http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/reebok-voltron-shoes-are-displayed-at-the-rbk-style-lounge-news-photo/75945990
After the first two Voltron cartoons, World Events knew they had a hit, at least with the Lion Force. So they put together their own second season, continuing the legend. All the focus was on the Lion Force, with the military outfits from DaiRugger still used as the Galaxy Garrison uniforms, probably the only tie to the Vehicle Team’s home footage until Fleet Of Doom. Luckily, US’s issues with death in kids TV helped them out. In GoLion the bad guys are all dead, as is Sven. (Twice, as his Japanese counterpart dies in episode six while his little brother became essentially Sven’s new actor since Sven just goes to a space hospital but is captured by Zarkon’s forces.) Meanwhile the Drule empire falls apart at the end of the Vehicle Team story, which plays into the new season.
I’m choosing two episodes here, both introducing the last new cast members. First we’ll meet Commander Cossack, who is basically a rash and stupid version of Yurak. Next we’ll be introduced to Merla, intended by Zarkon to marry Lotor to boost the kingdom in light of no longer having access to the resources of the Drule Empire, but that didn’t go well. She will actually be important as we go through the Devil’s Due comics. Then I have a little extra treat for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxQX3ES2pj8
While some stock footage was used (did you see the Japanese lettering trying to sneak into that final shot of Voltron?) this was all original animation, and the quality isn’t the best. Sometimes it looks unfinished or rushed. I remember episodes with laser fire that looked like they hadn’t completed the effect. The show tried to hold on with writing and continuing the story, although this episode really didn’t mention the fall of the Drule empire as the Voltron wiki claimed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vjOEZE9EAE
I don’t remember Stride showing up again, but Merla would be a recurring thorn in the sides of the Voltron Force (and Lotor) for the rest of the season. And she’ll play a big part in volume 2 of the Devil’s Due run, which is why I really wanted to show this episode.
Now for that special treat for those of you who have had your childhood memories reawakened of this season. There is a lost episode, one that wasn’t aired due to production issues. While there is no dialog (not even subtitles) it still might be interesting to see. Enjoy!
The second season of Lion Force episodes would be repackaged as The New Adventures Of Voltron (I tried looking for that intro but if YouTube has it then it’s buried) before launching a brand new series set in this timeline. Next week we’ll look at that series as Voltron enters…The Third Dimension. However, some of you may be wondering what happened to that other Voltron. If the Vehicle Force was Voltron I and the Lion Force Voltron III, what happened to Voltron II? Join me on Wednesday (when I’ve been reviewing the Voltron comic so it kind of fits) as well look at the Voltron that never was…the Gladiator Force!
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Thank you for posting these three episodes of Voltron Part II. I definitely want to see the other episodes of Part II. They were very enjoyable to watch. I don’t remember Merla from the show, so that must mean I either never saw the episodes where she’s in them, or I did, but she didn’t make much of an impression of me when I was a youngster. Merla is actually a very interesting villain. I like how she was able to use her mind to persuade Zarkon and Lotor to do her bidding. The stories are awesome, but there are some spots where the artwork is a little odd, but I like the artwork overall. Even watching the episode without dialog was fun. One can actually voice in on their own what the characters are saying. I like how the mice created their own flying machine. It was pretty funny when they fought back against Hagar’s cat.
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The art was different because it wasn’t produced by Toei, at least I don’t think it was, like GoLion was. I think this was the start of WEP’s relationship with Calico, that went on to make Denver The Last Dinosaur and a forgotten miniseries called Vitor: Starfire Champion. At any rate it was a lower budget than Toei had or they didn’t care as much for a foreign audience.
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Then that explains why the artwork looks different. For instance, Coran’s hair appears darker in these Voltron episodes. Also, Voltron looked kind of weird at the end of the lost episode clip.
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To be fair the lost episode wasn’t finished.
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[…] So the robot trio never got out of the planning stage as World Events Productions just had original Voltron episodes made with the Lion Force and just had a few characters from Galaxy Garrison wearing the Dairugger […]
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[…] episodes of Beast King GoLion, Voltron: Defender Of The Universe (both Lion seasons 1 & season 2 and Vehicle teams), the Fleet Of Doom movie, Voltron: The Third Dimension, and Voltron Force. […]
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