Love, Death & Robots, the very NSFW adult animated anthology from David Fincher and Tim Miller, is now available to stream to your heart's (and loin's) content on Netflix. The binge-worthy title features 18 shorts, each with their own signature animation, storytelling style, and varying levels of maturity. And when I say "maturity", sometimes that means "thoughtful and complex messages delivered by computer-generated characters cleverly wrapped up in a sci-fi landscape", and sometimes that means, tits, ass, blood, violence, and gratuitous sex.

Honestly, this series should just be called Sex, Death & Robots because there are few if any explorations of love, on any level, to be found; it's catchier, too. Too often, the episodes confuse lewdness for maturity, which should appeal to a certain subset of fans, likely those who aren’t technically old enough to meet the audience guidelines. Like a kid sneaking into an R-rated movie, there’s something thrilling about the forbidden and the taboo that these particular stories offer. But for older folks, the try-hard approach to mature material just screams immaturity.

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Image via Netflix

Love, Death & Robots is at its best when adapting stories from proven authors like John Scalzi, Joe Lansdale, Ken Liu, Claudine Griggs, and Alastair Reynolds to name a few. The anthology also could have done wonders for itself by seeking out more female creators (writers, directors, etc.) in order to diversify this very "boys' club" aesthetic that just about every episode is steeped in. (I'm sure Miller and Fincher have to have read Ursula K. Le Guin...) [There may be more women active behind the scenes, but Netflix's credits skip makes this difficult to see at first glance; I'll be updating each episode with a list of well-deserved credits.] I'm all for a sexed-up kill-bot going on a vengeful murder spree in a neon future metropolis, but this was also a missed opportunity to show off different points of view. Additionally, there's no overarching theme to the entirety of Love, Death & Robots, so as a whole it falls short of something like The Animatrix. It also falls short of perennial Netflix fave Black Mirror, since the episodes rarely say anything meaningful about the human condition or offer strong social commentary. They're mostly just very pretty pictures telling thrilling, action-packed mini-stories.

So with that in mind, I've ranked the 18 shorts of Love, Death & Robots from "worst" to first. Technically, none of these shorts are bad, far from "the worst"; some just simply have much less to say than others. For example, the bottom three--"Blind Spot", "The Dump", and "Sucker of Souls"--are pretty one-note with a twist or two thrown in, but they don't really stick the landing or offer anything beyond a bit of escapism. The top three, however, offer not only fantastic animation (perhaps the best of this list) but really dig into what sci-fi is capable of, twisting perceptions and rerouting misconceptions. These are the best of the best and show what Love, Death & Robots is really made of, hopefully bringing a new generation of readers to the sci-fi writers whose work is on display, and inspiring a new generation of writers altogether.

Check out the "worst to first" list below:

Blind Spot

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Image via Netflix

Blind Spot: A gang of cyborg thieves stage a high-speed heist of a heavily armored convoy.

This Mad Max meets The Fast and the Furious mash-up feels like a Borderlands adventure come to life. That's not a bad thing at all, far from it. It's just that this short adventure featuring cybernetic thieves battling it out against mechanized defense systems didn't offer anything extra. It's worth mentioning that this short, and every other one on this list, features some gorgeous animation that's the result of lots of talented, hard-working folks, so that's something to keep in mind as you binge.

Directed by Vitaliy Shushko, who also wrote the original story, with animation producer Elena Volk and starring Aaron Himelstein, Carlos Alazraqui, Jill Talley, Brian Bloom, and Chris Cox.

The Dump

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The Dump: Ugly Dave calls the garbage dump home, and he’s not about to let some city slicker take it away from him.

Photo-realistic roadkill and stylized human characters aside, this one's pretty one-note as well. A good chunk of the Love, Death & Robots stories focus on blue collar protagonists, though Ugly Dave is a bit further out in the periphery than most. He loves his dump and everything in it, everything from a dressed-up sex doll to the mountains upon mountains of junk that's collected there over the years, and might just be hiding something within its vastness. While I love the twist here, which you can see coming a mile away, there's not much more to say about The Dump.

Directed by Javier Recio Gracia, with animation from Able & Baker, and featuring the voices of Nolan North, Andre Sogliuzzo, and Gary Cole.

