Love, Death + Robots is a Netflix backed anthology series of sci-fi stories that mixes cutting-edge animation styles with quick fire storylines. Each episode is stand-alone and with the longest episode clocking in at just over 18 minutes, you’re never too far away from a new world and new ideas. Obviously, this means that some episodes will chime more than others depending upon your tastes but they are all uniformly solid. I liked season 1 just fine but felt that, given the freedom to create, a lot of the short films were trying to be too edge-lordy and reminded me of the anime and manga often released in England in the early 90s when it was trying to gain a foothold; the more violent, gratuitous stuff wasn't always representative of the best the medium had to offer and so it is was with season 1.
I felt that season 2 was okay with a lower episode count. Also, they had toned down the sex and violence but many of the stories were not that interesting. So, season 2 had built on the solid work of season 1 but it make incremental steps forward rather than huge leaps. I went into season 3 hoping that this would be the one to really nail it. Here are my thoughts on the individual episodes:

Three Robots: Exit Strategy
The three likable robots travel around the remnants of human culture to find out what happened when the robots uprising began. Along the way they look at how society broken down in a Lord of the Flies way.

A hilarious yet deeply depressing animation about the way humans would rather destroy each other than work together to find a solution. This ending is real surprising too.

Bad Travelling
When a ship is attacked by a giant crustacean, they listen to its request to gain passage to a busy island nearby. The captain doesn't want to unleash the beast upon the innocent people and so plans a trip to a deserted island, but can he convince his crew?

A very dramatic episode with gorgeous darkly stylised art and lashings of gore. It's powerful as it looks at the value individuals put on their own lives above others.

The Very Pulse of the Machine
The story is based on a short from Michael Swanwick and looks at the journey of a lone astronaut, Martha, stranded on the moon of Io, trying to find her way out whilst her oxygen slowly depletes. It is a psychological piece as we have Martha, superbly voiced by Mackenzie Davis, having a conversation with an invisible entity, or it could delusions caused by a mixture of hypoxia and morphine.

It's a very existential piece, not just because of the isolation of the astronaut, but because the individual is in conversation with something greater than herself. I found that very interesting as the dialogue was very philosophical and profound in places. I won't spoil it but the film evokes memories of 2001: Space Odyssey and the Star Child; death is not the end but a new part of the journey and that's a beautiful thought. The crescendo of the soundtrack at the denouement is spectacular and still sends shivers down my spine when I hear it.

The Very Pulse of the Machine is my favourite of the season but Jibaro is very close second.

Night of the Mini Dead
When a randy couple commit lewd acts in a cemetery, their unholy behaviour awakens a zombie apocalypse.

I loved this episode as it was done in an isometric minifig style with lots of cute voices. Don't get me wrong, the end of the world was apocalyptic but it was just gosh darn cute.

Kill Team Kill
When a military team is attacked by a rogue cybernetically enhanced experiment, their sense of humour and devil may care attitude might just be enough to see them survive.

I lived the cel shaded animation style of this episode as it reminded me of Otomo's work, especially Magnetic Rose from Memories. I think the cocksureness of this episode is a direct response to the macho gung-ho attitude of previous seasons of the show as it was a nod and wink at the audience as to how stupidly shallow the violence is.

Mason's Rats
In the near future, after WW3, a farmer struggles to survive with the ratocalypse. He invests in machines but the rats fight back harder, the situation escalates but who will emerge the victor.

This is a great short animation with a witty story about the casualties of war and how talking and reaching out can be enough.

In Vaulted Halls Entombed
A military unit of a mission to find and secure a taken hostage find an eldritch elder God held captive in an underground complex. One by one the crew get picked off except a lone warrior; will she survive?

This is a very effective and dark short, feeling at times like a videogame like House of Ashes or Eternal Darkness, which dealt with similar subject matter. It's a solid episode and poses many question about humanity's place in the cosmos.

Jibaro
When a group of Conquistadors encounters a siren, they all lose their heads to her deadly voice. However, a deaf Knight isn't swayed and what follows is a deadly cat and mouse game; an elaborate dance to the death, as the siren seeks her prey whilst the soldier seeks the gold covering her body.

This is one episode I heard a lot about with some citing it as the best LDR episode in season 3 and I can sort of see why. The animation is astonishing and the art direction is phenomenal, with the siren being beautifully haunting like a spooky Klimt piece come to life all shimmering and gold. The dialogue is pretty non-existent and it reminds me in style to The Black Knight in that the artistry and cinematography is king. The music adds so much and the flashy, frenetic edits and cuts make it a powerful piece where the images will stay in your mind for a long time.

This LDR season was probably the most consistent in my opinion with all episodes offering something. The Very Pulse of the Machine, Bad Travelling and Jibaro are the obvious highlights but overall, it's a solid season that shows the anthology series had some legs. I like the maturity the series seems to have gone through as the stories and worlds presented are more interesting. I am very much looking forward to season 4.

LINK- Love, Death + Robots- Season 1 Review

LINK- Love, Death + Robots- Season 2 Review

LINK- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad- Cult Movie Review

LINK- How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Mike Schur- Book Review

LINK- The Good Place and Philosophy- Book Review

LINK- Utopia for Realists- Book Review

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art

Three Robots- This follows 3 robots as they go on a tour of a post apocalyptic world sans humans. It's very dark with some great humour thrown in.

There is a great homage to the Terminator with the opening shot of a robot foot crushing a skull but from this the tale of 3 robot tourists taking in our crumbling ruins is great fun, more so with the interesting ending.

