We're in for a little more of the same. You could say that reviewing one show that focuses on awesome gestalt based martial arts action put me on a kick. This one is... similar, but so very different in so many ways. At any rate, it's kind of difficult for me to do an old versus new comparison of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, and Voltron: Legendary Defender. This is mostly because my exposure to the former is pretty limited. I've seen the episodes that Netflix added to their streaming line up in order to advertise the latter, but beyond that, I've only ever seen a few other episodes here and there. I'm not terribly ashamed of this because the two started when I was a little over a year old, and it ended about six months after I turned two. I can confidently say that I have enjoyed the episodes of Defender of the Universe that I have seen, and perhaps when my television watching docket gets a bit shorter, I'll go back and take a look. I will say that I was at least familiar enough with the original show to get excited when I heard that Netflix was reviving it. I wasn't entirely certain what to expect, but we'll get to the particulars of that. There was the initial thought that this was a kids' show, and that perhaps I was a bit old, but those fears were quickly assuaged, and once again, we'll get into that as well. Let's take a look at this reboot, and see how it stacks up against the critical eye of this blogger.
V: LD as I shall refer to it from here out, gets off to a pretty strong start. We're quickly introduced to three of our main characters, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. They're running simulations in military training school, and failing miserably at it. They're ridiculed, and sent on their way after their inability to work as a cohesive team prevents them from performing their mission successfully. We see that each is prodigy level amazing at what they can do. Pidge is a phenomenal scientist who can assimilate and process data at incredible rates, and with great accuracy. Hunk is a fantastic mechanic who can diagnose and repair complex systems on the fly with ease, and Lance is an incredible pilot who can fly a ship by intuition alone better than most can who have practiced for years, possibly even decades. But it's these natural abilities and ease of performance in highly specialized areas that gets them in trouble. They're all great at what they do really well, but that greatness clouds their ability to look at problems from any other perspective, and it's that clashing of perspectives that ultimately becomes their undoing, at least as far as the simulation is concerned. This is a really good bit of film narrative, and it sets the show up well for operating standards. We learn a ton about these characters that we've never met before, and it's not forced upon us through clumsy exposition, or showboated in annoying and unbelievable ways. It's parsed out organically, and it feels easy to digest because it isn't forced.
That evening, a mysterious object crashes to Earth. The military scrambles to secure the area, but in the mean time, the three trainees sneak out to investigate. We're introduced to Keith, who actually washed out of the military despite being a gifted pilot, and with Keith, the blue lion is found. Shiro, the last of the five pilots to be introduced, has been captured by the military so the other four save him and Hunk builds a device to track the energy emissions of the mysterious object. The device leads them to the blue lion and when they find it, they're all given a vision of a group of lions coming together to form a giant robot. Lance approaches the lion and enters its mouth to take his seat as its pilot. There's excitement as the military homes in on their position. There's some action,and the blue lion roars off into the vast depths of space headed for a point on a map, and giving no explanation. After leaving the atmosphere, the group are confronted by a ship the likes of which they have never seen before. Lance pulls some fancy moves to damage the ship, but the ship pursues. A wormhole opens before them, and there's some argument as to whether they should enter it. They do, and they're instantly moved far across the galaxy. re instantly moved far across the galaxy. re instantly moved far across the galaxy.
Once the trip is over, the five characters find themselves on a new and unexplored planet. They approach a magnificent castle and as they do, it lights up blue and lets the blue lion land. They explore the interior and find two cryopods. Inside are Allura, and Altean princess, and Coran, her noble and loyal adviser. It's at this point that we're introduced to the millennia long struggle between the Golra empire and the Altean coalition of worlds. It's a battle that seems as if it was long since won by the Golra as the Alteans have been wiped out. Allura explains that there are five lions that need to be located in order to form Voltron, the legendary defender of the universe, and symbol of peace. Allura assigns a lion to each of the team to go locate, and they're sent on their way. Fearing an attack, Keith stays behind to guard the black lion. Shiro and Pidge go to a peaceful jungle world to retrieve the green lion while Hunk and Lance go to a desert planet to grab the yellow lion. Meanwhile, Coran uses scanners within the castle to locate the red lion, which as it turns out, is being held in a Golra ship that's orbiting the planet that they're on. Once the others return, there's discussion about a proper course of action as the team is down a lion and terribly inexperienced in fighting an enemy of which they were unaware the day before. Allure consults an AI construct of her father's memories and personality, and she's convinced that they need to fight.
