Tag Archives: voltron

TV Review: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Posted on by

voltron1

On Friday September 10th the long anticipated wait was over. Netflix and Dreamworks finally debuted Voltron: Legendary Defender. And while I was highly anticipating the show I was still hesitant to fully embrace the new show. I mean do you blame me? There have been 2 renditions of Voltron to come out since the original showed aired back in the 1980’s (Voltron The 3rd Dimension and Voltron Force) and each time I gave up hope that it would be better than the original. Also Netflix’s version is a reboot and while showrunners Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery said that they were going to keep the essence of Voltron alive I was still scared. My fears lessened with each and every teaser trailer that came out, but I still had slight hesitation going into the show.

So on Friday I got up earlier than I normally do so that I could watch the 1st 70 minute long episode (episodes 2 thru 11 are only 23 minutes long) and after watching it, came away very impressed. So impressed that I didn’t want to get ready for work because I wanted to watch more episodes (which I did later that night and finally finished the series this morning), but common sense prevailed also my fiancée would have killed me if I called out of work to watch a T.V. show.

What I liked:

  • Shiro was an awesome addition to the show and even through eleven episodes he is still shrouded in mystery as to his past before Voltron, it is weird that Princess Allura was not a Pilot or palladin as they are called on this show, but she does pilot the Castle of Lions (if you haven’t seen the show yet, your in for a surprise)
  • King Zarkon and Haggar the Witch are still the Bad Guys
  • They kept King Alfor and of course the Mice.
  • The Lions are still badasses
  • The animation is on point and doesn’t come across as kiddie
  • Lastly, the brought back how the Palladins get to their Lions

What I didn’t like:

  • No Theme song
  • Coran reminds me of the Magician in the Frosty the Snowman Christmas special. Wish he was more cerebral like in the original show.
  • No awesome dialogue during the formation of Voltron
  • Episodes are too short
  • Pidge’s secret

Overall, what an amazing season 1 of Voltron: Legendary Defender. There was never a dull moment and the episodes always kept you on your toes. And the ending of episode 11 leaves you clamoring for more because you want to know what is going to happen. Also the show does a great job appealing to the die-hard Voltron fans as well as the new generation of Voltron fans. The writers and the producers did and amazing job with this show and I look forward to season 2 to see what’s up their sleeves.

Animation: 10 Story: 8.5 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Must Watch!

voltron3voltron 4

Hikari Friday: Meteorite Buzz Lightyear & Pewter Voltron!

Posted on by

Meteorite Buzz Lightyear Hikari Sofubi Figure

To infinity… and beyond!

Meteorite Buzz Lightyear returns to Hikari Friday with a new colorway that’s out of this world!

Meteorite Buzz Lightyear is coming soon from Funko and limited to 250pcs worldwide.

Meteorite Buzz Lightyear Hikari Sofubi Figure

Pewter Voltron Hikari Sofubi Figure

Voltron returns to Hikari Friday with a metallic shine! Pewter Voltron is ready for anything! Pewter Voltron is available now from Gemini Collectibles!

Pewter Voltron is limited to 500pcs worldwide and is exclusively sold by Gemini Collectibles.

Pewter Voltron Hikari Sofubi Figure

First Reaction To Voltron: Legendary Defender

Posted on by

voltron2As this sites everything Voltron guy, I apologize for this post coming so late, however I really need to wrap my head around what I was seeing. I literally have watched this trailer about 15 times and I really can’t find anything to not like about it.

Everything from the story to the characters to the animation I can’t find anything wrong. Even thing that I thought would bother me about the new show like how Keith is not the leader of the Voltron team he now pilots the Red Lion and lance now pilots the Blue Lion (which really makes sense, I mean in the original adaptation of the show Keith wears a red and white suit and Lance wears a blue and white suit). The castle of Lions look amazing as does the Lions themselves. The new flight suits are spiffy and actually look like what a futuristic pilot would wear. Executive producers Joaquim Dos Santos, Lauren Montgomery and writer Tim Hedrick and the rest of the creative team at Dreamworks have a surefire hit on their hands and both Old fans (as well as Deadpool) and the younger generation will really enjoy this new series.

