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If you are currently watching a long series that occassionally takes 2 week breaks (think Bleach and GrayMan), and you want to fill that spare time with some short, enjoyable anime, then you are obliged to see Mermaid Forest.

STORY:

Mermaid Forest to me is a story of endurance, love and ultimately a moral theme follows through it. The writer of this anime is famous for many love animes, so it is no surprise this anime would eventually end up being one too. The whole story is like reading a book, with different chapters. Usually each episode represents a chapter. The theme of the show is ... consistent through each episode, and I believe that is a good strength of the anime.
I also enjoyed the fact that this anime employed the use of filler episodes to flesh out the main character. I did not think that could be done with 13 episodes, but it was well done - :)

What then could be wrong with mermaid forest's story to earn a seven? Here is where the story fails: It does not connect with the audience in the way most animes do, but being that it is a fantasy story, we may overlook this fault.
Another problem with the plot is that the series of events occur in such cliche formats that they tend to become annoyingly predictable. ALthough this does not detract the enjoyability, it does not strengthen the overall anime either.
Finally, my last problem was that the story, in my opinion, was not, in the large view conclusive. I found this to be really disappointing as the final episode was so good!!!

ART

The art of this anime is unique because it deceives you. It gives you the feeling you are watching an old school anime, while it has all the feel of a modern art-anime. This series was made in 2003, but the drawing is reminiscent of such anime as in 1987-1993. I do not think this detracts from the story, but actually makes you feel like you are watching a show from the past. As for this, I believe the art of the anime is consistent with the theme of immortality, which recognizes the timelessness of the art form used. I liked it, and give it a 9 for art.

SOUND

The sound track for this anime was actually good, once you get used to it. I liked it. Overall, the sound for the anime is commonplace, and has nothing special going for it.

CHARACTER

Character development is actually biased here. Whereas there are two main characters in this anime, the focus for the entire story is the man. As unfair as this sounds, it is not so bad. Eventually, you get to realize that one of the two main characters is simply playing a supporting role - and that is all you will ever get in terms of depth from this character. Now, this is not really a problem as this anime is, at best, a filler. I guess with more episodes, there would have been much more work put in.
The main character is well developed, and this is done by using fillers to build the individual. And you can get to see his overall frustration with his long life, and his search for humanity. It is painful to see his search go on for so long, but it is helpful to understand what he has been through.

CONCLUSION (with a little spoiler)

I did enjoy the anime. i did not come to it expecting much, therefore i did not leave disappointed. I believe many people would like the anime once they begin to watch it, but I know some people will utterly dislike this piece of work = and i think that is ok. You either like or hate, but i don't think you can love it.
The one thing i can say for those who watch this anime is that the last episodes are really good. I actually cringed at one scene. I hate to name drop, but the last episode would draw to mind the great anime "MONSTER." For that reason, it is worth watching.
My biggest problem was the scene that made me cringe was the scene that also disappointed me! I just thought that the anime should end on a note of the man finally finding rest from his journey. This did not happen, and that alone killed this series for me. I like conclusions whether happy or sad, just end the thing!

OVERALL

Sorry for my long review, but if you wish to kill time between episodes of a long series that just took a short break (think bleach, or grayman), then this might just do it.

At first glance, Bartender appears mundane. It appears to be one of those self indulgent works that could easily turn you off. I mean, are we really going to spend 25 minutes talking about a bartender, and drinking? But you are wrong! This is one anime that is really interesting. We have here a work from someone who loves drinks and presents it to you in a very creative way.

The stories to me are real, and relatable. Each episode appeals to the mind and the emotion. There is no cheezy moment that you see in most slice of life anime. The writer of this puts ... effort into making each episode captivating. Something worth noting is that Bartender is slow paced, but not drawn out. I felt like the timing, conversations and narrations were excellently synchronized. One thing I really enjoyed in the story were the narrations - it was so well placed.

The art is crisp. I also enjoyed the visuals in this. In some instances you feel the life of a bar...thanks to the lighting. The shots of the city at night were lovely. Another thing in the art was how the character flashbacks showing the younger years were so realistic, and when the older character is shown it feels like a real aging process had taken place. The art is lovely in this.

There is nothing extraordinary about the sound. It is well done, and is of the expected quality. One thing I should point out is how nice the ending soundtrack is, I like it a lot. Usually I skip listening to a soundtrack after hearing it once, but in Bartender's case, I wont mind having a copy of that song!

The characters are well rounded. The bartender at first seems one sided in the stories, more like a prop. But as the series continue, you see how human he is. I love it. There are various narrators in this story, but I particularly enjoyed the (few) scenes when the "NeoBartenders" give history or insight into some topics.

I loved this series, and would recommend it for anyone. It is well paced, and good to enjoy especially on a weekend, or at night after work. Lovely, Lovely Lovely. Thanks for reading this review.