Sunny

I thought the first 3 episodes were great, lots of mystique, interesting plot line and a broad spectre of characters. It was attention grabbing. But at some point it just took a turn in to a surreal japanese game show-esq story with no clear plot. It tries to explore moral questions but it quickly becomes flat and uninteresting. It fails to keep your attention, and although it has an interesting problem : can a robot (AI) have free will, an intriguing and relevant philosophical question, it fails to connect on an intelectual level. At a point I just stop caring about the protagonists or the problem in hand. Loads of potential but it just seems like the writers had no idea how to explore the plot in an interesting way. It's as if the Matrix turned in to a Disney cartoon midway...

First of all I would like the creators of this show to acknowledge their love of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, because they named a character Boss Tanaka and he's even the same actor as Boss Tanaka in Kill Bill 1. THEN they name another character Boss Matsumoto. Oh, c'mon! And there are no mentions of this obvious influence in any interviews, but it's so obvious.

That said, I've really been enjoying the show. The writing is fairly clever with enough witty lines to balance out Rashida's dry and unlikeable character. The robot is really impressive to look at but also grows more human all the time. Actually I see a lot of my parrot in the robot, which is sometimes creepy but shows you that everything has emotions. Except robots right now, but we're probably headed there. The story isn't really as gripping as I'd like and it's definitely a slow series, but still very entertaining. I love subtitles so to me the languages blend seamlessly, but I can see how that might bother some whiny Americans. I like that it's set in Japan and seems true to other Japanese made movies and shows with how it's made, the acting, and how over the top the Japanese actors are. It gets better with each episode and I'm glad they made something different that isn't superhero related. It's refreshing that it's at least somewhat original, and definitely weird.

Apple have done it again. Their content is often quirky and unusual and Sunny is no exception.

Rashida Jones's Suzie is a great character, spiky and sarcastic. As her relationship develops with Sunny her robot it becomes normal watching them interact.

Having Japan and Japanese culture, mixed with an American protagonist, and the difficulties this brings when a tragedy happens is interesting.

The futuristic elements are also really well conceived as they are believable, and not too unlike our present world.

I love to watch foreign films and series as subtitles don't bother me. Don't let it put you off.

This is a slow burn series, but you only get half way through the story as Apple has cancelled it.

I did enjoy the show, but it's a bit of a slow story line so it takes a bit of stamina to get into it. But when you do get to start enjoying the characters, and the funny humour of their interactions, you find the series ends and the story has only been half told.

This series cries out for a second season and I believe it would have been a great success if Apple had any foresight or courage. This could of become series people would talk about years from now.

But it seems they are like most other streaming services, only after a quick buck.

I'm only through 5 episodes but am pleasantly surprised. I tuned in because of Rashida Jones but have stayed for its delicate moments. For a sci-fi thriller this show takes a softer hand and is more creative than I expected. The plot is nicely decorated with philosophy and culture, of which none is overtly stated. The plot develops nicely and preserves its mysteries but it's the scenes in between that are memorable. My favorite so far comes at 23 minutes into Ep 5 and prompted me to write this review. No spoilers from me so if you can handle its loose grip then you may be as pleasantly rewarded as I've been for staying tuned.