Bartender
Okay. Just watched the last episode of Bartender, and sad to say I was disappointed. Not with Aiba or any of the other actors, I truly believe they did a fine job with what they were given. I think Aiba's acting improved so damn much from My Girl and that made me proud of him. (But then again if he just walks on set and smiles I would probably be happy. I think if they bottle Aiba's happiness and that damn smile we would have peace in the world...ah sorry I stumble in my Aiba love)
But I'm truly disappointed in the writing. As anyone who has worked in a bar or even sat in a bar knows, being a bartender is not about the guy who can make the best drinks. That is only a part of it, what makes a good bartender is how they make a drink plus how they treat their customers, how they interact with them. Is it a good atmosphere? Are you going to make them want to come back again and again. You can walk into the most expensive bar in town and if the bartender doesn't make you feel welcome, if the atmosphere is not welcoming it's not going to be a good place to come and enjoy yourself.
Aiba's character Ryu Sasakura was a very good bartender, he not only cared about mixing drinks, he truly cared about the person sitting on the other side of the bar. He wanted them to enjoy their drink but he also wanted them to enjoy taking a seat in the bar he was working in, wanted them to have a good time, wanted the customer to come back again and again not just because of the drinks but because of the atmosphere, the environment, because they ENJOYED their time there.
The writers did not write Nobuaki Kaneko's character Ryuichi Kuzuhara in any way, shape or form as a REAL bartender. There was nothing that led us to believe he even cared about the person sitting across from him. All I ever got from him is that he wanted to be a FAMOUS bartender. Anything else was unacceptable. Which is not a bad thing, everyone should have goals, but we saw what happened if and when things didn't go his way, he got angry and violent. Not something I want in my boss. He walso cold, uncaring and the small storyline of "he's doing it because of a promise to the woman he loved" fell flat for me because he never came off as even having human emotions. They showed a few seconds of him placing flowers on a busy street for his dead fiance and another few seconds of saying he owed Taizo Kurushima for giving him a chance, but this was not enough to make me the viewer think "ah, here's a loving man who is doing this for love". If he was doing it for love then he would be a bit warmer, a bit more human, especially in his relationships with his co-workers. Working for him would mean you are always being kept on pins and needles, always wondering "is he going to go off and fire me today." Not a good working environment. I never got "the loving boyfriend" vibe from Ryuichi. I actually felt he was a control freak who had to be the best and only the best (from his "I will crush you" statement to Ryu). I think I will always wonder what would have happened if he had lost the job of head bartender of Cardinal, would he have quit tendering bar, would he have become even more bitter about life. I get the whole lets make the bar famous but hey, if my bartender went off on the help in front of me the customer while I was there to enjoy myself I definitely would not be returning to this bar.
Taizo Kurushima, hey Grandpa did you ever think of actually training your granddaughter to take over the business...for being a genius business man that wasn't a smart move. And it was amazing to me that people were moving to take over the business even before the will was read. And the whole "the bar has to be up and running in 24hrs or we could lose the entire business" made me laugh. I thought give me a break. Very badly written, don't treat your viewer as if they have no education. (I know it's a small point but sometimes small points irk me)
Goro Kaso, wow what a great mentor, you forgot to rinse your spoon, get out, you're too full of yourself, you are not a real bartender! (Maybe it was the translation but Ryu DID rinse the spoon. the translation I had was "you must rinse the spoon in water after using the oil--yep, I definitely saw him do this) Even if Ryu started to become a bit of an egomanic a good mentor would have known when and how to pull him back and put him in his place and using it as a teaching tool at the same time. Goro just washed his hands of him, very piss poor in my book.
Miwa Kurushima, I'm sorry I don't have much to say about her, even though she was considered one of the top stars I really don't remember a lot of her scenes. It wasn't the actress herself because I loved her in "Love Shuffle" and liked when she guested on Arashi shows. No, it wasn't the actress but I think the writers didn't use her to her potential, there could have been a bit more with Ryu and her but they missed the opportunity. And as for the working from the bottom up, good in theory but I just don't see a big corporation doing something like that. Could cause resentment from fellow workers,especially other women.
Kaoru Sugiyama, Hajime Sakura, Kotobuki Sakura, Jyunji Mihashi and Yoko Itsuki, okay loved most of these characters, the writers can write very well for secondary characters. They weaved in and out of the story without really changing the story lines. These characters could be removed without changing the story at all, but if you did remove them it would take away some of the few moments I enjoyed. Sugiyama and his rivalry with Ryu, it was cute but not overdone. Hajime was a wonderful boss, professional yet open, you knew you could go to him with a problem. I liked that. The restaurant owners were great with bringing the comedy relief, just the right touch. Her boss...well, not much to say about her, she was there that's all you can say.
Ryo Nishikido...why? I'm wondering why? I can't really remember anything except him sitting there looking pretty.
And my BIG ISSUE...all we heard throught the entire series was "Glass of the Gods". "A drink that will save someone". Ah, excuse me but Ryuichi's drink saved her bank account, it didn't save her. Ryu did that, he proved by changing his drink at the last moment that his customer comes first, always.
Every episode we heard how "this is what made a bartender", well folks, Ryu met every criteria and then some. He cared, he was professional, he made his customers his friends, made then aware that they aren't alone and that is what makes a REAL bartender.
And on a side note if a customer throws a drink in the bartenders face just because he doesn't like the taste well folks he'd be the one shown the door, not the bartender. And flip the coin, if you fire your bartender for one mistake, without using it as a learning tool well, you're one hell of a lousy boss. Oh wait, that's Ryuichi and Goro Kase.
