Review of They Were Eleven (1986) by Brooks C — 17 Jun 2013

Ever wondered what kind of a society was being pursued in the process of the events of any space western anime? Such an elaborate and inquisitive wonder is a rather deep observation in such a media. A lot of anime likes to explore the beginning processes of certain ambitions of foreign space contact and what kind of sophisticated society would result amidst the chaos.

They Were Eleven is an anime movie that shows this kind of future that few movies of its genre tend to touch upon. In the distant future, mankind has discovered space teleportation. The inhabitants of Terra- Earth have come into contact with many different beings from different galaxies. After many wars and lawlessness all of the officials have come to a truce and the Space Alliance has been formed. Recruiting highly trained and well educated cadets; ten selected trainees from different corners of the universe are stationed on an abandoned ship called the Esperanza. Being put to the test of trust and survival, the team discovers that they have one extra crewmember and are told that one person among them is an imposter. Being unsure of which one it is and knowing little of what to do the cadets are forced to work together to pass the exam in 33 days, but the sense of wonder that lingers puts their trust on the rocks.

They Were Eleven seems like a predictable movie given the fact that the characters are given one extra cadet. Most movies that follow this style of narrative use only the sense of wonder to move their plot forward. Many don't have much characterization. They Were Eleven has the most characterization of all the movies that I've seen in this style. One can think of this movie as a more complete version of Reservoir Dogs and 12 Angry Men if they were spliced together, but rendered in nostalgic anime. Each characterization is wonderfully done to add to the sense of wonder. Each of the characters has their own ambitions that he/she has hopes of achieving as a result of passing the exam.

There are also many mysteries that surround the Esperanza and the many contents it contains. What makes these characters' subplots so great is how well written they are in correlation to every aspect of the story. Examples are: Tada's viral immunity, Frol being hermaphroditic, King's sardonic behavior, etc. The voice acting is more hit and miss. I did like Steve Blum as King, but I thought that the Southern accent for Frol was rather odd. Granted, Wendee Lee is no stranger to providing such an impersonation and she's not bad at doing so, but given the fact that Frol isn't from Earth I did find it rather weird.

Older anime films do have an infamous reputation of having some of the worst dubs known to Man. They Were Eleven manages to have some decent production quality in this realm. Especially since it dates back to the time before anime came to enjoy the status that it does today. The animation and soundtrack are also pretty good. The movement and frame rate are pretty solid for an anime this old, but the character designs may look a little too generic. One complaint that I do have about this movie is that I felt that it ended a little too soon. I think that this movie could've been a solid intro to a good series; considering how interesting the characters were. Most stand alone anime movies and OVAs tend to be rather guilty of that. I could imagine how difficult it can be to put an adequate amount of plot and character into such a limited space, but since some of them I've seen, like Cyber City Odeo 808, Blue Submarine No. 6, Orguss 02, Windaria, and FLCL have such a limit I did feel as if they could've gone on a bit longer and I liked all of the ones I listed. Sadly, due to how much time has elapsed I think that such a possibility is very unlikely in this movie's case.

They Were Eleven is an underrated anime gem that manages to incorporate full, three-dimensional character development into a narrative style that usually lacks a certain component of such storytelling. It's a nice way to see the possibilities of a conditioned world that goes beyond what is commonly shown in most anime. It also can show how the characters in the genre are trained in how they think the way they can through given predicaments.