Review of Haibane Renmei

I

Ian Wolf

Guest
Haibane-Renmei-cover.jpg


“When you were here before
Couldn’t look you in the eye
You’re just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry

You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You’re so very special”

– “Creep” by Radiohead

Fantasy series Haibane Renmei (Charcoal Feather Federation) is one of the few anime series to be adapted from a dojinshi (fan work) manga. In fact, the anime superseded the original strip which was never completed.

The anime follows a group of beings called “Haibane”, angel-like people with small feathered wings who have halos made for them. We meet the main character while she is having a dream about falling from the sky. She then wakes up inside a giant cocoon, which she breaks and frees herself from. As it is custom for Haibane to be named after the events that occur in the dream before they hatch, this Haibane is named Rakka, meaning “Fallen”.

Rakka is welcomed by more Haibane, who live in the abandoned “Old Home” school inside the walled city of Glie. These other Haibane are Reki, an artist who also acts as a teacher to child Haibane; Hikari, who works as a baker; the mechanically-minded Kana; librarian Nemu who is the oldest of the group; and Kuu, an outgoing Haibane who is the youngest of the central gang.

Haibane-Renmei-3.jpg

Rakka then learns more about the area around her and about her species: the Haibane have no idea as to who or what created them; they are forbidden to leave Glie, or even to touch the city walls; all of their clothes are second-hand; they have no money so transactions are made using special notebooks that are given to them by someone called “The Communicator”, a masked individual who is the only one who can talk to the Toga, the only group who enter and leave Glie, and even then they only communicate via sign language. Although the Haibane are a different species, the humans of Glie treat them well.

At first, Rakka gets to know more about her friends, working alongside them in different jobs and learning more about the environment around her, but things change when one of their group disappears. Rakka learns that Haibane can leave the world by taking the “Day of Flight”, when they have overcome the various trials their time in Glie has put them through and can leave the city skywards, never to return.

This is normally the fate of all the Haibane, but Rakka comes to learn that one of her main group cannot do this. There are some Haibane who have no memory of their dream inside the cocoon, and thus are born with black feathers on their wings, a sign that they are “Sin-bound”. This particular Haibane needs to remember their dream; otherwise it is impossible for them to have the Day of Flight. Rakka also discovers that some of her feathers are turning black. Could it be that she too is somehow Sin-bound?

Haibane-Renmei-1.jpg

The main appeal of Haibane Renmei is that it clearly stands out against most of the anime releases we tend to get in the UK. This is a rather slow-moving and for the most-part genteel drama. The music alone is enough to suggest that, with the opening theme being a quiet instrumental piece. That is not to say that it is dull. There is still a fair bit of excitement in some scenes. There is the moment when Rakka’s wings hatch, which is a pretty grisly sight. There is also a big sequence in which Rakka falls down a well and injures herself. She is later saved by the Communicator, but also later gets into more trouble. You might find yourself wandering off at the odd occasion that might be a bit too slow, but overall the pacing is fine.

You will also find plenty of stuff to keep you entertaining on the DVDs as there are plenty of extras. These include textless opening and closing, trailers, commercials, various art galleries, a special version of the ending and an interview with the creators of the show.

In terms of a downside, it would be that because the original story was left unfinished we have no idea of what the true end is. However, the original creator, Yoshitoshi Abe, deliberately has elements of the story that were meant to be left for the viewer to interpret themselves. What was the exact meaning of Rakka’s falling dream, for example?

If you are getting a bit worn out by the usual anime releases you see, Haibane Renmei might make for a nice change of tone for you.

Haibane-Renmei-2.jpg

Quick Information


Title: Haibane Renmei
Publisher: MVM Films
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Studio: Radix
Type: TV Series
Original vintage: 2002
Format: DVD
Language options: Japanese audio with English subtitles and English dub audio
Age rating: 12
Running time in minutes: 325
Score (out of 10): 7

Continue reading...
 
I tend to think that Haibane Renmei is a show best watched blind. I'd hesitate to even mention quite a few things in the review above, even if they are only vague, because the gradual development of events and uncovering of mysteries is handled very well and can really add to the experience. I do think there's plenty in the show even without that though, it's also the kind of show that you could keep coming back to and see something different every time.

That said, the deceptively gentle pacing and almost everyday nature of the early episodes could probably put some people off and cause them to miss out on the complete experience and that's especially likely if they don't know that changes are coming. I do think there are plenty of clues in the show that more is going on but those might not seem as important to everyone and some people may feel they're just being strung along.

Still, I don't think the show would be as strong without those early episodes to set the foundation for what is to come. I'm also quite fond of the way the show blends those major events into it's more everyday structure. It feels more like the characters are fully formed people and not just there to play out a story.

It's a shame that the way Haibane Renmei was made means that it's not likely to benefit from an HD release, especially since there is some pretty great art for characters and scenery that could probably look even better if it had been made with modern (or even, perhaps, older) technology. The art and animation might not hold up as well for people used to newer anime and it's unfortunate that such a great show is likely to only suffer with age in a visual sense (especially since the stories are likely to be fairly timeless).

When a show can be described as "open to interpretation", it often implies that it's lacking something and has left blanks because the creators maybe couldn't come up with anything good enough. I don't think that applies to Haibane Renmei, there's plenty to work with and pretty much every moment of the show has some value. It may not give conclusive answers to many questions but there's still a solid story that follows the characters through their experiences and has a fairly satisfying conclusion. Even if you don't go too deep into the philosophical aspects, there's still plenty to enjoy in the show.

The show doesn't cover absolutely everything and some characters are only given limited screen time (even if the show does use that time well) so I certainly wouldn't complain about a potential continuation/spin off. Still, I felt that the show handles it's story and characters well and does make the most of them in the time it has.

I do think the show is a pretty unique experience and well worth a try. It won't work for everyone but it has the potential to be something special for those who do enjoy it.
 
Haibane Renmei was one of the anime that utterly captivated me from the moment I first saw/heard the OP when it was first released. Even though I can see that it won't appeal to everyone, I found (and still find) it moving and meaningful on several levels.
 
Haibane Renmei is a paean for redemption and forgiveness, both interpersonally and intrapersonally. Being the silly billy I am, I didn't realise that the basic premise of the show is that it occurs within the afterlife, but with so much symbolism and heart inherent in the story, I nonetheless benefited greatly from seeing it.

For once in a blue moon, it is finally affordable!
 
I still remember the wing-bursting scene in the first ep being genuinely shocking. And even if the show is kinda showing its age now in terms of digi-paint etc, that scene in particular is ridiculously fluidly animated - has a real sense of momentum and energy to it.
 
Back
Top