dkmartin-00194

I've never been able to defend the original Voltron as a good show. I loved a lot about it, and I've re-watched the first four episodes strung together as the VHS movie 'Castle of Lions' so many times I have the entire thing memorized. The Japanese version was better, or at least more coherent for not being so heavily edited, but there always just something that didn't gel. Other reboot attempts that tried to either continue that original, or reboot it only cleaning up some of the nonsense, always fell a bit flat. This, though. This finally lets the concept sing. Netflix/Dreamworks and everyone have created a fresh version that doesn't stick too tightly to the original. It fixes a lot of incoherencies for it, and gives the series a stronger story with deeper characterization. But, it also takes elements from both the original Voltron and the Japanese GoLion, and even some of the mechanical mysticism of the comics, so it never feels like its abandoned the core of Voltron either. To the opposite, the 11 episodes are practically littered with smart references and allusions to scenes from the original that ring pretty true despite being in the middle of new circumstances. The isn't the Voltron from my childhood. Heck, it's not even Voltron as I remembered it being as a kid. This is a better Voltron entirely. All the delight of a Saturday morning cartoon, all the quirky style of an anime, and all the writing quality I'd hoped having Avatar/Korra alum on board would (and did) bring. If I have one complaint, it's that I still prefer the music and sound effects from the original, but that's neither here nor there and almost entirely nostalgia speaking. This is the better cartoon in every way that matters.