A recently reported reboot of the Starship Troopers franchise brings the 1997 cult classic to mind for a lot of people, but it wasn’t the first attempt at bringing Robert Heinlein’s novel to life. Would you like to know more? Well, nearly a decade before Paul Verhoeven’s movie hit theaters, an anime version was released in six parts for home video.
This series looks and sounds kind of like the blockbuster film, but it actually attempts to follow the source material more accurately. It’s somewhat forgotten, because of the confusion surrounding Verhoeven’s film. However, it’s time that this old tale got a reboot to match with Neil Blomkamp’s relaunch.
There are some notable differences between the anime and the live-action versions. The biggest being that the entire tone of the film felt much more serious and less like it was mocking the heavily militaristic themes of the book. The characters such as Johnny Rico, Carmen(cita), Carl, etc. are much the same. The difference is that it doesn’t fully touch on the political tone of the book and live-action. It does when it relates to disobeying orders, as soldiers are physically hit or not shown honor for heroic action, if it came without following the chain of command.
It tried to be more of a straightforward humans versus aliens story that also featured a decent portion of mecha action. The Federation uses individual armored power suits to fight the alien infestation, instead of unarmored, ground troops, which was one of Verhoeven’s key choices. American audiences hopped on anime a few years after the series first dropped, so it’d be the perfect time to retell the story in its exact universe.
With some Mobile Suit Gundam-type elements, a story with high stakes and the brand name of Starship Troopers is sure to get some traction. Also, the recent run that the game Helldivers 2 went on has people more familiar with the franchise than ever. One change from the book that should be made for a new anime is that the aliens change to the form that’s been so iconic from the live-action movie. The “bugs” or “arachnids” just gave an invasion feel that the squid-like monsters don’t. However, the grittiness and graphic violence are still very much a part of the anime’s universe. The squids prove just as ruthless, so that element should still be able to stay in, as opposed to the Starship Troopers Roughnecks children’s cartoon.
Also, those who are fans of Warhammer 40,000 and Starcraft universes would be able to jump onto an anime reboot too. The Tyranids and Zerg respectively are very similar to the bugs, and the universes are much like the Starship Troopers world. Those franchises have been waiting for a movie based on those games. Although the franchise isn’t an exact carbon copy of those other two, this anime would certainly interest them.
The series took a swing at CGI with Japanese American films Starship Troopers Invasion and Starship Troopers Traitor of Mars. The action scenes were impressive and continued in the same timeline as the 1997 film, however they brought the power armor back into the fold, so there is some connection to the anime. There have been five movies made in the Verhoeven universe, but just one from the anime. This would give the creators some more room come up with different concepts. Would a new Starship Troopers anime do well with the fans? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
