WTFDM Promotes 'Haibane Renmei'

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Time-Traveller
With the DVD box set being released in the UK by MVM in February I felt the need to promote this wonderful series.

As a fan of Serial Experiements and wondering what to watch next I was told that I should check out Yoshitoshi ABe's most recent series(at the time), Haibane Renmei. When I was first told about this series I laughed at the premise somebody gave me which was along the lines of... 'An angel girl gets born in a house in a town surrounded by walls'. It sounded ridiculous so I left it on the sidelines for other series until one day I was looking at trailers on another DVD and watched this visually beautiful opening sequence with equally amazing sounding music. What was this?? Haibane Renmei. It prompted me to look into the series more and being the person I am it was impulse buy time and it turned out of be one of the best series live action or otherwise that have graced my flatbed screen.

What did I expect? Well I wasn't sure really but whatever it was it wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be. Despite it's fantasy like setting at the heart of it all this is not the main focus of the story. This series is a deeply human, deeply personal drama. Action fans may 'poo poo' the lack of action but If you want to see excellently crafted storytelling and characters then this is the series to see.

The series is quiet and peaceful with a melancholy atmosphere and lives off of it's character interaction and development. By the end of the series the things you thought you'd want an explanation for are forgotten, they really don't matter. With this work Yoshitoshi ABe has proved himself to be more than a talented artist but a fine writer as well capturing human emotions and taking them to the peak but without taking them too far.

I found this to be one of the most finely presented TV shows I have ever seen. From the artwork to the music to the characters that you build a connection with it's short run, this series should leave it's mark. Without spoiling the ending let me just say that this is one of the most moving, beautiful and perfect endings to any anime(or TV series/movies in general for that matter) out there. The series shouldn't be missed by anyone.

I don't want to give away too much in this short review and I'd say it would be best sitting down to watch this series with as little knowledge about it as possible beforehand. I don't usually watch series in one lot, usually about 3 episodes in a row tops, but this is one series where I watched the entire thing from start to finish in one sitting and I was mesmerized.

Ok so I'm no column writer for The Guardian but I'll end with this. This should be one purchase you will not regret.
 
I must admit that, despite being a fan of gritty and dark science fiction and psychological thrillers, I was utterly spellbound with the whimsical and fantastical vibe of Haibane and it's wound up as one of my all-time favourites. Very unusual, a little 'slow' for some but a real gem for those who have the patience to appreciate it. Compared with the likes of Texhnolyze and Lain it's *relatively* accessible and easy to relate to the characters.

ABe's artwork invariably helps (I'm not an art critic but that man is a genius!) but it's a very human and touching tale that looks and sounds stunning. The OST is well worth tracking down too if you are taken to the subtle classical style, as is Haruki Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - a very odd but interesting sci fi/fantasy novel that partly inspired the walled town setting of the Haibane story.

Two thumbs up from me too. :)
 
Just one more thing. Don't expect everything to be handed to you. Everything is presented very subtley and you have to really watch the character interaction to fully appreciate. The way things are said and the body language are very important to watch and because of this subtlety in the original something is just lost in the dub. I would suggest that upon first viewing you must watch this in it's original language and if you must go back afterwards and watch the dub otherwise you just won't have the same experience.
 
I really feel like I watched another series when I hear people talk about HR. It really didn't appeal to me at all. I didn't hate it but I just didn't find anything about it interesting or meaningful even though I'm sure I understood the plot.
 
I really feel like I watched another series when I hear people talk about HR. It really didn't appeal to me at all. I didn't hate it but I just didn't find anything about it interesting or meaningful even though I'm sure I understood the plot.
 
If you didn't find anything meaningfull in it at all i'm sure you didn't see what you should have been seeing. The story isn't a fantasy tale about angelic like girls living in a town surrounded by walls, it's a story about people. Reki and Rakka are among the most humanly presented characters in any anime i've seen and their thoughts, feelings and actions are easy to relate to with a lot of people. Almost everybody has come to a point in their life where they feel the way they do.
 
WTFDaveMustaine said:
If you didn't find anything meaningfull in it at all i'm sure you didn't see what you should have been seeing. The story isn't a fantasy tale about angelic like girls living in a town surrounded by walls, it's a story about people. Reki and Rakka are among the most humanly presented characters in any anime i've seen and their thoughts, feelings and actions are easy to relate to with a lot of people. Almost everybody has come to a point in their life where they feel the way they do.
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I expected from the reviews I read for it to have a powerful message to it but I just didn't see it even though I could feel that it wasn't just about angels and purgatory.

I have a problem with that kind of analogous story telling. If there's a point to be made then make it. Let the fantastical elements add excitement to a story and make it more interesting but the dilemmas the characters face should be as they would in real life.

