As much as I love Adult Swim’s commitment to weird, absurdist comedy, I’m equally, if not even more interested in their recent efforts towards more dramatic, story-driven non-comedy series that nonetheless share their “only on Adult Swim” approach to making shows. Primal and Common Side Effects are two of their best original series to date, and if their latest series is any indication, they have no sign of slowing down. Stepping up to the plate (pun intended) is Get Jiro, based on a DC graphic novel co-written by the late Anthony Bourdain, and the source material turns out to be the perfect fit for the network. Mixing brutal action and engaging storytelling with a hook ripe for offbeat dark comedy and piercing satire, the first few episodes of Get Jiro will make you hungry and leave you satisfied.

Los Angeles, the future. The economy has collapsed, and the government is in crisis. In this new world, food is all anyone wants, not because it’s scarce, but because it’s the only thing that can’t be replicated virtually. As a result, the country is ruled by chefs, and if you want to cook food in LA, you’re either with Bob or with Rose. Bob runs The Summit, the high-priced, high-class restaurant where people wait years for a reservation. Rose, on the other hand, prefers sustainable, organic, locally-sourced vegan cuisine at her restaurant, The Farm, and abhors killing…except humans. Both Bob and Rose are ruthless, and have the city’s restaurants under their thumbs, especially in the impoverished Outer Ring…except Jiro. Jiro is a Japanese immigrant who has set up a humble sushi shop in the Outer Ring that has attracted quite a lot of attention, and food that lives up to the hype…so long as you live to tell the tale. Disrespect Jiro’s cooking, defy him by dipping his work in soy sauce, and he’ll cut your head off as cleanly as he cuts fish. It isn’t long before Jiro finds himself smack dab in between the conflict between Bob and Rose, where the turf wars get bloodier than a rare steak.

If you haven’t read the original comic (I skimmed it for this review), the first episode of the show is really well-done for how it sets up this world. You immediately get a sense of the environment, the stakes, and especially the brutality. In fact, this might be one of the most graphically violent shows Adult Swim has made in years, made even more visceral by the detailed art and animation. The voice cast is also amazing, with pretty much everyone being a perfect choice. While the show is first and foremost an action-drama, the fact that it’s set in a world where food is king sets up a lot of great black comedy in terms of the worldbuilding, such as how the cops are basically glorified health inspectors who don’t seem to mind the regular murders being committed, as well as the murders themselves (never has the phrase “drowned in sauce” been more apt). Yet it still feels natural and believable in the larger context of the story, all while also being the sort of thing where it feels like the kind of show only Adult Swim would make.

Going into the first three episodes, the story being told is engaging, and it has a lot to say. While elements are adapted from the comic, it heavily expands on it as well, adding new plot threads that add depth to the source material. After watching the pilot, I immediately wanted to know where this went, and the next two episodes carried that momentum. Of course, this is based on a comic from Anthony Bourdain, and so, you’re going to get a lot of great stuff about food as well. A certain early plot point (taken from the original comic) involves a dish that sounded like the sort of thing they’d make up as part of the show’s worldbuilding, but lo and behold, everything about it is based in culinary fact. Also, how this scene is portrayed in the comic doesn’t even compare to how it is in the show. The work put into animating this story has been put to very good use.

If these initial episodes are anything to go by, Get Jiro is a great addition to Adult Swim’s streak of animated action-drama series, operating at the intersection of those who love anime, sci-fi, gangster stories, food, and adaptions of Anthony Bourdian’s works (this has been a good year for those). We’ll see if it can keep up the momentum, but it’s a very strong showing so far. Definitely check this one out when it premieres October 3rd.