I had seen trailers of Get Jiro, i think on youtube and i just knew this was the next big animation i was going to watch, so i was just waiting for it to air and it did, i didnt even know that it had started airing until i was bored on what to watch and i remembered watching this trailer and so i searched it up and saw that they had already released about 4 episodes. So i got to watching and i binge watched the four episodes at a go and i dare say it was completely worth it.
The world in Get Jiro is uniquely different the city Los Angeles has effectively become a society divided by food, with powerful chefs controlling territories and restaurants operating like criminal organisations. The city is divided into different rings, with the wealthy and influential occupying the Inner Ring while those with fewer resources struggle in the Outer Ring.
It is an entertaining concept and unique because i had never seen something like that before, it is such an original concept. The series takes the obsession with food and pushes everything to an extreme. It is not difficult to recognise the satire. At the centre of this madness is Jiro. He is a quiet and rather intimidating sushi chef who takes his craft very seriously but behind everything you know he has a past he is trying to hide.
That opening scene tells you almost everything you need to know about the kind of show you are watching. It is violent completely unapologetic about its violent nature and that is what got me hooked from the very first episode. I particularly like that Jiro is not presented as a conventional hero, at least so far so good.
Episodes 1 and 2
The first episode introduces us to the world without spending too much time explaining everything. We meet Jiro, discover the importance of food in this society and are introduced to the two major figures controlling the culinary scene, they are Bob and Rose. Bob is greedy and manipulative, while Rose's commitment to her ideology does not prevent her from participating in violence and political manoeuvring. Jiro becomes an important figure in their conflict because both chefs recognise his abilities and want him on their side. However, he has his own agenda.
The second episode takes the madness outside the restaurant and turns it into an action sequence. Jiro is tasked with delivering a mysterious food substance known as Mother to a major food festival. Along the way, he and Freddie encounter a collection of dangerous food truck bounty hunters who have been hired to stop them.
I enjoyed this development because it makes Jiro not just simply being dragged into a conflict between two powerful people. He is actively manipulating events to serve his own interests as we have earlier established.
Episode 3
If the first two episodes establish the world, the 3rd episode begins to reveal how far Jiro is willing to go to pursue his objectives. Jiro accepts Bob's offer to become the centrepiece of a new food hall in the Middle Ring. Unfortunately, an assassination attempt by a pastry chef hired by Rose disrupts the event and threatens Bob's plans. Jiro then proposes preparing a special meal featuring the ortolan, a controversial and endangered bird associated with an extravagant French culinary tradition.
The episode also reveals that their is also the growing investigation into Jiro's activities. The health inspector is becoming increasingly suspicious of him, especially as the bodies and suspicious deaths begin to accumulate. The episode ends with a particularly disturbing revelation. After the guests at Bob's event are found beheaded, it becomes clear that Jiro himself orchestrated the killings and framed Rose.
Episode 4
For me this is one of the most interesting episodes so far because it gives the health inspector a much needed personal history. One thing about me is that i love flashbacks and back histories. Until this point, she has largely been presented as the investigator pursuing Jiro. We now discover that her family was murdered by raiders and their secret barbecue sauce was stolen and turned into a commercial product.
Meanwhile, Bob and Rose's rivalry escalates into open warfare. Their conflict becomes so destructive that even the powerful people benefiting from the city's existing arrangement begin to worry about the consequences. Eventually, the two rivals realise that Jiro has been manipulating them and decide to work together against him.
Its the action sequence that does it for me to be honest . I should probably warn anyone considering watching this that it is not a family friendly cooking animation. People are decapitated and dismembered and killed in increasingly creative ways. The show seems to take pleasure in finding new culinary methods of destruction and after four episodes i am completely enthralled with this show.
My only reservation is that the story sometimes moves so quickly that certain developments could benefit from more time. Some of the supporting characters and their motivations deserve a little more exploration. For me this is a top show and i hope we get more seasons after the ending of the first season
My rating for the first four episodes: 8/10.