Review of Haibane Renmei

Haibane is a show that does a good job balancing its fantasy slice of life and its character drama with the end product being an overall amazing anime. HR is a story that focuses on a group of girls who are Haibane, which are a group of people who have an angelic appearance due to having wings and a Halo, but they aren’t angels and it doesn’t have anything to do with religion but more with their souls and spirits. The story starts off at Old home a commune for some of the Haibane which consists of girls and children. A new Haibane has beenborn, but she like many of the Haibane in The show have no recollection of their past life other than a dream Which soon becomes her name Rakka, and she is our main protagonist of the story. The first half of the story is mostly about getting to know the characters as well as the setting since beyond the commune is a town populated by normal people who the Haibane interact with, the Toga who are the only people allowed to enter and exit the walled town, and the Haibane Renmei who oversee the Haibane. While most of this time is placed on world building, and establishing characters and their relationships, it’s also used to build up the suspense and mystery of the show. The second part of the shows is more focused on the characters and their internal conflicts. It’s places more emphasis on matters such as guilt, friendship, self-worth, and forgiving oneself. Many things about the show are revealed which is mostly about the characters, while many other things are mostly hinted at and never given a definite answer which honestly was the best thing to do since most of it wasn’t the point of the show. The pacing for the show is rather slow, but because it is slow it allows for the atmosphere of the show to sink in which makes the anime to flow perfectly.

In terms of characters, all the characters are given enough depth for their respective roles. Over the course of the show many more haibane and even some regular people are introduced, and are given enough focus on who they are. Of course since all the haibane have no recollection of their past self they don’t have much of a backstory, but none the less it’s still there and is very influential for the characters.the characters themselves aren’t really that over the top, and come down to be more down-to-earth which makes them believable and their interaction genuine. The two titular characters in the show are Rakka and Reki who are the ones that have the most focus during the second half of the show as well as the ones who go through a character arc which leads to character development, as well as the main focal point in order to explore the themes of the show. While not all the characters in the show are looked into, what they were able to achieve was just as good.

The production for this show is also good when it comes to the art, animation, and the sound. The art itself is very soft to look at which gives the show a calm and warm feeling to it. The character designs don’t have much when it comes to standing out, but they all still look very good as they were made with much dedication. The background art for the town and the rest of the setting look like something that came from a fairytale with the way many of the buildings look. All of this gives the show its great atmosphere which is best described as melancholy. Animation wise, it’s good to say the least. There’s not a lot of movement when it comes to the show but when it needs something to stand out, it does so. However for other times the animation may look a bit off and jankey, but these are few and far between since the anime is usually kept at a slow pace. The voice acting for the show wa good as well, not much really stood out but nothing really bothered me. The music for the show however really does stand out, and is really good. It’s really easy to tell from the first minute of the anime when it allows for the music to play by itself as part of the story, and not some afterthought. A Lot of the soundtrack mostly consists of piano and string like violins. The soundtrack works with the slow pacing and atmosphere of the show really well. However that’s not to say that all of them are great since there are some that are just ok, yet still work will for the anime

Overall this was a really good anime worth watching. It really pulls you in the the the show through atmosphere alone, and is able to keep you there with its characters and story. Could they have done more to improve the show? Yes, but what they were able to pull off is more than enough for what the show needed to do