Haibane Renmei

Born from a cocoon in the village of Old Home, a young Haibane—a being with a halo and small gray wings—awakens to a world she does not understand without memories of her past. Named Rakka for the dream of falling she had while inside the cocoon, she soon becomes accustomed to life in the strange town. However, there are strict rules for the Haibane, such as being forbidden to leave the village or go near the walls surrounding it. These, along with mysterious disappearances of their kind on their "Day of Flight," begin to unsettle Rakka and the others since they know almost nothing about their own kind.

Haibane Renmei tells not only Rakka's story but also of those around her, as they live their lives with no memories of the past while trying to break free from their former pain and ultimately find salvation.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:

Old Home no Haibane-tachi

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Characters & Voice Actors

Reki

Main

Noda, Junko
Japanese

Rakka

Main

Hirohashi, Ryou
Japanese

Kuu

Supporting

Yajima, Akiko
Japanese

Kana

Supporting

Miyajima, Eri
Japanese

Nemu

Supporting

Murai, Kazusa
Japanese

Hikari

Supporting

Orikasa, Fumiko
Japanese

The Communicator

Supporting

Ooki, Tamio
Japanese

Kuramori

Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya
Japanese

Hyouko

Supporting

Suzuki, Chihiro
Japanese

Midori

Supporting

Mizuno, Manabi
Japanese

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Staff

Ueda, Yasuyuki

Producer

Inoue, Shinichiro

Producer

Tokoro, Tomokazu

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Motoyama, Satoshi

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

"Free Bird" by Kou Otani

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Ending Theme

"Blue Flow" by Heart of Air

Reviews

Apr 9, 2024

-ANIME-OVERLORD

Recommended

Haibane Renmie is a really character-driven story which I love you know the characters are very important to me within the story and this show has some great ones you're introduced to so many different characters that all have their own unique personalities that make you want to learn more about them all of the characters were so likeable and make for a really good slice of life
you know and I genuinely cared about the story here I cared about one character, in particular, who was definitely a great character she was able to make one of my favorite characters of all time ...

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Dec 2, 2023

Halcyon13

Mixed Feelings

Yoshitoshi Abe's cryptic world of fallen angels makes a strong case for flexible Christianity or rather uses the references (seven deadly sins) to establish a mindset and possible counterarguments. It's impossible to overlook the religious similarities, although it wouldn't be far-fetched to argue that wings and halos are merely popular designs, more so than biblical analogies, especially given the non-religious disposition rampant in its finale. The town of Glie is home to reborn individuals, hatching out of cocoons with nothing but a faint memory of a unique dream that would soon become the inspiration for their new name. They are confined to massive walls and ... subjected to work until their time has come, in which they take flight. The specifics of that phenomenon are unimportant, even to the viewer because achieving that privilege is a cruel series of unknowns that must be deciphered in a personalized manner. I'm hesitant to praise the worldbuilding considering it's limited to speculation regarding the outside, but the theories it encourages, albeit with obvious metaphors, benefit the long-term appeal of a story too quiet for genuine emotional parallels to humans.

Haibane Renmei is rightfully contemplative, and in fact, it regularly holds itself to this standard at the height of its philosophical offerings. There is seemingly no real issue with its approach, yet this style parses stagnant information until it can successfully arrive at the desired conclusion. It is of course partially intentional, prioritizing allusions over explicitly clearing the mystery to invite the viewer into a limbo of questions. Avoiding the subject at hand without losing our immediate attention is a difficult mechanic, and Abe's script isn't up to the task more often than not. He concatenates serious social factors tormenting youth, such as inexplicable mental situations and self-harm to name the most prominent motifs. Both of which become conflicts in the latter half, while the introductory phase is spent wandering around the small town and hinting at on-the-nose symbolism. Most of this functions to a satisfactory degree if not for the largely hollow cast posing a liability, preventing the narrative from expanding on the plight of sins being inescapable scars, even in reincarnation.

Location is easily the show's most enticing "character", harboring the bulk of visual storytelling, but also not limited to the setting. A murder of intelligent crows traveling over sentient walls, the bloody birth of a curse, all metaphorically effective. The production struggles to consistently visualize the ethereal feel, frequently declining into smeared shading or a blur, although it's worth noting the DVD's original resolution doesn't have much to work with. There are instances of it developing surreal implications, sharply negating devotion to unstained righteousness as the be-all and end-all of human existence. Haibane Renmei's interpretation of the nature of repentance is salvation from the need for salvation itself, and aside from the sometimes questionable sound mixing, the score combines folk instrumental pieces with a beautiful choir. Purgatory is a demoralizing pretense for forgiveness, an imprisoning force for those who believe.

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Apr 9, 2023

legalize_ranch

Not Recommended

Finally I know why teenagers love this, it's a soulless tragic story with empty hope behind it and no character development (basically most (first world) teenagers). Have heard people call this deep and philosophical, actually embarrassing.

Filled with pointless scenes and story plots. On top of that the dialogue and animation are so out of touch with what the anime is trying to convey a lot of the times, feels very awkward.

This anime doesn't deserve the soundtrack it has and especially that ending song.

All in all this gives a very clear feeling of the maker looking at things and throwing it all on paper ...

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Poll: Haibane Renmei Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) jacobpaige - Apr 24, 2008	261 replies	by rasterman7 »» Mar 22, 8:47 PM
Poll: Haibane Renmei Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) jacobpaige - Apr 23, 2008	77 replies	by killugxn »» Mar 10, 12:50 PM
This is so beautiful. lFrogs - Nov 16, 2022	22 replies	by JizzyHitler »» Mar 6, 7:53 PM
Poll: I don't get the ENDING of this show, and it didn't answer any of the obvious questions the series kept teasing. Cestlavie_ - Nov 11, 2023	8 replies	by JizzyHitler »» Mar 6, 7:11 PM
Poll: Haibane Renmei Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) jacobpaige - Apr 22, 2008	126 replies	by Yabuki_kyoma »» Nov 10, 2023 7:19 PM

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Haibane Renmei

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Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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