Voltron: Legendary Defender
Voltron: Legendary Defender is an animated mecha streaming television series produced by American companies DreamWorks Animation Television and World Events Productions and animated by South Korean studio Mir. It is a reboot of the "Voltron" franchise and the Japanese anime series "Beast King GoLion", and its animation is a mix of anime-influenced traditional animation for characters and background and CGI for Voltron action sequences. "Voltron: Legendary Defender" is set in a science fiction universe where planetary energy called "quintessence" can be used to power vehicles and magic. The series follows the adventures of the Paladins of  Voltron who must learn to work together to form the giant robot Voltron and use it to defeat the evil Galra Empire. The first season premiered on Netflix on June 10, 2016, and consisted of 11 episodes. The series had a 76-episode commitment from Netflix. It has been released globally in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Benelux, Latin America, Slovenia, South Africa, Italy and Finland. The second season premiered on Netflix on January 20, 2017, and consisted of 13 episodes. The third season premiered on Netflix on August  4, 2017, and consisted of 7 episodes while the fourth season premiered on October 13, 2017, and consisted of 6 episodes. The fifth season premiered on March 2, 2018, and consists of six episodes. The sixth season premiered on June 15, 2018 and consists of seven episodes. A seventh season premiered on August 10, 2018 and consists of thirteen episodes. The series' success has spawned several comics, action figures, and other toys from Playmates Toys. The eighth and final season premiered on December 14, 2018, and consists of thirteen episodes. Synopsis. For millennia, the Galra Empire has plagued the universe  by destroying other civilizations and enslaving various races. The only known threat strong enough against the empire's power and plans is the legendary "Defender of the Universe" Voltron, a 328-foot tall robot warrior composed of five lion robots whose pilots are known as the Paladins. At the crux of the war that ended with the destruction of planet Altea, King Alfor of Altea separated Voltron to protect it from falling into the evil Galran Emperor Zarkon's possession. King Alfor bonded the five lions' energies to his daughter Allura's life force and sent them across the universe  to different locations until the time for the next generation of Paladins to appear and pilot Voltron arrived. Princess Allura, her royal adviser Coran, and the Altean Castle of Lions were hidden on planet Arus along with the Black Lion. In the present, the Galra Empire's path of conquest and search for Voltron has led them to Earth's solar system. A group of space pilots – Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk — discover the Blue Lion and immediately get swept up into the Galran War. They meet Princess Allura, become the new Paladins, and reunite the five lions to  form Voltron, beginning their fight to liberate the universe from the Galra Empire. Production. On January 5, 2016, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced a new original animated "Voltron" series to debut in 2016 as a reboot similar to that of Disney's "Ducktales" reboot, the expansion of their existing multi-year agreement. "Voltron" was one of several series planned for initial development and debut in 2016, including Guillermo del Toro's animated "". Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, both known for their work on the "" and its sequel "The Legend of Korra", served as showrunners, while fellow crew member Tim  Hedrick served as head writer. On March 25, 2016, at WonderCon, it was announced that the voice cast would consist of Steven Yeun as Keith, Jeremy Shada as Lance, Bex Taylor-Klaus as Pidge, Josh Keaton as Shiro, Tyler Labine as Hunk, Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura, Rhys Darby as Coran, and Neil Kaplan as Emperor Zarkon. Cree Summer later confirmed that she would be voicing Witch Haggar. The first season premiered on June 10, 2016, and consisted of 13 episodes. It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that season two will premiere on Netflix in late 2016. A  few months later, at New York Comic Con, it was announced that the second season will premiere on January 20, 2017. The second season saw a special premiere at the New York Comic Con on October 7, 2016, where an episode was shown at the "Voltron" panel. The second season premiered on Netflix on January 20, 2017, and consisted of 13 episodes. The third season premiered on Netflix on August 4, 2017, and consisted of 7 episodes. The fourth season premiered in October 2017, and consisted of 6 episodes. The series was revealed at WonderCon 2017 to have a 78 -episode commitment from Netflix. The fifth season premiered on March 2, 2018, and consisted of 6 episodes. The sixth season premiered on June 15, 2018, and consisted of 7 episodes. The seventh season premiered on August 10, 2018, and consisted of 13 episodes. The eighth and final season premiered on December 14, 2018, and consisted of 13 episodes. Reception. "Voltron: Legendary Defender" has received widespread critical acclaim throughout its eight-season run. Reviewers and a number of fans have lauded the series’ plot and story arc. Some critics and fans criticized the series for its handling of its LGBT representation . Additionally for most of its run, the series was plagued by poor behavior by a subset of its fans, with a number of fans issuing death threats to both the cast and crew, including Dos Santos and Montgomery, over decisions and reactions related to representation and "shipping" interests. