Review of Haibane Renmei

“Haibane Renmei” is what happens when a solid idea is held down by heavy handed writing. First things first. I know this show has a lot of symbolism and uses it with varying success. I don't intend to showcase or explain them. There are a lot of people who already did that and far better than I could ever have. Even more that clearly have no idea what they are talking about and only want to feel special. What I will concentrate on is the writing. The story, the plot, and the holes. I believe that even when using symbolism the writer should integrate itinto the story to create a solid internal logic for everyone, and everything involved in the creation. Otherwise You are stuck with a medium that demands from the viewer to turn off thinking to make sense. Of course You can always concentrate on just the symbolic parts, or just the plot parts but I was never good at that.

I will be talking about “plot” and “story”. Many people use those terms interchangeably. I’m not one of those people, so to make sure everyone is on the same page…
I use the definitions for “plot” and “story” as Lisa Cron describes them:
“What happens in the story is the PLOT, the surface events.”
“STORY is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes internally as a result”.

“Haibane Renmei” is a slice of life fantasy with more mysteries than answers. It’s split into two “sections”. The first one is plot heavy and story light and it introduces the world, its rules and inhabitants. It’s slow and You could make an argument that it overstays its welcome because most things that happen later don’t really involve most presented cast members. The second part is story heavy. There are two stories in “Haibane Renmei”. One of Rakka and the other one of Reki. Speaking of, it’s time to introduce the cast aka the only two that really matter:

Rakka - a newborn Haibane (creature with small ash grey wings, but apart from that resembles humans). She’s our gateway into the anime and it is through her eyes we see 90% of the plot and story. Unlike most of her companions she contemplates her life before this one and wonders who she was sometimes. As a main character… She's awful. She doesn’t have a goal, dream hell all she has is a bunch of side quests. It’s fine in the first half when she’s adjusting to the new environment but it lasts for the whole of the show. She doesn’t ask questions, she doesn’t test boundaries or even try to rebel against rules that are practically forced on her. She just rolls with it like a good little NPC. Even Bethesda’s NPC go off script sometimes. Yes, she gets her moment to shine later, much later in the show when she is determined to help Reki but even that is lazily written and resolved almost immediately. Everything is handed to her. Need info on Reki? She will be told about her from others or find her diary. Need a way to help Reki? No problem, the old wise-man asshole character, who has no problem in leaving a wounded girl in the cold, will give it to her. Apart from resolving her own story she earns very little. Her and Reki’s stories are very similar. They both seek forgiveness (maybe redemption) for something they don’t even remember. The rules of the world are really fucked up in this regard. Oh, You don’t remember Your sin? Yeah… good luck with the whole redemption thing. The difference is Rakka is playing on easy mode. She has help in her journey in the form of a bird. It is implied, and even stated by Rakka, that this bird might be someone from her previous life. That does cheapen the whole process a bit, but thanks to the overall theme of the show not by much and it does give Rakka the “idea” to be this kind of “bird” for Reki.

Reki - The most interesting and well written (well written for this show, that does not mean good in general) character. She’s the intriguing, wild aunt archetype. She cares for others but doesn’t show it unless there is an emergency. She has a tragic backstory because in a show with life, death, rebirth, sin and salvation symbolism we need someone who was fucked more than the rest of the cast. She’s the one who discovers Rakka’s cocoon and becomes a mentor figure for her. A bit of a strange writing decision was made when it comes to her cocoon dream. It’s stated that she can’t remember it, but she does remember fragments of it and has a recurring nightmare that could or could not be related (foreshadowing much?). That’s not the same thing as not remembering but the show needed something to give her, her name and it went with this lazy way. Shame. Her past haunts her and is the main reason for her almost demise but is saved by Rakka in one of the most “we need her saved but have no idea how to do it organically” I have ever seen.

There are three things that work to this shows’ detriment. Those being A slow start, lack of subtlety and a metric shit ton of bullshit logic. And don’t give me that “It’s symbolic” bullshit defence. If things happen only because they have to and not because of shows and characters internal logic it’s bullshit writing.

This show has only 13 episodes. About 6, and some of the 7th, of those are focused on plot, world building and character introductions than anything else. There are moments when a story rears its head but it’s not exactly much and it’s almost all just setups. The problem with world building is that it sets up questions that never get answered. You just have to accept the fact that pretty obvious questions that would be asked by anyone with an IQ above room temperature are just too much for our protagonist, or anyone else for that matter. Everyone just follows the rules.

One of the strangest things that never get resolved are the haloes themselves. Why do they even have them? Haibane aren’t born with them. They are man, or rather haibane made and given to the person. They get wings in an organic (both literally and figuratively) way, they literally sprout out of their back. So why the halos? It’s not for identification, wings are enough for that. They don’t seem to be a tool for control. They are just there. Probably to compliment the wings aesthetic. Also why did Kuu’s (and later Reki’s) halo start to disappear? Was it connected to his “day of flight”? Probably. But why would it disappear as a response to Kuu’s mental or physical state? Why was the halo left behind after Kuus’ disappearance if it was disappearing moments earlier? It’s just so damn annoying, there is no logic to it.

Another thing that’s either rushed, or the writer just didn’t give a damn about logic, is the fact that Rakka, despite hatching just a day before, scolds Hikari about using the halo mould to make bread. Why? Because her halo was the last one made with it? She doesn’t know that for sure and even if, so what? Does that make any difference? She doesn’t have the grasp on the world and rules yet, why would she care about that? It would be different if she had an info dump about haloes, their function and importance, but she doesn’t. For all she knows, at that point in time, the halos might as well be made using normal kitchen appliances and methods. There is no reason for her to have that reaction. It’s done for a cheap joke and to imitate intimacy between them.

Calling this show subtle is like calling Little Boy a farming tool or DOOM a parenting manual. There is very little in this show that I would call subtle. I would even say that this show goes out of its way to make sure You see everything, hear everything and get a solid dose of foreshadowing even if it’s Your first time watching it.

In one of the first episodes Rakka finds Reki on the floor with a clearly scared face. Instead of letting the viewer draw his own conclusions the show serves us a pathetic moment when Reki verbalises (to an empty room mind You) that it’s all the fault of a recurring dream. Why? It’s clear that something is wrong. Why give it away just seconds after setting up a mystery? She does that by speaking to herself after Rekka leaves. It would be less insulting if she just said it to her but that would make too much sense I guess. There is no logical reason for that. It’s just for the viewer to make sure they don’t miss the foreshadowing.

The same was done when Kuu’s halo started disappearing. We had a repetition of just about 3 seconds when that happened with a zoom in for each loop. Why? Do the creators think that little about the viewers?

Unfortunately a lot of the show follows the “And then…” method of writing and not “Because of…”. It makes a lot of both plot and story points seem disconnected and held together with spit and the almighty “the plot demands it” commandment. It’s still an interesting show to watch, just not if You care about logic.

In the end the main focus are the internal elements of Rakka and Reki. The plot points serve their stories and, in this regard at least, they are passable. Yes, they can be (and often are) dumb and make little sense but they at least push the stories forward. This is something I can actually appreciate and commend. The internal struggles of both girls are interesting enough for me to even excuse tha dumb internal monologue that pretends to be deeper than it is, because I actually see how they struggle with their fates and thoughts. That alone is the reason I would say You won’t waste Your time watching this show.