Voltron Lion - Armed and ready to defend the Universe

Synopsis:

Another childhood favourite from the 80s. As mentioned from Wikipedia, the story revolves a team of 5 young lads piloting 5 powerful lion robots, each with different unique abilities whose purpose is to serve and protect Planet Arus from the evil clutches of King Zarkon, ruler of the planet Doom.  The story revolves how 5 young men dispatched by the Galaxy Alliance were supposedly to do some space exploration as part of the mission, however led them in a war-torn planet.  They were later captured by King Zarkon’s men and taken back to Planet Doom for enslavement and King Zarkon certainly takes a huge interests in ensuring every planetary conquest he seeks will result in having human enslavement counts increases.  The lads broke free, escaped on one of the enemy ships and flew back to Planet Arus, sought refuge in castle Arus and piloted the 5 lion robots to form the greatest defender of the universe, known (which we all know so well) as Voltron.  Voltron, a combined robot with 5 lions each acting as its limbs to give us a giant robot that faces any evil monsters King Zarkon’s dispatches and ultimately destroys them (and succeeded in defending Planet Arus).

The epic sounds of Voltron opening music theme/transformation sequence thrills me to the bones! :)

Here are the list of the Voltrion Lions’ heroes, mecha and villians (as sourced from Wikipedia.org)

Characters:

Keith Kogane : Commander and leader of the Voltron Force, who pilots the Black Lion that forms the bulk of Voltron. Keith wears a red uniform in the original series, and a black uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. Keith is a quiet individual who spends much of his time pondering his decisions, thinking up new strategies, and simply being a leader. He also has a hobby of reading books. He can often be found doing so either in the pilot’s lounge, or in his room. He seemingly cherishes Princess Allura and is thought to be somewhat protective of her; his worst fear, according to Voltron: The Third Dimension, was that she would be forced to marry the evil Prince Lotor. In the “Devil’s Due” comic series, Keith originally ran a dojo prior to being recruited by Hawkins.

Lance: Second-in-command of Voltron, who pilots the Red Lion that forms the right arm of Voltron. Lance wears a blue uniform in the original series, and a metallic red uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He is a tall man, both wiry and wily, Lance is always cracking jokes and teasing others whenever he gets the chance. He is the only one in the group who contests any of Keith’s commands. He is a ladies’ man and a great pilot, though reckless at times. In the “Devil’s Due” comic series, Lance was forced into the mission to Arus due to his criminal record.

Pidge: Pidge is the youngest and smallest of the group; he pilots the Green Lion that forms the left arm of Voltron, and wears a green uniform. His home planet Balto was destroyed by nuclear missiles from King Zarkon. Pidge graduated from the academy at a young age, and his specialty is science. Like the others, he is well-trained in martial arts, and uses his size and agility to his advantage. Pidge is not afraid to speak his mind, especially to the villains. His heart is often in his words. Pidge has a twin brother, Chip, who is a member of the Vehicle Voltron Air Team.

Sven: Sven, a Norwegian pilot, was the original second-in-command. He piloted the Blue Lion and wore a black uniform at the very beginning of the series. In Episode 6, he was badly injured during an attack by Haggar, and was sent away to the planet Ebb to be healed. He was killed in the Japanese version, with his younger brother appearing later in the series. Ebb was attacked and raided by Lotor’s Forces and Sven was captured. The prison ship on which he was transferred accidentally crashed on Planet Doom where Sven went into hiding becoming a hermit within the caves. He eventually encountered Allura’s cousin from the Planet Pollux, Princess Romelle, who had been sent to the slave mines after she rejected Lotor’s advances. During Sven’s time on Planet Doom he witnessed Zarkon and Lotor’s cruelty to their slaves, which drove him to the point of madness. He recovered thanks to Romelle’s emotional support and helped her escape Doom. Sven was later reassigned to the Planet Pollux with Romelle and her brother Prince Bandor. Sven eventually fell in love with Romelle, though he was reluctant to pursue his feelings because he felt he was unworthy of her. Sven was always very quiet and reserved, and spoke only when he had something important to say. Though he may not show it, he is a very emotional person, and his heart is always leading his mind in any decision. Sven does not appear in nor is he mentioned in Voltron: The Third Dimension. Although Sven no longer pilots the Blue Lion on a regular basis after Episode 6, he continued to be featured as a pilot for the Voltron Force in the opening credits of the series while Allura appears in the closing sequence. Sven does pilot the Blue Lion into combat alongside his colleagues on one more occasion, however, during the second season episode, “Who’s Flyin’ Blue Lion.”

Princess Allura: Princess Allura of the planet Arus is the ruler of the Kingdom of Altair, as well as de facto ruler of the entire planet, and is also the object of Lotor’s affections. Daughter of the late King Alfor, Allura inherited her father’s authority on his death and is commander in chief and head of state for the planet Arus, and thus Commander Keith’s superior. However, later she takes over for Sven as the pilot of the Blue Lion that forms Voltron’s right leg, and defers to Keith during operational engagements. Allura wears a pink uniform in the original series, and a metallic blue uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. Though a bit naïve, especially with matters of romance, Allura is a strong-willed person, and is very capable of ruling her planet, though some like Coran and Nanny tend to doubt this ability. She is capable of invoking the dead, particularly her father, the late King Alfor. In The Third Dimension, Allura later learns special mind skills that could allow the Voltron Force to control the Lions without having to be in the cockpits, and also helps the others to learn it as well. She also has feelings for Keith.

