They Were Eleven

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.

I'll admit, I just wanted a slasher anime movie in space. The setup makes it sound like that will be the case. There are 11 space cadets, and one of them is an imposter. It's "Among Us" in space. I wanted something like "Lily C. A. T.". So, it was an adjustment when this decidedly is not a horror film. For what it is, it's fine. A little strange at times, but overall, just OK.

Based on one of the best works of Moto Hagio, whose sci-fi manga often played games with gender. In this case, in a future academy training people for space travel, the entrance exam comes down to a 53-day training flight with a crew of ten. When the mission starts, however, there are eleven on board. They need to figure out who the odd man is and why he's there; not to mention inconvenient power outages, bouts of temperament between applicants from different planets, and Frol. This student has long blonde hair and a far too pretty face, but is flat- chested and declares himself to be a male. Sorting out that question is perhaps the most important part of the anime: what makes up gender in the future, and--by extension--in the present. This has made Hagio a major manga artist, and this anime captures her story.

The anime was dubbed back in the 1980s, and the dub has limitations. Among these is Frol's being given a Texas accent--which was for a time a convention meant to set apart characters who spoke in a western Japan dialect (Kansai). Still, for me this is part of a trilogy of shoujo sci-fi--including Saki Hiwatari's classic "Please Save My Earth" and the seldom-seen "E.Y.E.S. of Mars".

Anime based on Hagio Moto's Comic. As a final examination of Space University, 10 exzminate were sent to an old spaceship. But when they got to the spaceship, they found they were eleven. Who's the uninvited guest? And what's his intention? Soon unexpected explosions occurred and causes the change in the course of the ship to the burning sun... It's a beautiful story of friendship and love, well conserved the mood of the original comic.

This anime movie is completely unknown and never talked about. And this is very sad. I stumbled across this when I received a bunch of free anime movies from my job and after watching it, I was blown away at how much I loved it. The concept is so simple, yet it is done in such a way that is actually very compelling and well done. It's a mystery with an answer you didn't see coming.

It is not a very fast paced move by any stretch of the imagination so if you are expecting a high octane thrill ride then you should probably go somewhere else. There are 11 characters but you get to learn what makes each of them tick and it is actually sad when you have to see them leave as by the end of the film they feel like friends or even family. You feel that you are isolated with them and you are part of the crew. It is almost like VR in a way which is very cool.

Definitely underrated and more people need to see this