Sucker of Souls

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Sucker of Souls: Unleashed by an archaeological dig, a bloodthirsty demon battles a team of mercenaries armed with… cats?

This one has a much more traditional animation look to it, like 2D, hand-painted frames. It also sports some really cool animated death scenes, setting it apart from some of the other episodes on style alone. The writing is solid and it has a very Shaun of the Dead vibe, but it's too short to really develop much in the way of character, mythology, or story. Ultimately, it's more of a contemporary horror-fantasy than a sci-fi tale and has nothing to do with love or robots; this one's all about the death. Unfortunately, it just kind of ends without a real resolution, so it's down near the bottom despite its style.

Directed by Owen Sullivan, with animation by Studio La Cachette, based on Kirsten Cross' short story, and starring Michael Benyaer, Fred Tatasciore, Laura Waddell, Jonathan Cahill, and Scott Whyte.

Helping Hand

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Image via Netflix

Helping Hand: Stranded in orbit, an astronaut must choose between life and limb before her oxygen runs out.

Featuring photo-realistic CG animation, this short has similar themes to Gravity and The Martian, though its short runtime hampers viewers from getting emotionally connected to stranded astronaut, Alex. The animation is stunning, her sacrifice more so, and it has a more hopeful ending than we expected, but the pun brings this one down a notch for me.

Be sure to read the short story by Claudine Griggs for the full tale.

Directed by Jon Yeo, with animation from Axis Studios, and featuring the voices of Elly Condron and Chris Parson.

Three Robots

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Image via Netflix

Three Robots: Long after the fall of humanity, three robots embark on a sightseeing tour of a post-apocalyptic city.

Any story that starts with a nod to Terminator's opening scene and sequence is going to get my attention. Three Robots takes a turn for the humorous soon after, however, bringing some levity to the proceedings. That humor has a dark tinge to it since the title characters are exploring a world devoid of humans, except for a few well-rotted corpses.

It's very entertaining watching and listening to the three robots, perhaps a play on Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics", try to figure out their surroundings, confusing an actual cat with The Oatmeal's card game "Exploding Kittens", among other pop culture references. It's a delight, and the end offers a nice surprise twist, though it doesn't deliver much more than a surface commentary on the end of humanity by our own stupid hands.

Directed by Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, with animation by Blow Studio, featuring the voices of Josh Brener, Gary Anthony Williams, and Chris Parnell,

Ice Age

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Ice Age: A young couple moves into an apartment and finds a lost civilization inside their antique freezer.

An actual live-action short starring Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead with an animated civilization living inside their ice box. (I don't know why anyone would put ice in their wine, but if it allows you to discover a hidden civilization within an icebox, I'm fine with it.) Aside from some clunky dialogue and line deliveries, this is an entertaining short It's also the first one in the ranking to present an interesting and unique idea, kind of like Batteries Not Included, The Indian in the Cupboard, and "The Genesis Tub" from The Simpsons.

Ultimately, the apartment dwellers watch the rise and fall of the mini civilization with a detached sort of interest, opting to let the little beings sort things out for themselves. But since there's no big reveal or twist, and nothing bigger to say at the end of the short, it's still toward the lower end of this ranking.

Directed by Tim Miller, the short is an adaptation of Michael Swanwick's short story, adapted by Philip Gelatt, and also starring the voicework of John DiMaggio and Roger Craig Smith.

The Secret War

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Secret War: Elite units of the Red Army fight an unholy evil deep in the ancient forests of Siberia.

Featuring photo-realistic CG animation that looks like a really well-rendered version of a Metro game, the stunning visuals might be the best of the bunch. Digic Pictures should be proud of this one.

The story follows Russian soldiers as they track murderous, primate-like creatures that are responsible for wanton slaughter in the village. The root of this evil incursion goes back to a sort of satanic ritual (which obviously means a naked woman has be to strung up and sacrificed, obviously), but the problem is bigger than a few beasties. It's very much a "last stand" story with a sprinkling of the occult thrown in for good measure.

