Review of Haibane Renmei

Note. I watched Haibane Renmei as part of a tiny anime watching "club" with my real life friends. Someone chooses an anime every month. Everyone watches it and does a review. May was this. I watched the last 4 episodes (10-13) in one sitting, and found myself getting genuinely angry with how the series was turning out, since I liked episodes 1-9 so much. So, after angrily pacing around my living room stewing about how much the series reminded me of things in my own life, I wrote this.I'm very into stylistic writing for things that are, well, MEANT to be stylistic. I shouldprobably be embarrassed about this. The tone here is meant to be condescending and sound pretentious, but I think overall my feelings are conveyed about this show, despite it being wrapped up in layers of snotty, pretentious style. It's mostly venting. I wonder if anyone else feels this way about this poor show that didn't deserve this.

Hello, class. I'll be your professor this semester. Please open the syllabus to the first page, and let's begin.

Where did we come from? Why are we here? What's after this?

Now that we've opened our syllabuses, let's begin covering some topics for our class. Welcome to Intro to Philosophy 101.

Haibane Renmei is a raw, dreamlike introspection into the theory of existentialism. The perusal of what makes a person a person. What makes us, well us? How do other people perceive us? Do other people see my values? My morals? My wills?

Wait. I've heard this before.

Haibane Renmei is a show based more around evoking feelings, memories, thoughts, familiarity. The Romantic. The Gothic. The juxtaposition of realities and thoughts.

Wait. I've heard this before.

Haibane Renmei asks the question: have you ever said something you knew would cut someone directly to the bone, on purpose? Have you ever felt you weren't good enough for your own (heavily skewed, unrealistic) goals? Have you ever been unable to let things go?

Wait. I've heard this before.

Haibane Renmei is foundations of philosophy, simmering just beneath the surface. It's dulcet music. It's messy, just like real life.

You know, I remember the paper you turned in last semester, Yoshitoshi ABe. Plagiarizing is punishable by expulsion, even if it was your own paper. I remember Serial Experiments Lain, you're not going to fool me.

Haibane Renmei does very little for me. I've already seen Lain. But that doesn't explain all of why I don't care.

I have to explain a concept first.

Have you ever judged someone for not having the knowledge you gained yesterday, today? Have you ever lived through something, done something, gained something, learned something, and looked down upon someone who hasn't lived it, hasn't done it, hasn't gained it, hasn't learned it?

It's a pretty shitty thing to do.

I do it a lot.

I'd describe myself as a pretty condescending person though.

Haibane Renmei does very little for me because while the climax of the story is focussed on the only characters who got more than basic (though sensible) archetypes for their personality, it's something I've already done.

Reki's struggle with her own inner turmoil is very fiercely human. Rakka's too.

Perhaps I am too cynical. It meant very little to me to see my own problems from years past played out on screen. Maybe it's because I have done all of these things. Maybe it's because I still feel hurt at things I have done in the past, things I have said, things I have lost, things I can't piece back together- things would cast me in a terrible light in the eyes of people I care about, people I love, people I set on pedestals, people I've lost, people I want to think about me; or maybe I'd even cast myself in a darker light in my own eyes.

Haibane Renmei mostly evoked feelings of annoyance.

"Yeah, me too, Reki." "Yeah, I've been a dick to people I love too, over something I thought was more important but hindsight is 20/20 what a dumb thing to do." "Maybe I shouldn't strive to live up to other's standards of me that are incorrect and make me uncomfortable." "Maybe I should get a giant magnifying pair of glasses to see past my own fucking nose."

Perhaps I'm too cynical for a show like this. Perhaps I am too wise, too knowledgeable, too vastly smart for a show to throw the largest, most heard, asked, scribbled, questioned, pondered, meditated, thought, unanswered questions in philosophy at me and not have me roll my eyes. I've already lived this. I'm judging you.

I already graduated from this school of thought. This is why I'm the professor of this course.
Haibane Renmei is a show that focuses on guilt, friendship, loss, and depression. The characters are well-structured archetypes, but does nothing past their archetypes. They are never fleshed out. Characters are presented only to drive the plot around Rakka and Reki. They are given beautiful, crisp wings and glowing halos because ABe thought it would look cool. This show is style over substance.

The major points at play are steeped in sensibility and grasp at the edges of real feelings, real personality, but it says nothing about it. Philosophy is only theory, but reality is really here, and really real. Life is messy and raw, but this feels like a 1st draft, not something that should be the final product. It does nothing new with its meditation on philosophy, or existentialism, or thoughts about perception of oneself. This show is heavy-handed with what themes it does convey (what is my perception of myself? what is others perceptions of me? what's after this? why am I here?) but not unpleasant.

The show is wrapped up in its own pretensions. It is very pretty, but it's not worth holding up to the light.

My pretentious review of a pretentious show will save you 13 episodes.

But I'm probably being unfair. I've already done this. If you had shown me this when I was younger, dumber, not as critical and harsh, I would have liked it. This show for me is old hat, and very unfairly so. This is an extremely biased review. I didn't like it because ?????.

Watch Angel Beats! if you want a more fast-paced, dumbed down, but coherent version of this. Watch Lain if you want something that truly has a hairs breadth of its themes regarding self and identity.