Review of Haibane Renmei

[SPOILERS! WATCH THE SERIES BEFORE READING, AS ALWAYS!] Aaaaaaaaaaaaand once again, I've just finished watching an anime and I'm reviewing it right afterward with fresh thoughts...man this was a good one. Let's begin!: The Story/Narrative [10/10]: A simple story about a girl being put in a new world....with cute angel people! It sounds simple, but the way the surprisingly vast world (especially in context to how small it really is because of the walls that surround the town), its characters, and the mythology/lore of the Haibane (said angel people) are all some of the most creative stuff I've seen from an anime and are all explored quite deeplygiven how short the series is and how much it has packed in it...definitely would've been nice to get more of this series, but I suppose you only have some much material to work with given the fact that after this anime was made, the manga was basically left unfinished, which is a shame cause they could've pulled an Evangelion and have it be its own timeline with different events that could've happened, oh well, this anime's still GOD-TIER and it still has Yoshitoshi ABe's vision still in it, so I guess we did get a conclusion to it in the end.

Anyways, the chemistry between the characters, the emotions, the occasional conflict between the main characters, and the way they also deal with some of the tragedies like the Day of Flight (or rather the peaceful 'death' of the Haibane) with Kuu and Reki at the end of the series was amazing! Every character grew or at the very least experienced some life-changing stuff. I don't really have anything to complain about with it, I felt invested all the way through and really didn't find any part of the series annoying or bad in any sort of way.

Overall, a simple, well-written, nicely paced (minus the end being a teeny bit abrupt, I feel like a little more time could've been put into seeing everyone off), emotionally gripping, and engaging, simply put...PERFECT! A++

The Art/Visuals [10/10]:

I was originally going to give it a nine, but I'm gonna cut it some slack for obviously being something of its time and just taking a look as if I was back in Fall 2002 when this was released.....when I was barely just born and wouldn't have been able to know what was going on. Shoutouts to the September 2002 birthday peeps, out there.

Anyhow, the characters, environments (which are absolutely GORGEOUS and feel like you're inside a painting), and everything else are all animated quite nicely. Sure, the far-away characters trope from older anime is still evident and it can look a little rough at times, but I see that as a bit of charm, and again, I'm willing to cut them some slack because of how much stuff looks so good otherwise. The environments really make me wish a world like this existed cause MAN...wish I could be a Haibane a pretty place like Glie. Yoshitoshi ABe's character designs from the Manga feel right at home here and while it's not animated by Madhouse like Serial Experiments Lain and later on Texhnolyze would be, Radix still did a WONDERFUL job of putting the world of Haibane Renmei into the world of animation. It all for the most part still holds up and is definitely one of the most unique-looking anime I've watched in a bit (though I guess that goes without saying if you look at the kinds of anime I DO watch, most of them are visually wild and as someone who kind is an art freak without being able to actually...make art, I'm a sucker for gorgeous and creative visuals.)

Can't really argue with anything here. Also, A++ stuff.

The Sound Design [10/10]:

Alright, let's start with the music. It's all lots of pretty orchestral and ambiance pieces, even in the opening and ending themes. All of it is used quite effectively and appropriately for every scene of every episode and really helps in adding to the show's overall magical, whimsicalness. On top of that, there's a surprising amount of tracks on the OST given again how short the series is (especially if you were just as invested as I was even when I was trying to take it slow when watching it just so I could enjoy it more, for context I started this last week or so during Spring Break and I've only JUST NOW finished it as of tonight.) I think all of the stuff that Yoshitoshi ABe's name is attached is nearly guaranteed to have an AMAZING soundtrack, Lain & Texhnolyze sure did and this show's certainly no different! Definitely a lot of variety in each of their soundtracks, but a lot of thematic similarities that all make them uniquely...ABe.

As for the voice-acting...the sub is perfect! No complaints, perfect performances that stay consistent throughout the series run time. The dub from what I've seen of it is....fine-ish. Karen Strassman that's in Persona as Aigis and Nanako (and the supply Machine from Killing Floor 2, which I wasn't aware of until...right now) as Nemu is kinda cool, along with Josh Philips (who was Hal in Texhnoylze's dub later on) as Hyouko is neat. The rest of the cast is alright too, but I'd still watch the sub for the purest, most natural experience, the dub in some places is still kinda meh.

Overall, love it all. No complaints here either. A++

The Characters [10/10]:

If it's not the visuals that would've won me over already, the characters certainly did. I LOVE this cast of characters, from Rakka to Sumika, all of the characters are a real treat to watch. The Main cast getting into small hijinks (which made me realize that I actually WATCHED a Slice of Life anime...I guess I could count Higurashi too since that also has Slice of Life bits in it, but this is my first full-fledged one) and exploring the town, getting to see what their lives are all like and what they do and also how they act with both other Haibane and Humans. The personal and external conflicts of all of the characters are well-explored, albeit a little expositionary at times. Like I said before, the chemistry of these characters and how they all work together so nicely to form one big happy family to me is just pure wholesomeness that...I think kinda changed me, not gonna lie. Here's a weird confession that might make this my weirdest review yet: I felt a little more...cuddly and feminine when watching this show in general, it was just enjoyable to watch and gave me a sense of comfort I hadn't seen in a show before. The side characters like Hyouko, Midori, and Sumika are all also given a nice amount of screen time, enough at least to where you can understand them and know their part in the world and how they impact the lives of the Haibane they work with, like Kana's Clock Master or Sumika with Nemu. There isn't a single character that I didn't like or thought was out of place, it all felt...perfectly crafted!

