“Love, Death & Robots,” is not for the faint of heart, as dark concepts and explicit content are main themes throughout. Netflix released the new animated original series March 15, with each episode featuring a different storyline, characters and futuristic situation. There are 18 episodes in total, each ranging from seven to a little over 20 minutes in length.
Some episodes are horrific, and some are a bit tamer, but all episodes of “Love, Death & Robots” contain spectacular animation that make each one worth watching.
The series starts off strong with a battle between monsters and people in “Sonnie’s Edge.” The animation is painstakingly realistic. The fight scene is a dream come true for fans of combat and beast-like creatures. It’s gory and intense, and the story only escalates as the human characters interact afterward. Sonnie, a woman with a traumatic backstory, shows up with something to prove, and she does so with a gruesome vengeance.
The second episode, “Three Robots,” involving a small group of traveling robots, is completely different. The show’s enjoyability depends on personal preference. It makes sense to favor some or most episodes, but not all of them due to the wide span of subject matter. Since each episode is different from the rest, nothing is off-limits. This is especially true since sensuality and nudity play a large role in several of them. The twisted tales are all authentic and never predictable. They captivate in their own ways, whether through shock factor, story, art style or all of the above.
The animation is either superbly lifelike or cartoonish. No matter how the episode is presented, the artistry is astonishing. Episodes like “Beyond the Aquila Rift” look real, while episodes like “Fish Night” are colorful and dreamlike, with characters designed similarly to those in comic books. The hard work and mindfulness that went into making them is clear. Every story is artistically brought to life.
All in all, it’s a thrilling show with some brilliant ideas. Some episodes stand out more than others, like “The Witness,” one of the raunchiest and most riveting. Corresponding to most of the other stories, disturbing events engulf the normality of life. A woman involuntarily witnesses a murder, and the killer spots her watching from her window. She nakedly runs around the city in a panic to get away from him. The ending is mind-bending.
The viewer’s amount of interest in the series or separate episodes is based on opinion. However, because “Death, Love & Robots” was so beautifully and creatively produced, even those who dislike the content are bound to be impressed.
By Vanessa Donadio, Contributing Writer
donadivj17@bonaventure.edu
