional development as yet for Ryu. In first episode, we only get to see Ryu's denial for being a bartender and the flashback is the haunting reason of why he had done so. So, not much going on, but with the line up of familiar faces on the casts, I'll expect better and more interesting development throughout the series, which makes this drama, not boring at all. And now what I need is a glass of cocktail (my own concoction will do for now) and a subbed version with all the cocktail trivia as side notes. The cocktails names are all in English and.... Engrish doesn't make me easier to catch those cocktail names, but they're sure look delicious, and cooling.

And, towards the end of the episode, I kind of see where Lotus fits in in this drama, at least for this episode. The ending scene looks like Ryu is up for the next challenge (which I don't really have any idea with my limited Japanese) :p...

Review aside, now it's the fangirling moment. Aiba looks kakkoii enough in that bartender suit, but boy, he looks mecha kakkoii in trenchcoat and he wears that A LOT, yey yey yey... and oh, the way Aiba breaks the ice fufufu, he does look believable as a bartender to me, guess the training pays off.