Review of Haibane Renmei

Haibane Renmei Once in a while you stumble upon something that makes you question why you watch so many shallow shows. Haibane Renmei is such a reminder. It all began when I watched Serial Experiments Lain. A show I never thought I‘d like, which ended up as one of my favorites. So after being blown away by it I was looking for more. Texhnolyze offered a similar experience, a similar reminder of something that is so different than everything else that it makes you question why you even bother with generic-ness. Haibane Renmei was something that took me some time to watch it. And when the day came, it was somethingthat I swallowed as a whole and digested it slowly. So slow, that I am still working on its lasting impression in this moment.

There is much to say about it and yet it it‘s strangely hard to express it in is fullness.

Haibane Renmei is a once in a lifetime experience, one of those rare gems that offers something so unique and beautiful, that it will make it hard to appreciate anything else for a long time because you are over thinking it too much.

So what is it that makes Haibane Renmei so special?
It‘s a combination of various factors, delicately tuned to one another in such a way, that it feels more like a piece of art, rather than a form of entertainment, something you have to invest a lot of thought in, to fully appreciate it.

Haibane Renmei is not hard to understand but offers no absolute answers so there is a lot of think and speculate about.

Anyways I am talking a lot but don‘t tell you anything so I better get started with the review:

Setting / Story

A girl dreams of falling, accompanied by a black crow who is trying to lift her towards the sky, yet cannot accomplish his futile struggle to save the girl from imminent death by impact.
A group of feathered females find a large cocoon from which the dreaming girl is born.

She is born a Haibane, an angel like creature, given a name by her dream.
Rakka - falling.
Her new home is called old home, inhabited by other Haibanes, who explain to her the new world she is now part of.
The story follows Rakkas new life in the mysterious town of Glie, a town surrounded by a wall .
No one, but the crows, that are free to fly over it and the masked merchants, called Toga who no one but the Haibane Renmei is allowed to communicate with, knows what‘s behind the wall.
Haibanes are born into a curious world, a world with fixed rules, yet never to be explained what it is or why these rules exist.

Haibane Renmei carefully crafts a unique fantasy setting, which's time period not really advanced (unlike Lain and Texhnolyze, which are scifi oriented) and settles somewhere between the later 19th century and more modern settings with some technological advancements.
The city itself seems old and rural, and the people are all somewhat old fashioned, use outdated technology, have little to no electricity and besides scooters there seems to be almost no modern vehicle.

One of the strongest points of Haibane Renmei really is the setting. The interesting fantasy setting makes you long for more explanations. What are the Haibanes? What is beyond the walls? Where does the city come from? Why is no one allowed to speak to the Toga? And much more...
It lulls you in its dream like but still realistic world offering a comfortable simple paradise, something that I rarely see in most anime.
I know it‘s maybe very far apart from Haibane Renmei but I had to think of Heidi, Girl of the Alps when I watched it.

The story itself is rather slow. The first half start out as a slice of life, showing you the aspects of the world, how people live, what the rules for the Haibanes are and so on.
The second half revolves around the drama which emerges after the main character Rakka is confronted with one of the more tragic aspects of the Haibanes. I won‘t tell you what it is because that would be a spoiler, but it turns Rakka into a very depressed person.
The second half also answers a lot of the questions, though leaves enough for speculation.

The thing I‘d love to give the most points for though is the premise of the show.
Haibane Renmei deals with sins and redemption, similar to Angel Beats, yet more mature than most anime tend to be nowadays.
It not only creates an original universe, but also deals with Angels, portrait in a unique slice of life, something that couldn't have been done in a more original and creative way possible.
From the first episode on, where it is shown how much pain it causes, for the Haibanes, to grow their wings; to how their halos are made.
It puts most other shows into shame, which often have a rather lazy or unoriginal premise or setting.

People say that, despite Sword art Onlines weak story, the premise was great. Trapped in a MMORPG, but really compared to a slice of life with angels it pales significantly.

