10 Cartoons to Watch If You Loved Exosquad

Exosquad was different from most action cartoons of the 1990s.

It had giant machines, futuristic weapons, space battles and enough hardware to sell a mountain of toys, but the series was rarely satisfied with simply sending Able Squad on another mission. The larger story was about war, occupation, rebellion, political ambition, loyalty and the consequences of decisions made by people on every side of the conflict.

That combination is still surprisingly difficult to find.

There are plenty of cartoons about giant robots. There are plenty about teams fighting villains. There are even plenty about wars in space. But very few combine all of those things in quite the same way Exosquad did.

If you are searching for cartoons like Exosquad, these ten series capture different parts of its appeal. Some lean into mecha warfare and futuristic hardware; others deliver military sci-fi, space battles, rebellion and serialized storytelling in which the characters are caught inside a conflict much larger than themselves.

1. Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles

If you want something that comes closest to the military side of Exosquad, start here.

Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles follows soldiers fighting an interplanetary war against an alien enemy. The show focuses heavily on squads, deployments, campaigns and the relationship between individual missions and the larger conflict.

That is one of the biggest things it shares with Exosquad. Characters are not simply superheroes responding to a different villain every week. They are soldiers inside a military organization, and the battles they fight are part of an ongoing war.

The computer animation is unmistakably a product of the late 1990s, but the storytelling is more ambitious than the visuals might suggest. Characters depend on one another, missions go wrong and the war continues to evolve.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Military campaigns, squad tactics, alien warfare and a serious combat-focused tone.

2. Robotech

It is difficult to talk about animated military science fiction without eventually arriving at Robotech.

The series combines transforming machines, military pilots, massive space battles and a long-running conflict that changes the lives of everyone involved. Characters grow older, relationships change, people are lost and the war continues to shape the story.

That sense of permanence is one of the strongest connections to Exosquad.

The machines are obviously a huge part of the appeal, but they are not the entire story. The larger conflict includes politics, civilians, military leadership and the personal consequences of living through an enormous war.

For viewers who loved Exosquad because it felt more like an animated space-war drama than a traditional action cartoon, Robotech is an easy recommendation.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Mecha warfare, military hierarchy, enormous space battles and long-form storytelling.

3. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing takes giant machines and places them inside a much larger political and military struggle.

Different factions compete for control. Colonies rebel. Alliances change. Characters frequently discover that determining who is right and wrong is much harder than it first appears.

That should feel familiar to Exosquad fans.

The Gundams may be the visual centerpiece, but the story surrounding them is about governments, resistance movements, military organizations and the political consequences of war.

It is also one of the better choices for viewers who appreciated the fact that Exosquad did not always divide its world neatly into heroes and villains.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Giant machines, political warfare, rebellion, shifting alliances and morally complicated conflict.

4. Battletech: The Animated Series

On the surface, Battletech: The Animated Series may look like one of the most obvious recommendations on this list.

It has enormous BattleMechs, futuristic armies and interstellar warfare. Pilots operate machines that feel much closer to military equipment than superhero costumes, which naturally invites comparisons with the E-frames of Exosquad.

The show follows Major Adam Steiner and his unit during a conflict involving the invading Clans, giving the series a clear military structure.

It may not have the same depth or political complexity as Exosquad, but if your favorite part of the show was watching Able Squad climb into E-frames and head into battle, Battletech is worth seeing.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Giant combat machines, military units and futuristic warfare.

5. Voltron: Legendary Defender

Voltron: Legendary Defender is one of the best modern examples of an animated space opera built around a team of pilots and an expanding galactic war.

The series begins with a relatively small group of characters discovering powerful machines, but the story quickly grows much larger. Alien civilizations become involved. Political alliances matter. Entire worlds live under occupation. Military decisions have consequences far beyond the central team.

That expansion from individual heroes to galaxy-wide conflict is something Exosquad handled particularly well.

The tone and animation are obviously much more modern, but the underlying formula should feel surprisingly familiar.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Team-based pilots, giant machines, alien civilizations and a serialized interstellar war.

6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The further Star Wars: The Clone Wars progresses, the stronger the comparison with Exosquad becomes.

The series explores an enormous war from many different levels. One episode might focus on political negotiations while another follows soldiers fighting through a battlefield on a distant planet.

Clone troopers develop individual personalities. Civilians suffer when worlds change hands. Military commanders are forced to make difficult decisions. Entire populations can become trapped between opposing forces.

That broader view of war is one of the things Exosquad did unusually well for a 1990s cartoon.

There are fewer giant machines at the center of the story, but in terms of scale, military campaigns and the consequences of prolonged conflict, The Clone Wars is one of the strongest recommendations here.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Large-scale warfare, military campaigns, political conflict and the consequences of war.

