The story starts in a place called Old Home, which is the nest of the haibane. The haibane are creatures that look like humans but have a halo on their head and wings on their back, they are also treated differently than the humans. The anime is set in a town that is surrounded by walls but no one knows why or what lies beyond those walls. At the beginning of the series, Reki finds a cocoon, inside that cocoon lies our soon to be born protagonist, Rakka. From that point on, Rakka interacts with various other people and learns how the world works. The series is presented in a simple manner but it's way deeper than it shows, it's slow at first showing us the world and characters but it starts getting more darker and mysterious as it goes on, touching masterfully on subjects like death, sin and redemption. A bunch of questions are not answered by the end leaving a lot of things up to interpretation, you may see this as a positive or as a negative but it allows each different viewer to get a different experience and it makes so that the anime has rewatch value.
The characters are varied and realistic, the two main characters Rakka and Reki have a spectacular dynamic being that Rakka is a very good person but is also weak of heart, letting sad moments make her completely depressed and Reki being more reserved but always there to help her and the other haibane. Apart from the haibane there is also the Toga who are the only people that can go in and out of the town, the Haibane Federation who are an organization that is responsible for the well being of the haibane and are also the only ones who can talk to the Toga, and finally there are the humans. This show's main focus is the characters, showing us how they go through life and solve their inner problems. Due to the realism of this anime, the characters have flaws that they strive to overcome during the story. The majority of the characters are well developed, have an influence in the story and in how Rakka thinks of this new world she lives in.
The art is simple yet beautiful creating a great atmosphere that helps you immerse yourself in this world. The soundtrack really helps that too with some really great music that is always fitting of the scene that it is being played at. The animation is average even for the time the anime was produced but it doesn't really take away from it because movement isn't the focus at all.
Overall, Haibane Renmei is a simple yet very touching story that handles mature themes with ease. It's something really unique that no one has been able to replicate to the same degree, even though they tried. It's possibly a masterpiece and it's something that everyone should watch.