The pilot episode of the series is going to be a one hour long premier followed by 10 more 22 minute long episodes. My butt is going to be glued in front of my TV (as long as the wife has no problem with it lol) and I will be grinning from ear to ear. It is going to be amazing and it’s amazing I have such high hopes for the show after only watching a minute or so long trailer since I have been very skeptical from the begging which I have said here here . I look forward to writing more reviews of the show and I hope I can speak highly of all 11 episodes.

voltron3.png

Voltron: Legendary Defender Comes to Comics by Lion Forge

Posted on by

LF_Voltron_01_COVA_ChristineBianAs fans finish watching this summer’s DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender on Netflix, they’ll have a whole new chapter waiting for them in print: comic books from Lion Forge Comics. Releasing in July, the comic series expands the adventures of the paladins of Voltron with the first of a five-part series of Voltron Legendary Defender comics. The mini-series is the first of several planned expansions of new storylines between seasons.

Written by DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender’s head writer Tim Hedrick and writer Mitch Iverson, the first comic tells the story of a training mission that goes awry when Coran, Princess Allura’s majordomo, falls prey to a villain looking to settle an old debt. Team Voltron embarks on a series of increasingly dangerous quests to save their friend’s life. Each issue focuses on one of the five pilots who together command the giant mecha known as Voltron, formed from their individual flying robotic lions.

The limited five-part series will also be collected in a graphic novel releasing in December, followed by another in-continuity mini-series to be announced.

Voltron’s original incarnation debuted in 1984 and quickly became the top-rated syndicated children’s television show for two years. A wide range of toys and other licensed merchandise cemented it as one of the foremost action properties from the golden age of 1980’s animation, with themes of teamwork and heroism at its heart that still resonate with fans today.

DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender debuts on Netflix June 10.

Voltron Legendary Defender Details are Revealed

Posted on by

OMG my interlocks have been activated and my dynotherms have been connected! Just a short while ago at WonderCon in Los Angeles California, Voltron fans (sadly I was not one of them) got their first look at the art and a teaser trailer and major details of the upcoming Netflix reboot of Voltron: Legendary Defender. And boy oh boy did it not disappoint!!

Here is what we know so far:

Voltron: Legendary Defender is set to debut on Netflix on June 10, 2016, which is a major relief because I thought I was going to have to wait forever to see the awesomeness.

The cast is amazing:

Keith: Steven Yeun (Walking Dead)
Lance: Jeremy Shada (Team America: World Peace)
Pidge: Bex Taylor-Klaus (Arrow and The Last Witch Hunter)
Shiro:  Josh Keaton (Green Lantern: Animated Series / Arkham Origins Video Game)
Princess Allura: Kimberly Brooks (Mass Effect /  Arkham City)
Corran: Rhys Darby (Flight Of The Concords / Modern Family)

voltron pilots

All I have to say is wow, Steven Yeun alone makes the cast awesome. Like my fellow contributor here at graphic policy MR. H says, the Walking Dead should be renamed the Walking Glenn because he is so badass. As my suspicions thought, Sven was renamed Shiro, which is ok, after all it is a reboot. Most of what they show in the artwork is pretty close to the original series as far as how the Pilots look, which is awesome, it means they aren’t going to stray too far away from what we already know.

black lion

I am just amazed at how awesome this show already looks, I can’t wait until June 10th to see this show. Which really speaks volumes if I am already this excited for it as I was very cautious about how another Voltron show would turn out after the disappointments Voltron: The Third Dimension and Voltron Force were. Let me know how you guys feel. Please feel free to chime in.

A First Look At Voltron: Legendary Defender

Posted on by

635943442454875619-vlt-firstlook-2--175802

Voltron fans rejoice! Or shake your head in shame, today we got a glimpse of what Voltron is going to look like in the Netflix reboot Voltron Legendary Defender. This was just an unexpected announcement, especially since WonderCon is giving fans a sneak peak video. I wasn’t expecting to see anything until Friday night or early Saturday. Also we got some details about the show. The 1st season is going to be 13 episodes long, most of the characters are recognizable except for one. Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Princess Allura are back but missing is Sven, I believe they are replacing him with a character named Shiro. Netflix, like they have with most of their original programming will be delving into the back-story of all the major characters, which I think would be great as it will give some depth to the show, which I think is why daredevil has done so well and the same goes for Arrow on the CW.

