Customer Reviews

Dairugger Collection One

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since I watched this show as a kid in the 1980s, I have been hoping to get a copy of the full 52 episodes on VCD/DVD. This is one of my favorite cartoon shows ever (the other is God Mars). The long wait is finally over.

I have also seen the US adaptation of this show (called Vehicle Voltron I believe) and I must say that the US show, in order to edit out the "violence" and the need to suit the Voltron storyline, was edited to such an extent that some things are simply unreasonable and ridiculous. Put simply, the US version is quite poor in my opinion.

For example, one of the unreasonable scenes in the US adaptation was the fact that Mongo (Drake in the original Dairugger) was ordered to destroy the huge Alliance support fleet by Hazar (Teles in the original Dairugger) AFTER he was removed from his post as the commander of the frontline base. In fact Mongo was ordered by the NEW commander to do so (to send Mongo to his death and thus eliminate the last supporter of Hazar).

If you really want to see what REALLY happened in a reasonable manner, then you should get this. I eagerly await the release of the remaining episodes and I will buy them once they are available. Strongly recommended.

Armored Fleet Dairugger XV is a must have for Anime fans! This is the original uncut version of the American Voltron: Defender of the Universe cartoon. This is the same cartoon but It is the Japanese version of Vehicle Voltron, named Armored Fleet Diarugger XV. Some of the scenes are different.Some of the names are different. Not all Diarugger XV episodes are the same as the Voltron episodes. This DVD contains first 18 episodes of Dairugger XV! Join Aki,Walter, Keats and the Rugggar Guard against the Galveston Empire! A+

From the minute I saw "Voltron" for the first time in 1984, I became an instant fan. Being partial to Lion Voltron it took me a little while to warm up to Vehicle Voltron, but I eventually became of fan of that as well. I'm happy that Media Blasters issued the complete "Voltron" series on DVD. What I am even more happy about is that Media Blasters also issued the two Japanimated series that were used to create it.

All fans of "Voltron" should definitely see both "King of Beasts GoLion" (Heavily edited to create Lion Voltron) and the series which is the main focus of this review "Armored Fleet Dairugger XV."

As much as I like Vehicle Voltron, a major problem I have with it is that it's story line is very incoherent and can be hard to follow at times. First Hazar is in command, then he is in exile, then he is out of exile but thrown in jail. The explanations for the disappearance of certain characters was a little silly. Drule Captain Mongo's disappearance was explained by the fact that he went back in time(!). The Drules are reenslaved by Emporer Zeppo BEFORE they are liberated from him.

"Armored Fleet Dairugger XV" has a storyline that is much better. It's a lot less complicated and makes a lot more sense. I understand that since "Voltron" was primarily directed at kids here in the US many depictions of death and violence had to be removed. However, they are appropriate for the show and help the show seem much more plausible.

Being more plausible also makes "Dairugger" more enjoyable. Even if you are not a fan of "Voltron" I highly recommend "Dairugger." It's definitely worth your time.

Dairugger XV Volume 1 is a three-disc set that contains the first eighteen episodes of the series; this series is the original source for what ended up becoming Vehicle Voltron in the United States.

My biggest disappointment with this DVD set is the audio levels. The volume level on all three of the discs is rather soft, so you have to turn up the volume quite a bit in order to listen.

For me, the best part of watching this DVD set was to see what the actual story for the series is. In Vehicle Voltron, situations were changed and enough shots were edited, that it created a very different storyline. Also, since the episodes in Vehicle Voltron did not air in the original Japanese air order, this caused the story in Vehicle Voltron to be much more muddled than what appears in the original Japanese. Ultimately, the original Japanese story makes more sense and is much stronger.

When it came to changing situations, one of the biggest changes was in an episode where a couple of Galvestons lead an assassination attempt in the Japanese version. Not only did they try to assassinate a leader, but shots of people being shot and blood coming out, as well as a shot of one of the people leading the assassination attempt committing suicide, are shown. In the American version, this was toned down to simply being a coup attempt, and the suicide never happens. The blood is also removed. Another major change occurred in an episode, where in the Japanese, it was being framed more as a mystery story, with the full story coming out in a flashback sequence. In the American version, the flashback was removed, and the footage from the flashback was added on to the scene that cuts off before the flashback. The only other change in the footage I can think of between the Japanese and American versions is that footage of a Galveston leader's nude art was removed from the American version. The political aspect of the series also tends to be a bit more heavy-handed in Dairugger XV than it is in Vehicle Voltron.

While Voltron would be acceptable for kids to watch, I can't say the same thing about Dairugger XV. Between the violence and the politics, it really isn't being aimed at a young audience. This set is definitely being targeted at and marketed to the adults who had watched Voltron when they were children over twenty years ago. However, older teenagers might also get some enjoyment out of this set.

Even with the audio level issues, I would still recommend this set to a Voltron fan who is interested to see what this series was like before it became Vehicle Voltron. However, if you do purchase this set, be sure to watch it when younger children aren't around or after they've gone to bed.

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

I practically grew up with Voltron, and seeing the original Japanese version is great! Now I can see all the intricacies in the plot - as well as the violence - that was left out of the heavily edited Voltron. The only bad thing about discovering Dairugger XV is I just cannot go back to the American version because now I know how watered down it is. Can't wait for collections 2 and 3 to come out! Hey, how about a complete collection of Dairugger XV? I'll buy that one, too, just for the heck of it!

I bought both volume 1 and 2 because it was stated on the Product Details that audio was in English.
It is NOT!
Have made this complain to both Amazon and the vendor already.
It is very clear that no one bothers to correct the information.