However, despite the soldiers showing some humanity towards each other and getting moments of character-building, the runtime is just too short to really get to know them well enough to care much about what happens beyond the surface. A final sacrifice of the many allows for a decent payoff ... but then it just kind of ends, unfortunately. We'd like to see more!

Directed by István Zorkóczy from a short story by David W. Amendola, adapted by Philip Gelatt. The short stars Stefan Kapicic, Bruce Thomas, Jeff Berg, Antonio Alvarez, and Victor Brandt.

 

Fish Night

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Fish Night: After their car breaks down in the desert, two salesmen take a dreamlike voyage to the dawn of time.

The animation in this one sets it apart since it looks like a really well-made motion comic, complete with heavy lines and a rich color palette. It almost looks like Archer if it was set on a desert road and followed an old and young salesman and their broken down car. (There's even a nice time-passing montage, worthy of Breaking Bad.)

In a beautifully animated nighttime sequence, the fluorescent ghosts of all kinds of sea life start to swim around their car, including what looks like plesiosaurs and other massive prehistoric creatures. Unfortunately, the younger salesman gets a little too close to the impossible sea life and ... then the thing just ends. We were hoping for a little closure, but the beauty of this piece is worth the bump in the ranking.

Be sure to read Joe Lansdale's source story here.

Directed by Damien Nenow, with animation from Platige Image Studio, and starring Kirk Thornton and Yuri Lowenthal.

Shape-Shifters

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Shape-Shifters: Deep in Afghanistan, two Marines with supernatural powers face a threat from one of their own kind.

The photo-realistic CG animation is mostly good here, but a little janky when it comes to facial animations. It features some cool first-person perspective shots, but it's limited in its use.

The compelling story follows a squad of Marines in Afghanistan, led by Decker and his buddy, a pair of "dog soldiers." The existence of these enhanced and elite warriors cause some conflict among the regulars, but their heightened tracking and fighting skills soon come in handy.

Ultimately, this is a tale of two friends and fellow soldiers more than it is about the military unit or the war they're fighting. There are some great, knock-down, drag-out fight scenes here, and the ending carries some impact. But in that end, there wasn't much left for us to think on. There is, however, much more to chew on over at author Marko Kloos' site.

Directed by Gabriele Pennacchioli with animation from Blur Studio, and featuring the voice work of Graham Hamilton, Adam Bartley, Jim Pirri, James Horan, and Ike Amadi.

The Witness

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The Witness: After seeing a brutal murder, a woman flees from the killer through the streets of a surreal city.

This original work from director/writer Alberto Mielgo brings Dutch angles and skewed perspectives to the worlds of Love, Death & Robots. That direction choice, plus a lush and colorful palette that brings the painted faces of neo-geishas and graffiti-marked cityscapes to life, sets this one apart, visually.

On the story side, however, The Witness is bookended with one good hook and a twist, though it's filled in by a chase through the city and lots of stripping, cam-girls, and unnecessary nudity, just because. Still, it's a story well told and takes nods from classic sci-fi stories like Chris Marker's 1962 featurette La Jetée.

With animation from Pinkman.TV, and starring Emily O'Brien, Ben Sullivan, Matt Yang King, Nolan North, and Anastasia Foster.

Alternate Histories

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Alternate Histories: Want to see Hitler die in a variety of comically fantastic ways? Now you can. Welcome to Multiversity!

If you need a break from all the violence and tits, this short ... well it's still got violence and tits, but at least it's funny! In the short, Multiversity is an app that lets users modify history and see the results. For example, they demo 6 death scenarios for Hitler. Pretty damn funny but doesn't shy away from the cartoonish violence. There is, however, a great Putin joke, helping to make this short the funniest of the bunch.

A more cartoonish animation style features realistic backgrounds with simplistic, paper doll-like puppets playing out the stories, which are increasingly insane, thanks to the mind of John Scalzi and Philip Gelatt's adaptation.

Directed by Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, with animation from Sun Creature Studio, the short featured the voices of Rebecca Riedy, Dieter Jansen, Scott Whyte, and Chris Cox.

Suits

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Image via Netflix

Suits: A community of farmers use their homemade mechs to defend their families from an alien invasion.

