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* OvershadowedByControversy: The show became known, or rather, infamously known, for its online fandom's misdeeds and the the explosion of drama surrounding its BuryYourGays incident more than anything else. The brutal ship wars, accusations of pedophilia towards and by shippers thrown all around, the age-discourse and threats towards the voice actors and writers. Infamously, one Klance shipper outright ''blackmailed'' the creators by refusing to take down pictures of storyboards from a tour of Creator/StudioMir that could have gotten them sued by ''Creator/{{DreamWorks|Animation}}'' unless Keith and Lance got together in-show. It has since become known as one of the most toxic fandoms around, together with ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', and ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.

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* OvershadowedByControversy: The show became known, or rather, infamously known, for its online fandom's misdeeds and the the explosion of drama surrounding its BuryYourGays incident more than anything else. The brutal ship wars, accusations of pedophilia towards and by shippers thrown all around, the age-discourse and threats towards the voice actors and writers. Infamously, one Klance shipper outright ''blackmailed'' the creators by refusing to take down pictures of storyboards from a tour of Creator/StudioMir that could have gotten them sued by ''Creator/{{DreamWorks|Animation}}'' unless Keith and Lance got together in-show. It has since become known as one of the most toxic fandoms around, together with ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', and ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.
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* [[HilariousInHindsight/VoltronLegendaryDefender HilariousInHindsight]].

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* [[HilariousInHindsight/VoltronLegendaryDefender HilariousInHindsight]].Hilarious in Hindsight]].

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* [[HilariousInHindsight/VoltronLegendaryDefender HilariousInHindsight]].



* HilariousInHindsight:
** In the Latin-American Spanish dub, Creator/EduardoGarza plays Matthew Holt... and in the LA-Spanish dub of the original ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' he played Pidge. Aka the character who, in this continuity, is Matt's sister Katie under a male identity.
** ''WesternAnimation/VoltronTheThirdDimension'' had a joke in the pilot where [[VagueAge Lance said to Keith]]: "Tell them I'm your little brother." As of "Legendary Defender" Lance is officially a year ([[PlotRelevantAgeUp or three]]) younger than Keith.
** Lance demanding of Keith "how many Lions do you need?!!" turns out to be prophetic since as of Season 3, both Lance and Keith are up to two Lions so far -- Blue/Red and Red/Black respectively.
** It's very commonplace for fandom to [[JustForFun/SurprisinglySimilarCharacters compare]] and make crossovers between Shiro and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse version of ComicBook/BuckyBarnes (whom Joaquim Dos Santos acknowledged the similarities to) or [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} post-Red Hood Jason Todd]] (who shares his [[LockedIntoStrangeness shock of white hair]] and also happens to be an AlternateCompanyEquivalent of Bucky). In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', Red Hood appears and is voiced by Creator/JoshKeaton. Meanwhile, the Bucky jokes got even funnier in season 3 when Shiro shows up looking SeriouslyScruffy and very similar to the Winter Soldier, and downright hilarious as of season 6 where Shiro's major subplot is directly lifted from the climax of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.
** Likewise, it's very common to compare Shiro to Creator/ChrisEvans' take on Captain America in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse due to his HeroicBuild, leadership, and overall personality as a supportive NiceGuy to his friends, with a great deal of fanart having been drawn of Shiro dressed in Captain America's uniform and similar. Shiro's voice actor Josh Keaton would go on to voice Captain America as Chris Evans' soundalike in ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021''.
** A lot of jokes were made comparing the Season 3 episode ''The Journey'' to the final season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', given that it's a somewhat {{darker|AndEdgier}}, slower-paced, and [[SlidingScaleOfVisualsVersusDialogue visuals-heavier and dialogue-lighter]] episode than usual, involving a SeriouslyScruffy-looking Japanese guy (Shiro) fighting his way through robots, monsters, and a snowy death planet mostly by his lonesome, having to cauterize a bad wound, and occasionally interacting with a pair of quirky aliens. Due to ProductionLeadTime, the episode would've had to have been written before the airing of ''Samurai Jack'' earlier that year, making the similarities a funny coincidence.
** Could potentially count as HarsherInHindsight depending on what side of it you're on, but a lot of the "age discourse" when it came to the ShipToShipCombat between people who paired Keith with Lance vs Shiro became invalid with Season 6 [[spoiler:when Keith spends two years with Krolia in the Quantum Abyss, while Shiro, Lance, and the others remain the same age. In other words, not only is Keith a 20 year-old adult while Lance remains a teenager and minor at 17, but Keith now has an age gap with Lance.]]
** As with the above, a lot of the ShipToShipCombat revolving around the ethics of former FanPreferredCouple Shiro/Allura, whose extreme fans were responsible for initiating and dictating the course of the show's notorious ShipToShipCombat[[note]]Early on they attacked rival ships for being either "pedophilic" or "heteronormative", pestering the staff about it and thus kicking off the "age discourse", only for both major points of attack to crash and burn spectacularly -- first with Allura being confirmed a teenager and thus pedophilic according to the rules they themselves set, and later with Shiro being confirmed gay[[/note]], versus other Shiro ships became completely moot given that it turns out Shiro is [[IncompatibleOrientation gay]].
** There is a rather bizarre series of NSFW fanarts (artist unknown) featuring Keith frenching a wolf, dating as far back as around the time the series debuted. Flash forward to the show's sixth season, and Keith now has an actual pet wolf.
** In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'', ''Anime/GoLion'' was featured together with ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', whose titular character was captured by aliens, given cybernetic upgrades, and [[spoiler:has an EvilTwin (sort of)]] just like Shiro.
*** The game also happened to have [[spoiler:A ship that transformed into a ''gigantic'' mech]].
*** Speaking of a lion mecha cyborg pilot, the ''[=GoLion=]'' crew also met [[Anime/GaoGaiGar Guy Shishioh]] in that game.
** One of the theories more commonly thrown around was that a sixth lion would be introduced so all the main characters could be Paladins and be part of Voltron. [[spoiler:Not only does Shiro become the captain of the Atlas but the Atlas also fuses with Voltron in the final season]].
** After the two years of ShipToShipCombat, in-fighting, and harassment campaigns that made Voltron shippers so infamous, the ''only'' ships that received canon confirmation for this show were Lotor/Allura (which ended poorly), Matt/N7 (an OffScreenRomance with a background character), [[spoiler:Allura/Lance (which ended in tragedy) and Shiro/Curtis, an extremely minor character in a LastMinuteHookup which itself came about as a last-minute AuthorsSavingThrow]]. In other words, absolutely ''nobody'' won.
*** This also isn't the first cartoon some of Voltron's creators made that got tremendous flak for [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender controversial]] [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra canon ships]], over which LGBT representation was a major issue.
** As mentioned under FandomSpecificPlot, Altean Lance is a tremendously common fanfic trope, often with him being reimagined as a relative of Allura's, or replacing her role in the story entirely. In the finale, Lance [[spoiler:does acquire Altean markings on his face... but as a result of his romance with Allura, a plot element that such stories usually and often deliberately go out of their way to preclude]].
** Pre-release interviews for ''Voltron'' mentioned ''Series/GameOfThrones'' as an inspiration, citing its penchant for serial storytelling and political intrigue. A few months after the release of the frostily-received final eighth season of ''Voltron'' came the final, also numbered eighth, season of ''Game of Thrones'', which ''also'' earned itself a great deal of fan backlash and negativity despite a more positive reception from [[CriticalDissonance professional critics]]. Many of the criticisms leveled at both shows' final seasons were the same, including rushed pacing, plot holes and dropped plot points, nonsensical shifts and frequent bouts of [[IdiotBall idiocy]] in characters' behavior, and unsatisfying character epilogues.
*** And on that note, ''Voltron'' was only the first of multiple highly popular series (another notable one being ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', though ''Game of Thrones'' was certainly the most notorious of them all) which concluded around the same relatively brief span of time on downer finales that were extremely disliked for relying on twists with zero buildup simply for shock value, giving rise to the multifandom {{meme|tic mutation}} of "[[AssPull subverting expectations]]". For people who were fans of several of these series, it's either [[BlackComedy darkly hilarious]] how so many shows could commit the same folly, [[HarsherInHindsight makes it worse]], or [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror softens the blow]].
** The episode where Coran contracts the Slipperies seemed prophetic after Netflix's ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'' cartoon cast Rhys Darby as Neal the Eel, a criminal who can literally slip out of almost any trap.
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Minor correction; the fight is between Keith and Shiro, not Lance.


