Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Aphi]

First thing's first: Has anyone even heard of Haibane Renmei? It seems pretty difficult to find anyone familiar with it.

Anyway, it's this little thirteen-episode anime series, and possibly my favourite anime in the world right now. It seems to be pretty much impossible to find anything past the sixth episode in English, so after renting the first six from Blockbuster about a year ago, I got fed up and used bittorents for the rest just this week.

It's about this race of people called Haibane, and their existence inside the town of Glie, which is surrounded by walls. No one is allowed to enter or leave. The Haibane are similar to angels, in that they have halos and wings. They're born(or rather, hatched) inside these enormouse coccoons, and named based on the dreams they have inside them. The main character is named 'Rakka', or 'Falling', as her dream was of falling. They aren't born with halos, but rather, they are metal discs that are placed on their heads. And, the whole story is based on this girl, Rakka, trying to figure out why she's there, and what exactly the Haibane are.


It's a very good series, but very sad, as well. I kind of cried all the way through the last two episodes.

If you like something outside the normal style of anime, seriously, take a look at this series, it is something else..

Has anyone seen it?

[LeeZion]

The show is indeed one of the all-time greats. When I explain it to other anime fans, I tell them it's not only great — it's Miyazaki-great. It's also one of a very short list of anime that I will show to non-anime fans (the type who think "kiddie cartoons") so they can "get" why I'm so interested in anime.

It's a beautiful story, although a bit too slow-moving for some tastes. Several people have complained to me that nothing ever HAPPENS. Geez, they don't take the trouble. It's haunting, and sticks with you. Although it does take a long time to get where it's going, I love where it goes. In my opinion, it's one of the few shows where you will actually become a better human being by watching it.

Personally, I'd like to see a sequel that answers some of the questions in the series, from the point of view of a now-matured Rakka who's become the mentor and mother of all those little ones now tht Reki is gone.

On another note, I design acrostics — complex word puzzles that, once solved, reveal a quote from literature, or a verse from a pop song, or a passage from the Bible, or a line from a presidential speech. A line from Haibane Renmei inspired me to create an acrostic based around it. This was the quote — one of the most beautiful moments in the series:

I can't remember who you are except that you're somebody precious to me. I was always lonely and I thought nobody would grieve, even if I was gone. So I wanted to disappear. But you were by my side. You became a bird to go over the walls and let me know that I was not alone.

One final thing: What do you mean, you have difficulty finding the series? I don't know about elsewhere, but in the United States, all 13 episodes are easily available on DVD. And Haibane Remei, like most anime out there, is sold in a "dual format" enabling viewers to watch the series either in English or in the original Japanese with subtitles, at the touch of a button. At least on this side of Atlantic, getting your favorite anime is no more difficult than going to the nearest Suncoast or logging on to Amazon.com.

[Sideways]

Aphi and I scoured a bunch (actually, like, 3) movie stores in Calgary, and found no episodes... so I just told her to download them on my computer instead.

Awesome series so far.  I'm not done watching it yet, myself.

[TheLoweringTide]

Probably my favorite anime series ever.  The music is excellent too.

[Anson]

I thought Serial Experiments Lain was better. But almost everything I've seen by Yoshitoshi Abe has been great.

[Hythlodaeus]

Understated, gentle genius. Beautifully realised, stunningly scripted and delightfully told. A true gem.

Whereas Lain just played merry havoc with your brain cells.