Voltron's Different Versions
Beast King GoLion (1981) - Five former slaves from Earth make a brazen escape from the evil Galran Empire to the peaceful planet of Altea. There is only one season. The darkest part of the franchise by far, it's the original anime that DotU was adapted from for America. For the purposes of organization, we just refer to it as GoLion.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984) - "From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe comes a legend, the legend of Voltron, defender of the universe." Five brave space explorers from the Galaxy Garrison are sent to Planet Arus to help defend against the forces of Planet Doom. Together with Princess Allura, Coran, and the Space Mice, they stand together as a force to be reckoned with. There are two seasons. Often pretty cheesy but there's a darker undertone due to the source material it was adapted from (GoLion). For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as DotU.
Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998)- A supposed and less well known continuation of DotU, Voltron the Third Dimension is completely done in computer graphics. It was cancelled after two seasons. If it's ever referred to outside of this page, we abbreviate it as V3D.
Voltron Force (2011) - A supposed and more well known continuation of DotU, Voltron Force follows three cadets as they help resurrect Voltron and defend the universe against the forces of evil and a madman with delusions of grandeur. It was cancelled after one season. Often doesn't follow the spirit of the original but still pretty good in it's own right. Two of us (Goblin and Toast) have our own rewrites of the show. For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as VF (with the rewrites abbreviated as VFR).
Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016) - As a reboot of DotU, Voltron Legendary Defender is treated as its own entity. The show once again follows five space explorers who are chosen to pilot the lions and form Voltron to defend the universe and free planets from the grip of the Galra Empire. There are eight seasons and it is on Netflix. Kind of follows the spirit of the original in the first two episodes, but mainly it's own stand alone thing. For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as VLD.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984) - "From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe comes a legend, the legend of Voltron, defender of the universe." Five brave space explorers from the Galaxy Garrison are sent to Planet Arus to help defend against the forces of Planet Doom. Together with Princess Allura, Coran, and the Space Mice, they stand together as a force to be reckoned with. There are two seasons. Often pretty cheesy but there's a darker undertone due to the source material it was adapted from (GoLion). For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as DotU.
Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998)- A supposed and less well known continuation of DotU, Voltron the Third Dimension is completely done in computer graphics. It was cancelled after two seasons. If it's ever referred to outside of this page, we abbreviate it as V3D.
Voltron Force (2011) - A supposed and more well known continuation of DotU, Voltron Force follows three cadets as they help resurrect Voltron and defend the universe against the forces of evil and a madman with delusions of grandeur. It was cancelled after one season. Often doesn't follow the spirit of the original but still pretty good in it's own right. Two of us (Goblin and Toast) have our own rewrites of the show. For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as VF (with the rewrites abbreviated as VFR).
Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016) - As a reboot of DotU, Voltron Legendary Defender is treated as its own entity. The show once again follows five space explorers who are chosen to pilot the lions and form Voltron to defend the universe and free planets from the grip of the Galra Empire. There are eight seasons and it is on Netflix. Kind of follows the spirit of the original in the first two episodes, but mainly it's own stand alone thing. For the purposes of organization, we abbreviate it as VLD.