"So please... lay your eyes... only on me... Kakeru-kun.." - Yuka Minase
11 Eyes is an action, ecchi, super power, and supernatural anime. It was originally released in October 2009 by Doga Kobo with 12 episodes. It does not have a continuing series.
General Rating: 6.3/10
My Rating: 7.8/10
11 Eyes is an anime I am afraid I can not call a masterpiece. In fact, it was mediocre at best. However what this anime did wonderfully was the romance. Kakeru and Yuka are one of my favorite anime couples of all time. If this anime had been romance centered, it would have been amazing, because outside the romance it is fairly mediocre of an anime. Even despite this, 11 Eyes is still what I like to call an underrated gem. It's got some high quality cute childhood romance and some pretty interesting action as well.
When the sky turns red, the moon turns black and monsters begin roaming the streets. Kakeru is at a loss for what to do when he, along with his childhood friend Yuka, are caught up in this strange phenomenon and try to decipher why they have been sent to the strange world that is seemingly empty aside from themselves. After the "Red Night" ends, Kakeru and Yuka believe it was a dream until it happens again and they meet four others in the same predicament: the swordswoman Misuzu, a mute girl called Tachibana Kukuri with striking resemblance to Kakeru's deceased sister, Hirohara Yukiko with a split personality, and the young pyrokineticist Tajima Takahisa. The six of them band together to survive and discover what the mysterious world is and why it continues to worsen.
Story: Although the story of 11 Eyes is fairly bland, I believe its romance mostly makes up for what this anime lacks in story. Kakeru and Yuka are the main pair in this anime, adding in Misuzu as the love rival. The romance is interwoven into the mysterious world and plays a role in awakening certain powers that will play a large role during the climax. I do not believe this anime is "great" simply for having good romance between a couple I adore both romantically and aesthetically, but I do believe it is what saved this anime from being a complete failure. It often seems as though the creator wanted to make a pure romance anime that deals with emotional trauma, was told the concept wasn't interesting enough, and threw in last minute supernatural elements to make it more interesting. Although likely not the case, it does always strike me as interesting that noting but the romance was well done in the entire anime.
Characters: The characters are not the most fleshed out in this anime, at least outside of Kakeru, Yuka, and Misuzu. Despite being main characters as well, the other three take more of a background approach and don't seem to be as focused upon. This is fine because they don't really add much to the story. Kakeru and Yuka lead, as they should, with Misuzu taking on a strong role as one of the main fighters and team leader of sorts. She also later becomes a love rival that spirals this anime into its climax. The fact that three of the supposed main characters do not have a large role in the anime says something about the poor quality of characters in this anime. However, the ones that are fleshed out, are fairly well done for the most part. The romance between Kakeru and Yuka still remains the driving force of this anime.
Soundtrack: It's rather uninteresting and mediocre like the anime, however it is also enjoyable at some times. It suits the anime with its mediocrity and I feel like more work could have been put into it. The voice acting is a bit better, not outstanding, but not terrible either. I thought Yuka's voice actor, Mai Gotou did a really good job portraying her cute voice especially.
Art: For a 2009 anime, 11 Eyes seems to be falling behind in its animation. It looks more like you would expect from a early 2000s anime. Not that this is bad, just farther emphasizing how little work the creators actually put into the making of 11 Eyes. I thought the art was actually very cute and I especially loved the character designs of Yuka and Kakeru.
Fans of animes like Angel Beats, Air, Madoka Magica, Persona 4, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, D.N. Angel, Rosario to Vampire, Shuffle, or Mirai Nikki will definitely love this anime and should give it a watch!
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