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Voltron: Legendary Defender |OT| Season 3 now up, Season 4 (cough) in Oct

Rafavert

Member
Maybe some, but unlikely anywhere close to all.

Chances are the whole production process started MONTHS before we even got word of the series. For reference, we started working on part 1 around December and we only got nearly final videos, so it's not that they're doing them fast, but rather that we've started working on them late in the process, when most of the work was already done.
 
I watched it and loved it. Voltron was my first anime as a child so it tugged my nostalgia strings hard. I actually really liked that
Pidge was a girl
because when I was a kid I had a huge crush on him for a while thinking that he was a girl for some reason.
 
Chances are the whole production process started MONTHS before we even got word of the series. For reference, we started working on part 1 around December and we only got nearly final videos, so it's not that they're doing them fast, but rather that we've started working on them late in the process, when most of the work was already done.

I'm curious, do the videos have the voice actor recordings to go off the script you need to time (as in to time voice actor talk-time)? Have you had to go back because of any changes made later in post production if a line or two didn't work out the first time?
 

Rafavert

Member
I'm curious, do the videos have the voice actor recordings to go off the script you need to time (as in to time voice actor talk-time)? Have you had to go back because of any changes made later in post production if a line or two didn't work out the first time?

For us scripts are only used when we need to confirm something that was said. We don't follow it. Doesn't make sense to follow a script that the viewer isn't seeing, is there?

Sometimes lines are cut, yes. In Voltron's case I didn't notice it much because we had enough time and waited for the final videos before finishing, but BoJack has more cases of this. We actually worked with unfinished animation (maybe I'll share a few screenshots of it when the season releases) and there were lines added/removed between the preliminary and final file.
 
I never watched Voltron when I was younger, but saw it on Netflix recently and asked my 6 year old if he wanted to watch. So we threw on the first episode and loved it. Only 3 episodes in now, but we are trying to watch one a night before bed. Really digging it. The animation is great. And the music is top notch. Reminds me of Oblivion.
 
Chances are the whole production process started MONTHS before we even got word of the series. For reference, we started working on part 1 around December and we only got nearly final videos, so it's not that they're doing them fast, but rather that we've started working on them late in the process, when most of the work was already done.

Yeah, I remember "Korra 2.0" being announced on the internet like a month after Korra ended

Look at this GAR mofo. Go on with your bad self, Keith.

tumblr_inline_o91rwkD02O1qbdaao_540.gif

We needed more of this. I was actually unimpressed by the show visually. It has nothing to distinct itself.
 

Apt101

Member
I just watched the first episode. This should be as awesome to kids today as the old series was to kids in the 80's.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
Finally finished it. Well, that's...one way to end a season. Huh.

I liked it overall but there are some odd choices.

Pros
- The core cast is great. All the Paladins and Allura are far better characters than in any other incarnation of the show. I like all of them and want to see more of them, even the ones I didn't particularly like in the original

- There's not much forward motion in terms of the overall battle against Zarkon, but I feel like once that gets going with other planets joining the alliance, some really cool stuff could happen

- Some pretty smart ideas for battle sequences and tactics in places

- Rides the line between goofy and serious well

Cons
- The music is terrible. Not a single memorable track in the whole thing, and the main theme is anemic and anticlimactic. They should have used an updated or remixed version of the original theme, or at least something with some actual oomph to it.

- As a result of the weak music and the fact that they don't do the "Form feet and legs!" routine, the combination sequence lays there like a slug every time it happens. Just dead space with lifeless background music lolling around hoping to keep your attention.

- Speaking of which, I get why they toned the sentai elements way down, but the show could really use a bit more of the cheesy "Let's go Voltron Force!" kind of stuff in places. The original show leaned on it too much, but they pulled back on it too far here, IMO

- The biggest missing element for me is the idea of Voltron as a separate entity/character. The lions are treated as semi-sentient/autonomous, which is good, but Voltron himself is oddly hollow. In the original series there was always this sense that Voltron himself was sort of the sixth member of the team, with the pilots always reminding people to give credit to him for the day's victory and such. Voltron could really stand to be more of a presence in this show in that way.


Overall, while I sometimes got the impression that the show was a pitch that was adapted into a Voltron reboot more than it began life as a Voltron reboot pitch, the toughest part is making these paper-thin original characters into real people, and I think this show does that above and beyond the call of duty. If the second season can double down on Voltron as its own entity, and really congeal the team behind that idea to recapture some of the charm of the original, I think it'll become some thing really special.

And seriously, get new music and/or a new composer ASAP. The original Voltron theme is gold. Work with it.
 
