#They were eleven

[pokophobia]

thank you, @motohagios !!!!

[windstir]

based off a conversation with my friends

[97tears]

444Hz omnibus vols 1-5 (1997)

[hakonohanayome]

They Were Eleven - Moto Hagio

[giogiostart]

Amongus anime

[uncle-mojave]

They were Eleven was an anime movie from 1986 about a group of cadets going through rigorous testing where they were in non communication for fifty plus days. There were only supposed to be ten of them but there are eleven so one of them is an imposter.

I remembered this anime from watching it in the early 90's as a kid and I have been trying to find it since but never remembered the title correctly. With the help of reddit I found it again and to my luck the entire thing is on youtube.

I'm currently rewatching it but I can best describe it as a hidden gem from the 1980's that's really worth watching.

All I remembered really about it was that it was in space and one of the characters did not have a sex until they chose what sex to become and she chose to be a woman to be with the main character.

This is anime back before all the Moe crap.

It is dubbed but about 95% of the anime that came into the US from 1980-1997 were dubbed.

[cannibalindsm]

My friends liked my intersex Liberty concept

[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...)

[vintageshoujopubwatch]

New Release

Title: They Were 11! by Moto Hagio Format: Manga, 298 pgs Release Date: Nov. 19, 2024

DENPA publishing is releasing the first English standalone edition of Moto Hagio's award-winning sci-fi, They Were 11!. This story was last printed in Viz Media's (now impossible to find) Four Shoujo Stories in 1996. [source] [preorder link]

"The original manga follows a group of 10 would-be space cadets on their final entrance exam aboard a derelict starship. However, 11 students arrive at the ship instead of 10, and the simulation test starts to go awry."

[sotiredmostnights]

the "four shojo stories" debacle has got to be one of the funniest manga publishing mishaps in history. yeah let's compile four short stories into a single volume and sell it in america without actually getting the rights to sell it beforehand. what are they gonna do, pull it from the shelves?

[entrapdaknation]

My followers know that I'm a fan of Hoover Kippenburg from the Area 88 manga. When I learned that a character in the They Were Eleven sci-fi manga named Amazon Karnise resembled him, I had to investigate.

And this is what I found.

Every image I see of this character makes me want to call out, "Dude, pipe down! Take a deep breath and sip some water."

My silly headcanon is that Amazon is Hoover's loud, obnoxious great-great-great-grandson. Who desperately needs to chill out.

[pokophobia]

(10$ for ship art!)

kofi here!!!!

[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

[engshoujosei]

Four Shojo Stories    

1 volume (pulled from shelves)

Licensed by Viz Media, but was told by Shogakukan to remove it.

An anthology of oneshots. Story 1: Promise by NISHI Keiko Story 2: They Were Eleven by HAGIO Moto Story 3: The Changeling by SATO Shio Story 4: Since You've Been Gone by NISHI Keiko The two stories by NISHI Keiko were also published as a separate book in English called "Promise." Those stories were originally taken from "Mizu ga Kooru ni Naru Toki." Read this to find out why the book was pulled off the shelves.

Tags:

Adapted to Movie

Cheating/Infidelity

Collection of Stories

Cyborg/s

Dead Family Member/s

Ghost/s

Intersex

Out of Print in English

Outer Space

Partially Adapted to Anime

Survival

Twin/s

[turkish-demise]

My main gripe with 11-nin iru (They Were Eleven) is that I actually really loved how Frol was central to the conflict. I love how their resolve to be a man is strong enough for them to want to die for it. To die here with honour and resolve even though unfulfilled. When all 10 of the crew members unanimously vote to save Frol's life even though it risks their chances of becoming a man, it feels horrible but it is the only right choice. It's an incredible scene because even though at first it feels like none of them support Frol's right to choose, it's more like the choice of Frol's life above all else was the easiest choice to make. Each one of them would've given up something when forfeiting the test but none of them hesitated.

All of that is undermined by, of all things, a marriage proposal by an earthman. Suddenly, their resolve (that they were willing to stake their life on) was just a whimsy and becoming a woman is what would make Tada love them... for what exactly? Frol doesn't even like Tada! No where in the movie did it show them having feelings for him. Maybe Tada had feelings for Frol, but hardly the other way around. And what's worse is that, in the sequel, when the two of them get engaged, Tada is fine(ish) with Frol experimenting with their gender. So that whole last scene never needed to happen because All Of Them Passed The Test Anyway so Frol Could've Become A Man or Anything They Would've Wanted. Frol's entire character is ruined by the shallow-ness of simply wanting to be a woman to please a man. Like, the whole movie gives a masterclass build-up for the best trans rep you've ever seen and completely destroys it.

[mymissalicorne]

« Come on, women are also human beings ! »

Literally no one said the opposite my dude. Two guys were just shocked because the examinator said they'll only be men here. Why is that your answer my dude. Why is this the conclusion you jump to my dude. No one said anything my dude.