Watching Dairugger XV Finally Made Me Dislike Vehicle Voltron All The More

 

I guess some shows will NEVER get vindicated by history, right? I think the same can go for Vehicle Voltron. I remembered how I had my biases towards Vehicle Voltron. However, that didn't stop me from watching Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV which means Armored Squadron Dairugger XV. There are 15 members of this space exploration team. It's really hard to follow if you ask me. Dairugger XV has three separate teams namely Air, Land, and Sea. If they can't handle the enemy - they combine into Dairugger XV to handle the Galveston combat machines. I think the show was too difficult to follow. However, I still think Dairugger XV deserves to be vindicated by history as well. 

The setting differs from Golion. Yes, that means that there was NO GALAXY ALLIANCE in Golion. Instead, we have the Galaxy Garrison only in Dairugger XV. The Galaxy Garrison is a planetary union of Earth, Sala, and Mira. The aim was to create a map of the Universe. At first, they simply want to foster goodwill. The setting is the Year 2200 A.D. and the Earth is INTACT unlike Golion. So, I felt blending the two shows into one franchise by World Events Productions is F-U-N-N-Y. 

The exploration team apparently had no purpose (yet) but to explore the Universe. However, their frequent runs into the Galveston Empire were another. I like the idea that Galveston Empire isn't that known yet at the start. Instead, the show progresses revealing a Daimos-like drama minus the love story. The Galveston world is starting to collapse and it has its despotic Emperor Corsair (Zeppo) who rules with an iron fist. There are good Galvestonians and bad ones. It's pretty much like how we have the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese who just want peaceful coexistence. 

Commander Teles (Hazar) believes that they could have a peaceful coexistence. Also, Sirk (Dorma) isn't the sister of Teles here. Still, I wish that Sirk was Teles' younger sister like in the American version. Teles' name is after a Greek philosopher. Teles is frequently in trouble with the others who carry out Corsair's oppressive policies. Teles soon grows tired enough of the oppression that he defects. Sadly, Teles ends up getting killed by three wayward soldiers during the final episode. 

The show can be hard to follow. Yet, the amount of drama between both the Galaxy Garrison and some good Galvestonians works a lot. All Teles wants is a new homeworld for his people. All Teles wants is opposite to what Corsair wants. Seeing Teles finally assassinate Corsair is something that should've happened to Zeppo in Dairugger XV. We did have a lot of come-and-go characters. Yet, all these officers that didn't last a season played a role in Teles' character development. 

The show still has a lot of deaths to think about. Two officers who wanted coconuts DIED and it was an extended scene. That's why there's no bad cooking episode done by the chef. In contrast, the chef here is actually an expert cook. The deleted scene was when Manabu (Jeff) complained that the curry was too spicy. The chef did add extra sugar AS REQUESTED. The episode concerning coconuts was well, sad. The prolonged death scene was also because Manabu offered coconuts to two dying officers before they died. A lot of deaths happened here and there. They were cut off from Vehicle Voltron for very obvious reasons.

Right now, I guess it's understandable that Vehicle Voltron NEVER gained traction like Lion Voltron. Still, I recommend giving DairuggerXV a try before bashing or praising it.