#They Were 11

[windstir]

based off a conversation with my friends

[otakween]

They Were 11: Horizon of the East, Eternity of the West

This is the sequel manga to "They Were 11." Another one shot with even fewer chapters than the first (nice). It honestly felt like highly condensed epic. Moto Hagio packed so much into a tiny volume and I salute her. This seems ultra obscure to me in 2024, but it got its own stage adaptation, which shows it had staying power in Japan. Glad to be introduced onto this hidden classic :) (see, going through all of MAL blindly has its perks!)

Ch. 1

Damn that was one chonky chapter! Really good though. I think a true sci fi aficionado would laugh at me if I called this "high sci fi," but it was very lore heavy for me. And I love lore so I was riveted lol

I think this was a really smart direction to take for a sequel manga. The scope feels somewhat narrower since they're focusing on one of the eleven's planets. If this series was bigger I think I would have enjoyed other such spin-offs on other planets. Learning about space culture is fascinating haha.

This chapter was religion and politics heavy and they're intertwined on King's planet because it's theocratic. It's funny because most of the characters don't actually seem to believe in their own religion? They kept mentioning that the phenomenon that decides their ruler is probably just a natural occurrence rather than a sign from God. It seems like they play along when it benefits them...oh wait, that's just how it works in the real world LOL (jk, I know some people actually believe in their religions wholeheartedly IRL)

Lots of talk of progressives and conservatives which felt too real 😭 This fan translation was really good by the way! I can tell that some lines were localized really smoothly (like injecting slang and English expressions very naturally).

Funny seeing that Tada and Frol haven't changed much (well, not much time has passed). Frol's personality kinda reminds me of Miss Piggy or something. Very hot headed. I found them annoying in the OG manga but at this point, I see their appeal. They started this chapter as she/her and ended as he/him. It was really funny how much more popular they were as a boy. Accurate 😂

Why does Tada and Frol's pilot school just casually have a Goddess in their faculty? This series seems a little confused about how mystical it wants to be.

The thought of two planets wanting to go to war but both of them are too poor to do so is kinda a funny image (yet they found a way to go to war anyways I guess)

We get some Tada x Frol fluff and while Frol is in boy-mode no less :D <3

Frol declaring "we're here to pick up babes!" was really cute.

Ch. 2

The drama, the intrigue!! This chapter was mostly the gang on the run as fugitives but with also a big war-inciting incident. It honestly reminded me a lot of the current season of Arcane which I've also been watching as I read this. They both have this "point of no return" moment where it looks like there will never be peace between the two factions.

Although he's the "masculine one" I noticed that the mangaka puts Tada in some pretty girly looking outfits. It is a classic shoujo after all! Everyone looks ~fabulous~

Frol saying "YOLO" and crashing into the side of the academy building cracked me up.

I feel like the vibes of the Fourth being forced to poison the King feel very Shakespearean tragedy

We get another silly name with a woman named "Chu Chu" (how am I supposed to take her seriously? lol)

They nerfed Tada by making him instantly fall asleep after he uses his powers. I didn't really think they were OP enough to need nerfing, but okay...

Ch. 3

That was so majestic! Honestly, I didn't completely follow the (somewhat convoluted) plot but I don't think it mattered. All I really needed to know is who was bad, who was good, and that some corruption was goin down. Other than that, the vibes and the beautiful art did most of the heavy lifting.

This was kinda like the Fantastic Beasts sequels where the protagonists don't really have a reason to be a part of the plot, but they're there for the audience lol. Honestly, we could have probably just had this story just be all about King and his people, but I understand the desire to bridge the two stories with familiar faces.

Some of this gave me Game of Thrones vibes with the various kingdoms and politics. It takes place in space but felt smack in the middle of fantasy and sci-fi. Maybe because things were more planet-side this time around?

I really liked the design of the Priestess. She had an almost masculine look despite her really long hair. It was refreshing.

King marrying Chu Chu in the end was a little cheesy. Not everything needs to end with marriage -_- (well, it is shoujo...)

[hikikomoriheadphonegirl]

[kamievakiss]

just finished with They Were 11 ! some pages I loved :0 I absolutely adore Frol, his decision at the end really went against his character tho imo and made me really sad !! fwnbaw

[jado-kun]

[cravingmoremangacaps]

[hinamie]

spiraling

[egophiliac]

DOGS

IN

SPACE

[cthulhum]

does anyone realize how crazy it is to have the actor of a mostly headcanoned queer ship say the fans were never crazy and they were right all along after 10+ years of everyone just absolutely going nuts over the said queerbaited ship

[wolfythewitch]

Do you think Jesus ever felt homesick. Do you think he missed his mom

[otakween]

They Were 11 - One Shot

(The cover art above is for chapter or issues, by the way, not volumes).

This is a niche little shoujo manga from the 1970s (as is obvious by the art style) that managed to be translated by Viz back in the day. It got a film and a sequel manga so it must have had some kinda impact.