Allura names each of the characters paladins of Voltron and gives them armor and a weapon, all except Shiro. She explains that his weapon has been lost for as long as she can remember. Pidge flies Shiro and Keith to the belly of the ship, and Shiro has some flashbacks of being on the ship before. As it turns out, he was on a mission with Pidge's father and brother, and the prisoners were all brought to this particular ship. Pidge insists that they rescue all of the prisoners that they find. Shiro understands her sentiment and sends Keith to get the red lion alone. Pidge and Shiro bump into a Golra drone, and Pidge reprograms it to work for them. They free a bunch of prisoners, but Pidge's family isn't among them. They leave the ship as Keith finds the red lion. He tries to approach, but it is reluctant. Some drones show up and Keith fights them off, but is blown into space in the process. The red lion comes to life and rescues him and he pilots the lion back to the surface of the planet. Having the five lions, the group can now form Voltron, however, there's a struggle to do so the first time around. They eventually manage, albeit clumsily, and they destroy the Golra ship.
That's the first episode of a series that will have six seasons as of June of this year! In later seasons, we learn that the Golra experimented on Shiro, giving him his bionic arm, Emperor Zarcon of the Golra Empire used to be best friends with Allura's dad, and the black paladin, and in fact, he has the black paladin weapon. We learn that Hagar, the witch that serves Zarcon is Golra prince Lotor's mother, and Zarcon's son of course, and that she too was friends with Allura's dad. We learn that Pidge is a girl, which was a minor departure from the original show. And those are just some of the twists that are dropped along the way. We see so much intense drama throughout. Just when you think that the show couldn't up the stakes anymore, they do just that, and it's done so elegantly and organically that you just can't wait for more! The characters are developed incredibly well. I think that's what hooks me the most. All of the characters are given just the right amount of attention and development, and the development of one typically effects all of the others in profound ways. The interconnectivity of the characters is done and used extremely well. And again, nothing is forced. If there's a major character development milestone, it's hinted at beforehand, and then revealed in a natural way. This is a show that focuses on characters and story in parts equal enough to create an extremely entertaining viewing experience every time.
This show does everything right, and I do mean everything. The animation is amazing. The story lines are tight and engaging. The characters are deep and multifaceted, but not is a way that feels forced. Even with short seasons, the show takes its time in developing characters and that's great because it builds both the characters and the suspense within the show, and it gives the twist a your more impact. Oh, the music is incredible! You should have known that it was coming because that's the kind of guy that I am, but seriously, just listen to the theme song. It's bold, it's mysterious, and it's exciting and all that is wrapped into just 51 seconds. It really sums up the show well. The show is mysterious, bold and exciting. However, what sets this show apart from others is how well it balances drama and peril with humor and warm fuzzies. In a world where any show could get a pass for constantly being dark and full of peril, V:LD seeks that balance, and it uses it so well that it pays off time and time again in equal amounts of effectiveness.
One thing that may rub some viewers the wrong was is that the show will periodically employ different animation styles. Usually this is done in an attempt to highlight something humorous. It did take me a while to get used to this ploy, but now it just feels like an integral part of the show's identity. It's used well, and sparingly enough that it doesn't get in the way of all the other stuff that's going on. I think the one bad thing I could say about the show is I'm not too pleased by how they've taken to releasing their 'seasons'. Season one was 13 episodes. Season two was also 13 episodes. When season three debuted, I expected that it would also be 13 episode. It was only seven episodes long. I was getting into it, and just as things were getting really good, the season ended. Don't get me wrong, I know exactly why they're doing it, but it's kind of annoying. I'd gladly wait longer between season releases and get what feels like a whole season in one sitting then operate under the false pretense that they're doing anything other than just releasing half seasons and calling them full seasons. Just call them season X.0, and season X.5 or something. The current mode is insulting to our collective intelligence, and it's not fooling anyone. Okay, rant over.
Legendary Defender stands as a prime example of why you shouldn't judge a show by its genre or rating. In a Netflix where their adult directed original material is mostly rated TV-MA, V:LD is a smart and engaging show that's generally meant for kids to watch that is rated TV-Y7. It's at least as engaging as a lot of its TV-MA counterparts, more so in some cases, and you don't have to deal with some of the more morally offensive elements that those shows tend to include because they can. It's a show that delivers on every level and I give it my highest recommendation! I promise that you won't be disappointed, and I do so confidently and without caveat. It's just that enjoyable! Give it a watch on Netflix today and see what all the hype is really about, and stay tuned to next week to see what we're grilling then!
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