So you may be asking yourself what my reaction is to this screen shot of Voltron in action. To be honest, at first I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t have a positive feel nor a negative feeling, I think I was just in pure shock as to what I was seeing. First off he looks similar to the original Voltron, which I figured he would when they showed the silhouette of him with the Voltron name art. In assessing how I felt, I had to remember that this is a reboot, not a pick up where the original series left off. With that said, I am pretty excited to see how the show is going to pan out. The creative team behind the show is impressive with Lauren Montgomery (Superman/Batman Apocalypse), Joaquim Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and writer Tim Hedrick (The Legend of Kora) and those shows have done pretty well.

At the end of the day it’s just a screen shot, I think Voltron looks great with the modern twist, the story is still going to appeal to the diehards like me while also trying to appeal to the younger generation, which in my last article (which you can read here if you haven’t already) I stated that would be essential. Also, Playmates  teamed up with Voltron to make an epic toy line which I was really hoping for with the new series so things are looking positive. I can’t wait to see the footage fans are going to be shown at WonderCon this Friday. It’s going to be exciting

Bringing The Old With The New: 5 Must Have In The New Voltron Netflix Series

Posted on by

voltron netflix“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, a Galaxy Alliance was formed. Together with the good planets of the Solar System, they maintained peace throughout the universe until a new horrible menace threatened the galaxy. Voltron was needed once more. This is the story of the superforce of space explorers. Specially trained and sent by the alliance to bring back, Voltron: Defender of the Universe.“ –  Narrated By Peter Cullen

Netflix is at it again, this time they have teamed up with Dreamworks to bring back Voltron with Voltron: Legendary Defender. As excited as I am that yet another Voltron show is being made I am also being cautious because it is yet another Voltron being made. As I said in another article here that I believed the only way Voltron could be successful again is to either introduce a new cast of characters or completely reboot the franchise.

In 2011 Nickelodeon came out with Voltron Force, they tried to introduce us to a new set of Cadets/Pilots being trained by the original Pilots. The show lasted only 1 season, but it was on Nickelodeon and was geared towards kids and not to those in their early to mid 30’s as well as to children.

Voltron the Third Dimension was just doomed to fail from the very beginning. First of all the 3D animation was over the top. The story was weak as they were trying pick up their series several years down the road and the Voltron Force being put out commission by the Galaxy Alliance and are essentially forced into treason to help defend the galaxy once more.

With that said I decided that I should write a article with the 5 things the new Voltron Series has to have that was in the original series that debuted on September 10, 1984.

  1. voltron imageDefender Of The Universe: Bring back the wording Defender of the Universe. Voltron has never been called the Legendary Defender. I am ok with rebooting the franchise, but I think calling Voltron The Legendary Defender is taking it a tad too far.
  2. Sven: Look I love Princess Allura as much as the next person, but the Norwegian Sven was awesome he is the original Pilot of the blue lion and for some reason the creators had decided to move on from him and bring him back in a supporting role. I wish to see Sven back Piloting the blue lion in the new reboot.
  3. king alforKing Alfor: In the original series they talked a lot about King Alfor who is the father to Princess Allura. He would appear every once in a while when the Voltron Force and in particular Princess Allura needed his advice. After all it was King Alfor was the man responsible for digging the tunnels from the castle to the lions. It would be nice to see King Alfor more often in the new series and maybe explore that back story a little bit more.
  4. Stride The Tiger Fighter: Stride was in only 1 episode and that was in season two called Enter Merla: Queen Of Darkness. Even though he was only in 1 episode I thought his character could built upon and have a decent role in the franchise. Plus the Tiger Fighter was awesome and could have complimented Voltron and the five lions well.
  5. original voltron toyAn Awesome Toy Line: I remember clearly having a die cast Voltron where all five lions formed Voltron. There were a few cool toys like the Castle Of Lions, as well as the individual Pilots as well as King Zarkon, Haggar The Witch and Prince Lotor. Voltron the third Dimension had a decent toy line but because the show was so bad they didn’t sell well, but when Voltron Force was being made Mattel was supposed to be doing a toy line for the show, the had mock ups and everything and was even displayed at San Diego Comic Con in 2011 and not one toy came out. They did a small Voltron original series collection through club Matty Collector but that was it. This new show needs to have a awesome toy line, especially to draw win the kids because they are what’s going to help make Voltron successful again.