Beyond the Aquila Rift- When a ship suffers a catastrophic routing error, it is flung thousands of light years away from Earth but luckily a friendly face is on hand...

A great hard sci-fi story with stunning animation.

Ice Age- When a young couple move into a new apartment they find an old time fridge which contains a civilisation in there, but when the society evolves at a fast pace they see how adaptable humans can be.

Mary Elizabeth Winsted stars in this episode and, whilst hokey and a little cheesy, it is a cute episode with human actors.

Sonnie's Edge- When a beastie cage fighter (think mature Pokemon) is tasked to throw a fight she declines but a client is very insistent.

This is an edgy and interesting story with some great stylised animation. The creature designs are quite generic but the revenge story is told well enough.

When the Yoghurt Took Over- Sentient yoghurt solves all of mankind's problems but at what cost to freedom?

A cutely animated but well observed short animation on the fallibility of human nature and our disturbing ability to look for a man (or yoghurt) of destiny that offers easy solutions.

The Secret War- A gritty World War 2 tale of Soviet soldiers fighting an occult enemy they helped create.

A powerhouse of cgi animation with amazing lighting and a tense Alien-esque atmosphere. It culminates in a spectacular gunfight and a heck of a finale.

Sucker of Souls- When Dracula is revived, an aversion to cats saves a motley crew of scientists and mercenaries. But how do they make their way out?

The animation is a scratchy cel shaded style and is cool and whilst the story is interesting, the dialogue is a bit edge-lordy and cringy at times.

The Witness- When a woman witnessed a murder she goes on the run from the assailant.

The cyberpunk style city scape is gorgeous and the frenetic cgi is stunning with hues of pinks and purples adding vibrancy to the place.

Suits- When an infestation threatens the valley and lifestock of a local farm, the local farmers grab their mechs and fight to the death.

This is a gorgeous animation and very tense, at times reminding me of Telltales' Walking Death game in terms of the animation style and art. It's a clever story and exciting as well.

Good Hunting- The Huli Jing are changelings and are hunted as bewitchers but as the world is changing, a Huli Jing and a hunter become friends, looking out for each other and adapting to their environment. When the Huli Jing is abused by men in a rapidly changing world, she adapts and takes bloody revenge.

This is a dark tale about the power of the male gaze and the damage done to women. It's another sumptuously cel animated episode and one of the highlights. The steampunk aesthetic is suitably cool and imaginative. The dialogue is spot on and doesn't try to be too edgy.

The Dump- When a city planner pays a visit to the local dump to evict the tenant he gears an old yarn, but is it true?

A dark comedic piece with a slice of bitterness against capitalism and consumerism.

Shape-Shifters- When a team of American soldiers in Afghanistan are supported by a couple of ware wolves, it seems like they have the advantage. However, the Taliban may have their own dog soldiers and when an American warewolf is killed, its up to the remaining warewolf to find out the truth.

A beautifully animated shirt film and interesting choice of perspective as there are first person shooter angles.

Fish Night- When their car breaks down in the middle of the American desert, two travelling door to door salesmen have an amazing experience with the fantastical creatures of the night.

With rotoscoped style animation, this is a gorgeous animated film that is an audio-visual delight. Definitely one of the highlights from the series which has heart and says something about the human condition without trying to be too edgy or outrageous.

Helping Hand- When an astronaut is out on a spacewalk to fix a satellite but a piece of debris compromises a suit, a sacrifice has to be made.

This is a claustrophobic short film and suitably dramatic. I liked the main protagonist and the quieter moments as she gets used to the idea of dying.

Alternate Histories- A thoroughly original idea based on a not original one, we see 6 different scenarios where Hitler is killed and the resulting aftereffects of these.

Thoroughly creative and quirky, this is a strange but great short looking at causality and it's consequences.

Lucky 13- In the future, a space marine is assigned a ship, Unlucky 13. As she bonds with the AI it becomes lucky 13, but will its luck hold out?

A solid story about the relationships between man and machine and the power of AI.

Blindspot- In a cyberpunk future, when a gang try to steal some CPUs from a convoy there's a powerful machine standing in their way. Will they get it and at what cost?

The animation on this one is a mixture of CGI and more traditional cel animation mix which gives it an impressive look but the dialogue is circa 90s cringey in places.

Zima Blue- When a reclusive yet intergalactic ally famous artist provides an interview to a journalist she seeks what motivates him. His answer is... not what you'd expect.

This is a uniquely stylish production with an art style reminiscent of The Hollow. Like that, this look at the relationship between technology and humans and the search for truth. This is quite a philosophical episode and quite beautiful.

So, after what hung the complete series what did I make of it? Well, I love short-form animation so a series like this is a real boon however the edge-lordiness of some of the episodes, as well as it's gratuitous nudity and violence, made it seem sometimes juvenile and silly. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude and watched lots of anime and manga back in the 90s, which was peak edgelord with Urotsokidoji, Ninja Scroll, Wicked City and Cyber City 808 being edgy/sexy, but in the 2020s it seems.... misplaced. A few of the episodes are interesting and worth a look like Three Robots, Alternate History, When the Yoghurt Took Over and Zima Blue but too many felt try-hard and almost like fanfic I would have written in my teens in the 90s after watching too much anime- not bad per se but when given a canvas like this, it's really an opportunity to really tell a unique and awesome story.

Overall, the series was worth a watch but I hope the newer series took what was good about the series (the interesting ideas, different animation styles and great sound work) and built it into a more refined experience with a clearer focus.