History Anime / GoLion

Even though the series never took off in Japan as well as ''Voltron'' elsewhere, it does have a cult following. In Italy, where the first 26 episodes aired dubbed in 1982 - two years before ''Voltron'' premiered - ''[=GoLion=]'' is arguably ''more'' popular than ''Voltron'', although ''Voltron'' was also released in Italy in 1986, creating a DuelingDubs situation. Also, [=GoLion=] appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW''.

Even though the series never took off in Japan as well as ''Voltron'' elsewhere, it does have a cult following, particularly in Italy, where the first 26 episodes aired dubbed in 1982 - two years before ''Voltron'' premiered.[[note]]''Voltron'' was also dubbed into Italian a few years later, creating a DuelingDubs situation for Italian fans.[[/note]] Also, [=GoLion=] appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW''.

''Beast King [=GoLion=]'' (百獣王ゴライオン, ''Hyaku Jūō Goraion'') is a CombiningMecha from Creator/{{Toei}}[[note]]Not Creator/ToeiAnimation; the series was conceived by the main Toei company, but the animation was handled by other studios[[/note]] that aired in 1981-82. The show aired Wednesdays at 6pm on Creator/TVTokyo [[note]]Originally Tokyo 12 Channel, which became TV Tokyo in October 1981, during the show's run.[[/note]] and was syndicated to other stations across Japan. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan (TV Tokyo actually devoted the weekday 6pm time slot to robot anime at this time, with a different show airing each day), it unfortunately got overlooked. But [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff elsewhere, including the US]], where HumongousMecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the lion robot of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''. Italy is the only nation where ''Golion'' got a straight dub (in 1982), and even then they only got the first 26 episodes.[[note]]Italians had to wait until ''Voltron'' was redubbed into Italian in 1986 to see the rest of the series.[[/note]]

Even though the series never took off in Japan as well as ''Voltron'' elsewhere, it does have a cult following, and [=GoLion=] appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW''.

''Beast King [=GoLion=]'' (百獣王ゴライオン, ''Hyaku Jūō Goraion'') is a CombiningMecha from Creator/{{Toei}}[[note]]Not Creator/ToeiAnimation; the series was conceived by the main Toei company, but the animation was handled by other studios[[/note]] that aired in 1981-82. The show aired Wednesdays at 6pm on Creator/TVTokyo [[note]]Originally Tokyo 12 Channel, which became TV Tokyo in October 1981, during the show's run.[[/note]] and was syndicated to other stations across Japan. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan (TV Tokyo actually devoted the weekday 6pm time slot to robot anime at this time, with a different show airing each day), it unfortunately got overlooked. But [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff elsewhere, including the US]], where HumongousMecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the lion robot of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.[[note]]The only Western country known to have gotten ''Golion'' uncut is Italy, where the show aired in 1982, before ''Voltron'' was even conceived of.[[/note]]

* TheLancer: Isamu.

''Beast King [=GoLion=]'' (百獣王ゴライオン, ''Hyaku Jūō Goraion'') is a CombiningMecha from Creator/{{Toei}}[[note]]Not Creator/ToeiAnimation; the series was conceived by the main Toei company, but the animation was handled by other studios[[/note]] that aired in 1981-82. The show aired Wednesdays at 6pm Japan time on Creator/TVTokyo [[note]]Originally Tokyo 12 Channel, which became TV Tokyo in October 1981, during the show's run.[[/note]] and was syndicated to other stations across Japan. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan (TV Tokyo actually devoted the weekday 6pm time slot to robot anime at this time, with a different show airing each day), it unfortunately got overlooked. But [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff elsewhere, including the US]], where HumongousMecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the lion robot of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.

''Beast King [=GoLion=]'' (百獣王ゴライオン, ''Hyaku Jūō Goraion'') is a CombiningMecha from Creator/ToeiAnimation that aired in 1981. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan, it unfortunately got overlooked. But [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff elsewhere, including the US]], where HumongousMecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the lion robot of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.

