Review of Haibane Renmei

Haibane Renmei gets the unfortunate rep of being pretentious and trying too hard to be deep about the problems that angels face on trying to get to heaven, versus angels that contemplate on whether or not they’re acceptable into getting into heaven in the first place. Well, I’m not one of the people that was just described here. Even for 13 episodes and made in 2002, this anime was the most thought provoking and very grounded with how you can sense that the anime tried to appeal to people wanting to ask questions on what we can do to make our lives worthwhile in the end.The outro song for Haibane Renmei is one of the more enjoyable, though sobering, reminders on why an anime like this could never be appreciated in its current day form where isekais and idols are currently running the scene as to what many anime fans want.

From the likes of Rakka and Kana bonding between one another through different experiences, to even figuring out why Toga and The Communicator exist through different worlds from inside and outside the gate, Haibane Renmei is an anime that deserves the recognition is gets. Even if it’s almost 20 years old, the way how the anime portrays itself by trying to figuratively step out of your own cocoon and find yourself while growing wings is something that most anime can sometimes miss – the art of having nuance while still remaining true to what the story represents; both on the inside and outside.