11eyes: Tsumi to Batsu to Aganai no Shōjo (11eyes -罪と罰と贖いの少女-), known simply as 11eyes in its anime adaptation, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed and published by Lass first released on April 25, 2008, for a Microsoft Windows PC as a DVD; 11 eyes is Lass' fourth game. A port playable on the Xbox 360 entitled 11eyes CrossOver was released on April 2, 2009, published by 5pb. A manga adaptation illustrated by Naoto Ayano began serialization in the October 2009 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine. An anime television series adaptation by Doga Kobo aired in Japan from October to December 2009. A fan disc for Windows entitled 11eyes -Resona Forma- was planned for release at Fall 2010. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks; distributor Section23 Films announced that it would release the complete box set on January 11, 2011.

Plot

Since losing his sister seven years ago, Kakeru Satsuki has led a vacant life. He has only been able to return to normal with help from his childhood friend, Yuka Minase, and other friends at school. Then one day the sky turns red, the moon turns black, everyone around Kakeru and Yuka disappears and monsters start roaming the streets. This virtual world is nicknamed "Red Night" by the pair. After several more incidents, they find four other humans affected by this mysterious phenomenon: Misuzu Kusakabe, a red-haired onmyouji swordswoman; Kukuri Tachibana, a strange mute girl who resembles Kakeru's deceased sister in both looks and name; Yukiko Hirohara, a lively young girl who takes on the personality of a cold killer when her glasses are removed; and Takahisa Tajima, a young pyrokineticist with a heated attitude to boot. Kakeru wants to protect Yuka in return for her constant support and kindness, but is unable to awaken his own hidden power, which Misuzu promises will eventually appear. The six of them band together to survive with their special powers, but are soon targeted by grotesque creatures nicknamed "Black Knights" whose ultimate goal is to kill them. The plot thickens when the teenagers find a girl named Lisette trapped in a red crystal guarded by the Black Knights, who begs them to save her from this prison. What is the mystery behind this mysterious phenomenon of Red Night? Who are the Black Knights, and how are they connected to Lisette? Furthermore, is Kukuri's resemblance to Kakeru's dead sister really coincidence? What about Yuka and Kakeru's powers?

Characters

Black Knights

They are named after the 7 Cardinal Sins.

Sub characters

New characters in 11eyes CrossOver

New characters in 11eyes Resona Forma

Media

Video games

Anime

Music

The original 11eyes visual novel has three pieces of theme music; one opening theme, one ending theme, and one insert song. The opening theme is "Lunatic Tears" by Ayane, the ending theme is "Kegare Naki Yume" (穢れ亡き夢) by Asriel, and the insert song is "Bōkyaku no Tsurugi" (忘却の剣) by Ayane. 11eyes CrossOver has one opening theme, "Endless Tears..." by Ayane, and one ending theme, "Tsuioku no Chikai" (追憶の誓い) by Asriel. A soundtrack album of music from the games was released on May 5, 2009, by Lass, although it was never sold commercially. The anime series' opening theme is "Arrival of Tears" by Ayane, and the ending theme is "Sequentia" by Asriel. The trailer of the PSP version of 11eyes Crossover used the song "Shinjitsu e no Requiem" (真実ヘの鎮魂歌) by Ayane.

Reception

The anime's music was cited as one of its strong points by Anime News Network's Theron Martin. Martin said 11 Eyes tries to "do something different" for the genre but it doesn't have "the caliber" for this. He praised some things: the plot twist, and the second half of the series but he stated the good moments are "infrequent". Chris Beveridge from Mania.com compared it with Venus Versus Virus, and noted 11 Eyes "has some nice ideas but didn't execute it well".