"Madoromi Bartender" drama from 2019: Episode three recap

 

 Air Dates: July 14th until September 29, 2019 on BS Japan, TV-Tokyo and TV-Osaka for a total of twelve episodes, is also called Sleepy Bartender

Subs were done by Gabriel F. at DA, shows are ~22 minutes in length

Theme song/intro for the drama

Main Cast: The three woman are housemates and all work as barmaids. None seem to have a last name and it doesn't really matter.

Arisa Yagi as Hiyoko.... Works at a bar named Stream though we haven't seen her in action tending bar there. Hiyoko is originally from Nagoya and like her housemate Kiho we haven't seen enough of her to really know who she is.

Hyunri as Kiho.... Barmaid at the exclusive Elysion Tokyo Hotel

Mai Kiryuu as Yuki.... Owner of a 'pop up bar' named Satellite which she moves on a frequent basis and usually sets up shop in a park. Yuki's only been so-so successful with this unique bar and the main reason could be is because she moves the location so often. Prior to her own bar had worked as a barmaid at the same hotel as Kiho.

 Guest stars for this episode

Takayuki Kinoshita as Monk Yasunori.... A monk who bailed out Yuki when she was having some difficulties with a trio of customers who may have been the Yakuza. Yasunori may be a monk but has a fondness for the spirits and allowed Yuki to set up her stall near his temple.

 

 Decent episode though I thought the first two shows were much more interesting. Once again Yuki was the spotlight in this episode but think Hiyoko will be the focus in the next show. She's Yuki's housemate who is right above wearing the blindfold! Hiyoko is a bit on the thin side but still thought she needed to go on a diet to impress the customers more at the bar she works at. Hiyoko didn't make much sense with her reasons for dieting according to Yuki and the third housemate Kiho who is above on the right. She's older than the other two and is kind of the 'house manager' for where they live. Kiho reminded Hiyoko a few times she was behind on her rent so thought that may have been a part of the story, that's of Hiyoko having financial problems but was all squared with the rent by the show's end.

 Slightly more screen time for Hiyoko and Kiho in this show but neither has played an important role so far in this series. This episode began off with Yuki and Kiho sitting at their fave local place which was a Chinese restaurant. Yuki was relating the events of that day that took place at her travelling bar stall. There was a trio of customers who drank quite a bit and refused to pay their tab, to Yuki they may have been the Yakuza and she was no match against them. However a Monk passing by did stand up to them as he jumped in to save the day for Yuki. This monk's name was Yasunori and he shamed the trio of thugs to settle their bill which they did and Yuki formed a quick friendship with this monk.

 Least from what I know there's no such thing as these pop up bars in America and are they common and legal in Japan? In an odd twist this monk Yasunori invited Yuki to set up her bar outside of his temple's grounds and she did attract a few customers when they left. One other question I have is about the stall and how does Yuki move it, it's on wheels but is way to heavy for one person to haul. That first evening outside the temple Yasunori came out for a refreshment but wanted something with no alcohol for though he's a monk has had a drinking problem in the past. After one sip of his drink Yasunori thought that Yuki was a bit mischievous as she had laced his drink with gin, not that he was complaining as Yasunori loves gin and tonics.

 No trick from Yuki as it was a straight glass of tonic water but she added in juniper berries which has the same scent as gin. The pair began talking and Yasunori confessed that his wife was pregnant, not just that but was actually having the baby as they were talking! His wife had gone to her parents house a few days before and they would be with her during the delivery, Yasunori admitted he was a bit too timid to be there. Though Yuki didn't say all that much about Yasunori not being there seemed talking with her made him realize his mistake and soon rushed off to be with his wife, the delivery was a complete success as you can see below.

 The following day the monk paid Yuki a visit to thank her for her help and this time Yasunori wanted a real drink. But he wanted the drink to look like a non-alcoholic one in case any of his parish wandered by so they wouldn't think Yasunori was getting drunk during the day. A Red Snapper is what Yuki created for the monk which contains gin and amaretto which is mixed with tomato juice so it definitely didn't look like a regular drink, Yuki also added her special ingredient of soy sauce. Yasunori was overly impressed with the drink and more so with Yuki's history of alcohol. The Red Snapper was first created in America during the 1920's which was the Prohibition period and the color of the drink fooled the authorities. Through three episodes Yuki has proven what a whiz she is at mixing drinks and also the history behind them, but will that be enough for her bar stall to be successful?

 That ends this recap and remember an episode is only a little over 22 minutes in length. There's twelve shows in this series and most dramas with ten or more episodes always have a show that's only so-so. But to date it's been an enjoyable series and think for the first time the next episode will have someone besides Yuki as the main story or it at least looked that way in the mini trailer for the fourth show. Will be back with another trio of recaps once the next three episodes have been subbed.