'Sunny' review: Apple TV+ series, about a robot with mystery-solving smarts, makes bold choices
Considering the sheer volume and overall quality of films and TV series available on Apple TV+, it’s almost jarring to realize the subscription streaming service was launched just five years ago. In that half-decade, the Apple Originals slate has delivered an Oscar-winning best picture in “CODA” and a number of zeitgeist-imprinting, awards-gobbling TV series, led by “Ted Lasso.” Perhaps influenced by the spirit of the always forward-thinking Steve Jobs, Apple TV+ seems to have a particular affinity for shows featuring techno stuff and gadgets, shows with post-apocalyptic, retro-future and/or alt-universe sci-fi fare, e.g., “Severance,” “Hello Tomorrow!,” “Silo,” “For All Mankind,” “Constellation” and “Dark Matter.”
Add to that roster “Sunny,” an uneven but often bold and original series that gives Rashida Jones a terrific showcase for her unique talents. I’ll admit to being a bit frustrated when the 10-episode run ended on a major reveal but left many of the main plot points unresolved — they’re clearly planning on a Season 2 — but I’m sufficiently hooked to the point where I’d return for a sophomore chapter to see how everything plays out.
Created by Katie Robbins (“The Affair,” “The Last Tycoon”) and based on the 2018 novel “The Dark Manual” by the Japan-based Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan, “Sunny” opens with a shocking and brutal murder, which quickly gives way to the 20th-century cool animated opening titles, set to the infectious 1970 pop song “Sukiyo Aishite” by Mari Atsumi.
Set in a Kyoto that resembles the future as it might have been envisioned in a sci-fi film from 50 years ago, “Sunny” picks up the main storyline with Jones’ Suzie Sakamoto, an expat who has been living in Japan for 10 years, mourning the loss of her husband Masa and young son Zen, who were aboard a commercial flight that crashed and are missing feared dead. The foul-mouthed, often abrasive, heavily drinking Suzie feels alone in her grief; she has never learned Japanese (she blames it on being dyslexic) and has made no close friends, and she has an icy relationship with her prickly and judgmental mother-in-law Noriko (Judy Ongg).
Returning home one night, Suzie is greeted by the kindly Yuki Tanaka (Jun Kunimura), a roboticist who says he worked with Suzie’s husband Masa (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima in flashbacks that sometimes take on a surreal, dreamlike tone). Yuki says Masa created a custom-made domestic robot named Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura), an all-white AI creation with a round face capable of emoji-like expressions, just for Suzie. Enjoy!
Suzie is confused. Her husband worked in the refrigerator division of the tech company. Yuki finds this hilarious. Apparently, Masa did NOT work in refrigerators, and in fact might have been involved in some sort of project that attracted the most unwanted attention of the Yakuza and might have resulted in the deaths of Masa and Zen — if they are indeed dead.
At first, Suzie wants nothing to do with the cheerful and eager-to-help Sunny — she even tries to throw the bot off a bridge — but when it becomes clear Sunny’s programming could help Suzie figure out just what in the world is happening, human and robot team up on a murder mystery adventure. (As we know from decades of these movies and series, AI entities usually turn out to be either an anthropomorphic best friend or a deadly enemy; part of the fun in “Sunny” is that this particular bot could be a little bit of both.)
In addition to the scene-stealing Judy Ongg as Noriko, who is harboring some deep and shocking secrets, the outstanding supporting cast includes the veteran TV personality and actress known as You as Hime, a platinum blonde and ruthless Yakuza operative who will stop at nothing in her quest for power, and the singer-songwriter annie the clumsy as a mixologist named Mixxy (good name for a mixologist!) who becomes Suzie’s ally so quickly that Sunny doesn’t trust Mixxy, and vice versa.
“Sunny” veers wildly in tone, from dark humor to truly heart-wrenching moments of grief to outlandish gimmicks, including an entire episode that delves into a totally different type of TV genre. Jones does heavy lifting in every episode and creates a richly layered character in Suzie, who readily admits she can be a real jerk but was clearly a loving mother and wife who isn’t sure if her husband was a wonderful man who made great sacrifices for her, or a total stranger she never really knew.
As for that bot known as Sunny: what an amazing piece of acting by Joanna Sotomura, who gives not only voice but complexity, humanity and heart to this funny-looking creation who is the key to some deadly serious business.