Voltron, Collection 6: Vehicle Voltron - Air Team (ep.1-18)

Received my advanced copy of this, the 6th volume of the Voltron animated series today and have been enjoying every moment of this collection. While much debate exists as to which version of Voltron was superior, in truth the source material was actually two entirely separate Japanese series. WEP, through some slick editing, was able to turn Dairugger XV into what we now know as Vehicle Voltron back in the mid 1980s. This DVD set represents the first foray of the Voltron franchise devoted exclusively to Vehicle Voltron.

When compared to the original incarnation, Vehichle Voltron strays a but farther from the fantasy roots of GoLion (Lion Force here in the States) in favor of a more science-fiction based approach. The visual quality and presentation is easily on par with WEP's volume 1-5 releases with the Air Team (Strato Fighter) gracing the cover.

Included on this set is the following:
Episodes 73-90 of the series (450 minutes total run time)
Remastered film transfer from the original 35mm stock
5.1 Surround Sound Mix
The Vehichle Voltron pilot
Featurette: Vehicle Voltron Fans Unite
Team Up Clips
Full episode synopsis with original air dates

While this box set is surrounded by enthusiasm as it represents the first DVD release devoted entitrely to Vehichle Voltron, WEP isn't letting the dust settle for long before following up with the next box, Volume 7 which is set to be released on January, 13 2009. Like Volume 6, this will be another Vehicle Voltron exclusive set with The Land Team (Turbo Terrain Fighter) on the cover. Can't wait!

Voltron Volume 6 is a three-disc DVD set that includes the first eighteen episodes of the Vehicle Voltron series. The first disc contains six episodes, extras, and trailers. The second and third discs contain six episodes and extras.

On the first disc, the extra is labeled as "Team Up Clip." This feature runs for one minute and seven seconds, and it takes footage from the Fleet of Doom special (where Lion Force Voltron and Vehicle Voltron team up together), and set the footage to the opening theme music for Voltron. Personally, I thought this extra was a waste. There are also trailers included on this disc for Alteil, GoLion, and GaoGaiGar.

The extra on the second disc is labeled as "Vehicle Voltron Pilot." This is the original pilot for Vehicle Voltron, and lasts for about twenty-three minutes. The beginning is much different from the aired first episode, and incorporates a lot of the footage from the Dairugger XV opening credits, with a voice-over done by Peter Cullen (the voice for Commander Hawkins). While this provided a lot of background information, it made for a rather boring viewing experience. Once the actual story gets going, it's a lot closer to the actual first episode. However, some of the voices are different, some of the character names are different, some of the dialogue is different, and the not all of the music overdubs are in it.

The third disc contains two special features. The first is "Vehicle Featurette." This runs for about five minutes, and includes interviews with Jeremy Corray, Executive Producer Peter Keefe, Story Editor Marc Handler, Director Franklin Cofod, and World Events President Ted Koplar. It's very interesting to note that Peter Keefe tried to give a revisionist history for Vehicle Voltron, which is not only contradicted by interviews Peter himself gave in the Lion Force featurettes, but is also contradicted by interviews done by others that appear after Peter's interview. Basically, Peter was trying to make it appear that Vehicle Voltron was less of a "failure" than it really was. This featurette also goes into why Lion Force was more popular than Vehicle, and why Vehicle Voltron is still a "must see" series.

The other feature on the third disc is "Vehicle Voltron Fans Unite." The introductory voice over done by Jeremy Corray includes an inaccuracy in it; he claims that the first Vehicle Voltron episode aired in November 1984, but according to the airdates in the booklet, the first Vehicle Voltron episode aired in September 1984. The September date also matches what I remember; the first seven episodes of Lion Force Voltron aired that September, and then, instead of an eighth Lion Force episode, the first episode of Vehicle Voltron aired instead. After the introduction, the feature highlights select quotes from the [...] forums. The feature runs for about five minutes.

Personally, I would only recommend this set to either die-hard fans of both Voltron series or to die-hard fans of Vehicle Voltron.

I wrote this review after watching a copy of this DVD set that my husband and I purchased.

This dvd chronicles the beginning of the vehicle voltron force. This version is not as popular as the lion force, but it is a must for any fan.

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