Review of They Were Eleven (1986) by Luke B — 17 Oct 2010

A relic from the now defunct Central Park Media, They Were Eleven is a very engrossing sci-fi tale. This 1986 anime film is an adaptation of Moto Hagio's 1975 manga of the same name.

Set in space at a unspecified time in the future, the story begins with a short bit of exposition on the current state of the galaxy before introducing the protagonist Tadatos "Tada" Lane, a hopeful applicant at the Cosmo Academy. He moves on to the final stage of the entrance exam, which is a mission with nine other applicants aboard a derelict vessel named Esperanza. Problem is, when they arrive it is discovered are actually eleven applicants onboard. This, coupled with the dangerous conditions of the Esperanza, ratchets the tension up quite a few levels.

Of course, with eleven characters being onboard there are plenty of character dynamics in play to go along with a very palpable sense of tension. Steady direction from Satoshi Dezaki and Tsuneo Tominaga combined with a very good adapted screenplay by Katsumi Koide and Toshiaki Imaizumi captures the essense of the original manga very well, though certain changes were made that streamline the original storytelling. The unique interplay between Frol and Tada is still expertly handled, as are the little hints in the storytelling that lead up to the big revelation during the film's climax.

The production values have aged quite well, considering the film is over 20 years old at the time of this review. The animation, while not impressive, is solid, and the artistry is still quite good; adapting Hagio's diverse character designs and detailed backgrounds to animation very well. Hirohiko Fukuda's musical score is excellent, as it really adds to the tension of numerous scenes. The sound design does show its age the most, but it does add to the film's retro charm in spite of that.

Anyone who has an eye for retro anime and also loves science fiction will probably find it hard not to like They Were Eleven. Though the manga is slightly superior, the film is definitely worth checking out on its own merits. Plus, the manga is a bit difficult to obtain in English due to the rarity of the Four Shojo Stories anthology in which They Were Eleven was published.