Ryuu Sasakura is a genius bartender who is famous for his incredible cocktails. He trained in Japan, practiced overseas, and has recently returned home for unknown reasons to work in a small bar called Edenhall.
Seeking his Glass of God, individuals from all walks of life visit his bar to drink his cocktails, bend his ear, and, most of all, get help for their problems.
Alcohol. It can solve every problem, and start a small handful of them. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Bartender, head on down below.
Anime Like Bartender
For Fans of Philosophical Episodic Stories
Death Parade
After death, there is no heaven or hell, but there is a bar that decides whether you reincarnate or disappear into oblivion. Pairs of the recently deceased must play a random game which decides their fate.
Similarities Between Bartender and Death Parade
- Both series are set in a bar and follow bartenders
- Episodic plots featuring new patrons to the bar every visit
- Bartenders guide thought-provoking, philosophical conversations
- Simple premise carried by great, non-flashy characters and compelling tales
- A smaller, but present focus on the main character’s actual own story
Differences Between Bartender and Death Parade
- Death Parade isn’t about the cocktails, it is about the sins and virtues of the patrons
- Bartender is often about helping people work things out through a good drink, Death Parade is about putting people under duress with simple games to decide if they go to Heaven or Hell
Mushishi
In this world, there exist Mushi, spirits that often exist with no purpose. However, these Mushi can affect the physical world in countless forms from diseases to more pleasant phenomenon.
Why do these Mushi exist?
That is the question that Ginko the Mushi-shi, a researcher on the phenomenon, asks himself as he travels the land investigating Mushi-related incidents.
Similarities Between Bartender and Mushishi
- Episodic, often melancholy stories
- Singular, fairly quiet main character who helps others with their problems
- Lengthy, philosophical ponderings
Differences Between Bartender and Mushishi
- Bartender takes place in a bar, Mushishi follows a man wandering around to study small, supernatural entities
- Mushishi is a fantasy-set anime compared to the real world, modern-set Bartender
- Mushishi, due to the nature of the plot, features more diverse situations and stories. Bartender is about listening to realistic problems, then making the right cocktail for the job
Kino’s Journey
Accompanied by her talking motorcycle, Hermes, Kino travels through her mysterious world, spending only three days and two nights in each town. The idea is that three days is enough to learn almost everything about a place. This is the story of her journey.
Similarities Between Bartender and Kino’s Journey
- Singular, quiet main character that often helps others
- Episodic adventures that cover diverse stories
- Philosophical ponderings
Differences Between Bartender and Kino’s Journey
- Bartender takes place in a bar, Kino’s Journey follows a girl on a journey to different places
- Bartender tells more personal stories of the clientele while Kino’s Journey often tells more location-based tales
The Gene of AI
In a near-future society, humanity has integrated with intelligent technology so deeply that robots are sometimes indiscernible from people and humans can upgrade themselves into more durable humanoid forms.
Running a small clinic, Dr. Hikaru Sudo, using the alias Moggadeet, performs illegal medical procedures and provides care to those who suffer ailments from illegal procedures. As he handles his various cases, he also pursues his own investigation into those responsible for copying his humanoid mother’s mind and distributing it for illegal activities in the criminal underworld.
Similarities Between Bartender and The Gene of AI
- Episodic short stories
- Smaller, but present main character story even if that main character is often a framing device for the episodic stories
- Main character that uses their profession to help other people with their problems
- Philosophical ponderings
- Both main characters operate in small, almost secret businesses
Differences Between Bartender and The Gene of AI
- The Gene of AI is very much a sci-fi future-set story and tells philosophically ponderous sci-fi stories about technology whereas Bartender tells more personal, realistic human stories
- The Gene of AI establishes more of a main character plot than Bartender, even if it follows it very minimally afterwards
- The Gene of AI has more dramatic and/or melancholy moments
- The Gene of AI follows a illegal doctor for augmented humans rather than a legal bartender like Bartender
For Fans of Stories Over Food or Drink
Yotsuiro Biyori
Kyousui Tougoku has inherited a Japanese-style cafe called Rokuhoudou from his grandfather. The staff of the cafe does their very best to ensure service that will turn one-time customers into long-time patrons. However, pleasant days turn into chaotic ones when the cafe turns into an overnight sensation.
