How anime is helping Love, Death & Robots’ team promote adult animation

Netflix’s anthology series Love, Death & RobotsThe third installment of the series was released on May 20, in its full, edgy red-band glory. It’s like nothing else in animation right now: Each episode tells a different, self-contained story ranging in tone from crass comedy to dark drama. The shorts are not afraid to include gritty elements like blood, terror, and sex. And this is unlike the other mainstays of adult animation like Big MouthOder Family Guy Love, Death & RobotsIt is an adaptation of various fantasy and science fiction stories.

Tim Miller, co-creator of the Kindle anthology collection, says he selects stories by hand from the large selection of short fiction books. Miller, Director of Deadpool Terminator: Dark Fate) and co-creator David Fincher (director of Seven, Fight Club, ZodiacThe anthology series, which included many more features, was launched in 2019 by a number of different directors from various studios. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, a former director at DreamWorks ().Kung Fu Panda 2 3), who directed season 2’s LDR short “Pop Squad” and season 3’s “Kill Team Kill.” She also serves as an executive producer this season. Although it may seem odd, the director of Kung Fu Panda 2Nelson said that she moved into animation because of her experience in managing an edgy, hardcore anthology.

“My natural sensibility is very dark, much more adult animation,” Nelson explains. “I grew up on anime. And so for me, animation is not supposed to be just a child’s medium. But that’s been what it’s been mainly in the U.S., especially if you’re going for big-budget world-building stories. When a chance like this comes along, where I can finally stretch into what I want to do, as far as trying to approach stories in a completely full-spectrum way and be free — this is what I actually have always wanted to do.”

The United States tends to place animation in a box that is family friendly and accessible for all ages. Although there are some exceptions to this rule, most major theatrical productions are PG. Although animators are fighting this stigma, the jokes about animated films being only suitable for children persist. Miller and Nelson are determined to change that perception. The tides are slowly, but surely changing according to them. A big reason: One reason? The increasing popularity of anime.

Image courtesy of Netflix

“I think it’s a generational shift,” says Nelson. “Because when I was starting out, everyone I was working for had never seen anime before. It was just strange to them. So they didn’t understand it. They didn’t get it. They didn’t want to pay for it. They didn’t want a show about it. You’re preaching to this empty void. Even though you know that things like Akira Ghost in the Shell were happening, they’re like, Oh, it’s just weird to me. But now everyone’s been online. Everyone’s seen what every other country has. And when you look over there, how come they get to tell those stories and we don’t?”

Still, the majority of theatrical animation is family-friendly. Television shows, however, are moving beyond adult-oriented animation. American Dad South Park. In the streaming world, series like Netflix’s Arcane Castlevania and Amazon Prime’s Unfinished InvincibleThey are challenging genre conventions, telling serialized stories and appealing to an older audience. They are not all as extreme and as edgy. Love, Death & RobotsThey are more mature and feature older characters. This difference is a testament to the evolution of animated movies for adults since Miller’s original idea.

“David Fincher and I tried to get a new adult animated film on its feet for 10 or 12 years,” recalls Miller. “Despite having pretty much the pantheon of giant Hollywood directors involved and not a large budget, people still weren’t willing to take the chance. Now Netflix […]They have so many adult animations on there. They’re building, and that just begets more fans of adult animation. It seems like the snowball in West is really and steadily moving downhill. There’s been an avalanche in Asia for a while now. We’re just catching up. We’re slow.”

Season 3 of Love, Death & RobotsNetflix has it available now