Based on Anthony Bourdain’s graphic novel, the upcoming animated series “Get Jiro” welcomes the audience into a world where people will literally kill themselves to get into good restaurants.
“The only thing they actually enjoy anymore is eating, so chefs in the future have the most power. They’re like influencers, warlords and drug dealers – all the good things together,” said Peter Girardi, EVP at Warner Bros. Animation at an Annecy Festival presentation.
Beloved chef, author and host, Bourdain passed away in 2018. He wrote “Get Jiro!” with Joel Rose, with art by Langdon Foss. “Tony was a huge fan of Japanese film and television, manga, anime and all the big directors, like Ozu and most importantly, Kurosawa,” added Girardi, presenting the show at Annecy.
In the series, overseen by Adult Swim, sushi chef Jiro will need to face two very different villains: Bob and Rose.
“Rose is a vegan, in case you can’t tell from her outfit, and Tony had some big thoughts about vegans,” laughed Girardi. In his book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,” Bourdain described vegans as a “Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit.”
“Early on, I said to Tony: ‘Why did you give Rose that crazy hat?’ He said: I don’t like vegans.’ This is really a big commentary on Anthony’s view of the culinary world, which got pretty dark at times.”
While the team played with various references, from Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” to “Mindgame,” Golgo 13, “Scavengers Reign,” Moebius, Geof Darrow and classic Westerns, they decided to go into a more grounded direction.
“We love the graphic novel, but we wanted to change some of the forms [and opt for] more realistic proportions. The kinds of stories we’re telling are very emotional, it’s a real character arc and there’s real consequences to the violence,” explained Girardi.
They also ended up with a “more grizzled and world-wearier” Jiro, said director Rick Morales, with Girardi adding: “Tony was still around for this and agreed. Jiro’s not Batman. He’s just this in-shape sushi chef. We all know one of those.”
Introducing new characters and expanding the universe where “cuisines are like cartels” was intriguing: “They had to demolish LA to rebuild it into this food ring mecca thing,” said art director Jonathan Hoekstra. But it’s not a “Blade Runner” future, assured Girardi.
“At that point, Tony was no longer alive, so we went to Joel. It’s dystopian, but not a lot, although the haves and the have-nots are much more separated. There’s an inner ring where all the fancy restaurants are, and people will murder each other to get a reservation. Then there’s a middle ring, with restaurants like Olive Garden – my grandmother would kick me in the shins if she heard me say that name – and then on the outer ring, it’s a wasteland. That’s where Jiro’s at.”
Still, getting the food right was their biggest goal.
“We worked on developing food styles as hard as we did on character designs,” admitted Morales. “I’ve never worked on a show that incorporated cooking in any real way, but my wife and I are watching a lot of Food Network. It felt interesting to combine this samurai chef with real cooking elements.”
Girardi observed: “Tony said that all the stuff in the kitchen and the way the food is prepared had to be right. It had to be the right kind of spoon, the right pot. If we were going to prepare sushi in the show, people should be able to use that as a recipe. It was a skill we had to learn.”
They also worked with culinary consultants, including Matt Goulding, who collaborated with Bourdain on his shows.
“We would have something in the script about food preparation and he would do a review, checking if our technique was proper. He would tell us how to twirl noodles before you put them on a plate or how a real sushi chef wouldn’t have blood on his cutting board. This is the Anthony Bourdain show. The food had to be accurate,” said Morales.
While Hoekstra snuck into actual kitchens to take photos, real-life chefs will be featured as well. That includes Eric Ripert, David Chang and José Andrés cast as “villains, friends or people getting murdered,” explained Girardi.
“We are doing it to honor Tony’s memory, too,” he added, before treating the audience to the very first footage and a new catchphrase that might rival “I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!” from “Sideways.” Turns out, there’s only one thing chef Jiro has absolutely no tolerance for: “No soy sauce!”
Read the full article here