Finished watching this earlier today. I liked it, it was pretty good. Interested to see where they take it.

That cliffhanger, tho. I'm glad we're seemingly getting more episodes later this year.
 
Finished it this morning. Not bad at all. I think I still prefer Beast King Go Lion over it, but I'm definitely down for more episodes.

The only negatives for me is the music being pretty generic and some of the comedy is cringey in spots.
 
One of the character designers on Voltron tweeted a link to Studio Mir's website, which happens contain an interesting bit of info that seems to imply that we've only seen half of the first season so far. The website states that Mir's contract with Dreamworks Animation only covers three seasons. However, the earliest reports of the Dreamworks x Mir partnership claimed that they were collaborating together on a 78-episode series. I used highly advanced calculations to determine that 78 episodes divided between three seasons would come out to 26 episodes per season, but strangely enough, only ~13 episodes of Voltron were added to Netflix on the June 10th release date.

So, uh, long story short, it seems as though the show is just being released in half-season chunks. This would go a long way to explain why the final episodes
came and went without any real sense of build-up or resolution
. I imagine the events depicted in the last two episodes were actually supposed to
act as an introduction to a new mid-season arc rather than stand in for a season finale
.
 

guek

Banned
I binged this over about a week. It was a pretty good time, though a lot of the jokes in the first half fall flat. It also only feels halfway committed to the sentai elements of the show and would be better of going strongly one direction or another. I also wish the show didn't feel so trope heavy but eh, whatever. The animation is really what kept me seeing it through to the end.
 

Sulik2

Member
Animation and voice acting seem solid in this so far, but I really wish it would drop all the slap stick humor. None of it hits. Its just dumb and really messes with the tone of the show. The hand to hand combat is surprisingly well done.

The Dyson constructs in episode 11 are super cool. Tier two civilization it seems.

Looks like someone finally got a video up of the Voltron transformation with the original '84 music:

https://vimeo.com/171245706

How did they not acquire the music? That theme is just incredible.
 

Village

Member
Thanks, I got scared for a sec. There some plot elements better left to the imagination. Things like that, not so much


Also pidge is adorable. And the bestest.
 
That's sooner than I expected.

Doesn't make up for that awful cliff hanger, but it's still appreciated.

Given what was mentioned earlier in the thread, I wouldn't be surprised if this 'season 2' was actually the back half of what was originally ordered as season 1.

They have confirmed that they can't use the original music due to legal issues though.
 
Apparently season 2 just got confirmed as coming late 2016 at SDCC.

Just saw the trailer and its pretty hype for me. Cannot wait to see season 2 later this year!

Probably my favorite thing is the aesthetic of the ships in this series as it reminds me of Mass Effect and Gurren Lagann.
 

Sou Da

Member
Given what was mentioned earlier in the thread, I wouldn't be surprised if this 'season 2' was actually the back half of what was originally ordered as season 1.

They have confirmed that they can't use the original music due to legal issues though.

They confirmed they did run out of time, yes.

also ages:
Shiro is 25
Keith, Hunk and Lance are 18-19
Pidge is
14
 
I just started watching this yesterday and I'm two episodes in. Like it a lot so far; I have no familiarity with Voltron originally, but this is fun and fast-paced. Reminds me of Avatar quite a bit.
 
For clarification on Season 1's ending:

The team knew Season 2 was happening, but originally the season finale was going to have an additional scene or two at the end of the episode to make things feel less abrupt. Those scenes weren't ready for the June release, though, so they got pushed to the start of Season 2.
 
Look at this GAR mofo. Go on with your bad self, Keith.

tumblr_inline_o91rwkD02O1qbdaao_540.gif

They should do this a little more whenever it's fitting especially near story climaxes, that's so awesome.

Apparently season 2 just got confirmed as coming late 2016 at SDCC.

Yes!

Sweet, loved the first season. Happy to get Season 2 (aka the back half of S1) before next year.

Yeah.

Hope they plan to do a blu-ray later as well.
 
Look at this GAR mofo. Go on with your bad self, Keith.

tumblr_inline_o91rwkD02O1qbdaao_540.gif

I really did love this moment and yes, I wholly agree that we should get more interesting cuts like this hopefully next season.

At the same time, all I keep thinking when watching this is "Pierce the heavens with your drill!" All the little nods to other mecha anime series is the best really.
 
I'm eight episodes in. I'm really enjoying it, and the music is fantastic. Good variety to the episodes so far as well; I thought it might just end up being like Power Rangers with a different big monster each week, but they've kept it a lot more interesting than that so far.
 