** Lance's fight with Shiro in Season 6.

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** Lance's Keith's fight with Shiro in Season 6.
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* IKnewIt:
** Several fans had guessed Pidge was a girl before the series' release based on her voice actor (CrossDressingVoices is far less common these days, even when playing younger children) and the classic series ViewerGenderConfusion.
** Many fans predicted that Keith [[spoiler:is part-Galra]] before season 2 came out. It was not only confirmed but also a focal point of the season.
** Some had predicted that the "strong emotional interactions" between Keith and Allura in season 2 would [[spoiler:be about his Galran ancestry]] and that the two would have [[spoiler:ShipTease moments due to them being the OfficialCouple in all previous incarnations of the franchise.]]
** Some fans figured that the Weblum Galra wasn't Lotor, and was in fact a female Galra with a secret agenda. [[spoiler:It turns out to be Acxa, one of Lotor's generals]].
** Many fans correctly guessed that [[spoiler:Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid would turn against Lotor in the antepenultimate episode of season 4]].
** Several fans correctly predicted that [[spoiler:Narti would be killed off during season 4, given her absence in the clip that was posted before the season featured only Lotor, Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor in the ruins of Daibazaal]].
** The season 5 trailer confirmed fan speculations of [[spoiler:Sendak's return and the appearance of the White Lion]].
** Several fans knew that [[spoiler:Zarkon would be killed off sometime in the series, which happened in season 5]].
*** A sizable chunk of the fanbase correctly assumed that [[spoiler:Lotor would kill him]].
** Many fans correctly guessed that Haggar was an Altean in season two after she shapeshifted into a duplicate of Shiro in the end of season one.
*** Not only that but a sizeable chunk correctly guessed that Haggar is Lotor's mother since the latter resembled the former due to the fact that he's half-Altean.
** Many fans correctly guessed that the enemy who knows Voltron's weaknesses in the tweet from the show's official Twitter account just days before the season six trailer would be [[spoiler:Sendak]].
** Some fans correctly guessed that [[spoiler:Lotor would return being evil in the season 6 finale; or rather that he was never entirely good since the way he and his generals parted ways in season 4 felt suspicious and there were subtle hints afterward that he was working toward an ulterior agenda]].
** "The Black Paladins" outright confirmed that [[spoiler:Shiro is indeed a clone]].
** Combined with this, others also predicted that [[spoiler:the real Shiro was trapped inside the Black Lion]].
** Many fans correctly guessed that Romelle would appear in season 6.
** One fan made a joke post on Tumblr declaring Keith was a dog person. [[spoiler:Keith adopts an alien wolf in season 6.]]
** Most fans were hoping that the Altean race were far from being eradicated and that Allura, Coran and Haggar were not the [[LastOfHisKind last of their kind]]. Come season 6 and they were correct.
** Several fans theorised that one or two of the Paladins may be part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, with the popular candidates being Shiro, Keith, Lance and Pidge. At SDCC 2018, it was confirmed that Shiro had a boyfriend prior to the show.
** Many fans were correct that [[spoiler:Acxa would pull a HeelFaceTurn in season 7]].
** Others were correct in that [[spoiler:Earth would construct their own Voltron equivalent, although most thought it would be more of an expy of the original Vehicle Voltron and/or the unadapted Gladiator Voltron.]]
** Many fans correctly guessed that [[spoiler:Zethrid and Ezor survived the blast in season 7]].

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* EstrogenBrigade: Despite the fact that this sort of show has been assumed to be aimed towards a male demographic, with female characters being outnumbered, there are still many female fans due to the attractiveness of most of the male characters, [[HeroicBuild including]] [[{{Bishonen}} all]] [[HandsomeLech of the]] [[BigBeautifulMan male Paladins]] [[EvilIsSexy and a good number of the bad guys]]. Add in the character-driven story lines, Pidge and Allura being written as interesting, fun, and well-rounded characters, and the large demographic of female fans who grew up watching SuperRobotGenre shows, along the production staff caring whether girls would be able to enjoy their show or not, and it's unsurprising that the Voltron fan demographic is more diverse than traditionally anticipated. In Season 3, [[spoiler:Allura becomes a Paladin]], and Lotor's generals are all female, and [[DarkActionGirl fully capable fighters]] with different abilities and personalities. Overall, the addition of more female characters who are all interesting in their own way in comparison to the original series has likely gained more female viewers.

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* EstrogenBrigade: Despite the fact that this sort of show has been assumed to be aimed towards a male demographic, with female characters being outnumbered, there are still many female fans due to the attractiveness of most of the male characters, [[HeroicBuild including]] [[{{Bishonen}} all]] [[HandsomeLech of the]] [[BigBeautifulMan male Paladins]] [[EvilIsSexy and a good number of the bad guys]].guys. Add in the character-driven story lines, Pidge and Allura being written as interesting, fun, and well-rounded characters, and the large demographic of female fans who grew up watching SuperRobotGenre shows, along the production staff caring whether girls would be able to enjoy their show or not, and it's unsurprising that the Voltron fan demographic is more diverse than traditionally anticipated. In Season 3, [[spoiler:Allura becomes a Paladin]], and Lotor's generals are all female, and [[DarkActionGirl fully capable fighters]] with different abilities and personalities. Overall, the addition of more female characters who are all interesting in their own way in comparison to the original series has likely gained more female viewers.



