It’s a simple yet effective title. "Love, Death and Robots". And ultimately, that’s exactly what you get in this new Netflix original series. It debuted on March 15 and has already garnered a cult following.
That’s probably because it ignores the conventions of genre and mashes things up in mostly interesting vignettes. That means each episode presents you with a new story that isn’t linked to the preceding or following episode, so if you’re one of those people who get anxiety over binge-watching a series, you’re safe.
Over 18 episodes, you will have a choice between drama, comedy, horror and mixtures that entertain. Oh, and did we mention that all the episodes are animated? There’s a variety of styles, so it’s not just anime. But speaking of anime, expect the usual male gaze and extremely NSFW nature of anime to shine brightly in the first few episodes.
The Witness is one such episode. Set in what looks like it could be Hong Kong, a young woman witnesses a murder and spends most of the episode fleeing from the murderer. But she’s involved in some peep show foolery, and everything is on display. The film-makers use cool devices, like when someone speaks loudly and recklessly, their spit lands on to the screen, or when the witness breathes heavily, she fogs up the screen. Very cool. And the ending is sick, too.
Sex and nudity aside, there are some interesting storylines. Like in Three Robots, where, um, three robots take it upon themselves to come to a post-apocalyptic city just to check it out. The humour is really deep because the smart robot describes the demise of humans with nonchalance and says humans “poisoned the water, killed the land and choked the sky”. Deep, right?
There’s a certain disconnection to reality that allows viewers of animation to root for the “bad guys”. And sometimes, in Love, Death and Robots episodes, it’s absolutely delightful to do so. But if you’re expecting some Disney stuff, this is not for you.
The anthology is brought to you by the director behind Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Gone Girl, so you should expect some gore, some humour and some food for thought.