‘Sunny’ series review: Excellent television and a reflective look at humanity’s most horrifying creation

Of the countless Hollywood titles that have taken their take on this fascinating sub-genre of science-fiction, Apple TV+’s latest series sunny This book may come out on top as the most remarkable look at the complexities between humanity and its most fearsome creation, robots, aka artificial intelligence.

Quite plot-heavy, sunny There are a lot of ideas packed into the ten 40-minute episodes, though impressively no stone is left unturned. However, when it begins, it presents a premise so simple that you might be hesitant to accept it – it’s a typical Hollywood set-up, reminiscent of much of Hollywood. I Robot (which follows a robot named Sonny): It features a grieving protagonist who lives in a world he has abandoned, and a good-for-nothing robot who is way too advanced. But with its incredible pilot episode, Katie Robbins’ series sets up an intriguing story and an addictive atmosphere, breaks conventions, and delivers multiple conclusions for deeper study later.

We are first introduced to everything going on in the mind of Suzy Sakamoto (Rashida Jones), a perpetually irritable, robot-phobic, grieving white woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose life is turned upside-down when she loses her husband, Masa (Hidetoshi Nishijima), and son, Zen, in a tragic plane crash. She struggles with crushing grief, rage-inducing pity parties, constant worries of being an outsider, her dyslexia requiring an in-ear device to translate Japanese live, and her irritable, control freak mother-in-law, Noriko (Judy Ong).

As if her plate couldn’t be more full, in a sinister turn of events, one of her husband’s co-workers brings her a Hom-Bot, Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura), which he says her late husband – who claimed to have worked in the refrigerator department – “made and left for her.” This leads Suzy on a mission from which she may not return, in which she understands her loved one posthumously, forms a most unexpected bond with a robot, and uncovers a massive conspiracy led by the Yakuza themselves.

The epitome of a good science fiction story, sunny The human characters are superbly written – we have Michi (Annie the Clumsy), an interesting fellow who may or may not have a crush on Souji; Noriko, who deals with her grief in a peculiar way; and the terrifying Hime (Yu), a blonde, sweet-voiced yakuza heiress who puppeteers Souji and Sunny in a game of deception. However, what stands out is how humanized the titular robot is. sunnyAs one character says, this is not a story about robots learning humanity, but about humans learning humanity from robots.

And so, the robots are designed as less threatening household machines with big round heads and adorable eyes. The writing humanises these robots to such an extent that you come to care deeply for Sunny, especially when there are myriad dangers lurking around the corner. With the writing complemented by brilliant performances, the first few episodes are filled with moments where Sunny expresses alarmingly real emotions, like when she throws a packet of crispers at the mixer. We also speculate that a terrifyingly advanced and seemingly sentient robot like her might be the killer robot, glimpsed in the opening scene of the series. Walking this thin grey line ensures that we can see beyond Sunny’s metal exterior.

A scene from ‘Sunny’ | Photo Credit: Apple TV+

As the story progresses, the scenes that leave the most impact on you are the ones with Suzy, Masa and Sunny, which bring time and memories together; here flashbacks become dreams and then nightmares, often leaving you trying to differentiate between fact and fiction as you watch Suzy fall inch by inch into a deeper abyss of paranoia and misery.

But make no mistake, this is by no means a completely disturbing dark science-fiction thriller. sunny It’s also a rare hit that combines multiple tones, with dark humor occasionally opening a window of lightness. With a saturated, high-contrast color palette and Japanese aesthetics, the visual tone sunny It also adds a certain mood, a far cry from the muted colours Hollywood typically uses for such titles. Add to that the bright, retro-styled intro credits and its funky soundtrack, and you’re reminded of a field of sunflowers growing zig-zag-zaggingly through the metal at a scrapyard.

Of course, there are some flaws along the way, such as it seems like the series didn’t have much to say in some of the filler episodes in the middle, but looking back, these minor flaws tend to disappear. Combining futuristic robots, great performances, excellent set design, and stunning Japanese locations with the big production sensibilities of Hollywood, sunny This is truly top notch television that deserves a sequel.

Sunny is currently streaming on Apple TV+ with its first two episodes; subsequent episodes will release weekly every Wednesday