* EvilIsSexy:
** Zarkon and Haggar are revealed to have been fairly good looking in the past, with Zarkon having once been an {{Adorkable}} WellIntentionedExtremist who wanted to protect his people and fell in love with the alchemist Honerva, but both got addicted to the power of quintessence and ended up turning into the BigBad of the show. Nevertheless there are a fair number of fans who view them as this trope even after their FaceHeelTurn, most notably Haggar, helped by the fact that [[AdaptationalAttractiveness she doesn't look like a stereotypical old witch as she was in the original Voltron continuity]], especially that with her hood down, she looks like [[SilverFox a fairly attractive older woman]], especially after recovering her memories.
** A straightforward case with Prince Lotor, being a PrettyBoy with PointyEars and all. His team may also qualify as well, Acxa in particular.
** Also played straight for Zarkon's female commanders in the Season 4 finale, especially Trugg and Ladnok.
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Shipping Goggles TRS cleanup, out-of-universe examples are to be removed as it's now just Fan Speak (only wicks in descriptions).


* ShippingGoggles: You'd think from looking at the fandom and even this page that romance plays a big part in the show, but for the most part the series is rather light on actual romance, bordering on NoHuggingNoKissing. The only canonical romance plotline in the show is between Lotor, Allura, and Lance, and with the exception of the last season, they do not receive heavy focus like what happened with ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', infamously [[BrokenBase believed by many]] to be to that show's detriment.

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* SignatureScene: Especially due to its memetic popularity, the paladins' first trip in the Blue Lion became this.

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* SignatureScene: SignatureScene:
**
Especially due to its memetic popularity, the paladins' first trip in the Blue Lion became this.this.
** Lance's fight with Shiro in Season 6.

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Removing misuse and complaining per cleanup thread.


** Voltron's overly long TransformationSequence. The first time it happens, it's a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. The second time, slightly less. Any other time after that and it just seems more like a RunningGag [[OverlyLongGag that goes on for ages]]. It doesn't help that it's basically just [[StockFootage re-used footage]]. It gets a LampshadeHanging in Season 2 when Shiro points out the alien they're fighting isn't going to just stand around and let them go through the whole thing -- even though every other enemy Robeast/robot/fleet before ''and'' after does exactly that.
** The Paladins' penchant for sneaking around Galra installations gets outright ridiculous seeing how [[TechnicolorNinjas they wear bright white armor with primary color highlights and glowing blue panels]].
** The show's take on CallingYourAttacks. The thing is, the show also only calls weapons by their type, leaving Shiro to call out "Form Sword!", "Form Shoulder Cannon" or "fire the lasers!", making the millennia-old super weapon sound more like any generic spaceship.
** Zarkon's utterly straight-faced, sinister delivery of "Set course for Voltron". To say nothing of him having a giant robot modeled after himself, facial scars and all.



** Zarkon's first scene in Season 4 after regaining consciousness thanks to Haggar reviving him in the Season 3 finale, in which his new armour is built around him while closing his eyes before opening them after the mask conceals his face as the visors glow purple, has been considered to be this by some fans, who have likened it to a TransformationSequence from a MagicalGirl anime and find it a bit too long, while others have favourably compared it to the scene in which Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation as Darth Vader when he gains his signature life support suit near the end of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' to the point that some fans have now nicknamed him "Darth Zarkon", along with others favourably comparing it to when Mewtwo gains his robotic suit during ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''.
** As the series' ground combat gets smoother and more elaborate with each season, resembling a more weapon-focused ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', ''Voltron's'' fights still tend towards incredibly basic choreography with a focus on PuzzleBoss-esque encounters. Combined with the CGI and garish, [[MerchandiseDriven toylike]] coloring inherited from [[Anime/{{Voltron}} the original]], it ends up looking like it came from a completely different show.
** Keith asking Krolia if she is sure that she is his mom. Normally it's not weird for a child who's never met his mom to say this, but considering that Krolia looks like a taller, purple version of her son, it makes you go "Really, Keith?".
** The reveal in that there had been a TimeSkip between Seasons 6 and 7. A serious moment becomes harder to take seriously hearing characters saying it had been [[InherentlyFunnyWords three decafeebs]] since Voltron disappeared.
** In "The Last Stand Part 1" Hunk has a Legolas-level CaptainObvious line with "It's not a response, it's a distress signal."

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** Zarkon's first scene in Season 4 after regaining consciousness thanks to Haggar reviving him in the Season 3 finale, in which his new armour is built around him while closing his eyes before opening them after the mask conceals his face as the visors glow purple, has been considered to be this by some fans, who have likened it to a TransformationSequence from a MagicalGirl anime and find it a bit too long, while others have favourably compared it to the scene in which Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation as Darth Vader when he gains his signature life support suit near the end of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' to the point that some fans have now nicknamed him "Darth Zarkon", along with others favourably comparing it to when Mewtwo gains his robotic suit during ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''.
** As the series' ground combat gets smoother and more elaborate with each season, resembling a more weapon-focused ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', ''Voltron's'' fights still tend towards incredibly basic choreography with a focus on PuzzleBoss-esque encounters. Combined with the CGI and garish, [[MerchandiseDriven toylike]] coloring inherited from [[Anime/{{Voltron}} the original]], it ends up looking like it came from a completely different show.
** Keith asking Krolia if she is sure that she is his mom. Normally it's not weird for a child who's never met his mom to say this, but considering that Krolia looks like a taller, purple version of her son, it makes you go "Really, Keith?".
** The reveal in that there had been a TimeSkip between Seasons 6 and 7. A serious moment becomes harder to take seriously hearing characters saying it had been [[InherentlyFunnyWords three decafeebs]] since Voltron disappeared.
** In "The Last Stand Part 1" Hunk has a Legolas-level CaptainObvious line with "It's not a response, it's a distress signal."
disappeared.
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* RetroactiveRecognition: Did you know that Alfor's second voice actor Creator/SeanTeale would later play Eclipse in ''Series/TheGifted'', a couple of months after season 3?

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* RetroactiveRecognition: Did you know that Alfor's second voice actor Creator/SeanTeale would later play Eclipse in ''Series/TheGifted'', ''Series/TheGifted2017'', a couple of months after season 3?

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Restoring migrated tropes with permission from the subpage cleanup thread as the changes were all unilateral or unsourced, and most of the subpages are too short to justify the move. For future attempts at shortening the page, please discuss first, or consider cleaning up extraneous entries over migrating.


