McMurphy
Apostate Against the Eloi
It does the inner '80s child of me proud to see the Voltron: Defender of the Universe series enter the DVD format world.
Anime Works and World Events has released the first collection of remastered Voltron episodes under a box set entitled "Voltron Collection One: Blue Lion," which is comprised of episodes one through fifteen. Essentially, and as the title relates, it covers the reawakening of the legendary robot Voltron , the death of the original Blue Lion pilot (Sven), and the introduction of Princess Allura as one of the Voltron Force in his place. According to the booklet included in the box set, the animation was color corrected, scratches removed, and dust/dirt wiped clean by tackling the footage frame by frame because the source film is no longer in existence. The sound has been remastered into 5.1 surround sound.
When seeing the series for the first time since children, viewers will be met with a few items of information that was either not released to the public or had just gone over all of their heads at the time of its original 1984 American airing.
First, Voltron was the first day-time program of any genre to be broadcasted in stereo rather than mono signals.
Second, Voltron had originated from the purchase of three Japanese animation cartoons, drawing mainly from the series Go Lion. The television pilot ("The Voltron Trilogy"), which includes footage of all three anime series edited together in attempt to construct an origin and stage process of the Voltron character, is also included under the "Special Features" selection of Disc 3 of this collection.
Third, the voice actor choices will seem quite dated to the current generation of animation fans, particularly those who watch anime regularly. The voices in Voltron are clearly from the Hanna-Barbara cartoon generation.
Fourth, the series Voltron, renamed for Western audiences by World Events, is not a direct translation of the anime. Go Lion was deemed too violent for Western children, and all scenes of bloody murder and head removals had been deleted out of the sequences. Whole storylines were removed from the sound of it (check out the "interviews" section of the "Special Features"). A major difference in the storyline between Voltron and Go Lion is the removal of the funeral scene of the original Blue Lion pilot. In Voltron, the dialog was rewritten to state that the pilot had been badly injured and was in the sick-ward until he got better. Later in the season, the Blue Lion pilot's brother, who looks extremely similar to him, visits the team in Go Lion. In Voltron, the dialogue was rewritten to make it appear that he was, in fact, Sven himself returning to say "hello" to the Voltron Force.
Click HERE to see the removed funeral scene of the Blue Lion Pilot.
Is Voltron: Defender of the Universe still good reviewing more than twenty years later? Yes, but it is certainly dated. Even on the level of animation, while good, it is clearly of an era of anime art that has long since gone out of style. The English voice work is utterly jarring compared to the voice work selected now days. However, people who had grown up with Voltron will appreciate seeing their old favorite giant robot series remastered, and the series would certainly appeal to children today. Could one expect more?
Anime Works and World Events has released the first collection of remastered Voltron episodes under a box set entitled "Voltron Collection One: Blue Lion," which is comprised of episodes one through fifteen. Essentially, and as the title relates, it covers the reawakening of the legendary robot Voltron , the death of the original Blue Lion pilot (Sven), and the introduction of Princess Allura as one of the Voltron Force in his place. According to the booklet included in the box set, the animation was color corrected, scratches removed, and dust/dirt wiped clean by tackling the footage frame by frame because the source film is no longer in existence. The sound has been remastered into 5.1 surround sound.
When seeing the series for the first time since children, viewers will be met with a few items of information that was either not released to the public or had just gone over all of their heads at the time of its original 1984 American airing.
First, Voltron was the first day-time program of any genre to be broadcasted in stereo rather than mono signals.
Second, Voltron had originated from the purchase of three Japanese animation cartoons, drawing mainly from the series Go Lion. The television pilot ("The Voltron Trilogy"), which includes footage of all three anime series edited together in attempt to construct an origin and stage process of the Voltron character, is also included under the "Special Features" selection of Disc 3 of this collection.
Third, the voice actor choices will seem quite dated to the current generation of animation fans, particularly those who watch anime regularly. The voices in Voltron are clearly from the Hanna-Barbara cartoon generation.
Fourth, the series Voltron, renamed for Western audiences by World Events, is not a direct translation of the anime. Go Lion was deemed too violent for Western children, and all scenes of bloody murder and head removals had been deleted out of the sequences. Whole storylines were removed from the sound of it (check out the "interviews" section of the "Special Features"). A major difference in the storyline between Voltron and Go Lion is the removal of the funeral scene of the original Blue Lion pilot. In Voltron, the dialog was rewritten to state that the pilot had been badly injured and was in the sick-ward until he got better. Later in the season, the Blue Lion pilot's brother, who looks extremely similar to him, visits the team in Go Lion. In Voltron, the dialogue was rewritten to make it appear that he was, in fact, Sven himself returning to say "hello" to the Voltron Force.
Click HERE to see the removed funeral scene of the Blue Lion Pilot.
Is Voltron: Defender of the Universe still good reviewing more than twenty years later? Yes, but it is certainly dated. Even on the level of animation, while good, it is clearly of an era of anime art that has long since gone out of style. The English voice work is utterly jarring compared to the voice work selected now days. However, people who had grown up with Voltron will appreciate seeing their old favorite giant robot series remastered, and the series would certainly appeal to children today. Could one expect more?
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