Over all the story isn't too complex, there is just a handful of important characters, the universe is limited by default and everything what is part of the plot is explained clearly without too many riddles that make it unnecessary complicated. It also doesn't use technobable to sound smart. It‘s very settled and easy to understand without being brain dead.
A perfect balance of complexity and simplicity.
And unlike it‘s sister shows Lain and Texhnolyze, Haibane Renmei doesn‘t use too many weird symbolism and surreal effects to confuse the viewer. (though occasionally there are dream sequences and dream like scenes which are abstract)

The ending rounds up the whole shows, gives you a not unexpected, yet fulfilling ending.

All in all Haibane Renmei is slow, but beautiful. It deals with serious issues in the most innocent way possible without being to childish or just a fairytale.

Characters

Rakka the main character is curious and confused. She remembers something she cannot remember. Something that feels like it happened before she became a Haibane.
She starts out scared and confused, later turns to become curious but not very confident. But then something happens that throws over her idyllic pace in the world she now lives in. She questions her own sins, seeks redemption and tries to help out the people she used to rely on.

She is not the strongest female character ever to exist but she is believable. Real struggle. Real emotions. A bit overblown at times but never unrealistic.

I could say this about all the characters, because it is true. Haibane Renmei has cast of realistic multifaceted personalities.
Reki the somewhat cold but motherly Haibane, caring for the children, fighting an inner struggle. Always keeping an eye for Rakka
Kuu is the tomboy-ish young Haibane which forms a great friendship with Rakka.
Nemu is the sleepy but capable older Haibane who spend a long time living with Reki.

And the others are just as great.
There isn‘t really much to say here, but the chemistry between Rakka and Reki which becomes essential to the story in the second half of the show, which gives a good backdrop on both characters. There others come a bit shorter though, but it doesn‘t remove any impact the story would have otherwise.
It‘s also not rushed as in Angel beats, where you have a huge cast, but only a handful get any recognition.

Overall the characters are believable, natural and relatable. Even though it is a slice of life, it doesn‘t feel like a sitcom or a moe show of the modern times, but rather a very unique version of how a slice of life can be. It doesn‘t use comedy or overblown drama to create chemistry but the explorable nature of the setting which creates character interactions.

Animation and Artwork

Based on a doujin by Yoshitoshi ABe, Haibane Renmei features similar character designs and backgrounds like Lain and Texhnolyze.
The overall style is quite unique, both characters and environment use an almost outline-less technique which generates a kind of blurry effect.
It‘s not particularly detailed or smooth/clear, it rather is muddy like a wet brush-painting.
The color pallet reflects this effect. Everything has a very „nature“ feel to it. Many browns and dark/olive greens.
It‘s not dark or spooky like Lain and Texhnolyze rather has this old fairytale look to it. Like an old Painting.

Noticeable are some paintings Reki is painting in the show, they look as if ABe personally painted them for the show, at least it looks very similar to his style.

Even though the show is based on Yoshitoshi ABes work, I have yet to come across a show that does justice to his great talent, I think only a high budget movie could ever embody his style and fantastic character designs fully.

The animation quality itself isn‘t outstanding, but also not horrible. Keep in mind this show came out over a decade ago. But overall I cannot praise its animation quality. It‘s just not impressive by any means.
Though I give credit for the unique style it has, it‘s not something you see often in anime, especially with the color pallet.

Maybe I‘m spoiled by modern anime and I can never ever again appreciate things that were made before 2008 or didn‘t have a huge budget like Ghost in the Shell or some great anime movies. But it is hard for people from this generation to like things that came out when we were children. Since I also have no idea what the standard was when Haibane Renmei came out I can‘t fully judge the shows animation.

