Voltron: Legendary Defender

As a child of the 80s, Voltron was my favorite cartoon. My brother and I rented the videos almost every weekend and watched them over and over. That said, this new incarnation both meets and surpasses the old one in many, many ways. The animation style is very much like the origin and yet looks tons better. The voice talent is really good. The story lines do a great job of keeping your interest and making you crave what comes next. The battle sequences are really exciting, and the comedy is very typical of popular anime series. If you like action animation styled like Japanese anime, you'll absolutely love this series. It's probably one of the best to come out recently.

I was always a fan of the 80's in flux of anime for Saturday mornings, sadly the Voltron that was offered then was not a favourite of mine. Not sure, why but it didn't gel at the time. But I am pleasantly surprised with this Netflix offering, lately i have noticed the Netflix shows are very edgy(I do enjoy those as well), so this offering is a nice palate cleansing. A refreshing change, giving families something everyone can watch, not something easy as we see with Jessica Jones, Daredevil, etc. I love the interactions with the new takes of the Voltron team, and the animation is good, not the usual cheap animation that is everywhere today in shows. If it changed this crusty old school animation fan heart, give it a go. I hope it has a long life on Netflix.

I've never been able to defend the original Voltron as a good show. I loved a lot about it, and I've re-watched the first four episodes strung together as the VHS movie 'Castle of Lions' so many times I have the entire thing memorized. The Japanese version was better, or at least more coherent for not being so heavily edited, but there always just something that didn't gel. Other reboot attempts that tried to either continue that original, or reboot it only cleaning up some of the nonsense, always fell a bit flat. This, though. This finally lets the concept sing. Netflix/Dreamworks and everyone have created a fresh version that doesn't stick too tightly to the original. It fixes a lot of incoherencies for it, and gives the series a stronger story with deeper characterization. But, it also takes elements from both the original Voltron and the Japanese GoLion, and even some of the mechanical mysticism of the comics, so it never feels like its abandoned the core of Voltron either. To the opposite, the 11 episodes are practically littered with smart references and allusions to scenes from the original that ring pretty true despite being in the middle of new circumstances. The isn't the Voltron from my childhood. Heck, it's not even Voltron as I remembered it being as a kid. This is a better Voltron entirely. All the delight of a Saturday morning cartoon, all the quirky style of an anime, and all the writing quality I'd hoped having Avatar/Korra alum on board would (and did) bring. If I have one complaint, it's that I still prefer the music and sound effects from the original, but that's neither here nor there and almost entirely nostalgia speaking. This is the better cartoon in every way that matters.

For anybody who has seen the previous series that debuted in the late 90's early 2000's, this is series is a major improvement over what we were given last time. The pilot episode starts out a bit sluggish, but considering what they need to establish in it that is to be expected. I think the biggest problem with the series is that to many people are looking at the series from the 80's that we got direct from Japan and are comparing it to that instead of letting it be a series unto itself.

The voice acting is excellent, and Rhys Darby is critically underused in seasons 1. Hopefully he will get more screen time in season 2! Some characters were given more screen time than others, but again that tends to happen early in a series when you are attempting to establish these characters. Season 2 should help even out the screen time and give other characters more time to develop as fan favorites

My friend grew up with the old Voltron series and when this one came out he was so thrilled! Kept going on and on how amazing it looks and how great the setup was. Just hearing the fact that part of Avatar production team was on it should be enough for anyone loving that series to give this one a go. I watched it at first based on my friends enthusiasm, but I stayed because Voltron delivers so much! The characters grow and change, the plot is ever expanding and wraps up on in a grand manner every season. It might be over the top sometimes, but never too much. It takes the silly idea of a space lion robot and gives it just enough serious spin to keep it amazing through the whole show. Animation is superb and shots are truly grand. There are so many still shots in the series that could be framed as an art piece. Along with it, voice cast and sound production do an amazing job as well. Nothing felt like it was out of place. If you liked the Avatar series or if you have a thing for space magic, I would definitely recommend this show. It is dark at times but it always reminds you that there is good in everyone and that one should always fight for what is right. Appropriate for all ages.