is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Moto Hagio is a Japanese manga artist. Regarded for her contributions to ''shōjo'' manga (manga aimed at young and adolescent women), Hagio is considered the most significant artist in the demographic and among the most influential manga artists of al ...

. It was serialized in three issues of

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine in 1975. The following year, it won the 21st

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the combined and category. The series has inspired a

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

film, multiple stage plays, and an

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

CD. It also inspired a sequel manga series, , serialized in ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine from 1976 to 1977. ''They Were Eleven'' was originally licensed in English by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

in floppy comics format in 1995, and published in the manga anthology '' Four Shōjo Stories'' in 1996. The series and its sequel have been licensed by Denpa for a new English-language release in 2022. The anime film was originally licensed in English by

Central Park Media Central Park Media Corporation, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Centra ...

, but it was discontinued in 2004.

Story

Ten young space cadets are put onto a decommissioned spaceship as their final test. If they pass this test, their lifelong dreams of being valued people in their respective societies will come true. Their orders are to survive as long as they can with what they have. Once they arrive at the ship, they find that their crew has gained an eleventh member—and no one can remember the original lineup well enough to recognize which of them is the newcomer. As the days pass, the eleven cadets must deal with their suspicions of each other as well as the sudden knowledge that the spaceship is in a decaying orbit around a star, which is causing the temperature on the ship to rise. With this rise in temperature, a sickness begins to spread among the crew as they work to stabilize their orbit and determine who among them is the spy.

Media

Manga

''They Were Eleven'' was serialized in the September, October, and November issues of

's '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine in 1975. Shogakukan collected the individual chapters, along with three unrelated

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by Hagio, into a single volume published on July 20, 1976. Shogakukan has since reissued ''They Were Eleven'' several times: in 1978, 1986, 1994, 2007, and 2019.

originally licensed the series for an English-language release in North America, published in four floppy volumes in 1995, and then in the now out-of-print anthology '' Four Shōjo Stories'' in 1996. In 2021, Denpa re-licensed the series for publication, set for the second quarter of 2025. ''They Were Eleven'' is also licensed by Ediciones Tomodomo in Spain and by

Japonica Polonica Fantastica Japonica Polonica Fantastica, also known as JPF, is the oldest Polish language, Polish manga publisher, founded in 1996 in Olecko. The first titles (''Ten no hate made, Aż do nieba'', ''Sailor Moon, Czarodziejka z Księżyca'' olumes 1–8 wer ...

in Poland.

Sequel

A sequel manga series, titled , was serialized in the December, January, and February issues of ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine in 1976 and 1977. Shogakukan collected the individual chapters into a single volume published on August 20, 1977. Shogakukan has since reissued several times: first in 1978, and later in collected editions of ''They Were Eleven'' published in 1986, 1994, 2007, and 2019. In 2021, Denpa licensed the sequel series for an English-language release in North America, set to be published in the second quarter of 2025.

Live-action film

A 45-minute

adaptation of the manga was broadcast in Japan on January 2, 1977, as part of the

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

's ''Shōnen Drama Series''. The film's screenplay was written by

Mamoru Sasaki was a Japanese TV and film screenwriter. He was born in Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. He graduated from Meiji University. Script TV programs *some episodes of ''Ultraman'' *some episodes of '' Ultra Seven'' *some episodes of ''Monkey'' Films * ...

. It starred Taizō Sayama as Tada and the

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...

's Haruka Yamashiro as Frol.

Anime film

A 91-minute

film adaptation of the manga was released in Japan on November 1, 1986. It was licensed by

in North America and released on VHS with English

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

in the early 1990s. It was re-released on VHS with a newly produced English dub in 1996 and on DVD with dual language audio tracks in 2004. Central Park Media discontinued their home video release in 2004. The New York company MYC & Associates liquidated the anime license in 2009.

Cast

* Tadatos Lane (Tada): Akira Kamiya (Japanese), Curtis Jones (English) * Frolbericheri Frol (Frol): Michiko Kawai (Japanese),

Wendee Lee Wendee Lee (born February 20) is an American voice actress, writer, and director. Early life Lee studied dance and theater and later became a full-time dancer in her teens. According to her interview on the '' Magic Knight Rayearth'' DVDs, she ...

(English) * King Mayan Baceska (His Majesty): Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese),

Steven Blum Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series ''Cowboy Bebop''; Amon from ''The Legend of Korra''; Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and ...

(English) * Doricas Soldam IV (Fourth): Toshio Furukawa (Japanese),

David Hayter David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Big Boss (Metal Gear), Naked Snake in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series. He wrote the fi ...

(English) * Ganigus Gagtos (Ganga): Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Dean Elliot (English) * Amazon Carnias (Amazon): Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese), Steven Blum (English) * Vidminer Knume (Knu): Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Joe Romersa (English) * Colonel Glenn Groff (Mule): Michihiro Ikemizu (Japanese), Henry Malloy (English) * Dolph Tasta (Red nose): Kōzō Shioya (Japanese),

(English) * Toto Ni (Toto): Tarako (Japanese),

Dorothy Elias-Fahn Dorothy Elias-Fahn, formerly known as Dorothy Melendrez, is an American voice actress. Some of her prominent lead roles include Meryl Stryfe in ''Trigun'', Sayaka Maizono, Chihiro Fujisaki, and Tsumugi Shirogane from the ''Danganronpa'' series, ...

(English) * Chaco Kacka (Chaco): Tsutomu Kashiwakura (Japanese), Dean Allen (English)

Staff

* Director: Satoshi Dezaki, * Executive Producer: * Original Story:

* Planning: * Screenplay: Toshiaki Imaizumi, Katsumi Koide * Animation Director: Keizo Shimizu * Character Design: Akio Sugino, Keizo Shimizu * Effects Director: Kenichi Maejima * Mechanical Design: Yōichi Yajima * Art Director: * Cinematography: Nobuo Koyama * Audio Director: Shigeharu Shiba * Music Director: Zen Oikawa * Music:

Yasuhiko Fukuda is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. History and career Born in Tokyo's Itabashi prefecture, Fukuda began playing piano at the age of 4, and while at school became interested in anime ("We were the first anime generation"). He graduated ...

** Theme Song: "Boku no Honesty", * Producer: Minoru Kotoku * Production: Magic Bus, Kitty Films

Stage plays

''They Were Eleven'' has been adapted into several stage plays in Japan. The first, performed by the all-male acting troupe , ran from June to July 2004; the second, performed by Axel, ran from December 2008 to January 2009; the third, performed by the all-male acting troupe , ran from February to March 2011; the fourth, performed by Studio Life, ran throughout January 2013; and the fifth, performed by Studio Life, ran from May to June 2019. The sequel manga series has also been adapted into two stage plays in Japan: one performed by Studio Life, which ran from February to April 2013, and another performed by the female idol group Morning Musume '16, which ran throughout June 2016.

Audio drama

adaptation of the manga was produced by the drama CD label E-Star and released in Japan on September 25, 2013. It starred Atsushi Abe as Tada, Kazutomi Yamamoto as Frol, Kōsuke Toriumi as King Mayan Baceska, and Daisuke Kishio as Doricas Soldam IV.

Reception

In 1976, ''They Were Eleven'' won the 21st (1975)

in the combined and category.

References

External links

* * * {{Magic Bus 1975 manga 1986 anime films 1986 films Central Park Media Japanese drama television series Magic Bus (studio) Moto Hagio NHK original programming Science fiction anime and manga Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōjo manga Suspense anime and manga Viz Media manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga