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Thread
:
DS Wants You! To Watch Toku(-inspired) Anime!
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04-08-2021, 06:19 PM
#
304
DreamSword
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,393
It's no secret to anyone that knows me that I am a
huge
fan of almost everything having to do with the
Voltron
franchise. From Lions, to Vehicles, to the comics, to the videogames, to the various different sequels; as long as your subtitle isn't
Legendary Defender
,
Voltron
is a name that I've held dear to my heart ever since seeing the first few episodes on
Toonami
back when I was young. And it's such a shame that
Legendary Defender
has all but completely overshadowed the franchise's' vast history.
Heck, as time goes on, it seems like less and less people are aware of just how hugely influential
Voltron
actually is to US media in general. If not for the popularity of
Voltron
, we would've never seen the huge influx in anime that the US got around that time. If not for
Voltron
, we likely never would've even gotten
Power Rangers
, and by extension, various different Toku. Many forget that
Voltron
was way more popular than
Transformers
at one point.
In other words, we kinda all have
Voltron
to thank for all of us being here, on these boards.
And on the surface, the classic 1984
Voltron
might seem like "a complete mess" (to quote the oh-so-clever writers of
Legendary Defender
), what with the cheesy dubbing, the obvious animation mistakes, and the mishandling of marketing done by Dreamworks. Heck, when I rewatched the show again for the first time when I was 16, I certainly felt that way at first. But, the farther into the show I got, and the more it dawned on me how alot of what this show did had never actually been seen in US media
in general
up to that point, the more I found a surprising amount of substance held within this show aimed at children of the 80s, and a great appreciation for everything it did. And that includes the obvious censorship of the original
GoLion
.
I'm bringing all of this up now because just recently, Ted Koplar, the man who created
Voltron
, passed away. And I can think of no better way to honor this man's legacy than to take a look back at the iconic super robot, and to help celebrate just what made it so special. I don't plan to cover the show in its entirety(though I definitely wanna cover
Voltron Force
one day), but hopefully, with what I do cover here, you all can get atleast a small grasp as to why I think so highly of this franchise.
With that, I'll be covering
"Voltron the Movie"
which is a compilation of the first few episodes of the original anime. And while this particular cut done by a fan certainly restores some of the violent content of the original
GoLion
, make no mistake that the original didn't exactly shy away from a handful of gruesome moments itself.
We start off high with the titular robot, Voltron, squaring off against a mysterious goddess. She sends various demons after Voltron, but they prove no match for Voltron's' incredible might. As Voltron goes in to finish the goddess off, however, she casts a spell that splits the super robot into five pieces, thus starting our story...
We then meet our heroes, the Space Explorers, who are on their way to Planet Arus. Their timing is unfortunate though, as they arrive just as the Pirate King Zarkon's' forces are laying waste to the entire planet.
And it's here I feel I should talk about every character in this group, and how they are one of the various examples of this show's' overall main motif; That of a team being more than just the sum of the people in it, which made for some very fun character dynamics throughout the show too.
First off is, of course,
Keith
, the leader. The guy who wears
Red
all of the time. An Asian leader in a time where that wasn't at all common, and most often the most level-headed one of the group. Keith's just a swell dude all around, but not without his faults. He sometimes does let his emotions get the better of him, and despite being the top dog, it's shown time and time again that he can't handle everything alone. He's the leader not just because of his skillset as a tactician, but because he does a great job providing balance for everyone else on the team, which is often times why he butts heads with...
Lance
, who is often times seen as second in command and the dude in
Blue
. Lance is the most emotional one in the group; Very hot-headed and tends to rush in head first. Easily flustered too despite his love of being a smart-aleck. Also very much a flirt, which, combined with his other flaws tend to get him into trouble. In the end though, still a very capable member of the team and is always there for his friends.
Pidge
is the short guy of the group, and the one in
Green
. Pidge is the brains of the operation. Always the first guy to handle anything related with tech. Don't let his nerdy stature fool you though, this guy is
crazy
. The people of his home planet Balto are known for being unhinged ninjas, and Pidge is no exception. Dude once ran at an enemy with a live, smoking grenade in his hands! That's hardcore! Pidge is often referred to as "little buddy" by his best friend...
Hunk
, the "fat" one. He's the big guy in
Orange
. The most jovial one of the group, and certainly has a fondness for food. There's alot more to him than that though, as his big stature isn't just due to calorie intake, but emphasizes his strength, too. Ontop of that, Hunk has a fondness for machines like Pidge does, which tends to be what they bond over. He's the handyman of the group, and will often go out of his way to help with repairs to anything he can. Machines, homes, soccer fields, you name it.
Last but most certainly not least is
Sven
, the man in
Black
. Yeah, he might have a goofy Scandinavian accent, but make no mistake, this guy is just plain awesome! Hands down the most skilled fighter of the group, and has some incredibly insane feats over the course of the show to prove it. What else would you expect from someone so obviously inspired by Bruce Lee? Sven is my favorite character in the franchise for many reasons that I sadly can't get into here.
Back to the plot at hand, the Space Explorers end up captured and taken as prisoners to Planet Doom, the home of the Drule Empire. There, King Zarkon's' cruelty is put on full display, as he forces prisoners to become slaves, and to get slaughtered by the dozen in his arena by his Robeasts.