Kuro

Member
I'm eight episodes in. I'm really enjoying it, and the music is fantastic. Good variety to the episodes so far as well; I thought it might just end up being like Power Rangers with a different big monster each week, but they've kept it a lot more interesting than that so far.

how? Its the most boring soundtrack ever. Show is ok but gets really boring at times. Seems like plain old saturday morning cartoon.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
It's a real shame that despite being a Netflix show, it never came to Japanese Netflix. Still haven't seen the show as a result. :(
 
Got a question for anyone who has seen this. Does Voltron dispatch his enemies using the same exact method every time in the old series, or are they more creative in this version? It would be refreshing if the Lion team won without having to form Voltron, for example. Or involve only 3 of the 5 team members in the main battle. The old Voltron was so formulaic and predictable because of the narrative formula they tethered themselves to.
 

DonMigs85

Member
Got a question for anyone who has seen this. Does Voltron dispatch his enemies using the same exact method every time in the old series, or are they more creative in this version? It would be refreshing if the Lion team won without having to form Voltron, for example. Or involve only 3 of the 5 team members in the main battle. The old Voltron was so formulaic and predictable because of the narrative formula they tethered themselves to.
there aren't actually that many robeasts here, and one of them isn't even defeated by Voltron. It's a great story-driven series.
 

Sojgat

Member
Got a question for anyone who has seen this. Does Voltron dispatch his enemies using the same exact method every time in the old series, or are they more creative in this version? It would be refreshing if the Lion team won without having to form Voltron, for example. Or involve only 3 of the 5 team members in the main battle. The old Voltron was so formulaic and predictable because of the narrative formula they tethered themselves to.

No, it's not formulaic in that way.

They don't fight many Robeasts, and the Blazing Sword isn't used as a win button (or much at all).
 
4 episodes in and loving it. Didnt know anything about this and started watching it on a whim. Ecstatic to see that Studio Mir is behind the animation. Theres some amazing stuff so far.

Look at this GAR mofo. Go on with your bad self, Keith.

tumblr_inline_o91rwkD02O1qbdaao_540.gif

Thought of TTGL immediately. Awesome scene and nod.
 

-sdp

Member
I watched it when it was released. I had read a lot of overly positively and I disagree that it's as good as those reviews made it out to be. It's not bad and it's a good start but there's nothing that makes this outstanding. Overall I liked it but I don't love it.


One thing that was definitely missed was the original Voltron theme, I hope it eventually shows up. While I've watched Voltron before and like it I've never been a huge fan and have never been able to watch any series completely.

I have to admit I had very high expectations. Voltron is a franchise I'm not really into but have always been interested in and this new show seemed to have all the right stuff to be amazing but it's definitely lacking to be that. I kind of got the feeling that the show was ashamed of being a Voltron show and you'll see some examples below. Maybe because the two previous Voltron reboots failed? I don't understand their distancing from the source material and yet still want to do Voltron.

Characters: I found all the good guys great. I'm ok with Allura looking more alien like
and I'm ok with Pidge being a girl
. Normally I don't like changes like these but it worked. I always liked Sven's name and character and while it's cool to see him the whole season I don't understand why they changed his name. The villains are usually shown as evil for the sake of being evil but there were indeed some stand out scenes for many of them. I like the way they use the lions and not make the separated forms useless like in Power Rangers but for a show called Voltron the main robot doesn't really show up too often. Sure you can argue that makes it "special" but not really it just kind of transforms quickly no build up suspense, if they're going to tease they should do a nice reveal.

Music: It's very generic though I'll admit I some of the generic grew on me. Still the show needs themes for characters and action scenes. Of course the biggest offender is not using the classic theme which is perplexing.

Story: This is the biggest offender, the original show isn't very consistent with its mythology or motivations and I expected that to change here but for the most part nothing is really explained and even though we spend many episodes setting up the story some things that don't make sense like what exactly is Voltron and how does magic work here and what not is never even questioned. The last episode was awesome and something I expected out of the others. For a 13 episode show the pacing felt like it was a 26 episode show.

I look forward to season 2 and hope it fixes some of the mistakes
 
Finished it all. That was great but talk about one hell of an abrupt ending. Guess they ran out of time or something.

Still, eagerly anticipating season 2.

I really like how Zarkon is a real bad ass. No maniacal laughing, no overly gruff and evil voice, no theatrics. Just a calm and collected dude who knows how to whoop ass.
I had a feeling that he was one of the original Paladins. I'm expecting the Galra that took down that force field to be one of the previous Paladins as well.
That was cool.
 
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