Normally, I do NOT like anime. I never even got into Speed Racer,a classic anime show. I didn't even like Voltron when it first came out. I'm not sure what got me into watching it, but I did, starting with bits and pieces of episodes and then finally, becoming addicted. I think the familiar voice cast did it for me. I recall Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime from the Transformers, Neil Ross, Michael Bell, and BJ Ward from G.I.JOE, Transformers, and many Hanna Barbera cartoons and Lennie Weinrib from Filmation shows. Anyway, I recall two versions of this super robot.LION FORCE VOLTRON: Easily, the most recognizable robot and by far the most popular. I can see why. It was pretty simplified. The Voltron Force consisted of 5 pilots who flew 5 Lion robots who all form Voltron, the robot who defends Planet Arus from the likes of King Zarkon, Prince Lotor, and Hagar the Witch from Planet Doom and their giant robeasts, which Voltron always destroyed with the blazing sword. I was in junior high school when this series was popular during the mid 80's in weekday afternoon syndication. You had Commander Keith the heroic leader, Lance, the wisecracker, Pidge, the kid, Hunk, the big guy and Princess Allura herself who chose the fly the Blue Lion after that pilot named Sven disappeared. You had simple numbers in the Voltron Force as well as 5 robot lions, one set planet and one set of villains. No wonder the Lion Force was so popular. I recall in 1986, the Lion Force had a second season of episodes. Like everybody else, the Lion Force is my favorite version.VEHICLE VOLTRON: This series was not as popular and a little more complex. It was like G.I.JOE meets Star Trek with a group of Space Explorers along with their commander and the crew of their ship, the Explorer, searching for new worlds for the people of their overcrowded galaxy. Corny. This Voltron Force had 15 pilots who flew 15 space vehicles that formed land, air, and sea vehicles as well as all 15 forming Voltron, who I thought was the better looking robot. And they battled the Drule Empire with countless generals, soldiers, and their robeasts. Though this series was not as great, I find myself interested in Vehicle Voltron because of its rarity. The air team was similar to the Lion Force. I saw Jeff the leader as a short haired version of Keith and the kid named Chip is actually revealed to be Pidge's brother. I remember the land team was led by an Englishman named Cliff and the Sea Team was led by Crik, an alien who could predict upcoming things with supreme accuracy. Jeff was air team leader as well as the Voltron Force leader, but even Jeff had to answer to Commander Hawkins.Anyway, I like both series. Although the Lion Force is coming to DVD, I'm going to wait and see if Vehicle Voltron will make it. If they do, then I will buy all sets. Both Voltrons are fun to watch. The Lion Force may be more entertaining, but Vehicle Voltron to me was the better looking robot.

Voltron was one of the best 80 cartoons!The series was always action packed and had good music and I loved the advertisement after the credits when it shows the moon.The characters were awesome!I really like the series and if you like the Power Rangers then you'll love Voltron!!

When I think of all the great robot cartoons, I always come back to the five lions that form the great robot ‘VOLTRON'. With so many stories that were great entertainment, I still enjoy watching an episode or two of Voltron today. I have never forgotten the transformation that takes place by the lions for them to be Voltron. ‘Form feet and legs, form arms and body, and I will form the head!' Once this happens one of the great cartoons of the 80's is in full flight. Voltron, a mighty robot who defended peaceful planets and justice in the galaxy seemed invincible until an evil witch, Haggar, tried to destroy him. Instead she split him into 5 parts, each a large robotic lion. Each one was powered by an element of planet Arus.... the Black Lion by lightning, the Red Lion by magma, the Green Lion by cyclone, the Blue Lion by water, and the Yellow Lion by the sands of the desert. After the confrontation with Haggar, each lion found themself a hiding place, somewhere in Arus, totally unused, for years. Arus, not being protected by Voltron, is consequently defeated by the forces of the evil Zarkon. Now sent by Galaxy Garrison after another terrible battle, five space explorers flee from planet Doom to find the secret to restoring the super-robot known as Voltron.The many storylines that were thought up for Voltron were really good. I like how Zarkon's evil witch, Haggar, is always willing to try and destroy Voltron. There also the great bravery that the Voltron force has, which is second to none. With something like 50 or more episodes being made, they really did have some inventive ideas to which they portrayed. This cartoon also has fine graphics and pictures. Voltron is such an impressive looking robot when he is formed, as are the individual robot lions. Other remarkable pictures from this cartoon include the Castle of Lions, Planet doom, and the many ro-beasts that Zarkon has Haggar release on Voltron. The story has some interesting characters. The five space explorers (Keith, Lance, Pidge, Sven and Hunk) are a great team, with some talents giving them the ability to escape any kind of danger. When they discover the castle of lions, we also get to meet two fascinating characters, that being Princess Allura and her trusted advisor, Coran. They have been through so much with Planet Arus. The baddies have some weird and wonderful people. King Zarkon is an evil man, treating people with contempt and has no conscience while he is doing it. His only desire is to rule the universe, with his adversary's including Witch Haggar, Zarkon's own son Prince Lotor, commander Yurak, and his evil brigade of fighters and ro-beasts. Voltron has many fine voice-overs from people such as Peter Cullen, Neil Ross, Jack Angel, Michael Bell, B.J. Ward, and Lennie Weinrib. Theses people do so many varying characters that they show how good their voice-over talents really are. Their voices have also been used on other cartoons such as the transformers and other Voltron series, with some being used on some movies as well. There have been many spin-offs to try and top Voltron. You have shows such as the ‘mighty morphine power rangers' that was a series I did not like. Then take the new ‘3D' Voltron. Sure it might have some of the same people voicing the same characters, but the show itself does not have the same ‘nostalgia' which accompanies ‘Voltron, defender of the universe'.This cartoon brings back so many memories from so long ago. Innocent days spent in front the TV, barracking for Voltron to defeat the evil forces of King Zarkon. There was another TV series continuing on ‘the adventures Voltron', which was made up of ‘a land, air and sea team'. The problem I had with that series was that it did not embody what the other Voltron was about. If you are a fan of Voltron and can not find it on TV, then I recommend that you get a hold of the 4 tape series of Voltron (released in Australia by Siren Entertainment), I am certainly glad that I did.

"Form feet and legs! Form arms and body! And I'll form the head!" "Let's go Voltron Force!" You just KNEW you were gonna see some major battle after hearing those words!My absolute FAVORITE cartoon growing up... totally cheesy, but that was half the fun. When it got released to syndication a couple of years ago, I used to get up at 7:30 every Sunday (after going to bed at 3...) JUST to watch the show. By FAR the best cartoon of the 80s, if not EVER. FAR better than the vehicle-version (does anybody remember those?) or the ultra-cheesy (so cheesy it's terrible instead of good) computer-generated sequel.