Not really fans of that idea, the Space Explorers put their heads together in finding a way out of this literal hellhole. Pidge uses his agility to leap to a nearby barred window, then lowering a rope down so Hunk can climb up and use his brute strength to bend the bars. What follows is actually a pretty intense escape sequence involving riding on giant vultures, dodging flying daggers, and hijacking a prisoner escort ship to escape the planet.
By the way, I love how it's shown that the Drule Empire is super war-loving and battle hungry via the fact that even a ship that's meant to be a simple escort pod is still armed to the teeth with lazers that can do damage to battleship class spacecraft. It's the little things.
Unfortunately for our heroes, despite Zarkon's' command to capture the team, Commander Yorak instead opts to just try and kill the crew instead, blasting them so hard that the atmosphere of Planet Arus would surely finish the job. However, the crew is suddenly saved by a mysterious power coming from said planet. This power belonging to Princess Allura, and her advisor, Coran.
Allura
is a character that I feel alot of people misconstrue nowadays. They take one look at her
Pink
outfit, as well as any given clip of her getting shot down during her time as a pilot, and figure that she's just a generic damsel in distress princess character. However, that couldn't be any further from the truth. See, back then, Allura was actually seen as a bit of a feminist icon, and it's not at all hard to see why. There are many times throughout the show where she takes charge, puts her foot down, and defends herself alongside the rest of the heroes. Ontop of that, her willingness to be on the frontlines is treated realistically, as she had no prior training in being a pilot like how the Space Explorers did. She even uses her failures as motivation to get better, and is willing to do anything to prove herself and to be a strong leader for the people of Arus. In other words, she has what is called a character arc, something that alot of modern viewers tend to just write off, because god forbid a character show any signs of shortcomings that they need to improve on. Allura is a really well done character.
Speaking of things really well done, what follows is a sequence that has surprisingly good atmosphere, with the escape ship still crash landing despite the help from the Castle of Lions, and the Space Explorers seeing first hand just how devastated the entire Planet of Arus is after Zarkon's' invasion. Even when the crew finally reaches the Castle, it's clear that they can't be certain if everything is as it seems. It does a great job at building an air of mystery and dread and I dig it.
Coran then appears the explain what that opening sequence was all about. Back when Zarkon first attacked, the Royal Court summoned Voltron to defend Arus. Unfortunately, Zarkon's' Grand Witch, Haggar, used all of her magic prowess to put a curse on the super robot, splitting him into five pieces and sealing them away in various places on the planet. Unfortunately, King Alfor, the only one who knew how to bring Voltron back to full strength, was then soon killed by Yorak, thus sealing Arus' fate.
"The secret lies with Alfor" is rather literal too, as the Five Keys used to Form Voltron are literally buried with him. Unfortunately, the fifth key has gone missing, meaning the team has no choice but to deploy without the ability to combine. This leads into an iconic sequence.
Ah the docking sequence. Everyone who knows
Voltron
knows about this. It's right up there with the actual combining of the super robot in terms of how iconic its imagery is, and is always great fun to watch.
Know what else is super fun to watch? The war sequence immediately after. It features lazers flying everywhere, mountains being toppled, and Yorak saying one of my favorite lines in anything ever.
Oh, and did I mention that the Robeasts ride around in giant space coffins? Because they do, and that's metal as hell.
And yeah, Voltron is certainly needed for things like this, because despite a valiant effort, the four Lion Robots are no match for the Robeast, with the team only surviving via hiding beneath the sands.
As it turns out, the fifth key was hidden by the Space Mice, who took it due to liking how it looked. Allura talks them into handing the key over(turns out she can talk to animals), and as such, all five Lions are now fully operational, and the Voltron Force immediately goes in for a counterattack on Zarkon's' forces.
One really cool thing to note about the fight against the Robeast is that it's one of the few times that a MOTW actually attacks the team when they're trying to combine, making the sequence all the more intense.
And when we get to that sequence? Oh man, everyone say it with me.
"Dynotherms connected!
Infracells up!
Megathrusters are go!
LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE!
Form feet, and legs!
Form arms, and body!
AND I'LL FORM THE HEAD!"
Although I will say, this was also kind of a point of confusion for alot of kids, myself included. For those not in the know, Keith, the guy in Red, piloted the Black Lion. Lance, the guy in Blue, piloted the Red Lion. Pidge, the guy in Green, piloted the Green Lion. Sven, the guy in Black, piloted the Blue Lion. And Hunk, the guy in Orange, piloted the Yellow Lion. Allura would only further complicate things later when she started piloting Blue Lion despite her still wearing Pink. Just... man is that so confusing. Color association is a thing, guys!
Anyway, Voltron's' first battle against a Robeast is awesome, showing just how mighty a robot Voltron really is. Tossing the Robeast around like a ragdoll and brushing off some close range missile fire like nothing.
And then of course, there's always the classic...
FORM BLAZING SWORD!
In the end, Voltron is victorious, but it's clear that this is only the start of a much bigger war with the Drule Empire.
Overall,
Voltron
is a show that I always have alot of fun with, and I will always appreciate its legacy. From the creation of its own franchise to its influence leading to things like the further importing of anime to the west, as well as the creation of things such as
Power Rangers
,
Voltron
is something I don't think I'll ever stop loving, and I hope atleast some of you feel the same.
__________________
Watch
Metallic Rouge
With Me!
|
Tokucasts w/ Friends!
Last edited by DreamSword; 05-23-2022 at
09:32 PM
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