7. TRON: Uprising

TRON: Uprising may not immediately look like an obvious companion to Exosquad, but thematically the two have a lot in common.

The series takes place inside an occupied society controlled by an authoritarian regime. A resistance begins forming, and characters are forced to decide how much they are willing to risk to fight back.

That emphasis on occupation and rebellion is particularly relevant for Exosquad fans.

Much of Exosquad revolves around populations living under Neo-Sapien control and the effort to resist that occupation. TRON: Uprising explores similar ideas from a very different visual and technological world.

It is also much more serialized than many action cartoons, giving the story time to build its conflict and develop its characters.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Occupation, resistance, authoritarian rule, sacrifice and serialized storytelling.

8. Sky Commanders

Long before Exosquad, Sky Commanders was already combining military-style teams with futuristic technology.

The series follows General Mike Summit and his team as they fight for control of a newly discovered continent using specialized equipment built around powerful cable systems.

The premise is much more fantastical than Exosquad, and the storytelling is considerably simpler, but there is still a familiar structure underneath it.

A specialized team uses advanced technology to carry out dangerous missions against a recurring enemy force.

It also captures the same era of animation when cartoons could be heavily tied to toys while still building an entire fictional military world around the equipment.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Military teams, futuristic equipment, specialized missions and technology-driven combat.

9. The Centurions

“Power Extreme!”

Anyone who grew up watching The Centurions probably remembers the transformation sequences almost immediately.

The show follows a team of heroes who use modular weapon systems designed for different environments. Ace McCloud specializes in air combat, Jake Rockwell operates on land and Max Ray handles underwater missions.

The technology is not quite the same as an E-frame, but the basic appeal is remarkably similar.

Characters essentially connect themselves to specialized combat systems that dramatically increase their capabilities depending on the mission.

That combination of humans, machines and purpose-built military equipment makes The Centurions a natural recommendation for anyone who loved the hardware side of Exosquad.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Powered combat systems, specialized equipment, futuristic technology and team missions.

10. Star Wars Rebels

Star Wars Rebels begins with a small group fighting against the Galactic Empire, but the scope steadily grows.

What starts as individual missions eventually becomes part of a much larger organized rebellion. The characters encounter occupied worlds, military commanders, resistance cells and increasingly dangerous Imperial forces.

That evolution gives the show one of its strongest connections to Exosquad.

Able Squad may have been only one unit, but their actions were always taking place inside a much larger conflict. Rebels creates a similar feeling by showing how small acts of resistance can eventually become part of something much bigger.

It is less focused on machines than many of the shows higher on this list, but its themes of occupation, resistance and organized rebellion make it a strong choice for Exosquad fans.

Why Exosquad fans should watch it: Resistance movements, occupation, military missions, space combat and an expanding rebellion.

Which Show Is Most Like Exosquad?

There still is not a perfect replacement. That is part of what makes Exosquad so unusual. Different shows capture different pieces of what made it memorable:

1. Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles — Military squads and interplanetary warfare
2. Robotech — Mecha and long-running space war
3. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing — Machines, politics and competing factions
4. Battletech: The Animated Series — Giant combat machines and military units
5. Voltron: Legendary Defender — Team pilots and galaxy-wide conflict
6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Large-scale military campaigns
7. TRON: Uprising — Occupation and resistance
8. Sky Commanders — Military teams and futuristic equipment
9. The Centurions — Powered combat systems and specialized missions
10. Star Wars Rebels — Rebellion against an occupying power

If you primarily loved the E-frames and military hardware, start with Robotech, Gundam Wing or Battletech.

If it was the military campaign structure that hooked you, Roughnecks and The Clone Wars are probably your best choices.

And if the occupation, rebellion and political side of Exosquad was what made the series stand out, TRON: Uprising and Star Wars Rebels are particularly worth watching.

Why Exosquad Still Stands Apart

More than three decades after it first aired, Exosquad remains difficult to categorize.

It was a toy-driven action cartoon with enormous machines, but it was also an ongoing military drama. It could spend one episode on a battle and another on politics, occupation or the changing relationships between characters.

Most importantly, the war did not disappear at the end of an episode.

Planets changed hands. Characters suffered consequences. Alliances shifted. Victories and defeats affected what happened next.

That continuity made the world feel larger than Able Squad itself.

And that may be the real reason Exosquad remains so memorable. The E-frames looked great, the battles were exciting and the toy line was unforgettable, but underneath all of it was a surprisingly ambitious story about people trying to survive a war that kept changing the world around them.

Until Exosquad finally gets the revival fans have been waiting for, these ten shows are probably the closest places to look for that same combination of machines, military science fiction and serialized conflict.

Think you remember Able Squad? Test yourself with the Daily Rivet’s Exosquad knowledge quiz.