Review of Haibane Renmei

Habaine Renmei Anime Review Episodes: 13 Genre: Slice of Life, Fantasy? (Hard to tell, you’ll see why later) Disclaimer: To this date, Haibane Renmei is my favorite anime ever. I wanted to start this book off with something special to me, so here you go. Plot: 9/10 The plot of Haibane Remei is kind of hard to describe. It’s pretty much a slice of life series for the first half of the show, so there’s really no plot to be found. The show opens to a scene of a girl falling through the sky. She is approached by a crow who seems to want something. The crow tries to helpthe girl from falling, but the girl accepts her fate and then she wakes up. This girl is Rakka. She was born as a Haibane, an angel-like creature with wings and a halo, in the town of Glie. Other Haibane surround her egg and help her get accustomed to her new life in Glie once it hatches. For the first couple episodes, Hakka follows the other Haibane around to their workplaces so she can find out more about the town. She finds out that humans live alongside the Haibane peacefully, but the Haibane aren’t allowed to do certain things. (Like using anything that is new). She also finds out that there’s only one way to leave the town. That way is if you’re a Haibane and you’re magically get called to leave by some “higher being” outside the walls. Rakka ends up spending most of her time with Reki, the Haibane that first discovered Rakka’s egg. She then finds out the meaning of sin-bound, which is a Haibane who’s doomed to never leave the town because they can’t remember their dream in the egg and can’t come to terms with living in Glie. Since Hakka wake up before her dream finished, her wings grow a black tint and she’s marked as sin-bound. (Reki is also sin-bound). The rest of the series is spent trying to figure out who Reki and Hakka are as characters and why some people are sin-bound and others aren’t.

Art/Animation: 8/10
This series was made in 2002. People tend to dismiss anime from the 1900’s and early 2000’s because of their outdated art styles and animation. The first anime that comes to mind who’s art style still holds up is Monster. That said, the art and animation for this serious is really good for 2002. The dark and gritty color palette really sets the tone of the bleak atmosphere the series gives off. There’s also a couple of problems with the animation. A series can never be perfect, and Haibane Renmei is not an exception. Here and there you can see some problems with the animation, but overall it is good. The only problem I really had with the art, is that since the colors were so dark, after awhile it can be perceived as boring.

Music: 10/10
The soundtrack was composed by Ko Otani. Not much to say about that. Guy’s amazing. I’ve fallen asleep many times listening to the soundtrack ;P

Characters: 8.5/10
A good anime needs good characters and Haibane Renmei has quite the small cast. There are a lot of background characters, but only a few who are named. Most characters in the series are there to serve a purpose. I kind of wish some weren’t there for someone else’s convenience *Cough* Kuu *Cough* Every character does serve a purpose, but the only characters I really remember after watching the series are Reki and Rakka. It’s not a coincidence that they were the best characters by far. Rakka is amazing because she’s the most human out of most people there/ A lot of people in the town give up on trying to escape and settle down, but Rakka routinely questions her own existence and why she and Reki are doomed and not other people. Reki is really the main character of this series even though it’s from Rakka’s point of view. And I can’t say anything else without spoiling it.

Overall Score: 8.8/10