Series Synopsis
The town of Gile is
surrounded by a massive wall that no one is permitted to cross. It is said that
the walls exist to protect the mysterious Haibane; beings with wings on their backs and a halo over their head. Who the Haibane are and
where they come from is unknown, but the people of Gile faithfully look after
them with a smile.
Each Haibane is born from a
large cocoon with no memories of who they previously were, not even their
name. The only thing they can recall is the dream they had when they were
asleep inside. Although not rare, the arrival of a cocoon isn’t an everyday occurrence
and it has been a couple years since the last.
Suddenly, one is discovered
and from it emerges a young girl (voiced by Ryo Hirohashi). The news spreads
fast and the Old Home, the main residence of the Haibane, is quickly
filled with excitement. The older occupants do what they can to make sure their
new arrival is comfortable, but one there's one, Reki (voiced by Junko Noda),
who takes it upon herself to mentor the girl, who is given the name Rakka.
Though a little disoriented
by her ordeal, Rakka quickly bonds with Reki and the other residents of Old
Home. However, the loss of her memories is a heavy weight to bare. Along with
that, she cannot
help but ponder the origins of the Haibane as well as the outside world.
help but ponder the origins of the Haibane as well as the outside world.
Rakka struggles to make sense
of the fate that has been given to her and wonders if living behind the Walls of Gile is a peaceful paradise or rather a constricting prison
Series Positives
There’s only one thing that comes
to mind when I think Haibane Renmei,
pleasant. While the show is that, there’s more going on that wouldn’t be described as such. The series never gets into truly dark territory, but it does
get sad and low at points. There are ebbs and flows between happy and…I
guess despondent would be the word. Yet even with all that, “pleasant” is still
what I’m going to go with.
Regardless, I really liked
this show.
Before jumping in, it wasn’t until after that I learned that Haibane Renmei’s creator, Yoshitoshi Abe, was also the character
designer for Serial Experiments Lain.
In retrospect, this should have been clear as day, but what are you going to
do?
Does this realization add to
my overall impression of this series; kind of actually. Don’t get me wrong, I
don’t consider this as anything more than a fun bit of trivia because Haibane Renmei does a damn good job on
its own merits.
The Story
The Story
 |
| Rakka |
The way this show and this
story is so masterfully deceptive is wonderful. Maybe it was a combination of
expectations and conditioning, but this series, weather intentional or not,
exploited my preconceived notions of where I thought it was going to go.
Haibane Renmei
sets itself up as a familiar path, but at the same time it
does nothing of the sort. Let me explain.
Be honest when you hear this scenario. There's a group whose origins are not known and live separately from the human residents of a
town. A town by the way, that is surrounded by a giant wall with extremely
strict rules attached. No one is allowed to go past the walls, no one is
allowed to go near the walls, and no one is allowed to even touch the walls. These
rules are meant for everyone, but that one group is most effected
by them. Along with that, there are other rules that dictate how this group lives and how the townsfolk interact with them.
 |
| Reki |
I think by now you have a pretty good idea of where I’m going with this but I’ll continue.
There’s also a mysterious religious sect that doesn’t speak, wears masks, and are the only ones who are allowed to
go past the walls. Tell me you haven’t seen all this before. I can’t tell you how many
times I have, which is why when Haibane Renmei didn’t bite, I couldn’t help but appreciate it.
The townspeople are excepting
of the Haibane and don’t treat them all that differently. There are a lot of rules for
the Haibane to follow, but for specific reasons. The strange religious
group is not the mastermind of some deep conspiracy and is actually a great
source of wisdom and insight.
The themes dealt within Haibane Renmei are more internal. This
show is about self-forgiveness and self-worth. There are sad things that happen, but none of them are bad things. For example, there' s an event
that occurs twice; granted the situations surrounding both of them are
different, but the result is the same.
I won’t say what this event is because it would be a massive spoiler, however the feelings generated from both
couldn’t be more different. One is low and depressing, as well as the catalyst
for series of troubling events. The other, while still sad, is also happy and
comforting.
Going along with that, the
entire show is leading to a great climax that surprisingly had me at the edge of my
seat. It’s been awhile since a story has had me so hooked and
invested. To have it then pay off in such a satisfying way was incredible. The
last time I simultaneous wanted to cry and smile like I did was with Anohana (now there’s a show that I
should probably go back and review).
Haibane Renmei crafts
a web that entangles you within its story. It’s hard to put down, making the
viewing quick and meaningful. The more standard route that I though was going to
happen wouldn’t necessarily have been the safer or less interesting one, but
simply going in another direction, and doing it well, made this show all the
more memorable and enjoyable.
Series Negatives
What I’m about to say isn’t a
negative to the show. In fact I don’t have that many things I though
were wrong or not done well. Instead this is going to be a heads up.
Although I believe there's more going on and should be classified as such, Haibane Renmei is a slice of life anime to an extent. In the first
few episodes, not whole lot happens. The story takes the time to build ups its
characters and establish the intrigue for the end game, thus the opening
episodes are nothing more than a glimpse into Rakka’s daily life.
It’s not a rule, but slice of
life anime tend to be comedies, or at least be on the lighter side. This isn’t
a comedy and in reality there isn’t that much in terms of things going on. To
some this might be seen as boring. I disagree, but to some this might be the
case.
Haibane Renmei
isn't out to make you laugh or feel depressed. It has a story that it wants to tell and
that’s all there is to it. If you go into this series expecting something it’s
not, you’re undoubtedly going to be disappointed.
This seems like a no brainer,
but mind set is a factor when it comes to enjoying something or not.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this one a lot.
Amongst its calming tone and
atmosphere, Haibane Renmei is able to
produce a well-crafted story that is both sad and uplifting. It manages to play
with expectations to create something that feels different and its own. This is
proof that a story doesn’t have to have a lot going on in order to grab you.
No comments:
Post a Comment