* [[BrokenBase/VoltronLegendaryDefender Broken Base]]
* [[DieForOurShip/VoltronLegendaryDefender Die For Our Ship]]
* [[EnsembleDarkhorse/VoltronLegendaryDefender Ensemble Darkhorse]]
* [[FanNickname/VoltronLegendaryDefender Fan Nickname]]



* [[HarsherInHindsight/VoltronLegendaryDefender Harsher In Hindsight]]
* [[HilariousInHindsight/VoltronLegendaryDefender Hilarious In Hindsight]]



* [[Narm/VoltronLegendaryDefender Narm]]
* [[RonTheDeathEater/VoltronLegendaryDefender Ron The Death Eater]]


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* BrokenBase:
** What the various characters' ages are supposed to be has turned into a surprisingly contentious huge issue over which the fanbase has fractured, largely due to {{Shipping}}. Officially the staff have [[ShrugOfGod deliberately avoided confirming exact ages]] for any of the characters, other than that Shiro is the oldest, Pidge is the youngest, and the other three and Allura are somewhere in their late teens or the biological equivalent of such. Primarily the conflict tends to be over whether Keith, Lance, and Hunk are over the age of majority or not, and how much older Shiro is than them. Some fans believed that Shiro is in his 20s, or is as old as his 30s or even ''40s''. While others believed that Shiro is only slightly older than the others at 18-19. Even after the UniverseCompendium came out confirming the official ages[[labelnote:*]]Shiro is 25, Keith is 18 (20 post-PlotRelevantAgeUp), Lance and Hunk are 17, Pidge is 15, and Allura is a teen of some kind[[/labelnote]], people dissatisfied with the answers quickly ruled the book [[FanonDiscontinuity non-canonical]]. They based this determination on some statements by Lauren Montgomery which indicated that, while she agreed with the vast majority of the book's info, she was not involved in writing all of it, sending the arguments back to square one with no sign of ending soon.
** Heavily related is the debate regarding ships involving Shiro and Pidge with the other Paladins. One portion of the fandom accuses others of being pedophiles or supporting child abuse for shipping Shiro or Pidge with the other Paladins, even in fanworks where Pidge was aged up, Shiro was aged down, or all characters involved were explicitly being portrayed as 18+. The portion of the fanbase who ''don't'' mind Shiro/Paladin or Pidge/Paladin ships accuse the former of being MoralGuardians or of cynically exploiting the issue for [[ShipToShipCombat self-serving]] purposes, since the vast majority of this backlash comes from people who prefer to pair Keith with Lance or Shiro with Allura, which the also-popular Keith/Shiro ship directly opposes. The release of the official ages and Keith's PlotRelevantAgeUp (meaning that, by their own standards, Keith/Shiro was an adult/adult ship and Keith/Lance was now unambiguously an adult/minor ship) resulted in the former camp reframing the ship debate a different way.
** Particularly, the other big source of fandom fighting is over the divide in interpretations of Keith and Shiro's relationship, due to the show's enormous case of PlatonicWritingRomanticReading of the two. Though the show officially treats them as TrueCompanions, using the term "brothers" allegorically, a vocal group of fans insist that the term is literal, claiming that Keith and Shiro are distantly blood-related or that Shiro adopted Keith into his family, and accusing other parts of the fandom of, again, being pro-[[IncestYayShipping incest]] or supporting child abuse for shipping them. This led to backlash from people who ship Keith/Shiro who, again, point out that the vast majority of this comes from people who ship Keith/Lance or its ShipMates, citing that the staff have already {{Jossed}} the most literal family interpretations and pointing out their {{Double Standard}}s in ignoring several instances of the show describing Keith and Lance as also brotherly. This variant of the eternal ship war, while narrower, can get even more vitriolic due to portions of ''both'' camps being aggressive against the broad middle ground, with those who lean one way but are tolerant of the other side, those who think both interpretations have a point, and those who view them as [[TakeAThirdOption neither]] but instead as [[HeterosexualLifePartners an intense but strictly friendship bond]], getting accused of CanonDefilement from ''multiple'' angles and dragged into one of the camps whether they want to or not.
** The use of [[HumongousMecha Voltron itself]], or rather its complete lack thereof. [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/voltron/legendary-defender/.128781 Several reviews, particularly from Anime News Network,]] lambasted the show for not using the titular robot in any meaningful way and doing its best to keep it OutOfFocus, with several fans going so far as to accuse the EP's of disliking the HumongousMecha genre in general, noting that Voltron only fights ''seven'' unique robeasts in 76 total episodes [[note]] For her part, [[http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/voltron/267044/expanding-the-voltron-universe-the-original-paladins-and-more Lauren Montgomery, in an interview with ''Den of Geek'', has admitted to fighting with the studio to use Voltron less]]. [[/note]]. Considering that ''Voltron'' was the TropeCodifier for SuperRobot anime in the US, this is considered a [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks nigh-unforgivable flaw]] by some viewers. Other fans of the show, in turn, believe that it allowed the show to focus more heavily on characterization and serial plot development.
** Shiro's continued presence past Season 3 has also caused divisions. Though the character himself remained highly popular throughout the show's run, while some fans were happy to have him present due to Keith's own base-breaking status, others are not, since Shiro only came back due to ExecutiveMeddling, and [[WordOfGod Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery]] had [[WhatCouldHaveBeen planned a more organic arc for the rest of the team]].
** The "Lion Swap" in Season 3, where Keith, takes up the Black Lion, Lance takes up Red, and Allura steps up as a Paladin and takes command of Blue. Some are happy to see the team back to its classic lineup, especially as it means Allura gets to join in the action as a full fledged Lion pilot. On the other hand, there are those unhappy with the fact that ''once again'' the pilots' uniforms don't match their respective Lions, along with the fact the swap seems to discard the established lore that a Paladin's Quintessence has to match their respective Lion, and seemingly cheapens the concept of the bond that was heavily established through the first two seasons.
** [[spoiler:Lotor's downfall]] in season 6 has, in the aftermath of the incredibly divisive series finale, become a hotly debated topic in the fandom. [[spoiler:Those who are against it claim that it was a complete disservice to his character arc and borderline character assassination, pointing out that the ''only'' evidence the Paladins ever had regarding Lotor's crimes in the Altean colony was Romelle's word, that they didn't give Lotor a chance to explain himself and instead ''immediately'' attacked him, and that the Paladins choosing to turn on Lotor led directly to the destabilizing of the Empire and the crises of season 7 (The Blade being decimated, Sendak ravaging Earth, etc), as well as claiming that Lotor's crimes contradict his arc (why would a character whose pride in his Altean heritage was one of his defining traits turn around and subject the remnants of Altea to horrific Quintessence experiments?). Those who support it claim that Lotor was always meant to be a villain, and that the reason his downfall works is ''because'' he was simply unable to understand what he was doing was wrong. Then there's the camp that don't take issue with Lotor having a downfall, but wish he could have had a chance to come back and possibly redeem himself in later seasons, especially as said seasons continued to portray him as a sympathetic and tragic character.]]
** Season 7 is the most divisive season among fans. Fan opinion of it tends to be either very high or very low, with few in the middle. Some like the whole thing, some hate the whole thing, others only like the first half that's focused around the crew's journey back home as opposed to the second half that is focused on Earth and its inhabitants, many of whom are [[SpotlightStealingSquad entirely new characters]] that we aren't given enough time to care about, whereas others like that second half better due to the better action and dramatic stakes. And that's not even getting into the [[BuryYourGays Adam situation]].
*** Another major point of division over 7's quality hinges around its handling of Shiro in particular and whether his portrayal is empowering and progressive, plays into common negative tropes that gay men are subjected to, or both. Made even more complicated by the backroom circumstances around said Adam situation[[note]]In the censored version of 7 that was originally going to air Adam was merely Shiro's platonic best friend, thus avoiding the BuryYourGays issue, but at the expense of never being able to confirm Shiro's sexuality. In this version Zethrid and Ezor would be the only explicitly LGBT characters on the show[[/note]].
** The very last scene of the series, which was an attempted AuthorsSavingThrow that shows [[spoiler: Shiro marrying Curtis]] is extremely controversial. It's either a progressive move for LGBT media in kids' shows, that was doing [[FairForItsDay as much as they could]] given the [[ExecutiveMeddling great constraints]] they were under, and helps to remedy the Adam situation a season ago, or it's a cynical attempt at pandering for the sole purpose of claiming credit for [[spoiler:the first male-male gay marriage in a kids show]], that was handled so [[StrangledByTheRedString sloppily]] and OOC in its desperation that it actually caused ''more'' problems than it fixed.