Sound

The voiceactors are good, nothing outstanding but give all the characters their individuality. It fits the natural approach to social interactions and isn‘t too forced on emotions like you usually have (epic outcries, dramatic weeping etc).
The opening comes alongside with the overall OST, calm folk/classical music, a lot of violins, pianos and other classical instruments.
I personally enjoyed the soundtrack greatly, but have yet to download it (I certainly will).

Edit after I got my hands on the OST:
Oh wow I knew it was familiar.
Kow Otani was responsible for the soundtrack to Shadow of the Colossus, which had absolute fantastic music.
I listened to the soundtrack so many times, he is an absolute genius.
Besides that he was also responsible for the sountrack to Shakugan no Shana (which also had great soundtrack) and recently Another by PA Works.

It‘s fascinating that all three of the ABe works I watched, though made by different studios, all offer high quality in their soundtrack. It‘s from the standpoint of presentation the best part.
Ranging from happy, folky, village BGM to dramatic, sad, classical violin/piano duets.
I probably could talk without end on how good the OST is, but I couldn‘t listen to it in its fullness yet so I might edit this part later on to be more detailed.

Over all Haibane Renmei is very nice sounding and offers a wide range of different songs and sounds. The opening and ending theme is good but not great, though fit the show well.

Value and Enjoyment

Done by Studio Radix Haibane Renmei stands out as a work. Besides it only another ABe work (NieA_7) was made by it and a bunch of shows that I deem not mentionable.
Funny how both Haibane and Lain were made by smaller Studios and only Texhnolyze got the huge Madhouse.
So from that perspective it really was an important work for the small Radix which doesn‘t exist anymore.

I personally didn‘t cherish as much as the other two ABe works, but still it leaves a mark in my memory as an outstanding and unique work.
Besides from my personal involvement I also think it offers something much greater than what most other shows do.

There are a lot of shows that deal with sin, redemption, the afterlife, human relationships and so on.
But not many can make it appeal so creative. They are either straight forward and present it in a shallow way, or mix in too much plot or cheeseness.
Some use needless pandering with either, moe, ecchi/fanservice, or gore and violence.
Others are pretentious as heck and cannot really tell you what they want, without relying to much on technobabble or obscure symbolism that no one understands.

Haibane Renmei solves these problems without the use of any of the stereotypical story telling elements. It offers a great fantasy setting and moral that can be understood by many people. What it means to live, to feel remorse and how in the end we need to find salvation within the people we hurt and not some spacedaddy or ourselves. If you do mistakes, seek those who can forgive you and don‘t dwell in your own melancholy.

I enjoyed the show, more than I first thought, less than I did my favorites, but in the end more than I will many others to come.

Story 8/10 (very good)

Premise 2/2 (amazingly creative)
Pacing 1/2 (slow but bearable)
Complexity 2 (perfect balance)
Plausibility 1 (many unanswered questions)
Conclusion 2 (satisfying)

Characters 9/10 (great)

Personality 2/2 (realistic)
Behavior 2/2 (consistent)
Development 2/2 (rounded)
Motivation 2/2 (intelligible)
Likability 1/2 (everyone will be graved into your heart, but non stands out too much)

Animation 7/10 (good)

Artstyle 3/3 (Fitting, likable, unique)
Quality 1/2 (aged)
Background 1/2 (mushy but memorable)
Character Designs 2/3 (great concept but imperfect execution)

Sound 8/10 (very good)

Voiceacting 2/3 (Fitting but not outstanding)
OP/ED 2/3 (only the ED wasn't to my liking)
OST 4/4 (beautiful classical music)

Value 9/10 (great)

Rewatchability 2/2 (something I want to show my children)
Sentimental 3/3 (forever in my heart)
Historical 3/4 (sadly still underrated)

Enjoyment 9/10

Art and Animation 1/2 (sadly it‘s too old)
Music & Sound 2/2 (listen to it again and again)
Story & World 2/2 (most beautiful concept)
Characters 2/2 (realistic and likable cast)
Value & Attachment 2/2 (one of the few true gems)