I've never consumed cocaine...but I was a 9 year old who _loved_ Voltron. Presumably, the experience is indistinguishable.

The fact that an iconic animated show of the 80s only came to be because someone at Toei went "lion anime? Right, got it!" and sent over Go Lion amuses me to no good end.

One of the best toys ever when it first came out . The big metal Lions that worked separately and connected to form Voltron was one of the best toys you could get in the 80’s

I am 44 years old, born in 1979, and grew with Voltron. This video was such a blast! Thank you for all your work.

That intro music with Peter Cullen's voice over still gives me chills to this day.

Voltron was my number 1 as a child. You always felt so grown up watching it because it was so mature in its writing. I was part if the robot generation. Anything that transformed, I watched it. Gobots, Transformers, Voltron, Tranzor Z, Mighty Orbots, even M.A.S.K.

Voltron impacted my childhood extravagantly. My mom stated, a month ago, about how she remembered my brother and I yelling, “Form feet and legs! Arms and body! And I’ll form the head!”

I always loved how the orchestra music was used in the U.S. versions. It really helped set the episodes off.

We grew up in a cul-de-sac in the 1980s and had this massive weeping willow tree in our backyard with five very large, sturdy main branches, and there were 5 of us neighborhood kids, so we used to play Voltron in our tree, each branch being one of the lions. We would 'borrow' my dad's new home video camera (where you had to strap the entire VCR unit over your shoulder and hold up the 20 lb camera AND a crappy boom mic that only seemed to pick up wind noise), and we spent hours scripting, acting, and filming our own Voltron shorts. This show was great fuel for the imagination. :)

“Because Voltron is badass” - Bill Hader Hot Rod 2007

I was prime target audience when Voltron came out and at 41 the theme music still gives me goosebumps. Oh and Lion Force all the way!!

"My favorite character is Hutch, he pilots the Ford Bronco that's the left foot of vehicle Voltron" said no one ever

Voltron was one of the biggest things in my childhood. Three Christmas in a row, my parents tried to get me the toy. It broke twice in two separate years and in the middle they got vehicle Voltron by accident instead. Luckily this cemented Voltron in my heart, and greatly informed me how awesome Power Rangers was when it came over

I personally LOVED Voltron, specifically the Lionbot Voltron. I liked Vehicle Voltron too but let's be honest, when someone says "Voltron" we see Lionbot Voltron in our minds, not Vehicle Voltron. I think I watched too much anime as a kid because I saw that "Tranzor Z" ad and immediately recognised it as Mazinger Z. LOL

It's endlessly interesting to me that depending on where you live in the world a different anime super robot is part of your pop culture because it's the one your country was exposed to first.

the voltron theme still sends chills down my spine. so iconic

The "two Svens" thing was because the character was popular enough that there was backlash to his death, so the Japanese series had to invent his twin brother to take his place. The American version just had him make a convenient recovery.

I still get that certain feeling whenever I see Voltron. The music, the animation, all of it was such a big influence on me as a kid. Its probably my favorite piece of Fandom in the early 80s. I love it unabashedly

That explains a lot...I remember watching the second season and wondering what happened to the lions and where all the vehicles came from. Definitely great memories.

I can't imagine what it would have been like to be a kid in Japan in the 70/80s and see this multitude of awesomely creative violent sci fi cartoons first hand.

Props Dan for naming all 15 Vehicle Voltron pilots in a single breath. Love VV.

While not in the big three (GI Joe, Transformers, MOTU) in terms of popularity, Voltron holds an almost sacred places in 80s lore. Likely the first "anime" that got popular in the U.S., it was a show that we could tell back then was sort of chopped and pasted together at points, and was more "mature" than even it came across, but it just had this "magic" to it that we could not get enough from, watching the lions go through that sequence of emerging from their individual hiding places after the Voltron team, in the most bad@ss way, hyperloops to them. Each sequence being identical (due to animation cost) in every episode, with that "Let's F'ing do this!!!" soundtrack in the background. That stuff STILL pumps you up. A lot of the episodes were hard to follow, but honestly that recurring sequence is what you showed up for, and what 99% of us like to see when we look up video of it. And MF'ing Optimus PRIME narrates the opening!

Still, waiting patiently for a" LIVE-action" film version of this show. I was a bigger fan of Voltron than The Transformers, GI-Joe, and Masters Of The Universe combined! I could never, never, ever locate the toy versions of the 5 lion-bots as a kid. Team Lion 100% !

Great episode! Really liked this one a lot.

