What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedStarship Troopers: Invasion
Shinji Aramaki · Film · 2012
If you loved Starship Troopers: Invasion, start with Starship Troopers (Robert A. Heinlein, 1959) — a book from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Starship Troopers: Invasion across media.
You loved Starship Troopers: Invasion because it forced elite soldiers into desperate, high-stakes survival against overwhelming and relentless alien threats.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Starship Troopers
Paul Verhoeven · Film · 1997
Adaptation
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars
Shinji Aramaki · Film · 2017
Books on the same thread
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card · Book · 2013
Shares 2 threads with Starship Troopers: Invasion: Xenophobia, Military Science Fiction.
Like Starship Troopers: Invasion, this story centers on the brutal necessity of military strategy and sacrifice when facing an existential threat from a terrifyingly efficient alien species.
銀河英雄伝説 (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)
Yoshiki Tanaka · Book · 1982
Shares 3 threads with Starship Troopers: Invasion: Loyalty, Space Opera, Military Science Fiction.
If the interstellar warfare and political tension of Starship Troopers: Invasion kept you engaged, you will appreciate the grand scale of military leadership and conflict depicted here.
Attack on Titan 1
Hajime Isayama · Book · 2012
Explores: Existential dread, Humanity vs. monsters, Political corruption.
The visceral struggle for human survival against monstrous, overwhelming forces that defined Starship Troopers: Invasion is amplified here as humanity fights to avoid total extinction by giant humanoids.
Downbelow Station
C. J. Cherryh · Book · 2008
Shares 3 threads with Starship Troopers: Invasion: Survival, Space Opera, Military Science Fiction.
Much like the desperate mission in Starship Troopers: Invasion, this novel captures the grit of space-bound conflict where the survival of the crew depends on tactical precision.
Series on the same thread
Attack on Titan
Series · 2013
Shares a thread with Starship Troopers: Invasion: Survival.
Just as the troopers in Starship Troopers: Invasion face relentless creatures, this series explores the bleak reality of soldiers fighting for humanity against terrifying, man-eating monsters.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Series · 2002
Explores: Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism, Cybernetics.
If the tactical, high-tech combat of Starship Troopers: Invasion resonated with you, you will enjoy watching these elite specialists handle dangerous threats through advanced cybernetic and military capabilities.
Star Trek
Gene Roddenberry · Series · 1966
Shares a thread with Starship Troopers: Invasion: Space Opera.
While Starship Troopers: Invasion leans into combat, this classic shares the space-faring military structure and the high-stakes navigation of alien encounters that define the genre experience.
Sword Art Online
Series · 2012
Explores: Trapped in a Game, High Stakes Competition, Survival Game.
The high-pressure environment of Starship Troopers: Invasion mirrors the intense, survival-based stakes found here, where combat skill is the only thing keeping the protagonists from permanent destruction.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
Fans of the isolated, high-stakes military atmosphere in Starship Troopers: Invasion will find a similar focus on grit and survival against a harsh, uncaring universe in this audio drama.
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
If Starship Troopers: Invasion hit, 1619 shares the thread.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Starship Troopers: Invasion a direct sequel to the 1997 movie?
Starship Troopers: Invasion is an animated film released in 2012 that continues the narrative of the Federation troopers. While it shares the same universe as the 1997 movie, it functions as a distinct entry focused on a specific mission to rescue survivors from a bug-infested outpost.
What order should I watch Starship Troopers: Invasion and Traitor of Mars?
You should watch Starship Troopers: Invasion before viewing Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars. Both films are animated entries directed by Shinji Aramaki that follow the ongoing conflict against the bugs, with the events of the 2012 film providing necessary context for the later 2017 release.
Does Starship Troopers: Invasion follow the plot of the 1959 book?
Starship Troopers: Invasion does not directly adapt the 1959 book by Robert Heinlein. Instead, it is an original story featuring battle-hardened troopers who join forces to terminate a massive bug attack at a Federation outpost after one of their ships goes dark.
How does the story in Starship Troopers: Invasion conclude?
The story in Starship Troopers: Invasion concludes with the remaining troopers racing to a rescue mission. They discover that the threat from the bugs is not isolated to the outpost but is about to hit home, forcing them to confront the danger before the mission is completed.