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Quick, when I say “animation,” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?! Depending on what age you are, you probably either thought of Disney and Looney Tunes (in America, Mickey Mouse, and Bugs Bunny are like the grandfathers of animated mascots), or you thought of anime (the go-to series that come to mind are usually Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and Pokemon). Make no mistake about, animation is considered something only suitable to children. Yet, we live in a time when animated TV series aimed at adult audiences is at an all-time high, what with The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, South Park, and Rick and Morty being on the air.

But decades ago, we had an animated movie that was so mature in its content, those “adult” oriented animated series that I listed look tame by comparison. It was 1981’s Heavy Metal, and it would be an understatement to say no one under the age of 18 should watch it. Like its namesake magazine, the movie featured interconnected anthology of science fiction stories that were filled with nudity, sexuality, foul language, and bloody violence galore! And there was a sequel in 2000, entitled Heavy Metal 2000 (very creative, I know), which provided more of the same, but in an isolated story. Which brings us to the latest incarnation of the series, available on Netflix, and entitled Love, Death, and Robots.

Created and produced by Tim Miller (director of the original Deadpool movie), and David Fincher (director of Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and Gone Girl, just to name a few), Love, Death, and Robots is an anthology of science fiction stories, although none are interconnected in any way, besides having science fiction, horror, or fantasy themes. Each story is given three symbols to summarize the story’s plot and theme, although the series as a whole is represented by a heart, an “X”, and a square with eyes, symbolizing the love, death, and robot title. And true to nature of the original Heavy Metal, each story is jam-packed with foul language, bloody violence, and nudity. Depending on what the story is about, these elements fit in perfectly, or if they don’t, they feel shoehorned in and are only there for shock value. But for the most part, each story is well animated, especially the CGI ones, which look as realistic as possible. I’ll be reviewing each story individually, ranking the stories from most favorite to least favorite, and giving my final, overall review. Here goes…

“Sonnie’s Edge:” This one is pretty much a mature version of Pokemon. There are alien monsters who are linked to their handlers by a computer chip attached directly to their brains. In this case, a woman named Sonnie (who has been horrifically scarred both mentally and physically) controls a xenomorph/snake-like monster. In the usual tradition of underground fight club narratives, the booker setting up the fights wants Sonnie to lose on purpose, in exchange for a huge payday. And in typical fight club fashion, Sonnie refuses. This CGI short is beautiful to look at and will make any cyberpunk fan’s mouth water. The use of black light tattoos give much detail into the characters without saying anything, and the creature designs look amazing. That being said, the plot is very predictable. However, I was intrigued and would have loved for this short to be made into a full series or movie.

Verdict: **** (four out of five stars). Ranking: 6.

“Three Robots:” In a post-apocalyptic world, three robots with radically different designs and personalities are “touring” an abandoned city. This CGI short is hilarious! I loved the look of each robot, and the comedy between them worked well (and it's my kind of comedy, so I’m a little bias). It wasn't a predictable story, so I appreciated that. The comedy and language is a bit on the dark and mature side, but it works in this case. I would also love for this short to be given its own movie or series.

Verdict: ***** (five out of five stars). Ranking: 1.

“The Witness:” The weakest of all the shorts. A woman witnesses a murder happening across the street from her hotel. She makes eye contact with the killer, and she flees across the city, with him in pursuit. The adult imagery in this short is the most shoehorned in. There’s not much to the story, so I suppose the art team figured they had to pad the animation with as much sexual themes as possible, including an annoying drag queen that makes Chris Tucker’s character from The Fifth Element look tame and tolerable. Except for some shifts in the animation style, and sounds appearing on screen like in a comic book, there’s nothing interesting about this one. Skip it entirely.

Verdict: * (one out of five stars). Ranking: 18.

“Suits:” Think what Aliens or Pacific Rim would be, if it took place on farmland in the Midwest of America. Portals are opening near a farmers’ community, but the landowners are prepared with mech suits! I love mech suits! This short puts a fun twist on the giant robot versus giant monster subgenre known as “kaiju.” It’s so clever, you’ll wonder why it hasn’t been done before. And the final image at the end will cause you to think of all kinds of possible scenarios on where this short could have gone if it went to a full series or movie.

Verdict: ***** (five out of five stars). Ranking: 4.

“Sucker of Souls:” Dracula has been accidentally released by a team of archaeologists. But this isn’t your father’s or your mother’s Dracula. This vampire is a full-on, monstrous demon! Needless to say, the bloody violence in this short would make even Quentin Tarantino blush. The team of archaeologists are all fun in their interactions with each other, and you’ll love to see more of them in a full series or movie.

Verdict: ***** (five out of five stars). Ranking: 7.

“When The Yogurt Took Over:” The shortest of all the stories. Basically, yogurt gains superintelligence and takes over the world, because of course. It’s a fun concept, but the joke is kinda one-note. Amusing, but it certainly only works as the five minute long short that it is.

Verdict: ** (two out of five stars). Ranking: 16.

“Beyond the Aquila Rift:” Hey, have you ever wondered what CGI porn would look like? Well, you’re about to find out in this short! Three astronauts are going to travel via wormholes in space, except it goes horribly wrong. How wrong? Well, spoiler alert… giant spider with psychic powers in outer space! While the animation is beautiful, watching computer generated people having sex is painfully awkward to see. At least the twist ending is the most visually impactful of all the shorts.

Verdict: *** (three out of five stars). Ranking: 11.

“Good Hunting:” It’s early 20th century China, and a father and son duo have been hired to kill a huli-jing (it’s a fox demon that can turn into a beautiful woman). After they complete their task, the story flash forwards to China being occupied by the British, who turn the country into a steampunk lover’s dream come true. I would have to say this is the most creative of the shorts, as I had no idea where it was going. This one features full frontal nudity from both men and women, so some might find that off putting. However, I think this would make for a good full length movie.

