Voltron is a shape-changing giant robot first featured
in the 1980s television series "Voltron, Defender
of the Universe". There has since been a second series,
made in the 1990s using CGI techniques. Recently, Voltron
reached a new popular culture audience after being featured
in the satirical web-based cartoon strip "Get Your
War On". The 1980s Voltron series was based on two
vaguely-related Japanese anime series (both originally
produced by Toei Animation & Bandai, the masterminds
behind the popular Super Sentai Series in Japan), dubbed
and strung together by American TV production and distribution
company World Events. The series was not a straight dub,
however, as much of the violence of the original Japanese
series was removed (among other things). The first episodes,
usually the best remembered, were based on the 1981 series
Centibestial King GoLion, and featured a team of five
young pilots commanding five robot lions, which could
be combined to form Voltron. In this era, the Voltron
force was in charge of protecting the planet Arus (ruled
by Princess Allura) from the evil King Zarkon, his son
(Lotor), and the witch Hagar, who would create huge Robeasts
to terrorise the people of Arus.
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