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Sep 27, 2010 6:52 AM
#1

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Feb 2010
34607
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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I'm surprised there is no discussion thread yet.
I just finished the movie and what to say, I was very impressed. It kept me hooked for the whole time, I thought the story and character design to be very creative and thouroughly enjoyed the movie. This is definitely something more people need to see.
I probably regret this post by now.
Dec 5, 2010 4:55 AM
#2

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Apr 2010
81
I remember watching this some few years ago from tv, when a finnish channel was having an anime-theme on that evening. Animes aren't that common to see in finnish tv actually (if you count out the moomies -stuff), especially these old anime movies and series. Just recently they showed FMA a couple of times, because it was so popular everywhere, but other than that finnish tv doesn't show that many animes. Which is a bit lame, but i guess finland isn't one of the big consumers/viewers of anime. Of course there are dvd-publishers that release animes to dvd now and then, but it's kinda quiet in that aspect also.

So about this movie. I found it very mysteric/interesting plot with good drama moments here and there. The whole plot was so eerie and qustienable as to who was the intruder in the spaceship. All in all it was very entertaining all the way and i didn't get bored at anytime watching it. I definitely recommend it to anime-lovers, if they haven't yet seen this undderrated anime classic, yes i could say it's a classic althought it's a pretty "strong" word.
Jun 27, 2011 3:36 PM
#3

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Aug 2010
1641
I knew from the first time I saw that red eyed robotic man that he was suspicious but I had one more candidate who was another prime suspect.
Jul 15, 2012 1:18 PM
#4
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Sep 2009
35
Very enjoyable, underrated slice of 80's sci-fi. The pacing was good and the 90 minutes simply flew by, unlike similar films from the same era - Odin: Starlight Mutiny is an absolute yawnfest. The whole group-stranded-in-space-must-get-along concept reminded me of both Lily Cat (minus the horror aspect) and Infinite Ryvius (minus the need to take anti-depressants after watching!).

As reviews have pointed out character development was lacking in places, but then again, that's just the way with the medium of film. Not every minor character is going to get their backstory told.

A solid 9/10 from me.
Sep 10, 2012 10:02 AM
#5

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Jan 2012
580
Awesome!
Sep 30, 2012 4:21 PM
#6

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Apr 2008
2146
Ah, so Frolbericheri is a real characther.
I just watched Hyouka ep 12, and Mayaka is cosplaying as her xD

Oct 1, 2012 7:16 AM
#7

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Feb 2010
34607
Hehe, yeah I remember that Hyouka episode put a smile on my face ^^.
I probably regret this post by now.
Jan 26, 2013 9:54 AM
#8

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Jun 2012
83
I just watched this movie randomly as it was a recommendation I found here on MAL. I was definitely pleasantly surprised. Although, as others have stated, they did lack some character development. I really enjoyed finding out the various reasons each crew member was taking the test. From Fro's wanting to be able to choose her own gender to the King's reason of simply wanting to see if he could overcome the challenge (I really didn't care for his character though), they all had their own reason for wanting to succeed and I think the variety of personalities led to an enjoyable film.
Mar 26, 2013 1:18 AM
#9
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May 2008
139
I was curious does anyone know the relation between this film and the Rumiko Takahashi's anime Maison Ikkoku? I just watched this film for the first time and I instantly knew I'd heard the song before but it took mew a little while to find it. The song that was played during the short food fight scene in They Were 11 was later used again as one of the ending to the OVA's for Maison Ikkoku in 1997, 11 years later.
Sep 3, 2013 2:02 AM

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Jan 2012
404
The only reason I found such an obscure classic was because of the cosplay in Hyouka, glad they did that since I wouldn't like it if I missed this wonderful movie.
Jan 3, 2014 9:08 PM

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Apr 2012
845
That was really good. Interesting mystery / space drama. Nothing too outlandish, just a good story.

Near the beginning I thought "I'll be peeved if the extra person just turns out to be part of the test, another 90 minutes wasted for a stupid twist..." but I was engrossed in the story (and characters) for other reasons that it became almost irrelevant.

*thumbs up*








WE HAVE NO MICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan 19, 2014 11:28 PM

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Mar 2011
1460
Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Had me hooked from the start. I predicted the marriage which was funny.

Nice story and ending. Great movie. One of my few 9/10 ratings.
Jun 2, 2015 10:46 PM

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Jan 2013
1037
Anyone know the food fight insert song? Lovely track, I'm itching to find it.
Oct 21, 2015 12:05 AM

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Jul 2012
7945
It was different, cant say its a new favorite but I liked it! breathe of fresh air. Not what I expected but better than I expected. I liked the end credits that was cool.
Feb 13, 2016 2:19 PM

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Jun 2015
3466
A very neat movie overall. Midway a lot of questions were still in the air, and none of them was left without a response at the end. It kept me hooked for the whole time, and the ending was beautiful.

