A bizarre, idiosyncrasy-riddled, eclectic mix of cyberpunk tales on its eponymous themes in fantasy, horror, science-fiction, comedy genres, LDR is a synthesized NSFW pastiche of facetious, mature, & socially-contemplative indie weirdness bloom-evolving Netflix’s indie catalog. 8.9/10.
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Plot Synopsis: This collection of animated short stories spans several genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror and comedy. World-class animation creators bring captivating stories to life in the form of a unique and visceral viewing experience. The animated anthology series includes tales that explore alternate histories, life for robots in a post-apocalyptic city and a plot for world domination by super-intelligent yogurt. Among the show’s executive producers is Oscar-nominated director David Fincher.
*Possible spoilers ahead*
CLC’s Best #Love/Death/Robots Episodes: 1. Beyond the Aquila Rift, 2. Sonnie’s Edge, 3. Good Hunting, 4. Blindspot, 5. Zima Blue, 6. Three Robots, 7. The Witness, 8. Lucky 13, 9. The Secreat War, 10. Suits
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Season 1 Review – 9.5/10
Review: Sci-fi magic. That’s what Netflix has captured in a bottle with their new quirky, esoterica-riddled, cyberpunk/grungy dive into the depths of outer space and otherworld-set unknowns. A magnificently-animated collection of genre-diverse short films with effectively esoteric, facetious, mature, & socially contemplative sci-fi flair, Netflix’s Love/Death/Robots is a quantum leap for their indie catalog and one of the best modern sci-fi tale assemblages in many moons.
The animation and cinematographical flair. It’s difficult to even relate how simply stunning and game-changing the animation and textural work is in Love/Death/Robots. It’s like Pixar.. on acid. Ranging everything from Up-feeling safe fuzzy/warm textures straight out your favorite Disney movie to so-lifelike-you’d-swear-it’s-live-action realism feeling like a huge-budget PS4/Xbox One cutscene to Rick-and-Morty looking cartoonified models to classical anime and rich cyberpunk work, the series is a veritable feast for the eyes unlike anything I’ve perhaps ever seen in the genre. It is truly boundary-pushing and a quantum leap for animation that deserves serious praise and Emmy-consideration as well as delivering an unquantifiably-resplendent visual presentation that alone catapults it to the top of the year’s TV offerings.
The diverse-genre display of storytelling prowess. Make no mistake – the series isn’t just visual pop; there is also serious screenplay/writing prowess under the hood. Being able to tell such complete, soaring stories like Beyond The Aquila Rift (my personal favorite and so f*cking good it deserves not only a feature length film adaptation but could be one of the best Alien-like sci-fi franchises ever if it was given the chance) to the kaijuic Sonnie’s Edge to buddy-comedy Three Robots to action blockbuster Suits, in such short times ranging from a measly 5-15 minutes is truly a masterwork of storytelling and display of some the most gifted and inventive filmic minds on the market I’d bet were shut down by some stupid, pretentious studio prick and had to try to find a publisher elsewhere when Netflix (smartly) swooped in. The imaginative dystopia here is quite frankly the best I’ve seen in anything in the genre the past 10-20 years, also impressively spanning the full gamut of genres from sci-fi to sci-fi/horror to horror to comedy to anime to blockbuster action to redneck romp to cyberpunk to noir. Unbelievable.
The theme-heavy short film collection’s accomplishment and synthy score. The themes explored in Love/Death/Robots are also impressive adding serious meat on the bones for a further elucidation of filmic brilliance. Exploring everything from human evolution to environmental destruction to alternate historical timelines to post-apocalyptia to political topics like climate change/MAGA and feminism (in a non-overpowering, reasonable way for once) to power dynamics to reality in pure Alien-ic horror in classic Golden Age sci-fi fashion, there is nothing not to like here. The soundtrack only further fuels the sensory assault by adding an underlay of synth-riddled funk and futuristic flair that makes for a magical experience across the groundbreaking 18-short film accomplishment. The sheer difference and completely-separate feeling of each of the episodes only adds to the enjoyment making it feel even further like The Twilight Zone of modern eras.
A slight inconsistency in episode strengths is the only flaw to be found in Netflix’s journey into the sci-fi unknowns. Some of the well-lengthed 18-episode collection is just plain stupid or too-out-there like a civilization in the refrigerator and a society run by.. yogurt. Yes, yogurt. While I immensely appreciate their pushing the envelope of what’s possible in anthological science-fiction TV series akin to pure-nostalgic reminiscence of the Twilight Zones of yesteryears, a couple of episodes are inarguably less enthralling or captivating than most others of top pedigree making for a few skippable scenes and stories.
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Overall, Netflix’s Love/Death/Robots is one of the best anthological series – and sci-fi series – I’ve seen in a long time. It truly feels like The Twilight Zone (something I’d never thought I’d say since it is one of my top 10 favorite TV series of All-Time) of a new era giving storytellers and filmic geniuses from screenwriters to visual artists a canvas on which to simply tell stories unlimited by anything but pure imagination. A magnificently-animated collection of genre-diverse short films with effectively esoteric, facetious, mature, & socially contemplative sci-fi flair, Netflix’s Love/Death/Robots is a quantum leap for their indie catalog and one of the best modern sci-fi tale assemblages in decades.
Official CLC Score: 8.9/10