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* DieForOurShip: Fortunately for a series so full of shippers, especially YaoiFangirls, the main heroines Pidge and Allura usually escape this trope and are quite popular in their own right. Nevertheless, it almost deserves its own section:
** A VocalMinority of people who ship Keith with Lance (and to a lesser extent, with Allura) have expressed hope that Shiro will be KilledOffForReal like his ''Anime/GoLion'' counterpart, with the specific reason given that Shiro is Keith's most popular other shipping partner. In the latter case, complaints about Shiro [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks stealing Keith's rightful place]] as the pilot of the Black Lion are added to the mix.
** And in a similar but more disturbing vein, an even smaller VocalMinority have been sending (hopefully empty) death threats to Shiro's voice actor and even his family. It eventually came to the point where he refused to talk about Voltron on social media out of frustration.
** Oddly enough, this happened to Lotor even prior to his proper introduction on the show, and despite his most popular ship at the time having been a total CrackPairing. After Lance/Lotor developed a small following in the fanbase, some of the more extreme Klance shippers insisted that showing any interest in Lotor promotes abuse due to the actions of Lotor's ''[=GoLion=]'' equivalent Sincline. It died down after Seasons 3 and 4 showed that Lotor did not possess the same DarkerAndEdgier aspects of Sincline, but resurfaced in Season 5 after Lotor received heavy ShipTease with Allura, this time from shippers of Allura with Lance, Shiro, and Keith.
** For similar reasons, Romelle and Keith receive this treatment from a VocalMinority of Shiro/Allura fans, since Keith/Allura and Romelle/Sven (Shiro's original counterpart) has always been the OfficialCouple of the previous continuities. Many of them were hoping Romelle would never be introduced into the show because of this. She does appear in Season 6, in the episode "Razor's Edge", although she never has a relationship with [[IncompatibleOrientation Shiro]].
** Romelle was also targeted by Lotor/Allura shippers who made up conspiracy theories that she was secretly evil as a puppet controlled by Haggar. They claimed that Lotor was a hero and Allura attacked him before he had the chance to explain his side of the story because Allura had been manipulated by Romelle.
** Acxa got slammed with this hard from many sides of the fandom after Season 7 due to heavy implications that she has feelings for Keith. Before, there were numerous theories that she might be Keith's mother or sister due to [[OnlySixFaces their similarities in appearance]]; although this was eventually {{Jossed}}, there were many people who still clung to this theory in order to deny a romance between the two. Others hoped she would be revealed as a [[spoiler:double agent faking her change of heart due to her past history of changing allegiances]], even though her HeelFaceTurn is indicated to be sincere. Some of this also comes from non-shippers as well, who were bothered by the double standard of her [[spoiler:surviving to have a potential straight romance over any of her teammates, one of whom was killed off immediately after being revealed to be in a lesbian relationship with the other, before fan outrage brought her back]]. This died after the show ended, as not only did the hinted-at romance between Acxa and Keith never actually manifest, but her scenes focused more on her growing friendship with Veronica which featured strong LesYay undertones.
** Lance is this for Lotor/Allura and Keith/Allura fans, as he showed jealousy during one of the moments when Keith was alone with Allura, broke the streak of Keith having always been Allura's love interest throughout the various continuities, and was constantly jealous of Lotor's relationship with Allura and disliked Lotor the most out of the team. [[spoiler:When Lotor turns out to be evil, Lance goes to comfort Allura and Allura eventually starts to date Lance.]] Lance has been accused of being a DoggedNiceGuy as a result, although in context he was not behaving with ulterior motive at the time.
** Curtis, due to the notoriety of [[spoiler:his LastMinuteHookup wedding to Shiro]]. As the [[ThirdOptionLoveInterest Hundredth-Option Love Interest]] to other Hundredth-Option Love Interests it wasn't all that surprising.


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* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Shay is a very popular side character due to her cute relationship with Hunk, her sweet demeanor, and, despite being female, having a non-sexualized figure.
** Thace and Ulaz both have a solid fanbase around their HeroicSacrifice, GoodIsNotSoft and MemeticBadass elements and the appeal they have to the furry fandom.
** Slav became popular because of his adorably goofy design and hilarious demeanor which drives [[NotSoAboveItAll even Shiro]] crazy. The appearance of his alternate dimensional version in Season 3 caused a lot of cheering, especially since he TookALevelInBadass.
** Nyma and Rolo, due to them being interesting bounty hunters in their first appearance in Season 1. Being voiced by Creator/LaceyChabert and Creator/NormanReedus respectively also helps and were brought back as one of the allies under the Coalition in Season 4 finale and Season 5 premiere.
** Olia, due to her being an HeroicDog fighter pilot and supporting role in the Season 4 finale.
** Krolia has become quite popular with fans after her first appearance in Season 5. Helps that she's a CuteMonsterGirl when compared to many of the other female Galra. [[spoiler:Being the long-unknown mother of a main character will also do that to you.]]
** Romelle became instantly popular when she finally showed up in Season 6, for being a beloved character in previous continuities and making an immediate impact by helping to kick off the events of the season's second half.
** Adam only appeared as a minor character in two brief scenes [[spoiler:and died in the latter one]], but has become an incredibly popular character, in part because he's Shiro's ex-boyfriend.
** Pidge's mother Colleen and Lance's sister Veronica have become quite popular with fans after their roles in Season 7.