...You can tell how much I love this show already, can't you? Yeah, I think that whole wanting to be a Haibane thing is starting to go to my head....I'll save those thoughts for the after ramble.

A++ for characters! Probably my favorite aspect of the show!

Overall [10/10]:

While Haibane Renmei is a short series, it's got A LOT going on within it and underneath it, if you're willing to deconstruct it. The story, visuals, sound design, and characters are AMAZING both for its time and now. It's just...a wonderous little masterpiece gem hidden by time. Wish more people knew about it cause it's definitely worth watching and it's definitely one of my new all-time favorites. If you liked Lain and wanted something a little more light-hearted with some of the same spirit, you're an SOL (Slice of-okay, you get the abbreviation) fan looking for a more unique show to watch, or you're like me and you're now obsessed with everything Yoshitoshi ABe puts his name on...it's ALSO right up your ally (seriously, this guy's work is legit some of my favorite stuff out there and it's taking over my headspace, please help.)

Alright, alright, I don't need to convince you anymore. It's a cute series that you'll either enjoy or maybe just appreciate even if it's not your thing.

After Review Ramble [ARR, and no, not the Final Fantasy XIV expansion, A Realm Reborn, I have that game and I'll probably never play it cause MMOs aren't my thing...I've tried with Shin Megami Tensei: REImagine, but after like 5 months, I dropped it.]:

Yeah, this one's gonna live rent-free in my head now...I'm gonna be having dreams and beliefs that this is the kind of world we go into when we die in this world...it's a thought to ease the fact that I'll die someday, at least...and I just wanna be a Haibane Boy/Girl with cute little wings and a halo having fun and just doing simple work rather than the grueling office stuff most people do these days here. That and again, I'm really starting to become a hardcore fan of ABe's work, his stuff is just so...unique and different in a way that speaks to me. He makes the kind of stuff that I wish I had the talent to make. I guess that's the best way of putting it. I've had so many different ideas come into my head, but since I don't have a real way of expressing them, I feel like unless there was a way to upload your consciousness onto the internet and visualize everything and make it exist...those dreams are going to be lost to time and stay with me until I either find a way to do so...which I'm not sure how, drawing for me used to be an escape, but I never feel like doing it anymore, and writing is...kinda cool, but I feel like I type and write a little too convolutedly, so the stuff I make could be bogged down from that.

Also, for some reason, I really wanted to start playing Mabinogi even though 1. I've NEVER really heard it before, just saw screenshots and it reminded me of the show. and 2. I just don't think I can ever get into MMOs as much as I can into infinitely replayable multiplayer stuff like Team Fortress 2 & Left 4 Dead. I dunno, maybe I just wanna cope with the fact I can't be a part of a cute world such as Haibane's.

So......what are my plans for my next anime....still thinking about either Ergo Proxy or Hellsing, but I'm looking into taking a look at Yoshitoshi ABe's other anime works too, since those are ALSO look pretty intriguing to me. NieA_7 looks cool, buuut it's a comedy (granted an ADULT comedy, but still a little father than what I typically watch) rather than a psychological one which was one of the reasons why I WATCHED Haibane Renmei in the first place (cause I can't seem to get enough of THAT genre as you can tell from the stuff I've watched & read.) Still pretty cool that a lot of the same people who worked on Lain work onto THAT series, though, Triangle Staff did some good work for their time.

Found out about Welcome to the N.H.K., which while the Manga is illustrated by ABe, is A LOT MORE up my ally in terms of genres: Black comedy, Psychological drama, and...another slice of life. Sounds neat, though, might take a look at it.

The same goes for RErideD: Tokigoe no Derrida...but that shows has a 5.69 on here and while its genres are up to my alley...I don't really see it being something that'll hold my interest nor blow me away. I like the creme of the crop niche stuff like this.

Despera's still stuck in limbo...but whenever that show DOES come to fruition...you bet your bottom Bibby I'm gonna watch it as soon as it comes out. From what I've seen of the manga, it looks WONDERFUL!

Alright, alright. I'll think about it, here's what I've got in mind. If you wanna pester me about which one I should watch first, go ahead, for right now, I'm taking a break from anime again (until I maybe feel like watching one of these) and I'm strictly focusing on finishing the Persona 1 Manga so that I can play Persona 2: Innocent and Eternal Punishment:

· Ergo Proxy

· Hellsing

· NierA_7

· Welcome to the N.H.K.

· So Ra No Wo To (Sound of the Sky)

· Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World (Kino's Journey)

· Gunslinger Girl

· Aria the Animation

· Mushishi

...Goodness me, I'm gonna be stacked for months if I find time to binge through ALL of these, most of them are shorter, to be frank, but man, it'll be a wild ride. Anyways, yeah, let me know. Enough rambling for now...