Haibane Renmei Simulwatch

ilmaestro

State Alchemist
As foretold in the "Revenge of the Simulwatch!" thread, this starts right here, right now. Unless no-one joins in, or a nucleus of extra people want to join in and start in a few days.

Look forward to it.
 
Someone sell this show to me. I'm trying to only watch shows I think/know I will enjoy as I'm a bit burnt out on animu at the moment.
I think I've been forcing myself to watch shows just for the sake of it too much recently.
 
Watched the first episode, but I'd like some time to gather my thoughts, so I'll put up a post later on as well.

Which is a very roundabout way of saying "don't wanna go first".
 
I went into this blind, to the extent that I didn't even read the back of the DVDs/description on MAL.

I did like the fact that names were chosen based on the content of the dreams and I also liked that when the wings grew out of their back it was painful, not in a sadistic sense, but it felt more realistic.

Curious as to why they are restricted to the one village, especially if there's no risk that any family member or friend would recognise them.


Will most probably continue it.
 
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Episode 1

Well, this was a bit of a head-scratcher. I like how low-key it is, none of the characters entirely veering into caricature. I also liked that the wing-birth scene didn't completely pull its punches. The gentle humor was also used to good effect, mostly surrounding Rakka's halo. But er, yeah, not at all sure what to think "big picture", and not real sure what the show wants me to think at this stage. Intrigued to carry on, though.

GolGotha said:
Curious as to why they are restricted to the one village, especially if there's no risk that any family member or friend would recognise them.
I didn't actually notice this, that is pretty weird. Feels weird enough to be important later on.
 
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Episode 1

In part, I didn't want to post first, as I didn't quite know what to make of it either.

Beyond the fact that it had something to do with angels, I knew virtually nothing about the show going into it, so I was a little surprised to see it was another Yoshitoshi ABe adaptation. On the face of it, it seems easier to follow than Lain, but I feel we haven't been told much about the nature of the story as yet. Saying that, I do agree that the inability to leave the village will probably be significant, as, I'm guessing, the fact that all the characters are female may well be too.

The wing birthing scene really caught me off-guard. Until then, it all seemed fairly light-hearted, so that was surprisingly graphic. Given the context, it's certainly being presented as a natural thing, but I found it difficult not to liken it to body-horror themed work when Rakka suddenly had blood running down her back (especially after Reki's understated prediction that it "might sting a bit"). The welts that the wings came from even reminded me a bit of the things on Sho's back in the original Guyver series.

Incidentally, does anyone have a preference for what kind of viewing schedule we're going for this time?
 
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Episode 1

There's not much more to say about this episode. I can add that the dreams that gave the names to the Haibane can be an important detail.
I really like the combination of story, visuals and music/effects, they all contribute to put the viewer in a light-hearted mood.



Teo
 
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Lawrence said:
They're all dead right?
Just about to watch ep 2, but as far as this goes from the first episode... I remain to be convinced. I could also see it as being something far more fantasy based.
 
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Episode 2

Well... none the wiser, tbh. ^^;

The setting has kind of thrown me for a loop now (let's hope no Titans poke their head over the wall, though), much lower fantasy than I was thinking.

I keep waiting for "something bad" to happen, but I'm not fully sure why (although crows and weird masks are part of the reason I guess).
 
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Episode 3

Somehow made the first two feel like Rollercoaster rides. ^^; It's in the series' favor that time seemed to pass quite quickly watching this episode, so I must be at least a little taken in by the characters and setting.

Professor Irony said:
Episode 1

Saying that, I do agree that the inability to leave the village will probably be significant, as, I'm guessing, the fact that all the characters are female may well be too.
As far as the latter part goes, I do wonder if that's just a stylistic choice or not. If it isn't just that, then it's notable that there are males amongst the Young Feathers.
 
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Episode 2:

I wasn't expecting the towns people to be human. Also the fact that Haibane were restricted to second hand clothing and the method of payment, especially the feathers were fairly odd as well. Probably even more so than the Masks or the crows as they seem too.....obvious. I'm probably reading far more into this than I should.

Oh and I also thought of Titans when they mentioned the wall
 
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Glad that the dream-naming system was never applied to me. "Zombie Apocalypse" is a terrible name.

Episode 2

I'd been assuming they were all dead as well, but now I'm not sure either. My guess was that each person's dream has something to do with their death, but eh. We'll see.

The 'human' townspeople really surprised me too. I fully expected the world to be populated only by Haibane (and perhaps monsters?), so the vaguely 1920s-ish rural town was a bit of a shock.

Still no clue where they're going with the main thrust of the plot, but no doubt the Toga will figure into it.

ilmaestro said:
As far as the [predominantly female cast] goes, I do wonder if that's just a stylistic choice or not. If it isn't just that, then it's notable that there are males amongst the Young Feathers.

It actually didn't register with me during the first episode that there were males among them, but I realise now. Perhaps slightly curious that it's just the kids, but I'm probably reading too much into that.
 
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