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* FanNickname:
** Quite a few ''Avatar''-related ones due to the staff's most famous [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender previous]] [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra works]].
*** Lance was quickly dubbed "Space Sokka" by fans given his similar personality to the EnsembleDarkhorse of ''Avatar''.
*** Likewise Hunk gets "Space Bolin" for being a BigFun associated with the Earth element.
*** Keith occasionally gets "Space Zuko" or "Space Mako" due to their similar PrettyBoy designs, wearing the color red, hot headed personalities, and association with fire.
*** Allura has had a few fans mention her as "Space Katara" - she's TheHeart who's prone to bouts of severe melancholy over DaddyIssues and being on the losing end of a war against a gigantic empire, the de facto leader of the group by virtue of being the OnlySaneMan (Shiro is like 95% the Other Sane Man, but isn't as knowledgeable about the whole situation as her), a dark-skinned beauty, close to the last of her kind (Katara was the last confirmed Waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe besides Hama for at least a generation), and tries really hard to be funny/friendly but just comes off as dorky. Another nickname is "Space Yue" because of her MysticalWhiteHair, title of princess, and status as the one Lance/"Space Sokka" flirts with. [[spoiler:And by the finale, both characters end up sacrificing themselves to save the world after saying good-bye to their LoveInterest.]]
*** The attractive purple-haired half-Galra woman Acxa who serves as one of Lotor's generals in Season 3 was nicknamed "Space Azula" -- except when it turned out she was nothing like that character.
*** Ezor, another one of Lotor's generals, is nicknamed "Space Ty Lee" due to her perky personality and acrobatic fighting style.
*** The episode "Hole in the Sky" gives us Hira who's known as "Space Kuvira."
** [[TeamDad Shiro]] has been dubbed "Space Dad," which has even been adopted by his own voice actor and even got a shout out in the official guidebook.
--->'''Keaton:''' As a Space Dad, I must say, the Get Along Shirt is a fantastic idea.
** Keith is often referred to by the AffectionateNickname of "Keef" by his fans.
** Some fans have taken to addressing Haggar's doppelganger Shiro as "Kuro".
** For whatever reason the deep voiced Arusian in episode 3 often gets the nickname of "Jerry".
** Pidge is often referred to as "Gremlin".
** "Kuron" for [[spoiler:Shiro]] in seasons 3-6, taking its name from 'Operation Kuron'--[[spoiler:because while he's never directly referred to by that name, this Shiro is technically not the real one.]]
** After season 4, Zarkon was given the nickname "[[spoiler:Darth Zarkon]]" after [[spoiler:his reemergence in an armor set that doubles as a life-support system]].
** "Luki" for the Unilu kiosk girl who Pidge talks to in "Space Mall".
** "Grandma Smurf" for the [[GirlsWithMoustaches bearded female blue-skinned employee]] of Vrepit Sal's who has worked as a dishwasher since she was a little girl.
** "Sincline" for the unnamed Mecha that Lotor built from the trans-dimensional comet. To be fair, he already called its components "Sincline ships" so it's not too far a leap. Officially becomes AscendedFanon in season 8.
** Keith's father (whose name [[UnnamedParent is still unknown]]) is often nicknamed "Texas Kogane" due to his Southern accent, and the fact that Keith's surname was "Kogane" in previous continuities (stemming from ''Golion'''s Akira Kogane).


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* HarsherInHindsight: Moments of comedy or awesomeness earlier on can lead to much darker echoes later in the show:
** Keith piloting Black to save Shiro is a moment of awesome in Season 2, as Keith quietly and respectfully requests Black's help and the Lion agrees to work with him. Cue Season 3, and Keith is ''begging'' Black not to power up in response to his presence, as that means he has no choice but to assume Shiro's role. Unfortunately for Keith, once again, Black wakes up.
** Lance's "jealous boyfriend" moments over Blue, declaring them "best buds for life, for real!" and telling Keith to keep his hands off Blue as she and Lance are "very happy together!" become devastating when Blue locks Lance out in Season 3 to take Allura on as her pilot, and then (in Lance's opinion) proceeds to co-operate more fully with Allura than she did with her Earthling pilot. It's mixed with irony too, as Keith didn't take Lance's Lion... but Lance took over Keith's.
** Lotor telling Haggar that he is not like his father in Season 3 becomes this in the Season 6 finale when [[spoiler:Lotor does indeed become like his father]].
** Similar to the above, [[spoiler:after all the speculation that he was still alive, the Paladins defeating and stranding Lotor is a ''lot'' harder to watch with the knowledge that it apparently ''killed'' him. And his agonizing screams suggested he died in horrible pain as well.]]
** Every scene on Olkarion becomes this [[spoiler:after Honerva's robeast destroys the planet and kills a huge portion of its population, apparently including Ryner.]]
** The endless harassment campaigns, doxxing and death threats done by rabid shippers towards both the staff and each other in the name of attempting to make their favorite ships become canon canon all ended up being AllForNothing since no shipper was particularly pleased with the outcome, as [[spoiler:the OfficialCouple Allura/Lance ends with Allura dead and Lance TheMourningAfter, while the other pairing Shiro/Curtis was an admitted AuthorsSavingThrow that did very little to patch the damage caused by Adam's death.]]
** During ''The Journey Within'' Keith, driven crazy by space madness, lashes out against his team wondering if the paladins are even friends or just strangers held together by coincidence. He's thankfully proven wrong when the team find their way back to Voltron with ThePowerOfFriendship. However, due to the last-minute changes made to the show's ending and the resulting epilogues' insinuation that the paladins are TheFriendsWhoNeverHang, Keith's meanspirited comments come off as true after all.
** After the controversy over ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' and [[StrangledByTheRedString its]] [[RomanticPlotTumor handling]] of romance, the showrunners mentioned that the show would not focus heavily on romance and would not engage in [[TokenRomance romance for the sake of it]]. Come Season 8, many fans feel that [[spoiler:the romance between Allura and Lance reduced Lance into a SatelliteLoveInterest, and the reason the AuthorsSavingThrow at the finale failed to work was because it felt like an unearned TokenRomance]]. The second one may also count as HilariousInHindsight depending on how {{Narm}}y you view the scene.
** Lotor told Allura that [[spoiler: he tried to save a planet from Zarkon's wrath by working with the inhabitants to harvest quintessence. At the time, we had no idea if he was telling the truth or trying to win her trust since they were traveling to Oriande. Then we find out in season 8 that he wasn't lying about ''that'' and we see Zarkon destroying the planet just to spite his son]].
** While Adam's death was a firestorm in its own right, the controversy it caused wound up being the tip of a greater iceberg due to being indirectly responsible for the show's AudienceAlienatingEnding. The original finale was intended to be much more open-ended, [[PanderingToTheBase but in order to appease fans who were upset at Adam's death, it was changed to show Shiro conclusively marrying and kissing another man]]. Shiro's epilogue had [[BrokenBase heavily mixed reception]] at best, and the knock-on effects for the endings of the other characters in order to accomodate it ended up being widely disliked on the whole, even by fans who had less strong opinions on Adam, with many believing the original planned ending would've been preferable and that they should not have changed it.


