Next Club Meeting:September 20, 2025,at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.
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Henry Cavill has signed onto a new heroic lead. Not as the famed Man Of Steel, but as the lead for Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Voltron.’ Based on the Japanese adapted 1980s series ‘Voltron: Defender of the Universe’, the new film is sure to bring the mechanized magic to new audiences.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe was an animated series that aired in syndication in the US from September 10, 1984, to November 18, 1985.
The original intention was that it would be 3 seasons made up of 3 different imported Japanese cartoons. The 3 series were Future Robot Daltanious (未来ロボ ダルタニアス, Mirai Robo Darutaniasu), Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (機甲艦隊ダイラガーXVフィフティーン, Kikō Kantai Dairagā Fifutīn, "XV" read "Fifteen") and Lightspeed Electroid Albegas (光速電神アルベガス, Kōsoku Denjin Arubegasu).
But a funny thing involving a different Japanese show called Beast King GoLion (百獣王ゴライオン, Hyaku Jūō Goraion) happened along the way.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe was the top-rated syndicated children's show for two years during its original run, and it spawned three follow-up series, several comic books, and a line of toys.
And for all the smart guys on the comments: we're aware Voltron Force exists. This video tells the story of the original series and Voltron Force has no significant relevance to it. As stated in the disclaimer, it may get its own video some day.
The success of Zarkon's defeat comes at a price: Shiro has vanished. With the ascension of the mysterious Prince Lotor and without a pilot for the black lion, the team must somehow find the strength to keep fighting. But how can they defend the universe without Voltron? Find out when all-new episodes of DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender come to Netflix, August 4.
[Source: blastr] We’re about two weeks away from the second season premiere of Voltron: Legendary Defender, and an awesome new trailer has finally been unleashed.
Kicking off on Jan. 20, the rebooted DreamWorks animated series’ sophomore season will pick up after the epic battle that took place at the end of Season 1. Executive-produced by Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra, Avatar) and Lauren Montgomery (The Legend of Korra), the show premiered in June of last year on Netflix and proved to be a solid hit with fans.
Season 2 will begin with the Paladins and Princess Allura scattered across the galaxy after their defeat and on the run from the evil Zarkon, with the trailer teasing that Team Voltron will encounter some new allies and villains (you can’t get one without the other) and explore new worlds along the way. What’s going to be interesting to see is how they will deal with the fact that Zarkon was also the Black Lion’s Paladin, and that he and Shiro are both linked to it. Here’s an official synopsis for Season 2:
Team Voltron has been scattered throughout the universe in the aftermath of a perilous battle with Zarkon, Haggar and the evil Galra Empire. Working to bring the lions back together to form Voltron again, the Paladins' plan to defeat the Galra once and for all takes them across the universe in search of new worlds and unexpected allies. Find out if their plot to take down Zarkon succeeds when Season 2 of DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender premieres on Netflix January 20, 2017.
Voltron: Legendary Defenders stars Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura, Rhys Darby as Coran, Josh Keaton as Shiro, Tyler Labine as Hunk, Jeremy Shada as Lance, Bex Taylor-Klaus as Pidge, Steven Yeun as Keith, Neil Kaplan as Emperor Zarkon and Cree Summer as Haggar.
When Netflix launched its English-language reboot of the 1980s anime series Voltron, fans had a lot of obvious questions, most of which boiled down to "How closely will this new series follow the old one?" So far, the answer has been "Closely enough to satisfy old-school fans, but not so closely that it feels dated or rigid." The new series is big, bright, and modern, with slick animation and a lot of up-to-date humor. The first season ended on a cliffhanger, with the pilots defeated and scattered after a disastrous battle with their enemies. The second season seems like it's going to follow through on all the ways their situation could get worse before it gets better. Netflix's first round of episodes for Voltron: Legendary Defender debuted on June 10th, 2016, and the second batch is reportedly due later this year.
The Netflix original series DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender reimagines one of the most popular fan-favorite shows of all time in this all-new comedic action-packed show from executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender) and co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery (The Legend of Korra). Five unsuspecting teenagers, transported from Earth into the middle of a sprawling intergalactic war, become pilots for five robotic lions in the battle to protect the universe from evil. Only through the true power of teamwork can they unite to form the mighty warrior known as Voltron.
DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender debuts on Netflix June 10, with a special hour-long origin story called "The Rise of Voltron," followed by 10 episodes.
[Source: USA Today] News that DreamWorks Animation would be partnering with the Netflix streaming service to produce a new animated series inspired by the cult-classic anime Voltron: Defender of The Universe was met with hope and caution by longtime fans of the franchise, who’ve been through multiple lackluster reboots, false starts and stalled movie productions by now to get their expectations up easily. The new series, titled Voltron: Legendary Defender, may have an impressive pedigree and a crew with its heart in the right place, but Voltron fans have more reason than most to be skeptical of modern reinterpretations.
