The original post: /r/television by /u/Eli_Freeman_Author on 2026-03-31 12:05:06+00:00.
Disclaimer: this is a fairly long article (about six pages). If you like it but can’t read it all at once, you can save it and read it in bits. Or you can read to wherever you’re comfortable and discuss with me those parts that you have read. But please don’t yell at me in the comments about how long this is. I’m perfectly aware and no one is forcing you to read this, no one is holding anything to your head (I hope).
With that, well, I’ve finally finished my watchthrough (or more accurately, rewatch) of the show and it was quite satisfying. Maybe it’s a bit cliche but I feel blessed to be living in a time when I can enjoy the things that I enjoyed watching as a child, even if it’s something fairly obscure and hard to find. Exosquad is a show that I enjoyed along with several others as a kid back in the 90’s, and because back then you were dependent on the actual schedule of the show, that is, its specific airtime, and re-runs were your only recourse if you missed an episode, the re-runs themselves airing on a schedule, there were a number of episodes that I missed, or missed parts of, or simply didn’t understand and couldn’t quite make sense of. It is awesome that I could make up for all of that today. I may end up doing this with a number of other programs.
But Exosquad is the show that I would like to dedicate this article to, for even though I did enjoy other shows back in the day, and nearly everything from childhood holds a certain nostalgic value, there is a reason that Exosquad stands out from the rest, or perhaps several. Essentially, at least as far as I’m aware, Exosquad was the first serious American attempt to emulate Japanese anime. (If there was something else that came before or around the same time, please let me know, as I’m quite curious.) In other words, rather than simply being a cartoon show for kids, it was meant to be an epic for all ages, even though as a first, or early, attempt it is somewhat crude by today’s standards.
Perhaps the animation was not quite up to the standard of Japan, and some of the storylines may have been a bit too abbreviated, or just the opposite, a little too convoluted in some places. Regardless, the intent of the writers came across quite clearly I believe, and this show like very few others in its time introduced very serious and complex issues even for adults to consider, but at the same time made them mostly digestible for children, something that many animated (and live action) shows and films struggle with even today, and many don’t even bother to attempt.
The “villians” of the show, the Neosapiens, aren’t simply mustache curling caricatures that you might see on other programs, but rather complex characters with complex motives. Collectively, they have a very legitimate grievance against humanity, and while most (I hope) would agree that their campaign against the Terrans was ultimately unjust, their motives and reasoning were understandable due to the injustices that they themselves had suffered for generations. From the time that they were created, really. Even the leader of the Neosapians, Phaeton, wasn’t just the “main bad guy”, but was given a good deal of depth and complexity to where he was humanized in many ways at the end, and one could feel for him in spite of the terrible things he had done, and was planning to do.
These weren’t just random concepts that the creators came up with. For anyone that knows anything about American history this conflict was in many ways a direct parallel to American slavery, and in case anyone missed just how direct it was, Latin names like Marsala and Phaeton I believe were commonly given to African American slaves, at least in the 18th century if I’m not mistaken. I may have even seen them on posters advertising slave auctions. Some might consider this a little too “on the nose”, but for me personally at least it was just subtle enough if only because historical details like that are fairly obscure at this point, and one has to dig in order to find them. In any case the show did a pretty good job of bringing about this historical juxtaposition without “rubbing it in”, or making it too obvious. Again, this is something that many shows and films struggle with to this very day.
The subjects of racism and prejudice are thoroughly explored on this show, but rather than insulting the audience’s intelligence and beating them over the head with the cliched mantra of “racism is bad”, as I’ve seen in so many other places, the show instead looks carefully at this subject, and takes a very nuanced approach, looking at just why it is so bad, and all the different forms it can take. There is an obvious prejudice on the part of the Terrans, for example, towards the Neosapiens, partly because the Terrans created the Neosapiens and essentially used them as beasts of burden for a long time, and partly due to a vindictive attitude following the first Neosapien rebellion. The Neosapiens, in turn, had similar feelings for the Terrans, partly due to Terran oppression and partly because they saw themselves as a “superior species” to the Terrans. But in taking on the attitudes of their former masters, the Neosapiens showed themselves to be no better, and in many ways even worse, to the point of becoming genocidal.
These themes are explored even further when the Neosapiens themselves create new species, first the Neo Megas, then the Neosapien Warriors, then the Neo Lords. Many of the old, mutual prejudices are repeated anew as many of the original Neosapiens resent the newcomers, with some (like Typhonus) being visibly disgusted by the Neosapien Warriors and Neo Lords. Neo Megas, in turn, are likewise resented for staying in the rear and intellectualizing while regular Neosapiens have to fight. Though, to be fair, many Neosapien leaders (like Draconis) might resent them more for the authority they are given due to their intellectual capacity, even though they are new on the scene, while many Neo Megas themselves came to see themselves as superior to regular Neosapiens, feeling that they should be in charge of the Neosapien Order, thus developing their own prejudices.
In essence we see how prejudice is a disease that can afflict anyone at anytime, and anyone can be its victim or its perpetrator, or even both, such that no one can walk away feeling completely guiltless or blameless. While there may be a few places where the show is a little too direct I would say overwhelmingly it takes great pains to deliver this lesson as subtly as possible, thus ensuring that it comes across quite effectively.
Aside from this there is at least some effort made to keep the show grounded and realistic, at least as far as that could be expected back then with the knowledge and understanding that most writers and producers would have for children’s programming in those days. Exosquad is not just a space opera, or even just science fiction, but is regarded by many as military science fiction, so that it never allows itself to get too whimsical in its presentation. I believe that there was at least one person on staff who had some military experience, or at least had studied the subject very carefully, so that there was at least some familiarity with how real militaries function, and their culture.
This is partly exemplified when Torres, a sergeant, is addressed as “Sir” (that part wasn’t as realistic, in the US military a female officer is addressed as “Ma’am”), and responds with “do I look like an officer?! I work for a living! Call me ‘Sarge’…” Likewise, some of the tactics that are displayed appear to have some semblance of realism, such as the ambushes that are executed, and assaults going through walls and other improvised entries as opposed to doorways and other places that you would expect.
To be fair, there is a bit of floundering that takes place. Torres, for example, is seen to be ordering around lieutenants, though as an NCO she ranks below them, and the ranks of some of the other people in the squad, like Takagi, Bronski, and DeLeon, are not made clear, though it’s implied that DeLeon is an officer while Takagi and Bronski are enlisted. And as I’ve already mentioned Torres, a woman, is addressed as “Sir”, though interestingly enough I’ve seen this in several other science fiction franchises, including Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and I believe Space Above and Beyond, and Wing Commander. Also, it’s interesting to note that Torres has the rank of “sergeant”, but the Exofleet’s rank structure appears to be based on the US Navy (and Coast Guard), which have no sergeants, having petty officers instead. Although I believe there are some real world navies that do have sergeants if I’m not mistaken.
Overall, while I can’t say that the show scores particularly high in terms of actual realism, compared to most of the shows of its time, and many of the shows before and after it, I would say it is a standout. This extends even to live action shows like The A-Team, which were enjoyable but in some respects almost childish in comparison. The fact that at least some effort was made was inspiring in and of itself, and I believe helped to inspire some of the works that came after it. As I’ve stated in an earlier post I believe Stargate SG-1 may have taken some of its inspiration from Exosquad.
To clarify, I don’t need the show to be 100% realistic and to get every single detail right, “dotting every i and crossing every t”, but the fact that…
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