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* HilariousInHindsight:
** In the Latin-American Spanish dub, Creator/EduardoGarza plays Matthew Holt... and in the LA-Spanish dub of the original ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' he played Pidge. Aka the character who, in this continuity, is Matt's sister Katie under a male identity.
** ''WesternAnimation/VoltronTheThirdDimension'' had a joke in the pilot where [[VagueAge Lance said to Keith]]: "Tell them I'm your little brother." As of "Legendary Defender" Lance is officially a year ([[PlotRelevantAgeUp or three]]) younger than Keith.
** Lance demanding of Keith "how many Lions do you need?!!" turns out to be prophetic since as of Season 3, both Lance and Keith are up to two Lions so far -- Blue/Red and Red/Black respectively.
** It's very commonplace for fandom to [[JustForFun/SurprisinglySimilarCharacters compare]] and make crossovers between Shiro and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse version of ComicBook/BuckyBarnes (whom Joaquim Dos Santos acknowledged the similarities to) or [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} post-Red Hood Jason Todd]] (who shares his [[LockedIntoStrangeness shock of white hair]] and also happens to be an AlternateCompanyEquivalent of Bucky). In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', Red Hood appears and is voiced by Creator/JoshKeaton. Meanwhile, the Bucky jokes got even funnier in season 3 when Shiro shows up looking SeriouslyScruffy and very similar to the Winter Soldier, and downright hilarious as of season 6 where Shiro's major subplot is directly lifted from the climax of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.
** Likewise, it's very common to compare Shiro to Creator/ChrisEvans' take on Captain America in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse due to his HeroicBuild, leadership, and overall personality as a supportive NiceGuy to his friends, with a great deal of fanart having been drawn of Shiro dressed in Captain America's uniform and similar. Shiro's voice actor Josh Keaton would go on to voice Captain America as Chris Evans' soundalike in ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021''.
** A lot of jokes were made comparing the Season 3 episode ''The Journey'' to the final season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', given that it's a somewhat {{darker|AndEdgier}}, slower-paced, and [[SlidingScaleOfVisualsVersusDialogue visuals-heavier and dialogue-lighter]] episode than usual, involving a SeriouslyScruffy-looking Japanese guy (Shiro) fighting his way through robots, monsters, and a snowy death planet mostly by his lonesome, having to cauterize a bad wound, and occasionally interacting with a pair of quirky aliens. Due to ProductionLeadTime, the episode would've had to have been written before the airing of ''Samurai Jack'' earlier that year, making the similarities a funny coincidence.
** Could potentially count as HarsherInHindsight depending on what side of it you're on, but a lot of the "age discourse" when it came to the ShipToShipCombat between people who paired Keith with Lance vs Shiro became invalid with Season 6 [[spoiler:when Keith spends two years with Krolia in the Quantum Abyss, while Shiro, Lance, and the others remain the same age. In other words, not only is Keith a 20 year-old adult while Lance remains a teenager and minor at 17, but Keith now has an age gap with Lance.]]
** As with the above, a lot of the ShipToShipCombat revolving around the ethics of former FanPreferredCouple Shiro/Allura, whose extreme fans were responsible for initiating and dictating the course of the show's notorious ShipToShipCombat[[note]]Early on they attacked rival ships for being either "pedophilic" or "heteronormative", pestering the staff about it and thus kicking off the "age discourse", only for both major points of attack to crash and burn spectacularly -- first with Allura being confirmed a teenager and thus pedophilic according to the rules they themselves set, and later with Shiro being confirmed gay[[/note]], versus other Shiro ships became completely moot given that it turns out Shiro is [[IncompatibleOrientation gay]].
** There is a rather bizarre series of NSFW fanarts (artist unknown) featuring Keith frenching a wolf, dating as far back as around the time the series debuted. Flash forward to the show's sixth season, and Keith now has an actual pet wolf.
** In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'', ''Anime/GoLion'' was featured together with ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', whose titular character was captured by aliens, given cybernetic upgrades, and [[spoiler:has an EvilTwin (sort of)]] just like Shiro.
*** The game also happened to have [[spoiler:A ship that transformed into a ''gigantic'' mech]].
*** Speaking of a lion mecha cyborg pilot, the ''[=GoLion=]'' crew also met [[Anime/GaoGaiGar Guy Shishioh]] in that game.
** One of the theories more commonly thrown around was that a sixth lion would be introduced so all the main characters could be Paladins and be part of Voltron. [[spoiler:Not only does Shiro become the captain of the Atlas but the Atlas also fuses with Voltron in the final season]].
** After the two years of ShipToShipCombat, in-fighting, and harassment campaigns that made Voltron shippers so infamous, the ''only'' ships that received canon confirmation for this show were Lotor/Allura (which ended poorly), Matt/N7 (an OffScreenRomance with a background character), [[spoiler:Allura/Lance (which ended in tragedy) and Shiro/Curtis, an extremely minor character in a LastMinuteHookup which itself came about as a last-minute AuthorsSavingThrow]]. In other words, absolutely ''nobody'' won.
*** This also isn't the first cartoon some of Voltron's creators made that got tremendous flak for [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender controversial]] [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra canon ships]], over which LGBT representation was a major issue.
** As mentioned under FandomSpecificPlot, Altean Lance is a tremendously common fanfic trope, often with him being reimagined as a relative of Allura's, or replacing her role in the story entirely. In the finale, Lance [[spoiler:does acquire Altean markings on his face... but as a result of his romance with Allura, a plot element that such stories usually and often deliberately go out of their way to preclude]].
** Pre-release interviews for ''Voltron'' mentioned ''Series/GameOfThrones'' as an inspiration, citing its penchant for serial storytelling and political intrigue. A few months after the release of the frostily-received final eighth season of ''Voltron'' came the final, also numbered eighth, season of ''Game of Thrones'', which ''also'' earned itself a great deal of fan backlash and negativity despite a more positive reception from [[CriticalDissonance professional critics]]. Many of the criticisms leveled at both shows' final seasons were the same, including rushed pacing, plot holes and dropped plot points, nonsensical shifts and frequent bouts of [[IdiotBall idiocy]] in characters' behavior, and unsatisfying character epilogues.
*** And on that note, ''Voltron'' was only the first of multiple highly popular series (another notable one being ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', though ''Game of Thrones'' was certainly the most notorious of them all) which concluded around the same relatively brief span of time on downer finales that were extremely disliked for relying on twists with zero buildup simply for shock value, giving rise to the multifandom {{meme|tic mutation}} of "[[AssPull subverting expectations]]". For people who were fans of several of these series, it's either [[BlackComedy darkly hilarious]] how so many shows could commit the same folly, [[HarsherInHindsight makes it worse]], or [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror softens the blow]].
** The episode where Coran contracts the Slipperies seemed prophetic after Netflix's ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'' cartoon cast Rhys Darby as Neal the Eel, a criminal who can literally slip out of almost any trap.


