"Voltron: Defender of the Universe" (1984) TV series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Franklin Cofod

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

This series focuses on 5 lion robots and their pilots as they fight vs. the evil forces of king zarkon and prince lotor.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Planet | Robot | American | Young Man

Cast

Jack Angel	...	King Zarkon (34 episodes, 1984)
Michael Bell	...	Lance / ... (34 episodes, 1984)
Peter Cullen	...	Narrator / ... (34 episodes, 1984)
Neil Ross	...	Keith / ... (34 episodes, 1984)
B.J. Ward	...	Haggar / ... (34 episodes, 1984)
Lennie Weinrib	...	Hunk / ... (34 episodes, 1984)

Also Known As:

"The New Adventures of Voltron" (USA) (reissue title)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L (some epiosodes) | Iceland:LH (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

World Events Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Pidge, who was a member of the Lion Voltron Force, had a brother named Chip, who was part of the Vehicle Voltron Force. However, the two Japanese inspirations for the show, "Hyakujû ô Gô-Rion" (1981) and "Kikô Kantai dairugger XV" (1982) are not related, up to and including these characters.

Goofs:

Continuity: In order to activate the lions, each team member had to insert a special key. In many instances when Keith is starting the Voltron forming sequence, his key can still be seen on his tunic, but then is also seen on the panel of his lion.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Voltron, Defender of the Universe, a mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil. As Voltron's legend grew, peace settled across the galaxy. On Planet Earth...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Megas XLR: S-Force S.O.S. (#2.5)" (2004)

The best of the giant robot animes.

NOTE: This review has been edited, so if it looks different, it's not just you.

Another one of my favorite cartoons growing up that I still enjoy immensely. It's also my 2nd favorite anime, next to Sailor Moon. I remember the first time I stumbled across this show. I was in a rental store & I saw a video of it. I got it without reading the back because I thought it looked cool(as I often did when I was a kid), & after watching the 4 episodes on that tape was instantly hooked. Later I enjoyed watching it on Toonami & the CGI sequel(which I loved just as much) somewhere else. Now I own the original on DVD(except for the Black Lion collection), & have 3 tapes of the CGI series & watch them a lot(as I do with only my favorite cartoons now, unless it's something at least one of my family enjoys). Okay, so it's the most repetitive of my favorite shows, but there was a LOT under the surface. The comedy was funny, the characters & plots were interesting. My favorite was Lance. I thought his smart-alecky remarks were hilarious The animation wasn't the best, but it got the job done, & the designs made up for it. The Robeasts are the coolest giant monsters I have seen in an anime. There are little goofs, but nearly all of them were in the animation & not the plot. But this is still one of the very best cartoons around. BOTTOM LINE: ***** - This & Voltron: The Third Dimension combine to form the 7th best cartoon ever.