The whole space mistery thing reminded me a bit of Magnetic Rose.
In any case, a pretty solid 7.5 that will end up being a 8/10.
Jun 17, 2016 5:16 PM

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Oct 2014
61
Ok so I haven't watched this yet but I just noticed I added this to my "plan to watch" list at 11:11. Creepy! I guess I have to watch it now. Hopefully nothing crawls out of the TV or anything crazy
Jan 10, 2017 6:07 PM

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Aug 2015
128
I really enjoyed this. It scratched an itch for sci-fy 80's anime.
Mar 26, 2017 4:40 PM

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Oct 2014
3663
Now that's what I call a thriller movie. That was awesome I loved it.
10/10
Jun 29, 2017 2:17 PM

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Jul 2012
48255
Hmm, dunno if it's a 6/10 or 7/10. The concept seemed super interesting but the way it ends is a bit lackluster. That romance was also kinda out of nowhere LOL. But I didn't expect much out of a sci-fi space show. Anyways, it was wrapped up well.
Aug 5, 2017 6:58 PM

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May 2012
25828
Impressive ending to be honest! I had my suspicion of him being the 11th men as he was the only one trying to be different yet not stand out about it! Pretty interesting and quite a nice finish actually.

It had a great portion of character development and all in all a good ending of this movie!
Sep 2, 2017 10:53 AM
The Shrike

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Nov 2009
11580
Massively enjoyable and underrated film.

RafaelDeJongh said:
Impressive ending to be honest! I had my suspicion of him being the 11th men as he was the only one trying to be different yet not stand out about it! Pretty interesting and quite a nice finish actually.

It had a great portion of character development and all in all a good ending of this movie!


I agree with you. The ending was very well handled too.
"Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii

There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov

Apr 26, 2018 8:01 PM

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Mar 2009
1033
It was enjoyable enough, but it was hard to buy Frol switching their mind that easily at the end. I was interested to see gender handled at all, but it fell flat for me.
May 14, 2018 12:36 AM
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Oct 2017
148
It would have been a 10/10 if Frol just became a man and married Tada anyways smh
Sep 19, 2019 2:11 AM

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Oct 2016
301
This was fun. It had it's problems, but it was enjoyable for the whole way through. I don't think the writing was anything to write home about, but the style and charm were top-notch. It's got that 80s vibe that I love so dearly.

Jan 19, 2020 10:35 PM

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Dec 2011
1211
The scene I was looking forward to the most wasn't adapted ;( Seeing the beauty of space outside the ship in animation would have been pretty. But also the romance felt out of place without it, imo. I guess Frol really did become a woman at the end.
The songs played during the credits and food fight gave me instant nostalgia; really missing this sound.

AngelsArcanum said:
Anyone know the food fight insert song? Lovely track, I'm itching to find it.
5 years later I hope you found it. Anyone else curious, it's "I Love You" by Michiko Kawai, apparently also used in Maison Ikkoku.
Jan 20, 2020 9:52 PM

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Jan 2013
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CMYK said:
5 years later I hope you found it. Anyone else curious, it's "I Love You" by Michiko Kawai, apparently also used in Maison Ikkoku.


I did not, but thankfully I'm still active on MAL and bless your soul for finding it. ;_;7
Jan 21, 2020 5:47 PM

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Dec 2011
1211
AngelsArcanum said:
CMYK said:
5 years later I hope you found it. Anyone else curious, it's "I Love You" by Michiko Kawai, apparently also used in Maison Ikkoku.


I did not, but thankfully I'm still active on MAL and bless your soul for finding it. ;_;7

ywyw, glad to have helped <3
Jan 31, 2020 1:07 AM

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Oct 2010
21158
Very enjoyable, I liked the interactions between the characters more than the mystery. All in all it was a nice watch. The ending was ok, I didn't expect romance though. 7/10
Feb 2, 2020 7:10 AM

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Sep 2016
318
I knew that there's an instructor among them, but I thought he would be the 11th person instead of the other guy.
Overall the movie was quite enjoyable from where they pointed out that there're 11 ppl while there should only be 10.
Even though I predicted that all of them were probably gonna pass the test and Tada & Frol would get married, it's still a quite impressive show, especially considering how old the original manga was.
Dec 17, 2020 4:56 PM

Online
Aug 2017
3040
Amazing soundtrack throught the whole movie, a lot of intense tracks.

20 seconds before the explosions weren't really 20 seconds but whatever.

Knume is voiced by Norio Wakamoto! Instant win (shame he didn't talk a lot). Chako has the voice of Glemy Toto (they even look similar), Amazon of Captain Bright, Tada of Roy Focker...what a great cast! Also it looks like Frol is the only anime role of Michiko Kawai.

Bacesca and Ganga were the only ones to name their number during the introduction scene, huh. And just after Bacesca suggested forming 2 groups, they just proceeded with one x)

That statue's bow grip is so wrong, I can't even...