I don't think any of us would mind a longer video encompassing the history and other versions of Voltron. It may be a year or more before you circle back to continue with this story. It wouldn't be an issue if the very next video was a continuation of it, but with other histories popping in between... Its like watching a single episode of your favorite show every 6 months. Yeah, I like the show, but with all that time in between, the story and drama is diluted with time.

I remember both Voltrons happening at the same time. Pidge had a brother who piloted one of the 15 vehicles and they would send letters to each other.

Someone release the film rights to me so I can approve a Voltron live action movie.

When I was 7 in 1989, my friend had the original metal version. He thought it was “boring”. I asked him if he was willing to trade. I can not even recall what I traded but it could not of been that memorable because I loved my cool toys with a passion. After “owning” Voltron for one day, his mom called my mom and said I had to give it back. That small speck of time still sticks in my head like it was yesterday. I at least got the Lego version as an adult the day it was released.

Of all the toys I grew up with, I'm stunned I didn't own any Voltron toys, given how much I loved the show, and how many different toys of Voltron their were.

For years my friends thought I lied about seeing a character dressed in black named, Sven. Some sources say the episode in which he died was never shown in the US but I absolutely remember it because of how much flak I got for saying it as a kid.

There was also Voltron Force. It included the original characters plus the princess 's niece plus two cadets. They all wear a lion com that acts as a communicator as well as give them special weapons and give Voltron different configurations and weapons. It is on Amazon prime but was ended before the story was completed.

Voltron was my cousin's favorite show growing up in the 80s. I was born in the 90s and caught it like WAY later and I have to say, it is one of the best animated shows of the 80s I've ever seen, right up there with the likes of Thunder Cats.

The Voltron toy was the first thing that was ever given to me as a kid that I knew, just knew, I needed to keep pristine; that it was special. I was 6 so that still didn’t happen, but I came close. Ended up getting trashed by my concerned mother when she saw a story about lead paint being used on it or something. Rest in Pieces, Defender of the Universe, wherever you are. Also Princess Allura was my first crush. Even though I thought her name was Laura. No wonder she ignored me.

I still feel slightly ripped off that we never saw Gladiator Voltron in action. The toy was weird and cool in all the right places.

As someone from St Louis and a child of the 80s/90s this was a blast from the past. It was a huge thing for the show to have been made here, St Louis has never been known for tv much less cartoons. I always grew up thinking this was another stolen property from Japan, but in reality they recrafted the show and made it into the IP that we know today. Toei threatening legal action at every step sounds like the most Toei thing, they're such jerks.

I obsessed over Voltron (both Lion and Vehicle). I never did see the 3rd version in my region. It was such a stellar show, and the stories were beyond epic. A number of years ago my girlfriend and I had the honor of interviewing Jack Angel (hail King Zarkon) for our radio show. To realize just how many voices he'd done and even his work with Disney is just as vast. I mean those of us in Gen X and Gen Y grew up with his iconic voices. Sadly Jack passed in October 19, 2021. Also Neil Ross also voiced Pidge.

Had every single Voltron product listed, to include erasers shaped like voltron and even the bootleg toys. I loved the huge plastic Voltron sword as a kid. I remember some bad kid once threw a brick at me and I chopped it in half with the sword and it (sword) didn't break. That kid went running away at the power of the sword. :)

I was born after Voltron came out, and was a huge power rangers fan. At some point I discovered a Voltron toy at a yard sale, I think. I was immediately perplexed. Here was a toy that was incredibly similar to the power rangers megazord. Five smaller animal robots combine into a bigger humanoid robot. They even both had horns on the head. It was like I had discovered a toy from a parallel universe or something! I had to wait until I was older to figure out the real reason why, which is that the Japanese love their giant robots lol

Legendary Defender was really well done. One of the only reimagined 80s classics that did a terrific job of capturing the essence of the original and made it even better.

