11-nin Iru!
They Were 11!

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They Were Eleven is a manga that tells a more interesting story in one volume than some other manga tell in ten times that amount. It is a shoujo, but it doesn't fall for any of the usual tropes that make the genre boring. It is a pleasant surprise that is still an enjoyable read even almost fifty years after its release.

The core concept of the story is somewhat "classical" - group of people gets stuck in closed area and as the days go by some of them grow less and less irrational and the conflicts inside the group grows. This time with the addition ... of everyone knowing right from the start that there is an odd one out, someone who doesn't belong, thanks to which the story can progress faster and can be contained within one volume.

While the story alone would be enough for an enjoyable read, what I especially liked about this manga is the worldbuilding it managed to create in such a short time - namely the various cultures and biology of different planets, and how this is incorporated into the side plot and character growth of certain part of the cast.

Overall this is definitely a worthwhile read and you should give it a try even if you're not a fan of older manga or shoujo genre.

While Moto Hagio is usually considered one of the godmothers of BL it can't be ignored how much she pushed what science fiction was in manga back in the day. Heavily inspired by Ursula K. Leguin this manga touches some romance elements just as an excuse to present how life could be different in other worlds and propose a very interesting setting just for the joy of it (instead of trying to cash in with sequels and expanded universes).

While the art my require a little patience for those not used to the classic shojo look it really should be considered by any science fiction fan ... who likes to focus on the human aspect over the flashy lights and technology.

Nearly 40 years ago, the manga industry changed when a bunch of women known as the Forty-Niners (or the Year 24 Group) practically revolutionized shoujo manga. The works of these women incorporated many different sub-genres (including the first BL) and are now considered epic classics. The most famous of them was Hagio Moto, who is one of the most adored and admired mangaka of all time.

They Were 11 was created in 1975, and is Hagio's longer one-shots. It's technically labeled 'shoujo', but this manga shows how much they really revolutionized the genre, and why the Year 24 Group is well-known for creating those classics. They ... Were 11 can really make -anyone- love classic shoujos. And I'll tell you why.

It's extremely consistent. It blends the genre between shoujo and shounen, all while having an equal action/character driven plot. Sci-fi, action, fantasy, mystery, and a little spice of romance? It's all in there. They Were 11 is extremely well-rounded; I've read very few mangas as well-rounded as this.

But what's it about?

Well, it's about a lot of things. After many tests and interviews, a group of 10 people have been chosen to par-take in a final exam. In order for these 10 people to be accepted into the Cosmo Academy (for aerospace piloting), they need to survive on an abandoned space-craft for 53 days without any contact to the outside world. Quite literally the title: They Were 11 even though there was supposed to be 10... There's an impostor on board, and they have no contact to the out-side world. Of course, anxiety does entail and people start to freak out, which only makes more problems come. And that's pretty much the premise of it.

There are many characters in this manga, each with a creative, expressive personality. There isn't a lot of development in this manga (since it's only a one-shot), but revelations occur as they search for the 11th person, and we keep learning more and more about the different people. And when these revelations occur, they all stay true to their human-like personality, even if some of them aren't necessarily 'human'. You really can't help but love some of them.

And Hagio is pretty brilliant when it comes to the pacing, narration and atmosphere. It can be nail-biting tense, and yet, still have these sweet, soft, romantic moments. As I've said before, it's very consistent too; it manages to fit so much dialogue and text into a single page. And for it's time, They Were 11 does a much better job with it's narration compared to other sci-fi's from the 70's (aka: Terra E... by Takemiya Keiko, another Forty-Niner). The art, too, is obviousy old, but it's made around Hagio's prime. Rather than using a contrast between hard/soft lines to envoke feeling in the reader (a very 70's thing, aka. Terra E...), it rather uses it's plot effectively, and she just draws as she does. Compared to other art around that time, it's very unique.

Bottom line, this is the manga that can make any shoujo-hater (or anyone who hates the oldies) adore. In fact, anyone can come to love it because (as I've said before) it appeals to every genre. You need to read this ASAP. Without a doubt, it's a 9.0 / 10.0. The only reason why it's not rated higher was because I felt at some points that it may be better as a short series, rather than a one-shot. However, at other times, the tension was perfect, and I couldn't see it working any other way. Regardless, this is a must read for anyone.

(As a side note, this series can never be found by it's title alone. In most cases, it's found as the second one-shot in the manga anthology “Four Shoujo Stories”, which is on most sites. There, it is read in a left-to-right style.)

★★★★★★★★★☆
RECOMMENDED.