Hunk: Hunk is the strong-man of the group, piloting the Yellow Lion that forms Voltron’s left leg. He is shown wearing an orange uniform in the original series, and a metallic yellow uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He may look tough and mean, but has a soft heart, especially when it comes to children and puppies. He is never late for a meal. Though his friends tease him about his appetite, most of Hunk’s bulk is muscle. It is revealed that he eats “-’Fruit Loops’ (almost) every morning”.

Voltron Mecha:

Black Lion: Piloted by Commander Keith. Piloted by Allura in one episode. Unlike the other Lions, the Black Lion did not have a “closed” hangar. Throughout the series, it was assumed that the Black Lion’s hangar was located on the large tower fronting the castle, which was previously occupied by a winged lion statue which hid it. When the Black Lion was first activated, this statue crumbled apart to reveal it, and the Black Lion folded its seldom-used wings. In Voltron: The Third Dimension, it is shown that the winged lion statue literally morphs into the Black Lion when the lion is launched, meaning that this statue is nothing more than a disguised form of the Black Lion.

Red Lion: Piloted by Lance. by Princes Allura in one episode since Lance was using the Blue Lion to find the cure for the deadly flowers. The Red Lion’s hangar was located inside a volcano near the castle.

Green Lion: Piloted by Pidge. Piloted by Keith in its first launch, before the Black Lion was recovered. The Green Lion’s hangar was located in a forest near the castle.

Blue Lion: Piloted by Sven up to episode 6, and thereafter by Princess Allura (although Sven would return to pilot the Blue Lion on one more occasion in the second season episode “Who’s Flyin’ Blue Lion?”). Piloted in one episode each by Keith, Coran, and Nanny together, and a replacement pilot (who turned out to be an agent of Zarkon). Piloted once by Lance when he went off to a distant planet to find the cure by which to heal the Princess. Lance piloted the Blue Lion because the planet had a special magnetic field that only the Blue Lion could overcome. The Blue Lion’s hangar was located underneath the moat that surrounded the castle.

Yellow Lion: Piloted by Hunk. The Yellow Lion’s hangar was located inside a cave located in a desert near the castle. In Voltron: The Third Dimension, its hangar was redesigned to resemble a sphinx-like form instead of an ordinary cave.

Villains:

King Zarkon: King Zarkon of the Planet Doom is one of the rulers of the Drule Empire, though by no means the absolute ruler. He is constantly using others as scapegoats for his own failure, including his son Lotor. In the Japanese version, however, he is the evil ruler of his own Empire, without anybody controlling him. Where as he was killed off the japanese version of the series finale, Zarkon resurfaces in Voltron: The Third Dimension, having redeemed himself prior to his final defeat, and became a member of the Galactic Council. His redemption, however, was a ruse by which he and his son worked together to take over the alliance.

Prince Lotor: Prince Lotor is the son of Zarkon. He dislikes his father greatly, and wishes to rule in his place with Princess Allura by his side, to whom he has developed a strong and obsessive attraction. So powerful are his feelings that he is unable to even destroy a holographic image of Allura. Lotor also has an even stronger hatred with Keith, because he’s seen Allura’s love towards Keith. Because of Allura and Keith’s love, Lotor is more determined to kill Keith than any other Voltron Force member. Lotor is a very sly, smart, smooth, powerful man, who exudes force and emanates what seems to be pure evil, except when Allura is around. In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Lotor was mortally wounded in the final battle, and was converted into a cyborg after he was placed in prison. However, he escaped and perpetrated his revenge on the heroes, though he still has feelings for Allura. In the “Devil’s Due” comic series, Lotor met Allura while they were children during Zarkon’s invasion of Arus. In the comics, Lotor follows a warrior’s code of honor and sees all non-Drule life forms to be inferior.

Witch Haggar: Haggar the witch is the one responsible for creating all of the Robeasts Zarkon uses. She is notorious for using her dark magic to cast hypnotizing spells over people. Though she was once good and beautiful, she is now evil and ugly. It was Haggar who was responsible for originally splitting Voltron into five components in the American version. In the Japanese version, she is hinted to be King Zarkon’s mother thus making her Lotor’s grandmother where she was killed in the end for revealing Lotor’s true maternity. In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Haggar went into hiding after the final battle, but rejoined Lotor in his conquest schemes. They strike a deal in which, if Lotor conquers the universe, she gets the magic of the lions while he gets the universe and the lions themselves. In the “Devil’s Due” comic series, Haggar had no part in Voltron’s origin story, replaced by an ancestor of Zarkon’s, though she is well versed in it. She also attempt to brainwash Sven under Merla’s wishes

So what is about Voltron became such a cultural phenomenon during the 80s got entire North America so crazy about these mechanical feline that seemed to woo in the youngsters of all ages?

Well.. Pretty much everything.

Its story telling.  Impressive cast of characters and mecha.  Unique monsters (or Robeasts) Voltron mecha gets to face. The way how the plot captures our imagination and makes our excitement all very electrying!  It couldn’t get any better than this I realise.

There’s further hidden truths or secrets about Voltron I never realised before whilst googling it for quite some time now.  Especially this series was originally created in Japan (produced by Toei Animation under the name of Beast King GoLion) and suggested it was far more violent and has more bloods and gore.   And it suggests plenty of human cruelty acts as human slavery is the strong theme behind the series.  And how World Events Production (WEP) decides to censor and edit the entire show, rebrand it to the American audience as a different product altogether.  It intrigues me a lot and that’s something I’ll look forward to writing more about sometime in the near future.

But for now. Let’s embrace of what appears to be one of the best cartoon import series that was ever produced in our time.  I thank WEP and Toei Animations for making this happened.