Here in Green Bay, the 2 series alternated, first Lion 5 , then Vehicles, but my dad never got a VCR or even Betamax. But he did have an G.E. audio cassette tape recorder with a small square microphone on a wire that plugged into the side. So I had to hold the mic up to the little black and white TV that was downstairs in the basement that was made into a Rec room with the pool table with a ping pong table, plus a separate board for my MARX "O-27" Model trains. With the cassette tape recorder I could play both the real trains from outside like the G.B.&W. RR. ALCO Diesels that were painted Red. And also the Audio Sounds of the 2nd Vehicle Force "VOLTRON-2" BUT Only the last 4 episodes when Voltron was fighting the other DRULL EMPIRE and one of those Episodes was when The Voltron Force was searching for another planet for food supplies, called Planet ALOHA with palm trees and 🥥 coconuts, which aired on September 15, 1987. (P.S., I just spent the past 2 hours listening to those audio tapes , because I still have my stereo tape deck, but the tapes are only mono sound that goes through only 1 speaker). So, did anybody else record only the audio of your favorite show back in the past????? Most of the voice actors had to play at least 5 roles, like the Voltron Force was also several pilots, and the Druul EMPIRE, and background characters. Well known actor Peter Cullen was Commander Hawkins of Voltron, and Druul General. Plus they used a lot of foreign accents for each character. Thusly, please enjoy VOLTRON, and all these cartoons, both classic and modern, and remember ALL those hardworking actors and actresses that bring those imaginary characters to life. Thanks everybody!!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS 2021 A.D.!!!!! Here is hopping that Santa Claus will bring you that classic Voltron Toy you have always wanted!! And A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022 A.D. MAY GOD BLESS US ALL WITH WISDOM AND PEACE AND HAPPINESS AND JOY!!!!! 🙏 AMEN.

The design of Voltron captivated me as a child. When Power Rangers first aired, the mecha captivated me more than the main footage. Revisiting the show's original footage found me watching Super Sentai, and collecting the mecha toys and changers.

I always loved voltron. But growing up in germany, it didn‘t air until the early 90‘s, and had a pretty short run in general. Needless to say there were NO toys at all, leaving me thinking they simply didn‘t exist when i was seven or something. Now as an adult I managed to hunt down a SOC BeastKing GoLion, and couldn‘t be happier.

I absolutely love all of your videos!!! They are perfect to me.

Watched a couple of your videos now. And, you do an amazing job!

So good! That music gives me chills, it always made me feel so strong and powerful. Thank you for sharing

Voltron always has a special place in my memory. I grew up in a tiny rural town in the US, where we didn't get to see any of the Voltron shows, nor did the comics make it to us. The toys, however, were available at the toy stores in the nearest largish town. We had a smattering of bizarre toys, that obviously had a lore and a backstory, but none of us knew more than we could glean from the toy packaging. I had a Panosh Place skull tank, and a Matchbox vehicle Voltron of some sort. How these thing went together we did not know, but we knew that they did. Sometimes, some kid's cousin from another town would visit, and try to explain it to us, but that was like the world's sketchiest game of "telephone". In a way, I think this made us enjoy Voltron more, as our young minds were unfettered by the established stories, and we made up our own legendary stories, often featuring the characters from "Battle of the Planets" and Robotech.

One of the cool things about GoLion was that Sven's Japanese equivalent had a twin brother who would later appear in the show after his brother had died, which was a godsend to the creators of Voltron, as they could simply treat the twin as Sven who unlike his Japanese equivalent survived, so they were basically given a golden opportunity to bring Sven back.

I always love the litigation details these videos add, it cracks me up how often things get fubred in the background.

I remember seeing the gladiator/albegas robots on the back of a lion voltron toy box in a store as a kid. It was my first hint that a third voltron existed. It became my holy grail for a while; I scoured all sources available to me, did searches at the library for details but found nothing. Had to wait for the internet to learn more.

One of Voltron series I didnt hear mentions was Voltron Force. It was a series that aired on Nicktoons in 2011. A sequel to original Voltron Lion Force season 1 set few years after King Lotor took the throne. It never continued after first season.

6:00 Italian audiences were lucky enough to have all these and more dubbed and aired. We also got BOTH Golion AND Voltron (from USA), which in turn ended in exactly the copyright and red tape mess you can expect.

I remember 3 cartoons from being a kid (well, four if you include GI Joe), G-Force, Voltron, and Starblazers. Wasn't until I hit college that I found out that these shows were all Japanese conversions/imports. Thus began my foray into anime.

That commercial was a slap in the face flashback!!! Imagine the Tranzor Z pre-internet toy buying blues balls a kid in the 80's had to suffer!!!

This was my favorite cartoon as a kid. I was lucky to have all 5 lions that transformed, a helmet, a five lion set, coloring book, and had a Vontron birthday party. Princess Alora and Prince Lotor were my favorite characters.

The commercial use for this video brings tears to my eyes and memories of great cartoons. As an 80s kid growing up in Chicago I remember that all too well. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.

I love the old school Voltron! I grew up with both the lions and vehicle Voltrons in the 1980's! The crossover movie that tied both into the same universe was amazing! Now, I want a blazing sword!! 🙂

I was a HUGE Voltron fan as a kid and that love has never gone away. I was weary of the new Netlfix Voltron. But it was actually amazingly good. I wish we could get a good live action movie. But I fear it will be done badly like Transformers. So, I'm kinda ok with it not happening.

