Voltron: Legendary Defender (Season
1)
Basic Premise
In today’s age of entertainment, it’s amazing to note the
wide variety of ways to watch shows and movies.
Before, you only had what was playing at the local cinema to consider
your options, including short films, newsreels, and even cartoons. Then, with the rise of suburbia came the rise
of television which provided entertainment for the majority of families. For a long time, TV was the only way to
introduce new series, meaning all audiences of certain programs had to make
sure they were near their sets to stay updated with what was going on and would
lose a lot if they missed it. Things got
better with the rise of physical media such as DVDs which would allow people to
view all shows at their own pace, not just favorite recent ones, but also old
shows they had never seen before. Now,
we’re in the age of digital streaming where one subscription could make all
sorts of shows readily available without the need to put in a disc. As someone who’s grown up with physical
media, I’m not really used to digital streaming, but now that I got a
subscription to the popular video site, Netflix, possibilities for more
animated series reviews are endless.
Sites like Netflix even have a number of shows made specifically for
there, including animated ones. One of
these Netflix-original series is going to be the subject of the coming series
of posts; Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Since I’m new to Netflix, I’m going into this show completely
blind with very little knowledge of what’s to come. From what I can gather, it’s about these five
guys who control parts of a giant robot and defend the galaxy. I can easily see that it’s an interesting
premise, and with the right execution, there could be a big grand story. Plus, some of the creative forces behind the
show were a part of the crew for the shows of the Avatar franchise and is a production of one of today’s biggest
animation studios, Dreamworks, so the show could turn out epic. However the show turns out, I’m still excited
for my first viewing of an animated series made exclusively for Netflix, and
how it turns out will all be documented in my first set of reviews on its
11-episode first season. Special thanks
goes to my friend on Facebook, Omar Choudhury for requesting this series for reviewing.
Now on with the reviews:
The
Rise of Voltron
Kicking off the series with a 68-minute premiere, we get introduced to the main story and characters with a bang. Everything is told with a big cinematic scope that introduces us to this vast science-fiction world. Much of it comes from what we learn about Voltron, how it works, and what it was a part of which serve as creative additions to help the series stand out. It’s a huge robot from the planet Altea used to defend the galaxy from the forces of evil composed by five smaller lion robots of different colors, each one representing a different personality trait. The lions are also known to have been controlled by just the right person suited for them known as Paladins. However, Altea was attacked by the Galra Empire led by the evil Emperor Zarkon and the King Alfor, commissioned the Voltron lions to be hidden for safety. This background of the titular robot is shown to have a lot of layers to it revealed to us in the first episode, which makes it all the more compelling. Aiding in Voltron’s appeal are the characters that we follow throughout the episode. The five people selected to be the new Paladins for the Voltron lions all have distinct personalities that bounce off each other as well as identifiable flaws for them to overcome throughout the series. We have the vain and cocky Lance, the nervous motion sickness-prone Hunk, the studious calculating Pidge, the temperamental Garrison dropout Keith, and the captured explorer who has the most knowledge of the Galra Empire out of the five, Shiro. Even if their flaws can get overbearing at times, it’s acceptable since this is the first episode and they have plenty of time to develop. There’s also Princess Allura and her humorous and eccentric royal advisor Coran, the sole survivors of Altea who awaken from hyper-sleep to help the Paladins, teach them about Voltron and their conflict with Galra. Although Allura herself merely presents herself as a magical being who helps the heroes, the scene of her seeking console from the memories of her late father as well as how she has to deal with being the sole survivor of her planet show that she has some promise for a more realized character later on. This is just one example of the genuine sense of emotion present here. Other emotional moments include Shiro slowly learning more about who he used to be before getting captured on his Kerberos mission, Pidge attempting to save his family who were captured with Shiro despite the dangers, and Keith fighting through his tempers to bond with his assigned lion. Each one of these moments help flesh out these characters and fill them with promise for the future. Speaking of the future, when Voltron eventually forms in the heat of a siege and beats an invading Galra ship, it’s a well-constructed, epic moment after all that buildup, and the final mention on how the battle was just the beginning of what the Paladins have to do really anticipate you to see more of it, not to mention, if they can manage to successfully work as a team like the entire episode was pushing towards. For its big grand scope with the story, distinctive characters, genuine emotion, and epic payoffs, this premiere is an effective start to the series letting you know that we’re in for an exciting animated experience. 9.5/10
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where training to form Voltron truly begins in "Some Assembly Required."
Woah! That’s a stunning rating! I am surely going to watch it. I just hope to watch it as my siblings are busy watching shows by Andy Yeatman on Netflix. I do like his shows and also have to sit with them to watch it but sometimes want to watch something my age.
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