Originally adapted via a (very) loose re-dubbing and translation by World Events Productions of the single-season “mecha” anime series Beast King GoLion, Voltron captured the imaginations of a generation of 1980s cartoon fans with its unusual mythos, serialized storytelling and sci-fi action that was well beyond anything else Western animation was offering at the time. Subsequent series have attempted to recapture that spark in the intervening decades, but only to varying degrees of success.
Voltron: Legendary Defender, from the production team of Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, is looking to replicate the feel of the original series for a new audience, with an increased focus on the serialized story and an emphasis on more well-developed versions of the classic characters fans remember. Once again, the story will focus on a team of space-exploring teenagers who team up with an alien princess to protect her home planet from invaders by piloting five robotic lions which can merge together into the giant humanoid robot Voltron. Montgomery (a big name among animation fans from her work on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,Young JusticeandThe Legend of Korra) offered the following to USA Today, regarding the creative approach on Legendary Defender:
“We’re trying to keep as much of that classic feel to it as we can, because ultimately we have huge amounts of nostalgia for (the original) show.”
You can check out the first trailer forVoltron: Legendary Defender, below:
Based on the preview image, one thing that’s immediately apparent is that Voltron himself has been rendered (at least in this shot) using cel-shaded 3D animation; a technique often employed to merge the specific look of classic traditional animation with the dynamic staging expected of a modern cartoon series. What’s not immediately apparent is whether or the non-mechanical characters and backgrounds will be animated in this style as well, or use a fusion aesthetic where cel-shading is used to render mechanical objects only. The overall design, though, is highly reminiscent of the brightly-colored fantasy-esque feel of the original, which Dos Santos says was their intent:
“[One version considered was] really military and really serious, everything had chainsaws on it and was really bro’d out, and we just didn’t want that.”
Voltron: Legendary Defender is expected to debut its first season (composed of 13 22-minute episodes) on Netflix later this year, but attendees at the 2016 WonderCon in Anaheim California will be able to catch some sneak preview footage significantly sooner. The series joins a growing list of cult-classic anime shows getting unexpected revivals thanks largely to Western fans, including Cartoon Network’s recent announcement of 2 new seasons of FLCL.
A Toynami interpretation that captures the Voltron essence of power and might, the Ultimate Edition is a massive 16" tall piece that pays tribute to the handsome musculature of the lion. Each Hyper-articulated lion can be posed in multiple ways, even sitting down! Fully transformable and constructed of sturdy POM and ABS plastic to allow for high pose-ability.
This is Voltron as you've never seen before! Fully Transformable! The 5 lions will form Voltron, and each transforms separately into their own anatomically correct stance. Includes shield & sword accessories.
[Source: GameSpot] It was reported last month that Netflix had signed a new deal with DreamWorks Animation, as part of the streaming giant's increased move into original programming. One of the shows being developed is a reboot of the classic '80s cartoon Voltron, and now a poster for the new series--titled Voltron Legendary Defender--has been released. Check it out below:
Voltron Legendary Defender is expected to air in 2016, as is the Guillermo Del Toro-produced fantasy Trollhunters, which was also announced as part of the DreamWorks deal. It is based on Del Toro's 2015 novel of the same name.
The original Voltron was a Japanese-American co-production that ran for three seasons between 1984 and 1986. The show was created from two Japanese shows--Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV--with new dialogue and storylines created for the American market. It proved hugely popular, spawning spinoff shows, comic books, and video games.
DreamWorks has already produced shows such as The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Dinotrux, and Dragons: Race to the Edge for Netflix. The deal also included streaming rights to DreamWorks' animated feature films.
American producer Peter Keefe passed away due to throat cancer in Rochester, New York on Thursday. He was 57. Keefe is best known for producing Voltron, the 1984 redubbed and edited adaptation of two different Toei anime series — Hyakujuu Ou Golion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV. According to The Hollywood Reporter trade newspaper, Voltron was the top nationally ranked series in kids syndication during the 1984 and 1985 broadcast seasons in the United States.
After Voltron, Keefe adapted Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs from the Studio Pierrot robot anime series Seijuushi Bismarck (Star Musketeer Bismarck). He then worked on the American-French animated series Denver, the Last Dinosaur. Keefe, business partner Brian Lacey, and the British company Central Independent Television formed Zodiac Entertainment in 1989. The production company released Widget, The Mr. Bogus Show, and Twinkle.
Before he passed away, Keefe was working with Earthworks Entertainment on the creation of Z~Force, a kids entertainment property that centers on 12 young heroes based on the Chinese Zodiac. [Source: AnimeNewsNetwork]