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval with an average rating of 8.15 for the first season, based on 11 reviews, with Critic Consensus being that ""Voltron: Legendary Defender" honors its source material with beautifully expressive animation and impactful action." In reviewing the first season, Max Nicholson of "IGN  wrote, DreamWork’s "Voltron: Legendary Defender" delivers exactly the kind of show you’ve come to expect from the amazing creative team behind "The Legend of Korra"." He rated the series an 8.9 out of 10. Sarah Moran of "ScreenRant" similarly gave the series a positive review, writing, "It isn’t trying to reinvent or really improve on the original conceit of "Voltron", but "Legendary Defender" is certainly a welcomed take on a classic cartoon; one that should appeal to fans both new and old." Shamus Kelly from Den of Geek gave the series a perfect score, writing, "Seriously, you  won’t be disappointed. It’s something special that doesn’t come around often in television." On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has a 100% approval with an average rating of 9.6 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 3 has an 100% approval with an average rating of 9.33 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 4 has a 80% approval with an average rating of 8.77 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 5 has a 100% approval with an average rating of 10 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 6 has a 100 % approval with an average rating of 9.87 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 7 has a 100% approval with an average rating of 8.75 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes season 8 has a 86% approval with an average rating of 8.78 based on 7 reviews. In reviewing the final season, Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" wrote, "Minor storytelling quibbles aside, the final season of Voltron: Legendary Defender captures pretty much everything that has made this series great. The action scenes are fantastic. The story combines humor and character drama better than any season before it. These 13  episodes tie up nearly every loose end on a satisfying note and raise the stakes of the show higher than ever." He rated the season 9.1 out of 10, though he admits, "That said, it would be far more effective to see one of these animated shows acknowledge their LGBT heroes from the very beginning and not save moments like these for the literal last minute; with that rushed reveal (after spending no time establishing Shiro's new relationship or even hinting at it), Voltron relies too much on the audience's affection for Shiro to give the moment resonance , rather than earning an emotional response from its storytelling." Dave Trumbore of "Collider" gave the season a perfect score, writing, "The final season of Voltron: Legendary Defender rarely stumbles; the same can be said of the series’ story overall. Honestly the only shortcoming in the storytelling has to do with the way the narrative has handled romantic relationships; that trend continues here. Overall, Season 8 manages to do the seemingly impossible by ramping up the stakes to the utmost, delivering the most powerful emotional resonance between our heroes and villains yet, and wrapping everything up in a tearful, bittersweet, and  fully satisfying way. It's not perfect, but it's as close to perfection as we’re going to get in this reality." Shamus Kelly from Den of Geek gave the season a 4 out 5 stars, writing, "The biggest strength of the season is how nearly everyone comes back to play some part in the final season." Palmer Haasch of Polygon had praised the series, though she criticized the series' LGBT representation. She noted, "The final sequence of the series, like any button on a series finale, was a mixed bag. It was a relief to see Lance reunited  with his family; Hunk’s establishing a diplomatic culinary empire is nothing short of a perfect arc" concluding, "Ultimately, "Voltron", the vision and artistic pursuit of its creators, was never going to quell the concerns of its fanbase. But taken on its own storytelling merits, the final season remained true to the ideas of found family, collective spirit, and empathetic connection. "Voltron: Legendary Defender" was an honor to follow, and it’s certain that the series will be remembered both for its compelling narrative and spirited fandom for years to