Well, that's about it. A small part of me hopes it was the translation but I don't think that's the case. This drama left me wanting, wanting quite a bit actually. Hopefully Aiba's next drama will have much better writing.
bec
But I'm truly disappointed in the writing. As anyone who has worked in a bar or even sat in a bar knows, being a bartender is not about the guy who can make the best drinks. That is only a part of it, what makes a good bartender is how they make a drink plus how they treat their customers, how they interact with them. Is it a good atmosphere? Are you going to make them want to come back again and again. You can walk into the most expensive bar in town and if the bartender doesn't make you feel welcome, if the atmosphere is not welcoming it's not going to be a good place to come and enjoy yourself.
Aiba's character Ryu Sasakura was a very good bartender, he not only cared about mixing drinks, he truly cared about the person sitting on the other side of the bar. He wanted them to enjoy their drink but he also wanted them to enjoy taking a seat in the bar he was working in, wanted them to have a good time, wanted the customer to come back again and again not just because of the drinks but because of the atmosphere, the environment, because they ENJOYED their time there.
The writers did not write Nobuaki Kaneko's character Ryuichi Kuzuhara in any way, shape or form as a REAL bartender. There was nothing that led us to believe he even cared about the person sitting across from him. All I ever got from him is that he wanted to be a FAMOUS bartender. Anything else was unacceptable. Which is not a bad thing, everyone should have goals, but we saw what happened if and when things didn't go his way, he got angry and violent. Not something I want in my boss. He walso cold, uncaring and the small storyline of "he's doing it because of a promise to the woman he loved" fell flat for me because he never came off as even having human emotions. They showed a few seconds of him placing flowers on a busy street for his dead fiance and another few seconds of saying he owed Taizo Kurushima for giving him a chance, but this was not enough to make me the viewer think "ah, here's a loving man who is doing this for love". If he was doing it for love then he would be a bit warmer, a bit more human, especially in his relationships with his co-workers. Working for him would mean you are always being kept on pins and needles, always wondering "is he going to go off and fire me today." Not a good working environment. I never got "the loving boyfriend" vibe from Ryuichi. I actually felt he was a control freak who had to be the best and only the best (from his "I will crush you" statement to Ryu). I think I will always wonder what would have happened if he had lost the job of head bartender of Cardinal, would he have quit tendering bar, would he have become even more bitter about life. I get the whole lets make the bar famous but hey, if my bartender went off on the help in front of me the customer while I was there to enjoy myself I definitely would not be returning to this bar.
Taizo Kurushima, hey Grandpa did you ever think of actually training your granddaughter to take over the business...for being a genius business man that wasn't a smart move. And it was amazing to me that people were moving to take over the business even before the will was read. And the whole "the bar has to be up and running in 24hrs or we could lose the entire business" made me laugh. I thought give me a break. Very badly written, don't treat your viewer as if they have no education. (I know it's a small point but sometimes small points irk me)
Goro Kaso, wow what a great mentor, you forgot to rinse your spoon, get out, you're too full of yourself, you are not a real bartender! (Maybe it was the translation but Ryu DID rinse the spoon. the translation I had was "you must rinse the spoon in water after using the oil--yep, I definitely saw him do this) Even if Ryu started to become a bit of an egomanic a good mentor would have known when and how to pull him back and put him in his place and using it as a teaching tool at the same time. Goro just washed his hands of him, very piss poor in my book.
Miwa Kurushima, I'm sorry I don't have much to say about her, even though she was considered one of the top stars I really don't remember a lot of her scenes. It wasn't the actress herself because I loved her in "Love Shuffle" and liked when she guested on Arashi shows. No, it wasn't the actress but I think the writers didn't use her to her potential, there could have been a bit more with Ryu and her but they missed the opportunity. And as for the working from the bottom up, good in theory but I just don't see a big corporation doing something like that. Could cause resentment from fellow workers,especially other women.
Kaoru Sugiyama, Hajime Sakura, Kotobuki Sakura, Jyunji Mihashi and Yoko Itsuki, okay loved most of these characters, the writers can write very well for secondary characters. They weaved in and out of the story without really changing the story lines. These characters could be removed without changing the story at all, but if you did remove them it would take away some of the few moments I enjoyed. Sugiyama and his rivalry with Ryu, it was cute but not overdone. Hajime was a wonderful boss, professional yet open, you knew you could go to him with a problem. I liked that. The restaurant owners were great with bringing the comedy relief, just the right touch. Her boss...well, not much to say about her, she was there that's all you can say.
Ryo Nishikido...why? I'm wondering why? I can't really remember anything except him sitting there looking pretty.
And my BIG ISSUE...all we heard throught the entire series was "Glass of the Gods". "A drink that will save someone". Ah, excuse me but Ryuichi's drink saved her bank account, it didn't save her. Ryu did that, he proved by changing his drink at the last moment that his customer comes first, always.
Every episode we heard how "this is what made a bartender", well folks, Ryu met every criteria and then some. He cared, he was professional, he made his customers his friends, made then aware that they aren't alone and that is what makes a REAL bartender.
And on a side note if a customer throws a drink in the bartenders face just because he doesn't like the taste well folks he'd be the one shown the door, not the bartender. And flip the coin, if you fire your bartender for one mistake, without using it as a learning tool well, you're one hell of a lousy boss. Oh wait, that's Ryuichi and Goro Kase.
Well, that's about it. A small part of me hopes it was the translation but I don't think that's the case. This drama left me wanting, wanting quite a bit actually. Hopefully Aiba's next drama will have much better writing.
bec