I have complete faith in Dreamworks that they will do a great job with this new series and, I really hope these five things I have mentioned will be in the series. I was uneasy with Nickelodeons Voltron Force because it was my beloved Voltron and I am not a big fan of what they did to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And I was thrown off immediately thrown off when the shows intro was rapped. But Netflix has had a good run so far with adaptations of Jessica Jones and Daredevil and I can’t wait to see what they are going to do with the Punisher. Okay team let’s Form Voltron!

Review: Voltron: From the Ashes #1-5

Posted on by

VoltronAshes01-Cov-A-MilneActivate interlocks, dynatherms connected, infracells-up, mega thrusters are go, Let’s Go Voltron Force! These words resonated through me as a child who grew up in the 1980’s. Even now as an adult Voltron is still one of the coolest things to me and will read and watch anything that has Voltron Lion Force in it. Which brings me to the topic at hand, Dynamite Entertainment joined forces with Cullen Bunn (Deadpool, Captain America, Magneto) and Blacky Shepherd to form Voltron once again with Voltron: From The Ashes, and I for one couldn’t be anymore excited that I got a chance to read these comics.

When I was given this assignment I couldn’t wait to open it up start reading the first five issues of this series. I knew in order for Voltron to be successful with readers who were born in the mid 90’s a new cast of characters where going to have to be introduced or the franchise had to be completely rebooted like Netflix is going to be doing this year,  and Cullen Bunn and the folks at dynamite hit the nail on the head in blending both the old with the new.

Voltron: From The Ashes takes place over 200 years after the Voltron defeats the Drule Empire. Haggar the Witch and her cat Coven have been drifting through the galaxy abandoned, asleep and defeated. She has nightmares about that day, but she is unaware of the outcome between her Robeasts and Voltron. The galaxy has been  in peace for two hundred years, Voltron’s original pilots Commander Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk and Princess Allura are long gone but are still flashed back to throughout the series. And the Monks of Arus are now training a new set of pilots to take over Voltron if and when he is needed again. These new pilots are Jayce, Vega, Kirin, Niki and Rei ( no not the same girl from Star Wars The Force Awakens her name is spelled Rey). Haggar is eventually found adrift by Gr’ Rawr and she quickly begins the process of creating new Rrobeasts for her new warlord. Shortly after, Haggar, Gr’ Rawr and his army along with Haggars Robeast attack a peaceful and unaware Planet Arus and has called upon the new Voltron Pilots. After a lengthy hard  fault battle, our fearless Pilots help Voltron defeat the Robeasts and Haggar once again

The plot it’s self was solid, it goes back and forth between the original Pilots and the new Cadets/Pilots. Jayce reminds me a lot of Lance. Lance always seem to go to the beat of his own drum, had a hard time following rules, but when it cam to crunch time he was always there to be a good teammate. Also what is unique to Voltron is not one, but two strong female leads, which is a bit of fresh air and I think this could help Voltron get more females interested in Voltron, just as Star Wars did with Rey and so far it has worked. What’s nice with the new Pilots is the creators didn’t do what a lot of franchises did is they take a new group of people and make them exactly like to predecessors like what Ghostbusters is doing with the new movie with the all female cast, you know who which characters resemble the older cast without even seeing a trailer yet for the movie.

The new villain in this series is weak, Gr’ Rawr is not anywhere near a King Zarkon or Prince Lotor or even Emperor Zeppo of the Drule Empire. His name sounds more like a Klingon, than a fearless warlord of the galaxy. I feel like Cullen Bunn spent more time trying to introduce us to the new Voltron Pilots, than he did trying to build up the new enemies besides Haggar. Haggar needs no build up as she has been with Voltron from the very beginning and we know how she ticks. The series would be much better story wise if they delved more into Voltron’s new found enemy. Overall as big fan of Voltron I am still very satisfied with the direction of the story to this point and I look forward to reading the rest of the comics.

The artwork for this series is amazing, it is reminiscent of the cartoon I grew up loving and I am very greatful for that and I think readers who also loved Voltron growing up will also be grateful too. The cover art done by Alex Milne is iconic and does a great job of depicting Voltron as being bruised and battered but not out. The artwork inside done by Blacky Shepherd is flat out amazing. It pops, its colorful. He does a great job making the Castle of Lions more modern as it should be since years has passed by and things have changed for the better.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Blacky Shepherd
Story: 7.5 Art: 10 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Read

Dynamite Entertainment provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

« Older Entries Recent Entries »