OVERALL: 7.4 (Good) I honestly can't believe I hadn't heard of this before! "They Were Eleven" (1986) is an adaptation of the 1975 manga "11-nin Iru" by Moto Hagio. Among the founders of modern shoujo, she is heavily influenced by the works of science fiction authors Issac Asimov (Foundation, I, Robot) and Arthur C. Clark (The Sentinel, 2001: A Space Odyssey) and even adapted short stories from "R is for Rocket" by Ray Bradbury (Farenheit 451) into manga. "11-nin Iru" would actually go on to win the Shogakukan Manga Award for best Shounen. Originally adapted in 1977 to live action, the anime came nearly adecade later. Producer Kitty Films released the movie in 1986 and it was licensed for North American VHS distribution with subtitles in the early 90s. It was later re-released with an English dub in 1996. The main characters are well developed and the rest of the cast is smartly defined, despite art that is clearly a product of the time. A story that touches on themes of politics, paranoia, and even gender topics that would have been fairly controversial at the time, "They Were Eleven" is an old hidden gem that I was really glad to have come across!

STORY:9 (Great)
Art: 5 (Average)
SOUND: 7 (Good)
CHARACTER: 7 (Good)
ENJOYMENT: 9 (Great)