Edenhall’s owner asks Sasakura to consider a promotion for his career. What will convince him?
Episode 10 — “A Thorn in the Heart”
Hmm. Bartender Glass of God’s Tasting Notes.
Promotions. Should you stay, or should you go? Bartender Glass of God relied on its characters’ circumstances to create a binary choice in the audience’s mind. We assume Hayase refused a promotion because it would take him away from his new love, Dr. Kimishima. The other assumption is that Sasakura will take his job offer at Hotel Cardinal. Why? Because Edenhall’s owner thinks it’s best for him. And the season finale is close, so he should decide soon. Third, the internal narrative structure of this week’s episode mandates an opposite decision to balance its parallel stories. But I see a bait-and-switch happening.
It wouldn’t be the first time Bartender Glass of God fooled us and tugged our heartstrings. And it did it with these same characters! At the end of the cigar-smoking episode, we thought Hayase and Kimishima had started a relationship before she moved to a rural area for a few years. When this episode began, I thought we had seen a new character, a widower remembering his late wife. But it was the trading manager who quit smoking! The writers recycled a pair of characters to add a love angle to muddy up a straightforward job promotion dilemma plot. That revelation annoyed me and shunted me out of the story.
Muddled Flavor or Incomplete Cocktail?
So, Bartender Glass of God would not surprise me if it went in another direction for Sasakura’s bartending career path. I’m glad we finally met “Maki-kun,” Edenhall’s owner, and how he took to heart Grandpa Kurushima’s management philosophy of raising employees as their children. But this anime must mix in a couple more twists before the satisfying conclusion of Sasakura’s story. The Glass of God should run his own bar. The twist is that it will be different from the counter bar at the Hotel Cardinal. The anime already solved the mystery of Sasakura using an excuse of a fear of heights to refuse a job.
However, it is still necessary to resolve the issue of the empty lot that he keeps visiting. Will that be the site of his new bar? Or will he take over Edenhall? Which is the bait, and which is the switch? Bartender Glass of God has two episodes left to subvert our expectations.
A1 Cocktail Gins Up a Love Boat Drama for Bartender Glass of God
Sasakura’s origin story about the A1 gin-based cocktail (gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and grenadine) could be true. The only thing I could confirm was that “Albert” created it. Did it use the telephone book strategy to entice customers to choose it from a drinks menu? That’s not how A1 Steak Sauce got its name, though. Strangely, Sasakura’s version has no orange color from the orange liqueur and grenadine syrup the recipe calls for. How did Sasakura change things to suit the widower Hayase’s taste? Bartender Glass of God continues its slide into skipping over the brand-name ingredients to focus on the characters’ schmaltzy sob stories. Hayase only drinks the A1 cocktail when he thinks of his late wife and returns to his usual Bamboo the rest of the time.
Boilermaker Bubbles Up a Shot of Confidence
The simple beer cocktail of a whiskey shot dropped into a pint of beer has an apocryphal origin story from the 1800s. Factory workers, some who might have worked next to the heat sources for steam engines, started calling the fortified brew a “Boilermaker.” Kitakata had a bubblier explanation involving “confidence.” You could mix any spirit shot with different beers. But bourbons and ryes taste better with lagers, while hoppy IPAs require spicier, smokier whiskeys. Bartender Glass of God explained how a Boilermaker gave Hayase the confidence to yank a thorn from his heart.
Tom & Jerry, Hot Dark Rum, and Bartender Glass of God’s Origin Story
The Tom & Jerry is a traditional holiday cocktail, like eggnog, but served hot. It even has its own batter recipe, which makes the thick mixed drink even thicker. Sasakura’s version of the drink’s origins is the same as I’ve read. The hot mixed drink came before the classic cat and mouse cartoon, which referenced its title from the 1800s cocktail. But the cocktail Sasakura presented to Miwa looked different, as a golden liquid instead of a hot cocoa color. It resembled a Hot Toddy instead of the egg batter cocktail. Both eggnog and the Tom & Jerry rely on how well dark rum pairs with egg batter. Sasakura used a bottle of Bacardi Black to make a hot drink to warm Miwa up.
He made the drink to assuage Miwa’s concerns about his guilty conscience about a suicidal customer. He should have tasted it himself because her questions cracked open an unhealed wound in his heart. Sasakura still has a thorn stuck there. Next time, will we see a brash younger Sasakura working at Bar Kaze with Kase and Kitakata?
Bartender Glass of God (Bartender: Kami no Glass) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles. Bartender (2006) also streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and English subtitles.
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Love stories and emotional drama have pushed out the nerdy spirits and cocktail lore. Is that a good thing this late in the season? Or should we have learned more about Sasakura before he completes the Glass of God? Let us know in the comments below.
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