They Were Eleven is a movie with an incredibly interesting premise. Genius candidates from across the galaxy are taking the most important exam of their lives to get into the elite Cosmo Academy. Ten of these candidates are grouped to take the final portion of the exam: survive living on a space station for 45 days. However, once aboard, the candidates realize there are not ten, but eleven members on the ship. With dangerous situations abound including hidden bombs and dangerous viruses, these crew members must work together to survive and find the culprit.
That sounds absolutely fantastic in summary. Unfortunately, in practice, They Were Eleven is not really about any of that. It is not a traditional thriller nor mystery but more of an exploration of the characters' personalities and motivations to get into Cosmo Academy. The fact that the story originally ran under a shoujo magazine should give you some indication of what to expect in terms of content.
The specific reasons as to why this movie fails as a thriller or mystery title primarily lies in the antagonist. From the title, the movie postulates that our story revolves around an unknown eleventh member on the space station who lurks beneath the surface ready to cause harm...except throughout the movie, it doesn't feel like this person is particularly dangerous.
You'll find that all of the major problems on the space station are caused by outside events, and the mysterious eleventh person comes to play only twice in the movie by hindering the crew from implementing their solutions to these challenges. All of this comes out to make the antagonist a passive figure. In my head, I kept thinking throughout the movie, so what if there's an eleventh member on board, just keep on doing what you're doing, because it's abundantly clear that this eleventh member really isn't actively trying to hurt any of you.
While this eleventh member is eventually revealed with a complete explanation of the backstory, it is here that the story fails as a mystery as well. No real clues are present throughout the story to help you figure out who it is so when the reveal comes it comes as a little bit of a let down. Red herrings are thrown around to make you suspect characters, but that's all they come out to be, red herrings. In addition, deus ex machina is involved in the solution as the reason to why the suspect was able to hide himself and cause problems on the ship is because he is a "telepath" and doesn't need to actually be at the site where accidents and where the people get hurt are.
What is made even more annoying is how the movie throws in your face how dangerous this eleventh person is to the crew. There are constant accusations, arguing, and conflict among the candidates. This part is fun to watch but again let down by the weak resolution.
What the movie excels in is creating strong impressions of the candidates within the time limitations of the film. In particular, the character Frol who has issues with her sex identity warrants a nod. This comes as no shock as the this is supposed to be a shoujo title, and I'm inclined to think that this movie is meant for people who enjoy light romance, strong-willed girls, and a generally more enigmatic rather than scary sci-fi atmosphere.
In the end, I would not recommend watching this movie if you already have a backlog of things to watch. Outside of the strong character work, the story just isn't all that interesting. That being said, I will admit that I had some fun at moments and agree that it's a watchable title if you're in the mood. The animation still holds up relatively well today, and the fact that the story tries something different from the mass-produced magical high school love romcom titles currently airing means that it deserves a moment of consideration before you move on to another anime to evaluate for your viewing pleasure.