I, for one, am a sucker for mecha stories. So imagine my curiosity when I heard that Suits was a mecha story with hard-working farmers as the pilots. It basically takes the tractor/tool-porn that is the John Deere catalogue to the extreme by giving a farming community access to customizable mechs used to defend their land from alien hostiles. It's like Tremors meets Pacific Rim.

There's an interesting animation style here, again like a 3D motion comic, and the writing/acting/characterization is so good that I found myself connecting more with these characters than those who were more realistic. It's a fun story, well told, and though there's a decent twist at the end, there's nothing deeper to it. However, I'd love to see more from this kernel of an idea.

Directed by Franck Balson, with animation by Blur Studio, based on the short story by Steven Lewis, and starring Neil Kaplan, G.K. Bowes, Scott Whyte, Courtenay Taylor, and Tudi Roche.

When the Yogurt Took Over

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When The Yogurt Took Over: After scientists accidentally breed super-intelligent yogurt, it soon hungers for world domination.

More punny than funny, this is another short that features photo-realistic backgrounds with puppet-like avatars for humans. If you can get on board with the idea that a genetically engineered Lactobacillus culture solved fusion and is able to talk through gas bubbles it generates, you'll enjoy this short. And if you always wanted yogurt to take over Ohio, all the better.

Other than the obvious subject matter and tone of this story setting it apart, When the Yogurt Took Over also flips the script on the usual invasion mythos. It's definitely worth a watch. And it's hard not to love a John Scalzi story.

Directed by Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, with animation from Blow Studio, adapted by Janis Robertson, and featuring the voicework of Maurice LaMarche (as the narrator) and Alexia Dox.

Lucky 13

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Lucky 13: After the drop-ship Lucky 13 lost two crews, no pilot would fly her… but rookies don’t get a choice.

The very photo-realistic CG setting and characters for this short keep it in the conversation of "best-looking" of the bunch, though that's not what sets it apart. The Marko Kloos adaptation centers on a rookie (Samira Wiley) who pilots the unluckiest ship in the fleet. It has a call sign that starts and ends in 13 and its digits total 13; it has survived 2 campaigns in which its entire crew has died, yet it was salvageable. (Oh and this is Episode 13, and it's 13-minutes long.)

What sets Lucky 13 apart is that extra special something that the best sci-fi stories have in common. It's hard to define, really, but once you've watched this short, you'll understand. On the surface, it's the story of a slightly spooky ship and an ambitious pilot who's willing to pilot it despite the bad juju surrounding it. Together, they rack up an impressive run of missions with no casualties. But beyond that, there's a bond between the pilot and the ship that can't be explained, but it's rather well demonstrated in the story's final moments.

Directed by Jerome Chen, with animation from Sony Pictures Imageworks (that explains a lot), supporting voice actors include Daisuke Tsuji, Nestor Serrano, Stanton Lee, Noshir Dalal, Jeffrey Pierce, David Paladino, Jeff Śchine, and Melissá Sturm.

https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Thirteen-Frontlines-Marko-Kloos-ebook/dp/B00CDA4IQC?tag=collider0b-20&ascsubtag=UUclUeUpU74182&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Flove-death-and-robots-episodes-ranked%2F&asc_campaign=Evergreen

Good Hunting

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Good Hunting: The son of a spirit hunter forges a bond with a shape-shifting huli jing.

At first blush, this traditional, 2D animation looks similar to Avatar, as does the character design and storytelling style as well, until the nudity hits. Sort of like an animated Crouching Tiger, this story covers a number of years, from a young boy's first hunt with his father, to his coming-of-age as a young man, to his eventual travel to Hong Kong to work for the newly arrived English colonial "masters." It's also a love story of sorts between the young man and a fox spirit known as a huli jing, which can take the form of a woman when she's not hunting in her spirit form.

But once the sci-fi hits, it hits hard. The young man finds that he's gifted with machines and robotics, a talent that comes in handy when the huli jing seeks out his assistance. She has lost the ability to hunt, but he returns that power to her. And despite sex and violence playing a big part in the story, the relationship between the spirit and the man remains rather chaste, a nice change of pace.

Be sure to read Ken Liu's source material here.

Directed by Oliver Thomas, with animation from Red Dog Culture House, and featuring the voice work of Elaine Tan, Matt Yang King, Gwendeline Yeo, Maddox Henry, Sumalee Montano, and JB Blanc.