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* * {{Narm}}:
** Voltron's overly long TransformationSequence. The first time it happens, it's a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. The second time, slightly less. Any other time after that and it just seems more like a RunningGag [[OverlyLongGag that goes on for ages]]. It doesn't help that it's basically just [[StockFootage re-used footage]]. It gets a LampshadeHanging in Season 2 when Shiro points out the alien they're fighting isn't going to just stand around and let them go through the whole thing -- even though every other enemy Robeast/robot/fleet before ''and'' after does exactly that.
** The Paladins' penchant for sneaking around Galra installations gets outright ridiculous seeing how [[TechnicolorNinjas they wear bright white armor with primary color highlights and glowing blue panels]].
** The show's take on CallingYourAttacks. The thing is, the show also only calls weapons by their type, leaving Shiro to call out "Form Sword!", "Form Shoulder Cannon" or "fire the lasers!", making the millennia-old super weapon sound more like any generic spaceship.
** Zarkon's utterly straight-faced, sinister delivery of "Set course for Voltron". To say nothing of him having a giant robot modeled after himself, facial scars and all.
** In Season 3, as Shiro drifts off into space, right as he believes he's about to die his last thoughts are of the time spent with the paladins. They're all touching, emotionally charged moments... except for [[DemotedToExtra Hunk's]], which is of him goofing off but is presented with as much drama as all the others.
** Lotor's ships. Lotor's first meteorite ship look down right silly with its large "head", muscular "arms" that sway when the ship move. The second one is even worse, because it's a pair of ''legs''. The way it sway when flying look like it's dancing in the wind.
** Zarkon's first scene in Season 4 after regaining consciousness thanks to Haggar reviving him in the Season 3 finale, in which his new armour is built around him while closing his eyes before opening them after the mask conceals his face as the visors glow purple, has been considered to be this by some fans, who have likened it to a TransformationSequence from a MagicalGirl anime and find it a bit too long, while others have favourably compared it to the scene in which Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation as Darth Vader when he gains his signature life support suit near the end of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' to the point that some fans have now nicknamed him "Darth Zarkon", along with others favourably comparing it to when Mewtwo gains his robotic suit during ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''.
** As the series' ground combat gets smoother and more elaborate with each season, resembling a more weapon-focused ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', ''Voltron's'' fights still tend towards incredibly basic choreography with a focus on PuzzleBoss-esque encounters. Combined with the CGI and garish, [[MerchandiseDriven toylike]] coloring inherited from [[Anime/{{Voltron}} the original]], it ends up looking like it came from a completely different show.
** Keith asking Krolia if she is sure that she is his mom. Normally it's not weird for a child who's never met his mom to say this, but considering that Krolia looks like a taller, purple version of her son, it makes you go "Really, Keith?".
** The reveal in that there had been a TimeSkip between Seasons 6 and 7. A serious moment becomes harder to take seriously hearing characters saying it had been [[InherentlyFunnyWords three decafeebs]] since Voltron disappeared.
** In "The Last Stand Part 1" Hunk has a Legolas-level CaptainObvious line with "It's not a response, it's a distress signal."
** Voltron's wing upgrade, introduced in Season 7. Instead of the Black Lion's wings opening elegantly, it generates a pair of disproportionately large, boxy rockets that utterly dwarf it, and look ridiculously incongruous with the rest of its upgrades.
** What upgrade does Voltron get to [[spoiler:finally defeat Honerva once and for all? They up the ante on the wings and grown an entire ''spaceship'' out of its back that's so big and boxy, you can barely see Voltron ''or'' Honerva's machine after its formed. It ends up making the final shoving match look like this one enormous starship flying aimlessly on its own.]]
** Shiro [[spoiler:and his wedding to Curtis]]. Controversy aside, it's still a jarring and downright silly choice to have as the literal final scene the show closes off on, especially since [[spoiler:it's a character Shiro barely interacted with and it comes at odds with Shiro's previous characterization as a {{Determinator}} MarriedToTheJob]].


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* RonTheDeathEater:
** Accusations that Shiro's friendliness towards the rest of the team was a sign that he was a pedophilic sexual abuser, often coming from [[ShipToShipCombat people who are fans of ships threatened by Shiro/Keith]] (and, by extension, other Shiro/Fellow Paladin ships), is so rampant in parts of the fandom that eventually one of the voice actors for the show [[https://bext-k.tumblr.com/post/161646593767 posted a message calling it out]] (as well as related abuse towards his voice actor).
** In Season 2, Hunk makes some insensitive comments and Allura expresses intolerance towards Keith after the reveal that he is Galra. Both of them apologize for it, and getting over it is a big part of Allura's CharacterDevelopment, but to some parts of the fandom they're incorrigibly racist {{Jerk Ass}}es.
** Some people accuse Keith of being a {{Jerkass}} towards Allura who doesn't care how she feels because he did not want to rescue her from Zarkon at the end of Season 1, even though she made it clear this was what she wanted earlier in the season. Likewise his CharacterDevelopment in Season 2 and his pain at her distrust towards him also indicate he really does care about Allura's feelings. However some fans accuse even that of being insensitive towards her despite Keith being respectful towards her and Allura concluding her own anti-Galra attitudes were unjustified.
** Kolivan is gets this from fans who felt that he is to blame for Keith's departure from Team Voltron and joining the Blade of Marmora with [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12744591/1/New-World-New-Allies one fanfic]] showing him [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming a jerk towards Keith and then non-fatally stabbing him as he felt that he failed in his position]]. The Blade as a whole can also get this treatment, even getting blamed for making Keith's potential mental health issues worse. The implication that Keith's mother was forced to leave him behind (and deeply regrets doing so) because of their mission philosophy has only fanned the flames.
** In one of the more absurd cases, Romelle has received hate [[spoiler:from many Lotor fans because she caused the paladins to turn against Lotor by... revealing the truth about him being EvilAllAlong and killing many Alteans, including her brother, which is something Lotor himself ends up admitting to.]]
** Related to DieForOurShip above: Adam has only shown up in a flashback for one scene in one episode, and has already garnered a nasty hatedom for getting angry with Shiro because [[spoiler:the latter insisted on going to Kerberos, which led to them breaking up]]. Because of this, their relationship has been labelled "toxic", or Adam himself has been accused of being a bad boyfriend. Even though it was confirmed he and Shiro were a happy couple beforehand, and it was understandable that he would react in such a way, knowing that [[spoiler:his boyfriend had an incurable degenerative disease with only a few years of good health remaining]]. Inversely, some Adam fans portray Shiro as an abusive and irresponsible partner for choosing to break up with him, pinning the blame for [[spoiler:Adam's death]] on him directly.
** Curtis has gotten a hatedom [[spoiler:for being the one to marry Shiro and sinking a flotilla of ships]] with accusations that he [[spoiler:was responsible for Adam's death, if not [[DieForOurShip a murderer who engineered Adam's death to have Shiro to himself]], for being the responder in the scene where Adam died. Nevermind the fact he wasn't giving the orders that killed Adam or the one who blasted Adam.]]
** Lance sometimes gets this from Lotor/Allura, Keith/Allura, and Keith/Lance shippers who {{Flanderiz|ation}}e his DoggedNiceGuy tendencies into being a full-blown StalkerWithACrush towards Allura, or accuse him of being an abusive or possessive boyfriend and claim that Allura [[spoiler:sacrificed herself to get away from him]]. Elsewhere, some hardcore Keith fans portray Lance's petty JerkAss behavior towards him in the earlier seasons as Lance being a persistent full-blown abuser and bully to Keith, even though Lance eventually learns to respect him after some CharacterDevelopment.
** Some "[[FandomSpecificPlot Langst]]" fics give most of the paladins (often excluding [[NiceGuy Hunk]]) this in regards to their treatment of Lance, exaggerating their tendency to dismiss or get annoyed with him into being outright verbally or even physically abusive bullies who treat Lance as TheFriendNobodyLikes so the fic can give him something to angst about. Granted, these fics do at least usually have them [[JerkassRealization learn]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone their]] [[WasTooHardOnHim lesson]] and [[TookALevelInKindness get better]] by the end of the story, but not before being written in a manner often regarded as excessively hateful, which has had the subsequent effect of Lance becoming a huge BaseBreakingCharacter because of this.

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