Review of Haibane Renmei

"Even though Haibane Renmei is about non human characters it remains deeply and lovingly sunk in humanity" In Haibane Renmei we discover through the eyes of a "Newborn" the world where "Haibanes" a mysterious angel like kind evolves between their ned named "Old Home" and a town inhabited by humans where the angels work to fullfill their life and pay their moral debt to the kindess and the tolerance they receive despite their differences. Moreover, the whole land is surrounded by strange and huge walls whose access is totally forbidden for obscure reasons, those walls belong to the numerous mysteries the series has to offer andthat participate to its peaceable and bizarre mood : "what's beyond these walls ?" "what exactly are the haibanes ?" and plenty of other questions are smartly answered by the show in a subtil and metaphoric way.

Additionally the series' great force resides in its characters who are really endearing and sweet despite the incertitudes they are facing due to the strange phenomenons occuring to their species. In spite of its apparent sweetness, the story broaches a lot of important themes such as : grief, knowing of oneself, salvation, death and human relations in general.

In conclusion Haibane Ranmei is a beautiful slice of life with wondrous artstyles and beautiful environments that feels very nostalgic, the soundtrack is probably one of the best ever made in the whole japanese animation industry and perfectly corresponds to the atmosphere depicted by the series. Not to mention both the opening and the ending which are absolutely awesome...