Princess Allura,known asPrincess Farla(ファーラ cơ,Fāra Hime)in the originalJapanese languageBeast King GoLion,is afictional characterin the media franchiseVoltronand member of the Voltron Force, who made her first appearance inVoltron.[3][4]

Princess Allura
Voltroncharacter
First appearance
  • As Princess Farla:
  • "Escape from Slave Castle" (1981)
  • Cameo appearance:
  • "Space Explorers Captured" (1984)
  • As Princess Allura:
  • "Escape to Another Planet" (1984)
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesArusian/Altean (depending on continuity)
GenderFemale[2]
TitlePrincess
Queen (Voltron Force)
OccupationQueen of Arus (Voltron Force)
  • Blue Paladin (formerly)
  • Princess of Altea (formerly)
  • Pilot of the Castleship (formerly)
FamilyKing Alfor (father)
Queen Melenor (mother)
SpouseKeith(husband,Voltron Force)
SignificantothersKeith (Voltron)
Lance(formerly,Legendary Defender)
Prince Lotor(formerly,Legendary Defender)
Relatives
  • Avok (cousin)
  • Princess Romelle (cousin)
  • Bandor (cousin)
  • Queen Orla (aunt)
NationalityArusian/Altean (depending on continuity)

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

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Princess Allura is ruler of Planet Altea and last surviving member of royal family after the death of her father King Alfor. She became the pilot of the Blue Lion of Voltron afterSvenbecame no longer able to do so.[5]She has highly intelligent mice that can understand human speech. Allura andKeithhave mutual romantic feelings for each other, and she is also stalked byPrince Lotorfor her affection.

Voltron Force

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InVoltron Force,Allura continues to pilot the Blue Lion. She becomes a mentor to Vince, and her niece, Larmina. Due to her conflicting duties as Princess of Arus and member of Voltron Force, she asks King Alfor for advice, who suggests that she step down as the pilot of the Blue Lion to become the full-time Queen of Arus. Allura complies with her father's advice and promotes Larmina to be the Blue Lion's pilot. Allura is in a romantic relationship with Keith and proposes marriage to him so that he can become her king consort.

Voltron: Legendary Defender

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InVoltron: Legendary Defender,Allura is the teenage princess of Altea, the daughter of King Alfor and last surviving female member of the Altean race. She was asleep in the Castle of Lions with her servant Coran for 10,000 years, and commanded and piloted the Blue Lion of Voltron, until she sacrificed herself for the galaxy in the series finale. She has brief romantic relationships with Lotor and Lance. She dies when she chooses to sacrifice herself to save the universe from Honerva.

Conception

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In theVoltron: Legendary Defender,Princess Allura is not initially a member of the Voltron force.[6]But after the "disappearance" of Shiro, with Keith becoming the Black Pilot and Lance taking Keith's place as Red Pilot, Allura, to complete the Voltron team, is chosen as the Blue Pilot.

Design

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In the classic version ofVoltron,Allura was depicted as either Altean or Arusian depending on the region the anime was aired. Also, she was depicted as having fair skin and blonde hair. InLegendary Defender,she was depicted as Altean, and was re-imagined as being dark skinned with white hair (likely so she was distinguishable from her human allies) and, unlike the rest of the main cast, spoke with a British accent.

Comics

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In the 2011Devil's Duecomics, the character Allura is portrayed as a teenager.[7]The comic book version of Allura places her at age 19, and depicts her with a much stronger backbone than her cartoon counterpart. When her home planet Arus was ravaged by the forces of Zarkon and her parents murdered by Zarkon's own hand, she was taken in and raised by Coran, a retired combat instructor in the royal army, and was forced to grow up much too fast. Years later, she would renounce her title of "princess," answering only to "Allura," until her people are liberated from Zarkon's tyranny. Visions while she slept showed the spirit of her father King Alfor promising that five young men would come to Arus in search of the legendary robot Voltron. When Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven arrive on Arus and speak of the mighty robot, Allura instantly knows that they are the ones spoken of in her visions, and helps them to find the five hidden lions that will unite to form Voltron. When Voltron fails to combine properly due to a brain defect within Sven, Allura mans his Blue Lion, and with her royal Arusian blood, the unification of Voltron is finally a success, and she becomes a member of the Voltron Force. During the course of the comic, she begins to develop feelings towards Keith and vice versa.

Reception

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TheLegendary Defenderincarnation of the character was praised for being diverse.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^"Kimberly Brooks on Voltron and Opening Doors Through Diverse Casting".The Washington Post.Retrieved23 January2019.(subscription required)
  2. ^Cregg, R. J. (15 August 2017).The Paladin's Handbook: Official Guidebook of Voltron Legendary Defender.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9781534409033.Retrieved23 January2019– via Google Books.
  3. ^"Voltron".Anime News Network.28 August 2023.
  4. ^Haasch, Palmer (19 December 2018)."The thrilling ending of Voltron was never going to deliver on fan demands".Polygon.Retrieved22 January2019.
  5. ^"VOLTRON: The Third Dimension".12 May 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-05-12.Retrieved1 March2019.
  6. ^"'Voltron' Executive Producers Address Season 7, Shiro's Grief, And Allura's Growth ".Comicbook.13 August 2018.Retrieved22 January2019.
  7. ^Voltron Defender of the Universe Vol.1.Devil's Due Digital.ISBN9781933160849.Retrieved22 January2019– via Google Books.
  8. ^"BGN Op-Ed: Your Princess is in the Castle of Lions — An Analysis of Voltron's Princess Allura".Blackgirlners.12 April 2017.Retrieved22 January2019.
  9. ^Francisco, Eric (3 June 2016)."'Voltron' Is Defending Diversity with a New Princess Allura ".Inverse.Retrieved22 January2019.