Voltron was an immediate hit when I was kids. Hell, I'm such a true that I bought the complete dvd series with Lion collectable containers back in 2003.

This is a surprisingly deep dive for a video under 25 minutes. A massive amount of information, but there's no way that my tiny brains gonna remember all of that. I feel that if I were going to write an essay on the history of Voltron I'd have to read decades worth of books on the source material first but you've managed to provide such a comprehensive look in such a short space of time. Whoever compiled the research for this video give yourself a pat on the back 👍👌

im 22, me and my younger siblings grew up on voltron. our young dad was (and still is!) a fan, and had somehow gotten his hands on a DVD set. complete with metal casings in the shape of the lion heads. so cool. we had toys and watched the show over and over and over and over again!! still one of my all-time favs, along with thundercats

One of my favorite shows as a kid - and I still remember having to give up a full set of the Lions because of lead in the paint! Argh, they were so cool right up until the possible poison part..

I always liked the 15 vehicle one. The exploration aspect was cool IMO. I never got the Voltron toys, but I was able to get a Combattra/Combattler (after a whole summer of yardwork and saving), which was a lot of fun!

I used to make a Voltron out of K'Nex pieces when I was a kid. The arms and legs could detach, and transform, and he had a big sword and shield. Each were massive. He was one of my favourite creations. Seeing this video made me remember that toy I made.

I was one of the few viewers who ::didn't:: abandon ship when Vehicletron came around, and I had no idea they crossed over with Lion Force, so thanks for that bit of knowledge! Also, I can vouch for 80stees quality -- I still have their Five Lions hoodie. Comes in real handy when the temperatures reach the 40s.

Voltron was easily my favorite toy and show when I was a kid. The feeling of the fully built metal Voltron toy and the pain from when it would pinch your fingers is something I'll never forget.

I just relived my childhood watching this video!

I'm 100% Team Lion Force, but I would love to see Netflix and DreamWorks do a version of the Vehicle Voltron like they did with the lions. They did a great job with the lion force.

Of the many interesting things about this story to me, one of the understated ones is that a media company based in St. Louis (where I lived at the time) created a global brand. Amazing!

As the woman probably responsible for the *"he'll be fine" Sven quote,* I approve this whole video immensely! I showed it to my whole family last night!

Kids at my elementary school were blown away when Voltron debuted, replacing He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe as the favorite. I liked the Vehicle Team also but it wasn't nearly as popular. I still wish Albegas would have aired also.

Lion Force Voltron was this Big Epic Thing when I was a kid in the 80's. It isn't any wonder that when power Rangers debuted in 93, I was in head first.

Voltron, Robotech, and Tranzor Z stoked my love for anime as a child. The worst part of it all was when they were all moved to weekday mornings from afternoon so I could no longer watch (pre VCR days). I never had the chance to finish any until adulthood. Thank god for DVDs and shelves amiright? P.S. I was absolutely thrilled with and LOVED the Netflix version of Voltron. Made me feel like a kid all over again.

As a child, the only significant thing I knew about the show is that something would happen, they would transform into Voltron to save the day, and I would recite the same speech they used everytime, lol. It was like power rangers, before power rangers.

As a kid, I preferred the Vehicle Force to the Lions. I liked the idea of a much larger team, and the Vehicle cartoon seemed more brooding and mature than the brightly colored Lion cartoon. As a 46 year-old, I own both boxes sets on DVD. Really enjoyed this video, cheers from New Zealand.

Dreamworks Voltron was a very good show. I wish they made a sequel series focusing on Vehicle Voltron in that universe. The series introduced a lot of characters that were never really fleshed out (such as the four MFE pilots, Romelle, Lance's older sister, Pidge's older brother, Shiro's spouse, Hunk's girlfriend...or really dear friend...among others). I believe their stories could be covered in the sequel series.

I love that the Dreamworks Voltron series, the most recent Voltron incarnation, references the whole Shiro/Sven dub thing by having Sven be from an alternative universe, complete with bad Swedish accent and going to "space hospital"

I remember when Voltron came on one afternoon, I wasn't sure what it was all about, since I hadn't watched the first five episodes. Needless to say, I was hooked, and so were my classmates in 3rd and 4th Grade. Vehicle Voltron was just fine in our eyes, and this video was my first look at Lion Voltron & Vehicle Voltron's cooperation. I had never heard of such a thing, or perhaps we weren't watching the right channel.

