In making the show suitable for American audiences, Voltron had some pretty hilarious ways of dealing with violence.
Hey, did you know the originalVoltronwas obsessed with death?
Im talking about the OG of OGVoltron,Beast KingGoLion.
The original anime that was adapted to becomeVoltronin America.
(I wonder if theVoltronseries that exists in universe ofVoltron: Legendary Defenderwas similarly edited.
By all accounts it looks like the American version though.)
That it should have kept it in because kids needs to learn about death and blood, man.
Look, this was long before the days of Adult Swim where anime regularly airs mostly intact.
Long before the days you could stream all the newest shows hours after they debut.
You had to make compromises.
Those deserve to be spotlighted.
The following list is by no means complete; these are just the biggest are you serious?!?
moments in the shows history.
Episode 6: The Right Arm of Voltron
Theres a doctor on planet Ebb.Get me there fast.
So this is easily the most famousVoltronedit ever.
Yeah, in the originalGoLionseries Sven (named Shirogane there) died.
Whoa now, we cantkillanybody.
So instead, Sven suddenly gains the power to talk without moving his lips.
Seriously, watch the shot where Keith and Lance are crying.
read more: What to Watch After Voltron Ends
Okay, heres the thing.
Why does he need to go to another planet?
What the hell is on Ebb thats so great?
(Shut up,Voltron Forcefans I know they showed the planet there.)
I always just imagined it was a medical planet.
That or some dude chilling in a cave with some roots and a box of band aids.
Wouldnt it have been easier to say he slipped into a coma and they shipped him off planet?
Well, thats a cozy way to get around that Twylacommitted suicidein the original.
Yeah, as you could see in the screencap above, herGoLioncounterpart leapt off a mountain.
They had a funeral for her and everything.
Its so beautifully lazy that its almost genius.
They claim they are sick and injured.
Although when you think about it, it does make Zarkon look way more evil!
I mean come on, the dude doesnt just kill people.
He walks all over the sick and injured.
Eh, its all good.
The death of my whole planet never bothered me anyway.
So they just leaned into it and the explanations got more and more ridiculous.
I wonder howVLDsPidge reacted to this episode.
Can you imagine??
Episode 22: Phantom Flowers
These are very special flowers, father.Very evil flowers, your majesty.
Where do they put all those bodies?
Who would want to live there?
I mean seriously, once we hit the fourth fall ill epidemic in a month Id considermovingto planet Ebb.
Yes, a deep sleep.
Just like when your parents took Rusty to the vet when you were eight.
Rusty never came back that day.
They said he had to go to sleep for a long time.
You wonder why Rusty never woke up.
You keep asking at family get togethers if hes even going to wake up.
That plan is… really elaborate.
Episode 49: Corans Son Runs Amuck
We built it to fool Zarkon.
We told him they were buried here.
Hes never been back.Thank goodness.
Corans wife and son are safely in another dimension.
This is one of those unintentional world-building moments that come with anime dubs in the 80s.
There are other dimensions in the Voltron universe?
Oh man, what if that dimension is the continuity?
OMG, I CRACKED THE VOLTRON CODE GUYZ.
Yeah yeah, in the originalGoLionit was Shiroganes brother but whatever.
Everyone had to stay alive.
Water doesnt just work as a soft cushion.
Im pretty sure every bone in his body would be broken if he wasnt killed on impact.
Wheres your doctor on planet Ebb now, Sven?
WHERE ARE THEY?!
We Elderans are not hurt so easily.
My women will care for me.
Well be taken to the healing chamber inside the royal pyramid.
Within two months its energy will restore us.
Now I will sleep.
Screw you, planet Ebb!
Im going to the healing pyramid!
I hear theyve got some dope healing crystals!
read more: The Essential Robotech Episodes
This one just sums up nearly every hilarious wayVoltrongot around death.
A needlessly long explanation.
Oh they werent really that badly hurt.
All she needed was to be a robot and this would have been perfect!
Thankfully the rest ofVehicle Voltronwould give you plenty of that.
Seriously, so many robots killed.
The 80sVoltronis a relic of time gone by.
They just dont make anime dubs like this anymore.
Back then they werent just straight up translations, they were adaptations.
Most of the changes made to make them suitable for American audiences were pretty bad.
Sometimes they were downright hilarious, as you see here.
It was never seamless, but it makes for oddly compelling viewing if youre watching it from that viewpoint.
Or you know, you could watch it and laugh.
As long as youre enjoying it, thats what matters.
Big thanks to thisGoLion fansitewhich helped me figure out what some of the changes were.