Moto Hagio is an OG big name in shoujo world. I recognize her for The Heart of Thomas which also featured bishounen and came out in America. Just thinking about 1970s fujoshi is a pretty funny mental image lol.

Ch. 1

Shoujo x sci-fi is a very intriguing combo that you don't see super often. I recently finished Knights of Sidonia which was blatantly appealing to men, so this is refreshing. Also...gays in space??? 👀

So the former Earthlings are spread across a bunch of planets and are called Terrans. There a bunch of alien species that they're allied with as well. The aliens look pretty human except for some basic differences. That's kinda too bad. I prefer my aliens to be more animalistic

I was definitely into the "male character who is pretty much just a woman in design" in my middle school weeb era, but now I just see it for what it is: fujoshi pandering. I wouldn't mind it as much if it wasn't written so awkwardly. They spend half of the first chapter being like "you SURE you're not a girl?"

The names are ridiculous in both a fun and cringe way. They really had to name one of the only darker skinned people "Chako Kaka?" da fuck

Speaking of people of color, we got a totally white looking person calling themselves the Maya King...I'm sure there's no relation to the Mayans of our world but like, pick a different name then.

Lack of darked skinned people aside, the diversity is decent for a 1970s manga. I like the variety in body type at least. They definitely succeeded in giving everyone a very distinct and memorable look. No same face syndrome here.

So the plot so far is kind of a Lord of the Flies in space vibe. They gotta show they can survive adrift in space for 50-something days. I imagine they'll encounter some kinda space threats to keep things interesting.

The English title should have just been "There were 11" because "They were 11" sounds like the cast is a bunch of 11 year olds lol.

Ch. 2

Whaaa? So this is a hetero story after all? Then what's the point? (lol)

So this chapter was all about the crew members being suspicious of Tada (thinking he's the 11th person) and Frol obsessively following him around the ship. We also learn a little bit more about the situation they're in and the ship itself.

So far this test sounds pretty plush. They're basically on a cruise liner with unlimited food lol. I'm not sure what the goal of the test is yet, but right now they're working on fixing parts of the ship.

We get some lore about Gunga's species. I feel like the pacing of this one off is kinda weird, like there's only 2 chapters left so we're probably not going to learn about everyone yet they took the time to go in depth on this one dude. I guess we got some Tada insight out of it.

Ch. 3

Okay DAMN this chapter really popped off!! My perspective has shifted with all of the reveals.

So Frol is intersex which explains pretty much everything. The explanation for how his culture works was fascinating. Normally people don't get to choose their gender (society chooses for them) but Frol is made a bargain to become a man if he passes this test. His explanation for why was surprisingly logical.

The gender diversity was dealt with pretty well for a manga from the 70s. The only thing that was iffy was that everyone started treating Frol like a woman and Tada daydreams about Frol becoming a woman (against his wishes). Knu reveals that they're intersex as well but their culture is very different from Frol's. They go through a more natural metamorphosis but Knu got "stuck" and is now a monk because intersex people aren't eligible for marriage. This kinda species world building is always so interesting to me...

Some outdated terminology was used but that's to be expected. We got "hermaphrodite," "bisexual" (when referring to genitals), and "unisexual?" I actually don't know if we still use that last one lol

Intersex characters are pretty rare, I kinda wish there were more that weren't aliens, but what can ya do?

Not Knu validating all of the astrology girlies by saying it's a valid science on his planet lmao

The Tada reveal was just as impactful as the Frol one. I loved how his repressed memory came back, that was illustrated so masterfully.

And suddenly this is a pandemic story...noooo. Isn't space scary enough as it is?? 😭

Ch. 4

Nice, I really enjoyed how they wrapped everything up in this chapter. We got the reveal (and a fake Red Herring reveal) of the 11th man, the ins and outs of the test were explained, and everybody's happy and safe at the end of the day. Honestly, feels kinda unrealistic for this kinda setting but maybe I've just been brainwashed by horror sci-fi to think that lol.

Gunga was a real one throughout this whole story. I could kind of tell he was lying about being the 11th to help Tada out.

Frol telling Tada he would become a woman for him was pretty fucked up. That's not a good start to a relationship where you gotta change yourself for your partner. What is this Grease!? On the brightside, we don't find out which path they actually take, so you can easily head canon that they either part ways or take the gay route.

That woulda been pretty disappointing if they actually didn't pass. Glad the story didn't go that way. (Sometimes you just need a basic happy ending amirite?)

An interesting one off (technically there's a sequel), pretty well paced for an older manga and the art was gorgeous. I give it a solid 6 out of 10.

[hikikomoriheadphonegirl]

[lanaphernelia]

[bogcreacher]

silly

[doctorsiren]

hiiiiii 🥰 can you stick Reigen in a dress? Thankssssss

yeah I can :)