Movies like They Were Eleven (1986)
The best movies like They Were Eleven (1986) are Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007) and Galaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979). If They Were Eleven hooked you with its animation and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)7.7/10 from 1,768 votes
- NewestVIRGIN PUNK Clockwork Girl (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseAppleseed: Ex Machina (2007)Also in Japanese
Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
As members of ESWAT, the elite forces serving Olympus, Deunan and Briaereos are deployed anywhere trouble strikes. Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack - cyborg terrorism, deadly nanotech zealots, and rioting citizens are just some of the threats that Deunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007)
The story takes place in the year 2034, two years after the events in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. Female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi has left Public Security Section 9, an elite counter-terrorist and anti-crime unit specializing in cyber-warfare, which has expanded to a team of 20 field operatives with Togusa acting as the field lead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGalaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979)
In the future, one can achieve immortality by obtaining a mechanized body. Orphaned, young Tetsuro hitches a ride on the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hope of obtaining a cyborg body to avenge his mother's death. Along the way, he meets Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this009 Re:Cyborg (2012)
009 Re:Cyborg follows a group of nine cyborgs, each of them created by a shadowy organization for use as weapons against humanity. The group turns on their creators to protect the population instead, using the powers given them to fight their creators.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTitan A.E. (2000)
A young man finds out that he holds the key to restoring hope and ensuring survival for the human race, while an alien species called the Drej are bent on mankind's destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace Pirate Captain Harlock (2013)
Space Pirate Captain Harlock and his fearless crew face off against the space invaders who seek to conquer the planet Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinal Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Led by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her mentor, Dr. Sid, Aki must save the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemories (1995)
Three back-to-back anime films by three different directors make up this sci-fi trilogy three years in the making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExpelled from Paradise (2014)
A.D. 2400, DEVA's central council detects an incident of unauthorized access into their mainframe. Someone on Earth was trying to hack into the system. The only information DEVA was able to retrieve was that hacker referred to themselves as "Frontier Setter." To investigate the mysterious hacker's motives, the high officials of DEVA dispatch system Security Third Officer Angela Balzac to the Earth's surface. Equipped with a prosthetic "material body," Angela attempts to make contact with a local agent Dingo, but what awaited her instead was a swarm of Sandworms now infesting the Earth's surface. Angela intercepts the gruesome pests with her exoskeleton powered suit Arhan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppleseed Alpha (2014)
The Third World War (2099–2126) devastated part of the Earth. Former nations are reforming while new powers emerge, and groups of humans struggle to survive in ruined cities. The story follows Deunan Knute and her partner Briareos as they search for the legendary city of Olympus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAppleseed (2004)
In a utopian society created at the end of World War III, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTreasure Planet (2002)
When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Hero Academia: You're Next (2024)
In a society devastated by the effects of an all-out war between heroes and villains, a mysterious giant fortress suddenly appears, engulfing towns and people one after another. Then, a man reminiscent of All Might, the 'symbol of peace', stands in front of Izuku and his friends...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBen 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie (2020)
A blast from Ben's past returns to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day. Based on the 2016 reboot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBubble (2022)
In an abandoned Tokyo overrun by bubbles and gravitational abnormalities, one gifted young man has a fateful meeting with a mysterious girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVIRGIN PUNK Clockwork Girl (2025)
In an unforgiving world, Ubu Kamigori hunts criminals as a bounty hunter. But one day, waiting in her home is the man she shares a sordid history with—Mr. Elegance. And so, her destiny begins to unravel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVexille (2007)
2067: Isolation: Japan seals herself off from the eyes of the world in the face of unilateral international policy setting strict limits on the use of robotic technology. The island nation exists only behind a veil of seclusion. No soul shall enter. No soul shall leave. 2077: Revelation: The veil is breached. Japan is infiltrated by agents of the organization S.W.O.R.D., a fighting force operating outside of the protection of the United States and her allies. Their mission: Determine if the Japanese are developing banned robotic bio-technology, forbidden due to its threat to humankind. In the battle between machine and man, humanity stands to suffer most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredator (1987)
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDC Showcase Original Shorts Collection (2010)
An anthology of DC Showcase stories consisting of a new Superman/Shazam feature and extended versions of older shorts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: Generations (1994)
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: First Contact (1996)
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: Insurrection (1998)
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Nemesis (2002)
En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon, who claims to seek peace with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus, and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredator 2 (1990)
A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit when a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed by an apparent attack from the Enterprise. Both worlds brace for what may be their deadliest encounter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like They Were Eleven?
The closest matches to They Were Eleven are Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007) and Galaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Were Eleven?
Start with Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007), the closest match to They Were Eleven.
What is the highest-rated movie like They Were Eleven?
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012), rated 7.7/10 by 1,768 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Were Eleven?
VIRGIN PUNK Clockwork Girl (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like They Were Eleven?
Yes: Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007) and Galaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979).
How are movies similar to They Were Eleven chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside They Were Eleven, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.