I spent a summer in California in '85 watching and loving Voltron. When I went back to my home in Oregon in the fall, I tried watching, but couldn't get into it. What I was watching in Cali was Vehicle Team, and that is what I was invested in, not the Lion Force stuff playing up here. Since it became ALL about the lions, I've spent decades feeling like the red headed stepchild of Voltron fandom...

Was definitely a lion voltron guy, loved that show. Thanks for all the research into the rights battles. That part had to be boring for you, but it was informative as to why the movie never happened.

Voltron fan for life! I will never forget seeing this show for the first time on Cable when I lived in California. I immediately got psyched about this show. I’ve checked out a lot of the new projects but the original series is still my favorite! Legendary Defender was definitely also a fun series with a lot of cool ideas, although I was disappointed that Keith and Allura didn’t get back together! Voltron has been important to me for many years. Someday I still want my own toy model and a copy of the complete series dvd as well!

This has been my fav episode so far. Voltron has one of the most soft spots of my childhood. Now 40 and with kids introducing them to Voltron was a joy to me and this episode just reminded me of how much I love this show

Loved this cartoon, I even had the big plastic sword they sold for it.

I've been waiting my whole life for a live action version.

Still holds up to this day (May 9th, 2022). I'm just happy, blessed, lucky enough I've been able to share the original as I have all the DVD from both the lion and vehicle force with my kids. Then being able to share with them a piece of my childhood,, to the present most recent sharing-moments watching this iteration of the series 'Netflix-Voltron' It's a great feeling. The Intro and legendary voice-actor Peter Cullen voice over, Still hits Everytime. 👏👏👏😊

I owned three different Voltron robots. I owned the Lions, of course. I owned the vehicles, they were awesome as well. I also owned a third Voltron set that was 3 Robotic humanoids that stacked on top of each other to form Voltron

Great and thorough episode as always, Dan! The toy aisles were an absolute wonderland at that time. There were so many licensed Japanese toys available (and also just straight Imports), that we couldn't even possibly buy them all...

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Dan and Crew!

First time viewer and IMMEDIATELY Subbed! Great Episode! Big fan of the lions and never knew any of this. Loved the Netflix reboot and appreciate your EXCELLENT breakdown.

I grew up on Voltron, it will always hold a place in my heart. My kids watch the same episodes I watched as a kid and they love them. Pure awesomeness...

When you cover the other Voltron properties, can you visit Future Robot Daltanious. My understanding was that it was considered for inclusion into the Voltron franchise or mistaken as Voltron. I saw it in the early 80's while living in northern Italy as a child. (It was a few anime series I watched during my three year stay.)

I am 50 years young, and i loved that dark anime style educational tv series show! Also loved Thundercats, Gobots, Gi-Joe and Ronin Warriors ❤❤❤ Subscribed!

The Matchbox Voltron didn’t come with a lot of weapons, I think only the sword. My awesome parents got me and my brothers some other version at a local toy store (probably imported from Japan) that had all the various weapons that attached to the lions. It was fantastic!

I loved this show when I was a kid. I think I was in the 2nd or 3rd (maybe 4th?) grade when this came out. I remember tuning out when the "Car Voltron" started to air. I thought that Car Voltron was the Go-Bots of Voltron. I wanted the lions back.

I love how Voltron Force was really glossed over and really only hinted at slightly during the legalities of the movie rights with World Events focusing on "an animated series" and that's it lol

I remember going into our local video store as a kid & renting it not knowing what it was ,when my brother & i popped into the VCR we were hooked,,been a fan ever since!!!

Me & my brother had the Matchbox toys. They were Christmas presents that we found in my moms closet. My mom found out and we almost didn't get them. She threatened to take them back (she was pissed, she takes Christmas pretty seriously). We finally did get them and it was glorious. Constructing Voltron for the first time was an awesome moment between me and my brother. My mom locked our presents in her trunk for the next couple of years...

I LOVE Voltron! It was a major part of my childhood! I remember loving Prince Lotor's voice. It was amusingly loud and deliberate. It was just another part of an awesome show!

I'm so glad that I got to be a kid in the 80's there was just so much amazing cartoons for kids back then

Dude your channel is amazing.. love everything you post about toys, cartoon shows, and pop culture at its finest! My childhood memories

Great video, and a lot of great information on Voltron. I was only surprised that there was no mention of the attempted sequel Voltron Force, that in some ways had a little nod to Albegas with the new team's combiner. Only other thing of interest would have been mentioning that Pidge and Chip are twins, and the attempted connection. Most of these episodes now are playing on STARZ.