Beyond the Aquila Rift

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Beyond the Aquila Rift: Awakening after traveling light years off course, a ship’s crew struggles to discover just how far they’ve come.

We hope you like well-done photo-realism, because sometimes these characters almost look like they're live-action actors. (People will particularly enjoy that aspect during the gratuitous sex scene that's midway through this story.) Arguably the most "sci-fi" of this bunch, this story feels like it's part of the Alien franchise, and I would not be upset to see more from its world.

Set in space aboard a massive ship that's part of a convoy traveling through a warp gate/accelerator, the ship and its crew wind up off course. They wake in a repair facility, but only the captain remains awake while the crew members sleep off their "tank-sickness." Luckily for the captain, an old flame just so happens to be there waiting for him. As you might have guessed, however, things are not what they seem. Be sure to check this one out ASAP and then read the source story from Alastair Reynolds.

Directed by Léon Bérelle, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra, and Maxim Luère, with animation by Unit Image, and starring Henry Douthwaite, Madeleine Knight, Rebecca Banatvala, Delroy Brown, and Grahame Fox.

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Aquila-Rift-Alastair-Reynolds-ebook/dp/B019CSNPTI?tag=collider0b-20&ascsubtag=UUclUeUpU74182&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Flove-death-and-robots-episodes-ranked%2F&asc_campaign=Evergreen

Sonnie's Edge

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Sonnie’s Edge: In the underground world of “beastie” fights, Sonnie is unbeatable — as long as she keeps her edge.

While watching the entirety of this 18-episode run, Sonnie's Edge was my top-ranked short for a while. It opens with a gorgeous CG dive into a city's underworld, shadowy, slick with grime, marked with UV paint. We soon meet some stylish cyberpunks who are met by a pair of gilded, glamorous types dressed for a party. The punks deliver a creature for an underground fighting event, a creature that one of said cyberpunks will pilot through a neural link. How badass is that?

But the real badassery of the short, which features a gnarly creature pit-fight and even gnarlier action outside of it, centers on Sonnie, a woman with a dark and mysterious past. The layers of that past are peeled back as the story goes on, full of twists and turns; some you may see coming, others you won't, but in the end it's a worthwhile ride to take. It's gory, it's over the top, it's full-on male fantasy for a good portion of the telling, but it's also one of the best that Love, Death & Robots has to offer. Check it out, and then be sure to read Peter F. Hamilton's source story here.

Directed by Dave Wilson, with animation by Blur Studio, and featuring the voices of Helen Sadler, Hayley McLaughlin, Time Winters, Omid Abtahi, Christine Adams, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Braden Lynch.

Zima Blue

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Zima Blue: The renowned artist Zima recounts his mysterious past and rise to fame before unveiling his final work.

To say too much about this short is to give away what makes it great, so you should seek this one out before reading any further.

That being said, Zima Blue best captures what it's like to read a really compelling, well-told, and thoughtful sci-fi story for the first time. It somehow manages to capture what it's like for an artist to seek (and find) truth and fulfillment while also telling a fully fleshed-out sci-fi story at the same time. That's a remarkable feat, owing as much to Alastair Reynolds' source material as it does to Passion Animation Studios and director Rob Valley. (Voice actors include Kevin Michael Richardson and Emma Thornett.)

The highly stylized animation style, featuring heavy lines, deep blacks and sharp contrasts in a bold color palette, centers on a journalist who gets the opportunity to interview the worlds-famous and reculsive artist, Zima. Known for massive murals of spacescapes with a particularly shaded blue shape at their center, Zima's works have grown in scope, scale, and ambition over the years. But it's not just Zima's art that's the focus of this story, rather Zima itself.

Zima's origin story, and that of the color "Zima Blue" is a fascinating one and unexpected, which is at the heart of good sci-fi. This episode is the best of the bunch, a well-deserved distinction for the greatness that exists within Love, Death & Robots.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GVG07DC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&tag=collider0b-20&ascsubtag=UUclUeUpU74182&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Flove-death-and-robots-episodes-ranked%2F&asc_campaign=Evergreen