Similarities Between Bartender and Yotsuiro Biyori
- What Bartender offers with cocktails, Yotsuiro Biyori features with cafe drinks
- Anime about serving customers and listening to their problems
- Iyashikei anime with minimal overall plot
Differences Between Bartender and Yotsuiro Biyori
- Yotsuiro Biyori features a larger, more handsome cast
- The customer problems in Yotsuiro Biyori aren’t especially dramatic
Restaurant to Another World
The nondescript Youshoku no Nekoya is a cafe that has been in business for 50 years. However, while it serves salarymen and other workers most of the week. On Saturdays, it closes down to the public in order to serve special guests, mythical creatures that come from another world looking for comforting cuisine.
Similarities Between Bartender and Restaurant to Another World
- Episodic storytelling where each episode is a new customer with a new tale
- Customer problems can be solved by a specific dish or cocktail
- The main characters are more framing devices for the episodic stories
- Both series go into educational depth about their specific subject matter
Differences Between Bartender and Restaurant to Another World
- Restaurant to Another World is an isekai-adjacent story about fantasy creatures coming to a human restaurant to enjoy human food whereas Bartender is a non-fantasy story set in a modern day bar
- Restaurant to Another World is about food whereas Bartender is about cocktails
- Restaurant to Another World features two cute serving girls as main characters rather than one quietly charming guy
Snack Basue
Located five stations away from the booming nightlife district in Sapporo, one can find a small bar called Snack Bus.
Run by an older mama Basue and a younger, feistier mama Akemi, the pair deal with the slow trickle of eccentric regulars that come for conversation, drinks of varying strength, and poorly cooked, if available, food.
Similarities Between Bartender and Snack Basue
- Both series take place in a small, out of the way bar
- Main characters are bartenders
- Conversations happen over cocktails
Differences Between Bartender and Snack Basue
- Snack Basue is very much a comedy anime, not a drama/iyashikei like Bartender
- Snack Basue features a cast of re-occurring patrons who all have silly, comical conversations while getting drunk
- The bartenders are less nice to their patrons in Snack Basue
Ristorante Paradiso
Nicoletta is on her first trip to Rome with a mission – to ruin her mother’s life after she walked out on her 15 years ago. She tracks her mother down to a restaurant, but as soon as she enters, everything changes.
She becomes enamored by the place, and one waiter in particular. Suddenly, her urge for vengeance fades and her desire to cook starts to grow.
Similarities Between Bartender and Ristorante Paradiso
- Mature stories in the service industry
- Thoughtful pondering on food and/or drink in relation to the people enjoying them
- Older main characters
Differences Between Bartender and Ristorante Paradiso
- Ristorante Paradiso has an overarching romance plot
- Instead of helping a variety of customers with their problems, Ristorante Paradiso is more about a restaurant helping a main character overcome her problem
- Ristorante Paradiso takes place in a restaurant in Italy unlike Bartender that takes place in a bar in Japan
For Fans of Gushing Over Alcohol
Love is Like a Cocktail
Everyday when office lady Chisato comes home, her loving husband and bartender Sora makes her a good meal and a cocktail. While she loves these tasty concoctions, she loves her husband’s kind heart more.
Similarities Between Bartender and Love is Like a Cocktail
- Both series follow bartenders and liquor enjoyers
- There is always a right cocktail for the job
- Iyashikei elements
Differences Between Bartender and Love is Like a Cocktail
- Love is Like a Cocktail is about a husband making cocktails for his office lady wife, so it high cuteness and low drama unlike Bartender that is drama and workplace slice of life
- Bartender is more iyashikei in that the customers tell the bartender their problems and his cocktails help them come to a resolution while Love is Like a Cocktail is more cute slice of life iyashikei
- Love is Like a Cocktail lacks much of the depth of Bartender. What you see in episode one is what you get every episode
Takunomi
After a career change, Michiru Amatsuki moved to Tokyo and moved into a shared house with several other women. Every night after work, the group settles in and enjoys some drinks.
Similarities Between Bartender and Takunomi
- Both are anime series that appreciate alcohol
- Both series are pretty educational on alcohol
- Cast of alcohol enjoyers
Differences Between Bartender and Takunomi
- Takunomi is more about drunk adult women that like to drink
- Takunomi educates on alcohol, but doesn’t do much else
- Takunomi is more about alcohol types and brands rather than the creation of cocktails
Do you have more anime recommendations like Bartender? Let fans know in the comments section below.