I found the setting in general to be uninteresting and somewhat poorely developed. I'm not sure why they didn't just try to make the same point (whatever that was) in a more realistic setting. I don't see what the angel thing added.
 
Personally I don't think it would have had as much of an effect if it were in a real world setting but to each their own. I have not a single complaint about any element of the series and I may be in the minority but I found it to be one of the most moving few hours of television out there assisted by the atmosphere, setting and use of body language rather than words.

The feeling I got after I finished watching the series for the first time was something really special and unique. No other TV series or movie has left me feeling in the same way and that's why I have great appreciation to all the work and effort put into it. It seemed to come from the heart, cheesy I know but so so what.

Note: It's not usual that I would get so passionate about a TV series but this really is a rare gem. Well to me anyway.
 
Ark said:
Doesn't look like it but maybe you could tell me what the show represented to you?
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The almost universal feelings that people experience at times of their life. Not knowing where you're heading to, uncertain about what lies ahead and the relief when you've finally found away forward. Those of some of the main things the series made me think about as well as a lot more. It's a story about being a person and how to move forward as a person and that's something I could really relate to. Complex feelings and emotions presented by the characters and symbolism(an exemple being the wall as a symbol for being uncertain of what lies ahead) in a non pretentious or over the top way.

I could go on but I think i'm getting to deep for a forum discussion. :eek:

On a side note Haibane Renmei is what i'm writing my second Art essay about. Specifically the image 'Snow White' in 'The Town of Guri' book.
 
I absolutely adored the series when I first watched it. I had just started university at the time, so the themes WTFDaveMustaine mentioned really hit hard for me.

I can't wait until it's released (I've had it on pre-order for ages) so I can give it a second viewing, and of decent quality than an old fansub.
 
Just out of curiosity I added a poll to the thread asking if you found this topic helpful in any way. Be it in tipping the scales in deciding if to check out the series or whatever.

If you love ABe's artwork in the series I suggest you also check out the artbook available called 'In the Town of Guri'. It's Japanese and was available on Otaku.co.uk and is up a lot on Ebay as well.

The Soundtrack CD (Hanenone) is also extremely good and can be picked op cheaply for about £6 on the amazon marketplace since it was released in the US. There is also an image album available called 'Seinaru Syoukei' which features HEART OF AIR who performed the ED. This is a little more expensive but is available on Otaku.co.uk and is highly recommended.

I hope you all enjoy the series as much as I did and continue to. :D
 
I’ve been renting this series over the last few months (fairly spread out as there is only 4 discs), just finished the last disc this morning, but I’ll get to that shortly.
Had high hopes for this and was encouraged after being impressed by the first volume – I appreciated it’s different visual style, the slower pace and the gentle way in which the story unfolds.
With the subsequent volumes, and even up until the last episode or two, I began to feel that maybe it was a little too slow, I ended up just feeling like I wasn’t making any connection with the characters. Never stopped it being an interesting tale but just felt like it lacked substance.

I suspect this is very subjective/personal thing – I think its dependant on ‘where-you’re-at’ and what mood your in as to how much this will grab you.
Akaihane said:
I absolutely adored the series when I first watched it. I had just started university at the time, so the themes WTFDaveMustaine mentioned really hit hard for me.
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Interesting you should make that point Akaihane– perhaps illustrates what I’m trying to say – now having finished watching it I can see the possible parallels with the whole going-to-university-experience that would strike a chord and make the story more poignant.

And so, you get to last episode and I think its only at this point does it finally deliver its promise and you get a true insight into the two main characters of Rakka and Reki – up until this point I couldn’t help but feel they were a little two dimensional. It is indeed a very good ending that redeems itself from the doubts I had and forms a satisfying conclusion to the tale as a whole.

It for this reason, aswell as the slower pace, that I think it probably best enjoyed watched in as large a chunk as possible, much like Mr Mustaine, rather like myself spread over a couple of months – perhaps treat it like watching a film rather than an more expansive serial and I think you will be better immersed in the subtle atmosphere. The closer (in terms of viewing) the good start and excellent ending are together the less the shallow-drifting-in-the-middle will be an issue, and the better the overall impact will be. I imagine.
 
Jimi-Jam, yeah, I can definately see what you mean about watching it over the course of a couple of months. I think I watched the show in two installments, so it felt more cohesive in that format, and I think the impact of the show works much better when watched in that way. It does slow down in the middle, but with the beginning fresh in one's mind and the terrific ending so soon after that, you really don't notice it.

And now that I'm watching it for the second time, there are so many little (and even large) elements that I had forgotten from before, which I know if I watched the series for the first time with gaps, I wouldn't have remembered them by the time I got to the next DVD.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it regardless of that, though, and if you do have the chance, a rapid rewatching will reward you I'm sure.
 
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