It would be unfair to write a short review of this kind of work as a whole, so let’s review it in groups.
There's one criterion I'll say in advance: I don't care how "live-action" the animation effects are, and neither will anyone who's played a top-notch contemporary video game. In this day and age, fidelity is nothing.
EP1 "Sonnie's Edge"
Five stars.
The brain-controlled beast fights underground, the setting is very cool. The heroine is a hero who has risen from suffering. It looks very feminist, but in fact, this is not the point. The whole story is more like telling the truth that "fear is the strongest weapon". It sounds a bit bloody chicken soup, but it is actually a bloody story. The heroine's monster design is particularly good, slender and powerful, full of elegant danger.
EP2 "Three Robots"
Four stars.
In the era of robots ruling the earth, three robots visit the ruins of human cities. It's really just three stupid tourists, with distinct personalities and cute interactions. But he didn't say anything, so he forcibly poured a wave of chicken soup into the audience, which was still at the level of "If environmental protection is not good, it will be difficult to guarantee a small life". The three robots are cute, and the cat is also very cute, so let's give it four stars.
EP3 "The Witness"
Two stars.
The heroine witnesses a murder and is chased by the killer. It is actually recommended to watch. The graphics are full of tension, the visual effects are brilliant, and the gorgeous, psychedelic scenes are filled with unrest and are impressive. But this earthy cyber suspense theater really hit me on the spot, what a rubbish thing, it's better not to have this clever plot. If you're not looking forward to the plot at all, this episode is still pretty good.
EP4 "Suits"
Four stars.
Farmers drive mechas to defend their homes against the Zerg. I personally like this one. What we see as Doomsday is just part of life in their eyes - it's a fun vibe. The plot of risking everything to fight for survival is also heart-warming. The fly in the ointment is that the mecha design has no memory points, and the monster design is also very conventional.
EP5 "Sucker of Souls"
one star.
Mercenaries vs Vampires. The plot is meaningless, it doesn't seem to have any profound metaphors, the cat doesn't understand it, and the art style is nothing special. This episode came out in the middle of the episode, head-scratching with confusion.
EP6 "When the Yogurt Took Over"
Samsung.
It tells the story of lactic acid bacteria's domination of human beings. A dark and humorous satire. I can't say it's bad, but I'm not very interested in this narrative style.
EP7 "Beyond the Aquila Rift"
Five stars.
The off-course spacecraft is parked inside an unknown space station. I love this episode to death. First, I particularly like this kind of grand and tragic story, second, I like the kind-hearted alien race, and third, I like the story of lonely souls comforting each other. Poke my three G-spots in one episode. The core slogan is a bit like a certain masterpiece of a warrior of love, but it is much warmer than that story. The fly in the ointment is that there are many important settings of the original work that have not been clearly explained. If it is not explained by the original party in the comment area, I am afraid that many viewers will misunderstand the goodwill of the heroine (?).
EP8 "Good Hunting"
Five stars.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty under the background of steampunk, when magic gradually disappeared, a story between the fox fairy and the youth. Because it is the original work of Liu Yukun (the only writer I know in the entire series), I had high expectations from the beginning, and Teacher Liu did not disappoint me. You can understand this story from many angles - from a plot point of view, this is a romantic story in which ancient magic is revived by future technology; from a metaphorical point of view, this is a woman who has been stigmatized as a "vix" to a man The story of the revolt of the world... No matter from which angle you look at it, this is a touching and good work.
Guiding the original work: "I wish you a good harvest"
EP9 "The Dump"
Two stars.
An old man living in a garbage dump tells a wonderful story to the government agents who came to expel him. Maybe because the seventh and eighth episodes are too powerful, the ninth episode is particularly boring. Of course I can understand the plot, and I can understand the metaphors, but I just don’t think it makes much sense. By the way, the visuals aren't anything special either.
EP10 "Shape-Shifters"
Four stars.
