Review of Haibane Renmei

An original take on life after death in an unfamiliar realm, it has girls, it has uniforms, and it has old men under masks, with poles. Inspired by "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”, Yoshitoshi Abe, with the help of Yasayuki, who grabbed my left leg, dragged me through Serial Experiments Pain, came back in year 2002 with Haibane Renmei. Afterlife and Next Worlds in anime and manga is getting more popular. One year earlier, there was “Gate of Grudges” in Skyhigh. Eight years later, Angel Beats! gave us a school filled with NPCs. I can honestly say that Haibane Renmei had the most interestingidea for a limbo I have heard so far.

Story
The story begins with Rakka’s birth into a town surrounded by protective walls. The walls inflict a disease so severe; it could kill those who touch it or those walk near it. Humans coexist with boys and girls with wings called Haibanes, given Halos looking angelic and cute. The Haibanes aren’t pure hearted angels; some of them smoke, some lie and steal, some are stalkers, and the rest hate carrots. They also have “crappy handwriting” (thanks Kana). Only way to escape from these walls is to wait until each Haibane is called upon by a pillar of light, but nobody know where to. This story is a slightly symbolic illustration of sin and salvation.
Rakka behaves pretty much like anyone would if woken up in bed one day, to be told she died once and was reborn into a different world. And in a couple of days, a pair of small wings will tear apart your skin, inducing so much pain, you will faint. Essentially, she accepts every gifts, clothes, food and drink in hope they would help her get by the next winter. Her immediate friends consist of two tomboys (Kana and Kuu), a girl who’s good at baking beagles (Hikari), a female librarian who often sleeps on the job (Nemu), and Reki, the older girl, presented as Rakka’s caretaker. This series cries out for a harem, but thankfully, didn’t become one.

Character Development
Everyone named above had a tough time making an impact, except for two. Throughout the Rakka’s tour of the town, her interactions with humans, Haibanes, and a mysterious governing body, Rakka questions the world and everyone in it. She has the genuine curiosity of a girl born into an unknown land; impatiently or otherwise, she would ask for answers to the mysteries this series brings to its viewers. Unfortunately, those who would speak know nothing and those who know everything don’t speak, frustrating both Rakka and I.
The most interesting character is Reki; she knows the answers to some of these mysteries and moves the story forward. As the series progresses, we get her character revelations at a young age, the things she went through and what caused her to become the Reki that she is.

Women
Rakka and Kana were pretty cute, but both look too young to hold hands. However, Reki is for the taking. The series has small hints of romance between two characters, but thumb up to Abe for not polluting it with fanservice.

Aesthetics
Environments are detailed, from the deteriorations in the walls to the crumbles lying on the grounds. The trees, grass, utility poles and power lines are precisely placed, clearly defining their perspectives. Pause anywhere with a good scenery, you’ll get an instant watercolour painting. The clothes’ shadows are very clear and dark, but single toned all over. The rough edges of what the characters are wearing are an eyesore and that is particularly noticeable when everything else was to be admired. For such artistic backgrounds, it is a shame the characters are so undetailed.
Animation is bad; movements are stingy and some are neglected altogether.
If you listen to the English dub with your eyes closed, at times it sounds like a porno. Otherwise, the VA’s did fine.
Effects sounds are inconsistent. Weather and echoes are well done but footsteps sometime turnoff without valid reasons. The dubbed version’s toning down might be partially to blame. Soundtracks cover a good range of emotions, from sunny, happy scenes to rainy, depressing ones. The opening song is like a historical European melody without vocals; the ending song does have vocals and is quite beautiful.

The walls aren’t just made of cemented bricks; they are detailed objects, symbolically referred to by the characters. It is a shame we don’t learn its reasons of existence or originality. I still don’t know how Haibanes become Haibanes or their purpose. In fact, the series hasn’t told me what a Haibane is. However, the lack of explanation came as a relief, for the director didn’t treat me like a 10-year old child by dishing out a pardonable rendition. If it was between that or nothing, leaving my imagination run wild was preferred.
The series has a slow pace, but it’s intentional. The cosy and peaceful feeling Haibane Renmei gives off is the series’ strong point. It relaxes the audience and pulls them into its world through mundane arcs and conversations that begins with “Are you awake, yet?” and “How are you, today?” Many episodes ended without moving the story forward. Mid-way through, I had no clue where the show was going, I had my guesses but they turned out wrong. Truth is that the series didn’t go anywhere, everything needed to conclude the story stayed at the starting line all along.
A large cast for 13 episodes, I can’t help but feel this large cast didn’t give their best to make full use of its fascinating premise. Haibane Renmei doesn’t go deeply philosophical like Serial Experiments Lain did, but its ending was more powerful and memorable. Rumour has it “only two episodes were prepared when the show was ready to be produced with no real plot in mind” (animeworld.com), I am impressed by how the series was able demonstrate, successfully, this challenging theme that is redemption.

You might want to check out Kino’s Journey.

(Thanks to Zylixae and Vis4Vanity for recommending this series)