If you’re one for grungy sci-fi and heavy metal fantasy, consider yourself lucky.
With the help of Oscar nominated producers Tim Miller and David Fincher, lovers of all things bizarre have found a new series to late-night binge. Packed full of action, comedy, and demon-fighting cats, Love, Death, and Robots gives animation nerds everywhere something to holler about.
The Netflix series consists of 18 episodes which range from 6 to 20 minutes long. Each installment features a unique science-fiction and fantasy narrative developed by popular authors intertwined with original concepts by Fincher and Miller. Accompanied by a wide spectrum of animation techniques, LD&R is bringing sci-fi NSFW animation back from the dead.
Having different minds behind each episode gives the series a fluidity of story that makes its extremely easy to binge watch. Each episode is a fever-dream of futuristic worlds and menacing dangers starring brilliantly developed characters and kaleidoscopic settings. You don’t have to wait an hour for main characters to be killed off and major plot twists to shake things up, so there is a constant shock value sucking the viewer deeper into each short story. Before you know it, the episode is over, and the hyped-up metal-punk intro song starts playing again, making it a potentially impossible series to put on pause.
This series is definitely not for everyone. The animated genitalia and cartoon soft-core porn scattered throughout the series may not be the best thing to watch with your grandma. The out-there comedy utilized in “When the Yogurt Took Over” and “Alternate Histories” may have the average viewers scratching their heads and looking for the off button, but there is no denying that each is utterly unique, no matter how absurd.
It has been argued that the series is just a jumble of immoral stereotypes and notions regarding women, violence, sex, and human nature played out in psychedelic visuals, but in my opinion, that is the beauty behind the series. LD&R is unafraid to reflect modern day mindsets in unnatural situations. Despite the “gore galore” and bloody violence in many of the episodes, there is a hidden quality of horror. The debauched, ruthless, and even heroic aspects of human nature are magnified and twisted into futuristic settings that don’t seem that impossible to attain. Episodes like “Sonny’s Edge” portray a dark and dismal world not so different from ours.
LD&R has taken what lovers of adult-driven animation and sci-fi have been waiting for and slapped it with a load of phantasmagoria. While it’s no Black Mirror or Heavy Metal, LD&R has a lot of potential to become something great. With talks of another season already in the making, fans of the new series have a lot to look forward to. While some may say to lose the cheesy dream-like scenes and X-rated narratives, the series just wouldn’t be the same. LD&R has the shock value needed to grab the attention of viewers, and the eccentricity to keep them wanting more.
Like nerding out as much as I do? Check out my other stuff here and let me know what you think!