Two werewolves are on an expedition to Afghanistan as a secret weapon for the U.S. military, where they meet a fellow Taliban loyalist. I quite like this story. It's interesting to have a werewolf, a mythical creature that is often used as a villain, as the protagonist to describe their war and friendship. In fact, I prefer its metaphors to the plot. The protagonist and the villain are obviously not accepted individuals in society, but they want to kill each other for the sake of the country. The protagonist actually doesn't know why he is fighting, but it's certainly not because the werewolf is too stupid. After all, humans often don't know what they are fighting for.
EP11 "Helping Hand"
Four stars.
As long as you say "Gravity" + "127 Hours", viewers who have watched these two movies will definitely know what this episode is about. It is indeed quite cliché. There are 100 works of this kind of praise of human courage and obsession every year. Fortunately, this film is very short, and the shots and rhythm are also in place, making people's heart beat faster and their palms sweaty. Although cliché, but successful.
EP12 "Fish Night"
Five stars.
Two salesmen who are anchored in the desert encounter ghosts from ancient times. Too, romantic, romantic, too! When Icarus in the apocalyptic era heard echoes from the distant past, even if it was destined to fall, how could he resist the desire to fly? In the ancient deep sea, every soul returned to the embrace of its mother.
EP13 "Lucky 13"
one star.
The story a pilot had to tell with her fighter jet. Good luck to you, next one.
EP14 "Zima Blue"
Five stars.
A reporter went to interview an artist who was about to release his last work. I've had a couple of five stars so far, but also five stars, those episodes were excellent, this one is close to great. I don't know how to introduce or comment on this story, the propositions it touches are too grand. After all, everyone knows that "Who am I, where do I come from, and where do I go" is one of the most popular topics among philosophers, but no one can articulate it clearly. This episode is actually a bit like some of Jiang Fengnan's works, using a story as a metaphor for the process of human beings exploring themselves. Even if we jumped out of the story, put aside these things, and only talked about the last work of the protagonist Zima itself, it is definitely a masterpiece that can be remembered in the history of modern art in the future. As a modern art lover, I cried.
EP15 "Blindspot"
Two stars.
In the westerns of the cyber era, the criminals are all intubated, and they are still robbing trains. They really don’t forget their original intentions. The main creator may think that the last episode was too profound and grand, this episode will let everyone relax. A lighthearted crime blockbuster, a few cool biochemical thieves come to stage a cyberpunk version of the rich and the rich. It's actually not ugly, it's wonderful - but the gap is too big, and I've never heard of "Pacific Rim 2" being screened after "The Horse of Turin".
EP16 "Ice Age"
Samsung.
A husband and wife move into a new home and discover a miniature civilization hidden in an old refrigerator in their room. Hello! How did this episode turn into a real shot! What about the animation! The setting is fun and imaginative, but nothing happens in the plot. Such a good setting, but it is so bland, I feel a little regretful. It's not that it's bad, it's not bad, it's just that I'm a little confused after watching it - what is this episode trying to convey?
EP17 "Alternate Histories"
Samsung.
A history simulation system shows you how different ways Hitler died would affect world history. As soon as I saw this episode, I knew that I had the same teacher as the sixth episode (I checked it and found out that the second episode was also the same original author), and my comment did not change from the sixth episode: "A black humorous satirical little story. I can't say it's bad, but I'm not very interested in this narrative style."
EP18 "Secret War"
Five stars.
The bloody demon of the Soviet Red Army. This episode is also a selfish five star. It's hard for me to resist this purely tragic and bloody story. Because the front line is at a critical period of the Battle of Leningrad, it is difficult to get out, and the Red Army soldiers in the rear are isolated and helpless, and can only fight the devil alone. The scene of the final decisive battle is really too bloody, after watching it, I can't wait to go out and find a dark evil force to die with it. The ending is also very cool, no matter what kind of monster you are, can you still withstand the physical exorcism of the carpet bombing of fighter jets? This is so Soviet.
Summarize
Five-star works: 1, 7, 8, 12, 14, 18
Personal ranking: 14>7=8>12>1=18
View more about Love, Death & Robots reviews