The audio track is apparently imperfect, I could hear the upcoming phrases in the background a couple of times lol

Dat King getting fired up about almost swallowing a fork xD How could you even physically do that? By the way King reminded me of Roux from ZZ Gundam in terms of appearance xD

Regarding the search for bombs...wasn't there a map before? I remember Tada looking at it before the accident with Ganga.

Couldn't they use their space suits and helmets to hide from the virus though? Provided there was a filter. At least potentially. However the electricity flow through the wires would stop anyway, so there'd still be a ton of problems

Is becoming a woman biologically predetermined? Or does Frol need to return to her home planet to manually inject the hormones? Seems like the latter (and the former in Knu's case). Anyway, I wish to see more of this romance :3 Such an in-your-face confession haha.

Great end to a great movie. Glad I've stumbled upon this gem. Though I think it'd be better if there were less people (too many characters to focus on, some ended up being less noticeable, like Dolph, Toto and Chako). But all of that is irrelevant because Frol is precious :3
St0rmbladeDec 18, 2020 3:19 AM
Feb 27, 2021 2:51 PM

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Jan 2021
5854
I watched this a few years back and I rewatched it a few days ago and forgot to do a review I recommend it. Everything about this was good.
Nov 1, 2021 6:38 PM
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Jan 2021
10
Claptrap said:
It was enjoyable enough, but it was hard to buy Frol switching their mind that easily at the end. I was interested to see gender handled at all, but it fell flat for me.

I agree.

Hyak said:
It would have been a 10/10 if Frol just became a man and married Tada anyways smh

That or just let Frol stay as they are.

Always amazed how open-minded anime can be...
And also amazed how conflicting and self-destructing the ideas presented can be... they really didn't have to push a gender role on the characters.

It was comical to see the future developments of the characters at the end, some of which had like 5 lines throughout the whole movie.
Jul 21, 2022 12:20 AM

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Jul 2011
1105
It was pretty interesting.

I did think about the 11th being an examiner to see how they do, but the entire thing turning out to be a mix of deliberate sabotage and accidental dangers was a nice twist on things.
Sep 4, 2022 8:16 PM
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Nov 2018
202
i wonder, why would they use conductor vine in their ships when there is such a dangerous downside to it? it makes no sense
besides that, it was really enjoyable and unique, kinda was expecting the eleven one to be an evil murderer and the plot to descend into a
"the enemy among us is killing the members of the tripulation one by one"
but that they all make it alive in the end and were accepted at the academy was so nice, put a smile on my face.
Sep 16, 2023 4:51 AM

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Sep 2018
5229
The setting and plot of the story is incredibly original and it draws you in right away, haven't seen much like it.

The production standards are very impressive for 1986, comparatively to what I've seen from that era.

Enjoyable interactions and mini drama, and the further you watch through it and seeing them deal with their situation, and when the big reveal at the end finally happens, you understand that the mystery is fairly irrelevant overall and was more about building bonds, handling pressure and working together as a team. Yeah, there's a lack of foreshadowing as to who the 11th man was, but it's revealed that is wasn't a big deal in the first place.

You know, I liked the banter and the chemistry that Flol and Tada had, it's just with the whole gender identity thing going on, and with Flol really wanting to be a Man and all, it left me a little ambivalent with the relationship and how it ended (I fucking hate the "marry me" trope as well, skipping everything that should come before it.)
Jan 26, 7:27 PM
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Nov 2014
70
"So Tada, I wanted to be a man for a long time now and was ready to risk my life for it but since you asked me to marry you I will just become a woman because I just have to do it now I guess or else you may cry or something lol"
Feb 26, 3:42 AM

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Aug 2021
7
How are there seriously people (and one particular reviewer) completely missing the point of Frol's character arc? Frol's entire reason for wanting to become a man so badly is because women in her society are the slave caste and men are the ruling caste. Yeah, of course she doesn't want to be a woman, all her life everyone's been telling her that women aren't good for anything but menial labor and popping out babies.

When it looks like the option to become a man is out the window, Tada offers a way out, essentially going "You know what, your society sucks and I really like you anyway, if they force you to become a woman we can elope and do our own thing as equals." At the very end, Frol is finally offered an actual, real choice: Become a man and join the ruling caste on her planet, or leave with Tada as a woman and break out of her shitty planet's gender expectations. Realizing that being a woman doesn't have to mean being a slave doing menial labor in a creepy middle-aged man's harem, she's finally able to make the choice of her own free will.

The movie couldn't be any less subtle about all this.
May 5, 9:49 AM

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Aug 2017
398
Great movie, I loved the story, the art-style, the OST, it's just awesome, the characters were really interesting, even though some were overshadowed by others their presence was noticed, I really felt bad in the end when they announced that Glenn died while saving a student, even though it's was just an image, the way they showed it felt like a real person,
I'll give it a 9, too bad there aren't many hidden gems like it.

It’s time to ditch the text file.
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