come." In reviewing the series as a whole, Jacob Oller  of Paste Magazine wrote, “Empathy is Voltron’s quintessence, its driving fuel and its prime directive. And now that it’s over, those moving on can list the series alongside Korra and as one of the most impressive of its time.” There were a number of negative reviews, mostly revolving around Shiro's wedding scene and for killing off Allura. The Geekiary's Jamie Sugah stated in her official series finale, "On the whole, though, this is a lackluster ending for what had up until now been a well-written show with strong, well-developed characters. Voltron season 8 felt  very rushed and out of character, with a poorly thought out and clearly tacked on ending." The Official Voltron Podcast, Let's Voltron, stated, "Allura's death, as I saw it for a long time, really, really bothered me. I've got to be frank about it. As a father of a seven year daughter, for a TV-Y7/FV show, to kill off one of the few female prominent characters? I mean we've got a lot of strong secondary characters, but among the paladins it's Allura and Pidge and that's it, it bothered me a lot . To me it's a difficult pill to swallow. To me it came entirely out of left field. I kept me trap shut on social media, but I was bothered by it a lot." When speaking of Lotor's death, "I think it was little rough for children. I literally rechecked the ratings of the series when I saw that happen, and it's TV-Y7/FV... but seeing his body there—it's just. We didn't have to see it there, did we?" In regards to Shiro's wedding, "We were told that any kind of relationship developed , it was gonna happen naturally and stuff like that, and obviously this didn't really happen naturally." LGBT-related controversy and criticism. LGBT representation. While the show had at least five confirmed LGBTQ characters, controversy swirled around its LGBTQ representation. Specifically, it featured three gay characters, Shiro and Adam, who broke up, with Adam dying several years later, but at the end of eighth and final season, Shiro is married to Curtis, a background character introduced in Season 7. The series was fraught with criticism for its LGBTQ representation. The show was criticized for killing off a gay character , with some saying the show was following a stereotype known as "burying that gay", leading showrunner Joaquim Dos Santos to apologize to fans. This was not a surprise as "not all queer presentation" was created equal as one scholar noted, with representation of bisexual and transgender characters lagging behind lesbians and gay men in some respects, with this representation important in the U.S. political climate while GLAAD called for Hollywood to produce more characters with LGBTQ+ characters. Renaldo Metadeen of CBR gave his own take, criticizing the marriage between Shiro and Curtis, calling it "cheap and tacked on," while stating  that making a "five-second blip of the wedding...come[s] off as a publicity stunt." Editing. Criticism of editing primarily regarded LGBT issues, though some were general observations. On October 22, 2018, a series of leaks of the final episode appeared online of the wedding, in which a different character was seen marrying Shiro. With the release of the final episode it is shown as true. Further controversy followed with the release of the final season, where Shiro is married to Curtis. In the English audio description, Curtis is referred to as Adam though he is once mentioned to be  Curtis in the closed captions of a different episode. The error has since been corrected, but a number of fans have noted this as "evidence" of the "tacked-on" nature of the epilogue. The supervising producer, episode director, storyboard artist, and animator Kihyun Ryu posted on his Instagram on September 12 a piece of Shiro material, weeks before the season was sent to be dubbed into other languages. In the comments, the show runners tell him to "make it beautiful." Controversy in Season 8 also swirled around Ezor, a female character who was confirmed to be in a same-sex  relationship with fellow general Zethrid. The character's single line of dialogue was pulled from Kimberly Brooks in a previous season, No audio description ever mentions Ezor's survival within "The Grudge" or its following episode. The lack of movement of the character, only blinking and materializing out of thin air, suggests that the character was meant to remain dead and was added back in at the last minute to appease some negativity. Carli Squitieri, the storyboard revisionist on "The Grudge", stated on social media after the release of Season 7, "Ezor should have lived, but that's another story  I'm not under the authority to speak about." Fans began a petition for the alleged original season (the version that supposedly existed prior to severe editing), to be released. The petition has garnered over 30,000 signatures. Speaking in an interview with the "Let's Voltron" podcast Joaquim Dos Santos denied the existence of an alternate cut of season eight. Fan behavior. The poor behavior of a number of the show's fans was