Review of Haibane Renmei
Please read my review before pressing 'Not Helpful' and if you have any comments feel free to leave me a note QUICKREVIEW Story: 6 (beautiful anime universe but cliche' story) Art: 8 (reminiscent of renaissance-era angel paintings) Sound: 7 (average sound, interesting use of sign language) Character: 8 (look very unique but stereotypical at the same time) Enjoyment: 6 (Haibane universe got me hooked) Overall: 35/50 = 7.0 (good, but leaves questions unanswered)Full Review
At first, Haibane Renmei starts off as a wonderful alternate universe where angels and humans coexist but as the story progresses, they manage to make a very average plot twist that leaves too much to be desired.
Falling from the sky, a young girl embraces a black crow as she's rapidly falling towards the earth. Many images fill the screen as this poor girl is falling. From the start, this brings up many questions and possible reasons of what is going on for the viewer. It's a wonderful start for a deep and involving story, complete with its own take on a Monotheistic society and beings who don't know why they exist or why they are there. Unfortunately, this show sells itself short halfway through the series by turning the main character into a cliche' self-pitying character that finds resole too far into the show to make it matter to the series. Which doesn't make any sense at all considering the creator of this show has made such a detailed civilization with its own take on religion, numerous allusions, and so many better ways to take this show to a more involving story. But in the end so many things are left unanswered and we just end up watching a remake of a show that you've seen many times before.
Another part of wanting to know more of this show is all the symbolism and allusions involved in all the artwork to support the back story. Things like dreams, memories, and everyday things bring out the beauty of the Haibane universe. Some things are also left unanswered as to why things look the way they do. Art quality isn't amazing on a detailed sense, but it IS amazing from an artistic standpoint. One theme referenced over and over again in every episode, old. Things like the "Old Home" or an archaic clothing store all keep their clutter and sense of all things old. Even though they do reference "old" a lot, the only things that are new in this world seem to be the new Haibane. The artwork also manage to make quite a few memories throughout the show. One of the most memorable scenes i have seen in any anime is definitely the first scene of the first episode.
The sound effects and music are something left to be desired but are good at best. The music didn't evoke much emotion with the exception of the OP theme. From a sound effects standpoint, everything sounds standard with the exception of emphasizing silence (you will understand soon). Kids get rowdy, old things creak, shells crack... these things are expected and therefore get a standard grade of good.
Characters are all good and fit their stereotype very well. They're all very cute but in a unique way. If you look hard enough Rakka looks exactly like Lain for obvious reasons (same creator). And in the same vein as Lain, this show has a large female cast. The artwork really brings out the characters in their own unique way. You'll be hard pressed not to feel sorry for all the characters in their tragic situation. That, in turn, makes information about the universe that much more desirable.
Like Lain and Texhnolyze, its artwork, character design, and universe will entice you to wanting more, but will just end up being disappointed again with such poor story telling. I can only recommend this show to hardcore angel lovers and Abe fans.