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.

I expected this to be a mystery thriller manga, that made you brainstorm but non of my expectations were met, it was not that at all, instead it was a poor love story that was presented as mystery.I found the conductive ivy storyline bunch of bullshit and the mystery of the 11th man also turned out be the lamest, most mediocre writing. I was as if the author did not have patience to go deep into the mystery so he hurriedly came up with some other bullshit to turn our attention away from the initial plot. Not recommended at all, it is my first shoujo ... and it turned out to some story that a school going kid would write in their English test.