Remember Voltron: Defender Of the Universe? The 1980s cartoon about five giant lions that combined to form one awesome giant robot? Well, there’s a new reboot of that cartoon currently on Netflix.
Voltron: Legendary Defender has got all the familiar elements of the original show – the evil villain Zarkon, the beautiful princess Allura of the planet Arus, the monstrous Robeasts … but that’s where the similarities end.
This is a much slicker production, and focuses a lot on the development of the main characters, especially the five pilots, Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge and Hunk.
Much of the first season is about the heroes looking for the lions and learning how to work as a team to form Voltron. In between that, you get some cracking action sequences that only a cartoon about a giant robot can deliver.
One particularly exhilarating scene is where Voltron finally forms his sword just in time to deliver the finishing blow on a Robeast. It’s scenes like that, combined with a heavy dose of nostalgia, that make the first season of Voltron: Legendary Defender a roaring success.
Voltron: Legendary Defender S1 is available on Netflix.