notable. In 2019, it was reported that death threats were issued to many within the "Voltron" cast and crew, particularly to the showrunners Dos Santos and  Montgomery and voice actors Josh Keaton and Bex Taylor-Klaus. Almost all of the negative behavior centered on either LGBT representation or "shipping." In 2019, a fan attempted to blackmail the showrunners, threatening to publicly post private internal documents related to the show if the characters Keith and Lance were not written to be romantically involved with one another. In defense of the executive producers, Tyler Labine, the voice actor for Hunk, stated on his personal Instagram account that "what is not real and what will all fall by the wayside in due time is all the unwarranted hate and  vitriol that the dark side of this fandom has let seep into this precious world. THAT is all just noise and I refuse to listen." He also said, in regard to Shiro's epilogue in Season 8, that the "powers that be and people in control aren’t always free to do things the way they want. There is always someone more powerful with lore control keep the gates shut. Just remember that next time you decide that the creators of this show didn’t care about the fandom. I assure they cared more than anybody." Comics. Three comic series  detailing events happening in between episodes were announced in January 2016. Taking story ideas that were deemed too outlandish and too epic to be contained in a 23-minute episode from the animated series, these comic series bridges the time lapse between seasons. Despite original statements of continuing into Volume 4, LionForge opted to cancel its contract. Its only response in regards to the matter was a brief tweet of an article from Geekdad. Volume 1 (2016). The first miniseries consisted of five issues, published by Lion Forge Comics. It was written by show head writer Tim Hedrick and Mitch  Iverson, and illustrated by Digital Art Chefs. A special cover variant of issue #1 was available at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, with a limited release of 250 copies. Issue #2 was released on August 2, 2016, followed by issue #3 on October 5, 2016, issue #4 on November 9, 2016, and issue #5 on November 20, 2016. The whole series will be collected in a graphic novel and was initially scheduled for a December 2016 release, but got pushed back to January 3, 2017, then was finally released January 25, 2017, according to Lion Forge. The second series  will be announced after the release of the graphic novel. A motion comic of issue 1 with full voice acting by the series cast was released on June 15, 2017, at the DreamWorksTV YouTube channel. The story takes place in between the episodes "Rebirth" and "Crystal Venom." Volume 2 (2017). During the "Voltron: Legendary Defender" panel at WonderCon 2017, it was announced that the second series of five issues would debut in May 2017. The date was pushed back to late June due to production delays., however the date was pushed back on October 4, 2017 where was published where  issue 2 and 3 was published on the same day, November 1, 2017 and issue 4 was published on November 15, 2017, issue 5 was published on December 13, 2017, the Vol. 2 Trade Paperback was published on January 31, 2018. The story takes place in between the episodes "Shiro's Escape" and "Greening the Cube." Volume 3 (2018). Volume 3 debuted on July 11, 2018. The story is set between and . Home media. The first two seasons were released on DVD in Region 1 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on June 12, 2018, The first two seasons were also  released in Australia on October 17, 2018. The series was also releasesd on DVD in the UK, Italy, and Germany. A box set for seasons 3-6 has been released as of June 2019. Seasons 1-6 are available on iTunes, Google Play Amazon Video etc in the UK. Promotion and merchandising. To promote the series in between the release of season 1 and 2, a Robeast fanart contest was announced via social media on October 18, 2016. The winner was announced on December 27, 2016 on social media under the username "Zilla B". Video games. DreamWorks Voltron VR Chronicles  (2017). A virtual-reality video game based on the series, known as "Voltron VR Chronicles", was released for Steam, Oculus and PlayStation 4 via PlayStation Network. Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion (2019). A real-time strategy video game based on the series, called "Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion", created by indie developer Gbanga, was entered into and won the 2018 Universal GameDev Challenge. The game was released on Steam Early Access on 29 August 2019. On the 19th September 2019 NBCUniversal shutdown its game publishing division. Three months later on the 19th December "Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion" was briefly removed from the  Steam store, but reactivated in June 2020. In the game, players compete in real-time player vs player (PvP) game battles by placing own and destroying opponent blocks with different features in a game board with a grid.