Jûichi-nin iru!

They Were Eleven is an adaptation of Hagio Moto's manga of the same name. It features an intriguing science fiction setting, with dynamic fleshed out characters.

A group of ten young space cadet hopefuls are deposited on a derelict spaceship and tasked to survive as long as possible as a test. On arriving on board they realize, "There's eleven of us, not ten."

What ensues is both a taut, thriller as they work through who can be trusted while trying to balance against simply working together and surviving long enough to pass their test.

Each character has strong motivation for wanting to pass their test, and you really are drawn in to their story and their trials surviving as long as possible.

This film does diverge slightly from the source manga, some characters were altered or some of their stories changed to make this series fit into an hour and a half film, but it still brings Hagio Moto's imagination to life.

Despite being an older film now, it has some fascinating explorations of gender and gender identity, which just makes the film even better.