Honestly I can't believe we're still getting BL series this bad in 2026. This mini series runs about 7 to 8 episodes with a total runtime of just about an hour and it is so boring that I genuinely struggle to find the words. The actors are awkward, the story is as basic as it gets and there is almost nothing about this show worth saving. The makers do try to stir up some drama here and there but even that falls completely flat. Ho Won is a 23 year old university student who spots a man sitting alone at a gay bar and gets attracted to him. The man is Min U, a 33 year old who brushes Ho Won off immediately saying he's too young. Ho Won lies about his age and since he's made a bet with the bartender that he'll get this man home before the night is over, he switches tactics and eventually the two end up at Min U's place and sleep together. Despite being complete opposites in every way there's some kind of pull between them and they go on a couple of dates. But t...
The plot is simple. Hibiki works as a bartender and is a secretly obsessed fundashi (boys who enjoy romantic or sexual relationship between two men), who likes to draw BL, watch anime etc. But at work he pretends to be your regular run-of-the mill guy. While working, he loves to day dream about real life people in front of him in various BL scenarios. When the first two customers arrive, he has funny day dreams about them. Hibiki’s overactive imagination often misconstrues their innocuous interactions as romantic connections. He gets overexcited about his fantasies, often lost in his own world. This continues when his older boss' male friend comes to meet him. When a young bartender joins at work, he even dreams of shipping them with two separate customers, till he feels maybe those two are better with each other.
The humor in this funny outlandish comedy comes mostly from the lead man's hysterical reactions to his own imaginations. He has this relentless enthusiasm and almost every scene is silly and energetic. The jokes may not be the best but the lead's reactions and excitement cover up for everything. He captures the suaveness of a bartender and combines it with the giddiness of a fudanshi. The actor is just too good. The other actors playing his colleague are decent in their. part but the focus is so much on Hibiki and rightly so, that you barely have even time to notice anyone else. Don't expect too much of actual romance happening here, since all the scenarios actually happen in Hibiki's imagination. Despite no plot development, character growth, or meaningful progress; the show still worked as a collective of gag humour, mainly because of the amazing acting by the lead. An interesting thing was also that all his BL scenarios were normally based on the drinks that he would make and the story behind that would also add to the humor.
Those who love silly comedies may respond well to the offbeat humour in Fudanshi Bartender. It parodies BL tropes cheekily with outrageous scenarios, wacky characters, and over-the-top fantasies. I quiet enjoyed it for what it is and if you wanna have a good laugh and watch something silly, I would definitely recommend this. (6.5/10)
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PS : do you think the owner can actually see something with his hair???
And I agree. I am glad it was only 2 episodes. Any longer would have diluted the silliness and fun of the show.