Haibane Renmei

A girl hatches from a large cacoon to find a few other girls standing around her with halos above their heads and wings on their backs, known as haibane. She doesn't know who she is or even her own name, the only thing she can remember is a part of the dream she had while she was inside the cacoon. The haibane name her Rakka, which means "to fall," because in her dream she remembered that she was falling. She is now a haibane herself and is given a halo of her own and shortly thereafter wings grow out of her back.

Rakka visits the other haibane's places of work to get an idea of what she wants to do because she will need to get a job soon as well. The first few episodes are paced a little slow as they familiarize you with the haibane while it explains the world that she is now living in. They set the foundation for the rest of the series that is filled with revelations and surprises.

Haibane Renmei is more about the characters than anything else. Rakka and Reki make excellent leads, as do the rest of the haibane that inhabit Old Home. It's life-like characters give the show a sense of realism and I found myself emotionally connected to them. The characters face several hardships along the way, not only as haibane, but with their relationships as well.

I had no problems with the animation, it has decent production values for nice animation from start to finish. It also has gorgeous backgrounds with a lot of detail and texture to them that bring the town to life. The background music is also worth noting, as it has some excellent classical pieces.

The show offers a lot of detail into the world of the Haibane, but most of it is mere speculation. None of the Haibane know why they are there or why they can't remember anything about who they were. Haibane Renmei asks a lot of questions but doesn't it doesn't answer many of them such as why normal humans live among them or why they are confined inside the towns large walls. Again, it's about the characters; their exploration, interactions, and experiences as haibane that make this series worthwhile.

Hibane Renmei is a show that really sticks out in my collection. It's a high quality series with captivating characters and excellent, heartfelt storytelling that creates an interesting and fascinating experience. Highly recommended.

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Written by Marc Frost on Mar 14, 2014