What is it about ‘military’ and ‘sci fi’ that goes so well together?
I’m not sure I know the answer, though I have a theory: since science fiction involves futuristic technology, what better way to showcase that technology than to put it in the hands of some futuristic soldiers and send them to fight monsters?
I believe it goes deeper than this, though. There’s something about the uniqueness of military culture that lends well to good storytelling. Also, military or not, putting characters in harrowing situations is a great way to achieve strong character exposition and development. On the other hand, all military-oriented stories carry a particular danger: the risk of stereotype.
“Not like a military”
When I arrived at the airport for a recent trip and checked in, the airline agent was an older Asian woman. She looked at my ID and said something to the effect of, “Oh, you don’t look like a military, you look like a lady!”
I had to ask myself, what, in her mind, would “a military” look like? Somebody with cold steely eyes and harsh cheekbones? I honestly don’t know, but I can only assume they wouldn’t look “like a lady.”
I believe this is a key factor in what makes for good military sci fi. Let’s look at a classic: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (good book, horrible movie…) The book has a distinctive, authentic voice which makes the story seem believable—no small feat for a tale about shooting giant alien insects. Except the book wasn’t actually about killing giant insects (the movie, on the other hand…) The book was about the transformation of joining an elite military unit. The voice was authentic because Heinlein himself had been a military officer.
That’s not to say that the only people who can successfully write military characters are those with personal experience. It only takes someone who understands that military people are just that—people. Not robots. In many ways, they’re ordinary individuals doing a job they trained for, and they come in all types.
Martial artists, gamers, and disposal workers
One military sci fi story that gets it right is Kaiju Number 8. This anime series follows Hibino Kafka, a Kaiju disposal worker who dreams of joining Japan’s Kaiju Defense Force—a special military force that uses advanced technology to fight monsters (Kaiju) that emerge from underground. At the story’s beginning, the closest Kafka can get to his dream is cleaning up the remains of defeated Kaiju. That is, until a strange experience grants him the ability to transform into a Kaiju himself—and a very powerful one.
Kafka eventually manages to make it into the Defense Force, but has to keep his alternate Kaiju identity a secret. Still, whenever his teammates get into tight spots, he can’t help using his secret identity to save them.
While Kafka is the central character, the story has some of the best supporting characters I’ve ever seen. The writers take the time to include backstory on certain secondary characters that makes them three-dimensional. For instance, take Vice Captain Hoshina (one of my favorites.) At first he just comes across as elite and powerful, like all the captains. But in his backstory, you discover that he thought he’d never make it to where he is. Despite his strength, the only advanced weapons he’s able to use are swords, not guns. He is steeped in his family’s tradition of elite Japanese swordsmanship. But swords are only useful against smaller kaiju, not the big ones. He might’ve stayed in the lower ranks if another captain hadn’t recognized the value of his unique skill and brought him on as a vice.
The other characters are just as unique—a female prodigy with blond pigtails, a young recruit who excels because he has an overactive sense of responsibility, and the son of the billionaire CEO who manufactures kaiju-fighting technology. There’s even the elite captain of the first division, who deals with the stress of monster-fighting by ignoring military protocol and spending all his free time as a cheeto-munching gamer addict. As Captain Hoshina tells him, “Your only redeeming quality is your ability to kill kaiju.”
It’s fun to watch these individual personalities come together and help each other in some seriously bad situations. Even Kafka’s first-hand knowledge of kaiju anatomy comes in handy now and then.
These characters are endearing because they try their hardest despite obstacles, they use what they’ve got, and they’re all different. Just like real people.
If you enjoy military sci fi and you’re looking for a new series to check out, I highly recommend Kaiju No. 8. The bad guys are intimidating and it’s got plenty of action and suspense, but also some humor to take the edge off.
As with Solo Leveling, this is an adult series and can be a little bloody, though it’s mostly monster gore. I would rate it PG-13.
Blog Photo by Alejandro Hikari on Unsplash