* InfantImmortality: ''Horrifically averted''. We even get a [[NightmareFuel Lovely still]] of Raible's toddler son getting shot to death in episode 49.

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

* {{Bishounen}}: Prince Sincline is a pretty man.

* AfterTheEnd: The series is set after a nuclear war in 1999 between "the East and the West" wiped out all humans on Earth.

* DarkerAndEdgier: It never quite matches the works of Creator/GoNagai or Creator/YoshiyukiTomino, but it's still a fair bit more brutal than most kid-friendly SuperRobot shows of its day and downright shocking to anybody who's more familiar with ''Voltron''. It's particularly notable the way the director seems to take perverse delight in causing secondary or unnamed characters to drop like flies, most notably the entire population of Earth in the first episode.

** It could be unintentional, but Fala's grand dress [[http://www.sfstlskyway.com/allurawall.jpg bears a resemblance]] to [[Disney/SleepingBeauty Princess Aurora]]'s.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Fala, and her cousin Amue.

* HotBlodded: Tsuyoshi is called "Hothead" for a reason.

* {{Hidden Backup Prince}}ss: Princess Fala, who is the only survivor of her family- Galra hadn't realized that the queen had just had a baby when they attacked.

* InfantImmortality: ''Horrifically'' ''averted''. We even get a [[NightmareFuel Lovely still]] of Raible's Toddler son getting shot to death in episode 49.

* ParentalAbandonment: Fala's parents and sibilings were killed when she was still a baby. Raible raised her since then.

* SuperRobot: Again, just another one of many at the time in Japan, although [=GoLion=] would receive worldwide fame when adapted into Voltron.

* WickedWitch: Honerva wouldn't be out of place in a Disney Film.

* AllYourColorsCombined: Red, Blue, Breen, Yellow and Black Lions combine to make a super robot.

* Warrior Prince: Sincline is a very powerful, and skilled fighter who spent years conquering planets. Fala is a Warrior Princess after she becomes the Blue Lion's pilot, and even Amue becomes this near the end.

* {{Warrior Prince}}ss: Sincline is a very powerful, and skilled fighter who spent years conquering planets. Fala is a Warrior Princess after she becomes, and even Amue becomes this near the end.
* WasOnceAMan: Several of the beastmen were prisoners transformed into monsters. They're sometimes called [[HalfHumanHybrid ''Half beast men.'']]

* EvolvingCredits: After she replaces Shirogane, Fala also takes his place in the opening. However, [[SpoilerOpening she's always there in the end credits, while Shirogane isn't.]]

** King Raimon appears out of nowhere several times to help the GoLion team.

* CallingYourAttacks: Naturally. The Blazing Sword is the most famous.

!!Tropes:

* DeusExMachina: At the end of a two-parter where [=GoLion=] is trapped by a hyper-gravity planetoid, the space goddess shows up out of nowhere to free him.

* {{Homage}}: It could be unintentional, but Fala's grand dress [[http://www.sfstlskyway.com/allurawall.jpg bears a resemblance]] to [[Disney/SleepingBeauty Princess Aurora]]'s.

* MentorOccupationalHazard: Averted with [[spoiler: Raible, who survived the series.]]

* PimpedOutDress: Fala's princess dress.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething -- Fala as one of the pilots.

[[quoteright:317:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Voltron_in_the_sun.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:317:Let's [=GoLion=]!]]

''King of the Beasts [=GoLion=]'' (百獣王ゴライオン, ''Hyakujuuou Goraion'') is a CombiningMecha from Creator/ToeiAnimation that aired in 1981. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan, it unfortunately got overlooked. But [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff elsewhere, including the US]], where HumongousMecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the lion robot of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.

In the ultimate recursive irony, a new [=GoLion=] series is in the works... an adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender.''

In the ultimate recursive irony, a new GoLion series is in the works... an adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender.''