Anime Review | 11 Eyes (Lights, Camera, Action!)

11 Eyes (UK Rating: 15)

The protagonist of 11 Eyes is one Satsuki Kakeru. Kakeru was raised in an orphanage alongside his sister Kakuri. The series opens on a night in the orphanage where Kakuri apologises to her brother before a strange angel-like figure appears and skewers the siblings with spiked chains. Kakuri is killed and Kakeru is saved by his only friend, another girl in the orphanage, named Minase Yuka. Jump to almost a decade later where Kakeru and Yuka attend the same high school. Kakeru still has issues dealing with others after the loss of his sister. He has Yuka, but most of the time he would rather be alone. The two get plenty of alone time when they find themselves pulled into an alternate reality filled with monsters…

The premise of the series feels similar to that of the Persona games. Alongside the real world sits another, darker one, filled with dangerous things. This world is known as "The Red Night" because of the crimson glow that pervades throughout. Within The Red Night, a sinister black moon hangs in the sky above huge crystal pillars that seem to beckon it towards the earth. A handful of chosen humans, each with special powers, find themselves pulled into this world and are forced to fight for their lives against its denizens, The Black Knights. Kakeru and Yuka are two of these chosen and the series follows them as they try to find out the truth of that dark world, along with developing friendships with the others who are dragged into The Red Night. The group they end up forming has some unique and interesting individuals, including a mute amnesiac with the face of Kakeru's dead sister, a master swordswoman, Onmyoji, and a dopey, happy-go-lucky, boob-loving bespectacled girl with a split personality.

The biggest issue with 11 Eyes is the story itself: contrived and confusing. It leaves the audience without a clue as to many of the mysteries that are set up from the start. Where the cast acquired its powers, for example, is never explained. The plot points that are actually explained end up just resulting in more questions, or creating even bigger and more confusing plot holes. The antagonist Black Knights are a perfect example of this, with their motivations being explained in the final few episodes of the series. These motivations then end up making many of their previous actions make no sense. The ending can sometimes salvage a story - a smart twist or even the rare unhappy ending can make a whole series worthwhile. In 11 Eyes, the ending is reached thanks to a cheap deus ex machina plot device and a thoroughly disappointing conclusion.

The series has taken a long time to reach the UK, but the art and animation may have some viewers thinking this actually came from 1999, rather than 2009. The weird "moe" style art it has taken from the visual novel doesn't lend itself well to an animated style, with the heads and eyes far too large, and the limbs looking far too thin… The art and style also pay light homage to the source material's hentai roots. These scenes are mostly tame, with the adult nature being limited to the panty shots. The camera manages to ensure it finds the optimal positioning to show off angles that show up the skirts of the cast, and when it can't, the larva enemies will knock one of the girls to the ground and use their tentacles to facilitate a panty shot. The added OVA is a whole other story, however, full of fan-service and ecchi moments. Weirdly, this is actually something of a high point and really enjoyable! The cast enters a "Pink Night" and its powers are all twisted for an adult theme. Kakeru's eye can see through clothes, mute character Kukuri can only communicate in obscenities and obscene drawings, while Misuzu's magic swords turn into magic vibrators. It's the usual silly, clichéd fan-service, but the adult humour and innuendo is well written and genuinely funny.

5/10

Average

Such a shame. 11 Eyes looked like it could have been a great dark seinen but ended up being riddled with flaws. The art and animation look dated; the voice actors phone in their performance; the story is frustrating. The music is great, and when the series embraces the dark nature of the story there are some worthwhile moments, but, ultimately, it's not enough to save this one. It would have been more enjoyable to have an entire season based on the premise of the OVA.