Voltron was a long running series that was first enjoyed by North American audiences in the 80’s. This particular collection release of Voltron features the North American release of the show with the English voice over and all the details that made the show what it was outside of Japan. It’s exactly like old fans of the show should remember it being like on television when they were growing up in the 80’s. They even have the 80’s eye-catch sequences!

Voltron is, in one form or another, a giant robot show – but it actually has a lot more going for it than just the robots and the battles. It also focuses a lot on the relationships between the people living with and around the main characters, as well as the forces of evil and how those kind of people treat each other. There’s certainly a lot to be learned about how to act to most effectively protect the innocent, and how not to act to prevent difficulty and conflict amongst people. It’s a tried and true example of good vs. evil, but a lot of good underlying family and interpersonal relationship values can be found here also. That may be quite a feat for an early giant robot show, and therefore is certainly worth mentioning!

These tin boxes that the collections are being released in are also worth talking about. They are really well made and very much live up to the label of “collector’s item.” Collection three’s design is based on the Green Lion, and the front of the tin case features the Green Lion’s face in full detail, even raising out from the case itself. It’s very cool – you don’t see a lot of box sets or collector’s edition tins that go to this length to add detail to the product. Inside the tin, the DVDs are collected in a well-made folding book, which also contains another smaller book detailing some production notes and episode summaries.

Collection 3 contains disc 7, 8, and 9. These three discs total 15 episodes, plus the plethora of extras available on disc 9. The rest of this review will detail an episode summary from episode 31 to 35 to give you a taste of what Voltron is all about, or remind you of what you’ve enjoyed before!

Episode Thirty-One: The Sincerest Form of Flattery.
Unable to contain his ambition, Lotor challenges Zarkon to a duel in the arena. The winner takes the throne of Planet Doom. Witch Hagger takes this opportunity to steal the spotlight and field her anti-Voltron robot, programmed to discover and exploit Voltron’s weaknesses. Concentrating all its fire on the Blue Lion, the robot successfully hands Voltron his first defeat.

Episode Thirty-Two: A Transplant for the Blue Lion.
After a serious defeat at the hands of Planet Doom, the Voltron Force desperately trains, hoping to find a new source of strength before Hagger’s robot attacks again. With help from the ghost of King Alfor, Keith and the others reach a new level of control over Voltron and unlock a new weapon.

Episode Thirty-Three: Attack of the Fierce Frogs
Pidge naively helps some local kids collect tadpoles, so they can take them home and watch them grow. However, these tadpoles grow up to be horrible Robeast frogs surprising the kids at home and other innocents all over the planet Arus! The Voltron force splits up in a desperate attempt to save the populace from the deadly frogs.

Episode Thirty-Four: Lotor Traps Pidge
After a windstorm devastates a large city on Arus, Pidge gets into a fight with a suspected looter, Tommy. Pidge ends up making friends with Tommy, who won’t evacuate the ruined city because of his bedridden mother. But when Pidge explores the earthquake zone where the woman was injured, he finds an underground tunnel, leading to the drill machine Lotor snuck onto Arus under the cover of the storm!

Episode Thirty-Five: Doom Boycotts the Space Olympics
To celebrate the rebirth of the Planet Arus, Princess Allura decides to host the Space Olympics. Hunk and the rest of the Voltron Force mobilize an enormous construction machine to build the Grand Stadium in time. Lotor manages to take control of it, but Voltron can’t fight back, because three local kids are trapped inside.

EXTRAS:
Interview with Murphy Lee, 1984 News Reels, Exclusive Composer Interview, TV Ads, 5.1 Surround Mix, and Episode Synopses with original air dates.

IN SUMMARY:
Voltron is a hugely nostalgic piece of anime history for many an older fan, and these newly released sets will allow them to relive those memories in the best way possible. With excellent video restoration, new surround sound, and an extensive pile of extras – this package is the perfect Voltron collection.

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