Basic Plot Description: Beginning with the “birth” of the protagonist Rakka, this story immediately presents countless questions to be answered. She wakes from a dream and emerges from a cocoon as a “Haibane”- an angel-like creature with no memory of their past prior to their cocoon emergence. The world she is born into (an early 20th century appearing town made up primarily of humans) is surrounded by enormous walls which only a select few (the enigmatic members of the ‘Toga’) may enter or leave from. The story largely follows Rakka as she learns more about the world around her, what it means to be Haibane, and how the Toga relate to it all. The pacing is slow in the style of a slice-of-life, but it had more than enough mysteries to be understood and character drama to keep me engaged. Beyond the 'physical' mysteries of the world, there is a large dose of introspective 'philosophical' mysteries to decode such as what it means to be sin-bound ("one who recognizes their own sin, has no sin") that are equally fascinating.
Characters: The main character Rakka struggles to fit in and find her place in this new world. She is relatable as the “fish out of water” in the story and slowly gains confidence as she adjusts to her new surroundings and the restrictive rules of the world. Her main mentor is one of the elder Haibane, Reki, who acts as a maternal figure for the younger Haibane. As we slowly find out though, Reki also has her own share of struggles and uncertainty about the world. The other secondary Haibane and human townsfolk all have their own distinct personalities and interact in a genuine way which help ground this otherwise very foreign world. One complaint I have though is how the secondary characters seem to get left by the wayside in the second half of the show in favor of the personal struggles of Rakka and Reki.
Art: The character designs are unique and portray the personalities of the characters before they even say a word: from the sly grin of the tomboyish and hyperactive Kana to the “miles away” gaze of the ever sleepy Nemu. The backgrounds have a slight blur to them and the colors are subtle earth-tones. When the backgrounds are simple, such as in open fields- this works beautifully. However with more complicated backgrounds containing hills and buildings everything feels flat, blurred, and sometimes plain ugly. This anime was originally released in 2002- so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt that this style worked better on standard definition TVs. (Side note: It reminds me of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword where faraway terrain fades into the background in a similarly blurred style which is supposed to resemble a watercolor style-painting. I didn’t like the effect there either.) That said, it is certainly a distinct style which works in establishing a mysterious yet enchanting atmosphere to the show.
Music: All very soft, atmospheric, and generally piano-heavy pieces. Nothing particularly stood out to me nor did anything feel out of place. That said, the music did wonders for setting the tone of the show. The opening (OP) “Free Bird” especially does a great job capturing the “feel” of the town which is a simple place- despite all the fantastical mysteries that exist in the world. The song is well complimented by short clips of the characters in their daily lives and shots of the town. The ending (ED) “Blue Flow” feels much more introspective and the only visuals to go with it are of a lone Rakka underwater and feels like an exhalation after the show, especially for the later episodes. My main complaint is that the show didn’t end with the song called “Free Bird” (Eh, eh… Get it? Like the infamous Lynyrd Skynyrd encore song? Okay sorry, bad joke.)
Overall Thoughts:
A slice-of-life tone in a foreign world layered in mystery and philosophical musing. Come for the mystery and characters- stay for the existential confusion! Seriously though, this is a show you can really sink your teeth into if you are so inclined but can also be enjoyed as a set of “character pieces” in a compelling world. My main problems with Haibane Renmei are that sometimes the philosophy of the show overwhelmed the story (and characters) and that some of the background art quality is notably poor. That said, this is an intriguing, artistically interesting, and thought provoking series which I would recommend to anyone who doesn’t mind a slower paced show.