Verdict: **** (four out of five stars). Ranking: 5.

“The Dump:” A hermit who lives in a junkyard is being asked by a city inspector to leave his land. Frankly, I found this story to be even more pointless than the one about yogurt. I could see the plot twist coming from a mile away when the hermit calls for his dog, but then goes into telling a tale about a monster. And the nudity that happens is strictly for the shock value. You can skip this one, too.

Verdict: * (one out of five stars). Ranking: 17.

“Shape-Shifters:” I can almost picture the “elevator pitch” that was made for this CGI short. “A movie about Marines… except two of the Marines are… wait for it… werewolves!” A fun concept for sure, and the werewolf transformations are some of the best since the days of The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. Visuals aside, the story is rather straight to the point and doesn’t explore its unique concept to its full potential. I wouldn’t mind this being a full movie.

Verdict: **** (four out of five stars). Ranking: 13.

“Helping Hand:” Did you see “Gravity” with Sandra Bullock? If you did, imagine that movie, but when things take a turn for the worse for an astronaut who is hit by space debris, drastic measures are taken to stay alive. Far more drastic than anything that Sandra had to do! While the CGI animation is beautiful, the story is kinda one-note, and feels like an excuse to be unsettling just for the shock value. Like “Gravity”, this one will make you reconsider any childhood fantasies you had about being an astronaut.

Verdict: *** (three out of five stars). Ranking: 12.

“Fish Night:” A pair of salesman end up stranded in the desert, and encounter… ghost fish. Yes, you read that correctly, ghost fish! There’s not much to story besides a cool time lapse sequence, and the fish ghosts being colorful and pretty at look at. There’s also a bit of an Icarus theme at the end.

Verdict: *** (three out of five stars). Ranking: 14.

“Lucky 13:” This CGI short tells us of a rookie pilot who is stuck with an aircraft that has had teams of soldiers die on two of the prior missions that it went on. Its serial number is 13-02313, which not only begins and end with 13, but the numbers add up to 13. So everyone in the Air Force fears this unlucky aircraft. However, in the hands of this new rookie, the aircraft goes on a series of successful missions. This one felt like a Halo cutscene, only without Master Chief, or any explanation about the alien army that is being fought against. Orange is the New Black fans will be pleasantly surprised by who the lead is played by. Beautiful visuals aside, there’s not much to this one.

Verdict: *** (three out of five stars). Ranking: 8.

“Zima Blue:” A reporter is invited to interview a reclusive artist. What follows is social commentary about the world of professional art, and also advancements in robotics (there’s two subjects I never thought would be addressed in the same story). Let’s just say you won’t look at swimming pool tiles the same way ever again. This is one of the more arty shorts, and it’s the least crude. The visuals were the most unique of the bunch, and the plot twist is certainly something you wouldn’t see coming. So much so, that some viewers might even think it’s jarring. I wouldn’t mind seeing more animated shorts from this creative team.

Verdict: ***** (five out of five stars). Ranking: 3.

“Blindspot:” This one is just plain fun. A team of five cyborgs are trying to rob a convoy with precious cargo on it. The team is made up of the usual suspects that you get in a “five-person band:” the overly serious leader, the headstrong brute, the naive youngster, the sassy female member, and the brainy one who sits in a chair and acts as an informer. I loved the interaction between the group, and the action was top notch. I would love to see this become a full series.

Verdict: ***** (five out of five stars). Ranking: 2.

“Ice Age:” At first, I thought it was jaw-dropping how this animation looked so lifelike, I could have sworn it was live action. And then I realized that’s because it was live action! Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star as a married couple who have moved into their new apartment, and they have an antique refrigerator. Oh, and the freezer houses a tiny civilization that evolves from the stone age, to medieval times, to the industrial age, to a futuristic city in front of their eyes. This only works as a one-note joke, and not a very funny one at that. You can tell this is just an idea that one of the creative team members wanted to do, but didn’t put much thought into it. The design of the futuristic city is pretty though, but that’s about it. I do love me some Mary Elizabeth Winstead though.

Verdict: *** (three out of four stars). Ranking: 10.

“Alternate Histories:” A simulation app tells us of six possible outcomes that would be the result of Adolf Hitler dying before he came into power. With each situation, the outcomes become more and more ridiculous. Spoiler alert: a weapon that fires gelatin molds! While funny, it gets tiresome after the third or fourth situation.

Verdict: *** (three out of five stars). Ranking: 9.

“Secret War:” No, not an adaptation of the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name, as awesome as that would be! Here, we have Soviet Union era soldiers fighting off an army of demons from Hell. The backstory comes across as something out of Hellboy, but other than that, I didn’t find this one at all interesting outside of the CGI being nearly perfect.

Verdict: ** (two out of five stars). Ranking: 15.

Overall, I give Love, Death, and Robots a well deserved four out of five stars. I enjoyed a good three-fourths of the stories, and I would even argue it’s the best thing Netflix has produced since Stranger Things. The CGI shorts all had striking detail to them, although the content of each one varied. As for the two-dimensional shorts, some had better animation than others, but none were horrible. The one live-action short is just there. If you love science fiction, short stories, or animation, I highly recommend that you get this series in front of your eyes as soon as you can. This concludes this fanpicked review. And remember, when it comes to the media that you consume, be like Indiana Jones, and chose wisely.

Short Version

Pros:

• Beautiful animation, especially the CGI.
• Many unique story concepts.
• The more action and comedy-heavy shorts are the most fun.

Cons:

• Some stories are too predictable.
• Unnecessary nudity will be off-putting to some.
• Treatment of women in some shorts might also be off-putting.

Verdict: **** (four out of five stars).