Julien Neaves, Sci Fi Head Writer
Last month there was news that we would be getting a new film adaptation of Starship Troopers, the military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The most popular adaptation is the 1997 live action film directed by Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall) which I am a fan of even if it diverted from the source material.
But this was not the first time Heinlein’s tale of human soldiers battling aliens was adapted to the screen. That honours goes to Japanese six-part anime OVA which was released in 1988 and is also known as Warriors of Space. According to Wikipedia Heinlein died before the first part was released; the anime is dedicated to the author. I didn’t even know this version existed until I saw a post on The Golden Age of Anime of 70s, 80s and 90s. Fully intrigued, I had to check it out and I found it…okay. With a mild SPOILER ALERT let’s retro review the Starship Troopers anime.
Unlike Verhoeven’s version, which was a thinly veiled satire of military fascism, the anime sticks closer to the novel which is more of a glorification of the military. Fans of the 1997 film will recognise the lead and young space trooper Johnny Rico, his love interest and space pilot Carmencita Ibanez and the alien attack on his home of Buenos Aires. The anime also features the mech suits from the novel which were left out of the 1997 version.
I have spoken before about my love for the animation in this classic era of anime, but unfortunately, I can’t include Starship Troopers on that list. The animation is very flat, the colours are washed out and the detail is lacking. It feels like it was made on the cheap. Moving from visual to auditory, the rock ballad soundtrack felt incongruous to the story and just didn’t work for me.
The characters here are nothing to cheer about either. Johnny is a bit bland, and Carmencita is barely in the story, making their grand love story feel undercooked. Also underdeveloped is Johnny’s relationship with his mother. When the plucky young man decides to join the military and follow his crush Carmencita, she slaps him and walks off. That is their last interaction and the next time we see her she is getting killed by aliens during the attack on Buenos Aires. It is supposed to have this strong emotional impact on Johnny, but because his mother is such a non-entity her death lacks any resonance.
Johnny’s father is a bit better, offering some advice and perspective to his dreamer of a son. And Johnny’s fellow soldiers do have some personality, though the characterisations only slight rise above the usual tropes. We do get a lot of scenes of the military training, which were decent enough, and I did like the incorporation of the mech suits. Unfortunately, this throws off the pacing with the story dragging somewhat with just a few action scenes at the start, middle and end. And to the anime’s credit, the action sequences are entertaining, though not the best I have seen from the era.
While mostly faithful to the novel, the anime does divert when it comes to the aliens. They aren’t Arachnids or “Bugs” but mysterious, unnamed, squid-like creatures. They are creepy though and quite brutal, dispatching soldiers in gory fashion. And I thought it was a clever move to slowly reveal them over time.
So, is the Starship Troopers anime worth tracking down? If you are a massive fan of the franchise, or a completionist like me, then it would be interesting to watch as a curiosity. But if you just want some sweet classic Sci Fi anime action you can find better choices elsewhere. This was one and done for me.
Editor Jules’ Score: 6 out of 10
For the second part of my “Would You Like to Know More?” series, I will be reviewing the 1997 version and looking at how it holds up today. For that review you can follow us via email or via Facebook (Robot Mango Reviews). And you can check out more Sci Fi blasting action below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “13 flavours of awesome sauce”.