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This Review is Spoiler-Free
Anthony Bourdain was an American chef, most well-known for his memoir/insider knowledge of the food business book, Kitchen Confidential, and his Travel Channel original series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. A prolific man who was prominently vocal on food, restaurants, and “celebrity” chefs. Despite his harsh attitude and divisive viewpoints, he was a well-traveled and informed man that not only could dish out shit but could deliver a tasty meal. Sadly, in 2018 he took his own life at the age of 61. A shock that came out of nowhere when it happened and was truly a loss to the culinary world. No one could fill the role Anthony Bourdain made nor will there ever be another like him. Despite his departure from this world happening over eight years ago, this year seems to be celebrating the man’s legacy. First, with the A24 movie Tony a sort of biopic of young Bourdain’s life working in Provincetown over the summer, that came out a month ago and got rave reviews. Then we have Get Jiro! the upcoming Adult Swim show based around a one-off Vertigo/DC comic of the same name written by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose with illustration for the comic handled by Langdon Foss. With the comic’s original release in 2012, an adaptation over fourteen years after its initial release, is this a dish worth serving or is it making the chopping block?
Get Jiro! follows Jiro, a Japanese man who sets up a sushi shop in the outer ring of a futuristic Los Angeles where food has become the luxury that people desire and chefs rule with an iron fist. In the inner ring two heavy weights control that city. Bob, the acclaimed chef and owner of The Summit and Rose, owner of The Farm. Both Bob and Rose want control and will do anything to take the other out. After killing one of Bob’s associates in the first episode, Jiro gets involved in a food war that gets much messier and more deadly than he could imagine.
Get Jiro! As a series is very Anthony Bourdain coded. What I mean by that is that anyone who has read Kitchen Confidential or watched his shows knows what his strong opinions are. Such as Bob despising brunch, a thing Tony Bourdain had a particular hatred for along with disliking vegans, and as mentioned earlier his disdain for “celebrity” chefs. These are prominent throughout Get Jiro! but don’t get it twisted. The show isn’t about framing these as one-dimensional villains or even pushing his viewpoints onto the viewer. Instead, the main appeal of Get Jiro! is the food. Mainly that good food is propped up by the community who goes out to buy it. We as human beings may differ on movies, politics, and religion yet despite our cultural differences we as a species can get behind a good meal. The best food is never made by chefs that put their face on any garbage that they know will make them a quick buck. It is made from a love and passion of understanding food. Get Jiro! surprisingly has a lot of emotional moments in it that made me appreciate the craft and art of not only food but storytelling in general. It took me on a wild ride I was not expecting yet I was happy to experience it. Bob and Rose are both expertly written, they are sociopathic and unsympathetic yet seeing each other try to outdo the other is satisfying to watch. The way both Bob and Rose’s stories conclude, end up feeling rather anticlimactic unfortunately. Yet getting to that end was satisfying at the same time. Jiro as a character is well done, if a bit basic. He does not talk a lot in the beginning but as the show unravels and more is revealed on him. He ends up being a total badass by the end, one that has earned empathy. I do wish they built his story up more within the show as more of his backstory does not come until the last half of the series. Yet, despite that Jiro is still likeable as a protagonist as you want to see him succeed in his goals. The side characters in the show are fine, but I do wish they got more screen time to develop. I did like Health Inspector Cynder, who was not in the comic but written for the purpose of this series. Her story is tragic but despite how much of a hard ass she could be her heart is in the right place. If there’s something I wished was handled better, I wanted to see more of the community of the outer ring, and we don’t really see it that much. They barely develop any screen time for them, they are kicked around by Bob and Rose for sure, but we don’t see their stories or even their businesses. Only a few were directly harmed by them, and it mostly came down to mafia like shake downs and threats. Yet, despite those shortcomings the message that Jiro has is well told and expertly crafted.
The art direction is solid overall taking the rough as hell art of the comic and smoothing out designs and layout being more legible in the show. However, I did find that character animations at times could be stiff and it led to some what should have been impactful moments feeling less so because of it. It reminded me of the animation in Archer where it is very noticeable to see the tweening. That doesn’t take away from the great action set pieces of the show which is likely where the focus mostly went into. Fights have a good flow and the animation matches it. As a fair warning, viewer discretion is advised, Get Jiro! is a violent show. I am no stranger to ultra-violent content. I have seen movies like Old Boy and Reservoir Dogs along with watching some very bloody and violent anime. I can stomach violence pretty well but there were a few times that I winced watching the series. Please keep that in mind if you plan to check it out. It is not for the faint of heart!
Despite all those complaints Get Jiro! is a good show and well worth your time. Even if you aren’t a fan of Anthony Bourdain this series stands on its own with great characters and good action set pieces. If you are a fan of Bourdain this oozes his charm and it can be felt throughout. This is a show that was eloquently cut and well-presented and delivered a well-prepared meal.
8/10
