Haibane Renmei - The Complete Series (Anime Classics)

Singing the praises of Haibane Renmei may seem like beating a dead horse at this point, but it is still worth reviewing again. This story follow that of an adolescent girl, Rakka, who was 'born' into the 'world' from a cocoon with no memories of who she is or of her previous life; the world is what appears to be some strange type of afterlife. Rakka grows wings, is given a halo, and is allowed to make a living amongst normal people and the other winged youths, the Haibane. She is mentored by Reki, an older Haibane who despite being very motherly and caring to everyone, seems to carry a great weight on her that is slowly driving her to despair. The story follows these two and their relationship over the course of 13 episodes. I won't spoil any more; this series is very excellently done and will draw you in. This is a series you find yourself watching, and looking up at the clock and wondering where the last half-hour went. It deals with themes of hope, forgiveness, sin and redemption, and acting 'good' versus actually being 'good'... It is in a way a very minimalistic story, and we are forced to just accept many things (especially of the world) at face value. However it never feels cheap or lazy, and actually helps set the tone of the strange world the Haibane inhabit. Another of the draws of this story is the characterization. All the characters are believable, unique, and endearing without being over done. You find yourself drawn to them, and sharing their hopes and fears. It is a testament to Abe's skills that these characters are more developed over 5 minutes of show time, than is often done in entire seasons of other more modern series. While the animation seems dated, it was very good for its time and one can easily appreciate the attention to detail and skill the creators had. It seamlessly blends typical drawings, cg (which is even more amazing considering when it was made), and even paintings to create a rich world that is antithetical to the themes of internal heartbreak and despair some characters endure. The music is also immensely engaging and is integral to the work. It is never overpowering, and is able to paint the moods and scenes perfectly. In truth, the music is necessary to tell the story. It is a Japanese work, so many important details and themes that American audiences are used to having thrown at them are often hard to find at first, and the music offers important insights. The voice acting is believable, and not over the top, as in many series. Sort of spoiler: This is mostly a fun fact, but Abe mentioned in an interview that this is a personal story that he made to sort of give voice to the idea of sin, redemption, and salvation that he himself experienced. It gets even more interesting to note that the main 'sin' of the story, despair, is also considered one of the 'unforgivable sins' of Catholic Philosophy. The solution presented in this work parallels about the only way to really drag oneself out of that pit. Whether or not Abe knew this when he was conceiving this story, is unknown.

Haibane are youths with halos and charcoal grey wings. They live in a town surrounded by walls that they are forbidden from crossing over. Reki, an older Haibane, discovers a new coccoon. A girl named Rakka comes from the coccoon and possesses no memories. Questions about her new life cloud her mind as she tries to fit in and help Reki escape the circle of sin and move beyond the walls. This is a very beautifully done 13 episode anime drama. At first I was a little surprised by the unique animatoin. After getting used to it I came to love the beautiful artwork. The music is equally stunning in this series. It fits the mood of the story perfectly. All of the voice actors also do a great job. The plot of this anime is very unique. I've never seen a story quite like this before. It has lots of emotion and drama. There is no action, but it doesn't matter. It has a very relaxing yet deep plot. This anime is a keeper. A great buy for a muture anime fan.

I have the original Geneon release, and this is pretty much the same. The main differences are that the new Funimation release is on two discs instead of four, and the new release has an un-skippable trailer on both disks. (The Geneon release didn't have any trailers before the main menu. I think there were some as extras, but you have to go out of your way to watch them.) The video quality looks the same; the subtitle text is, as far as I can tell, exactly the same. If you already own the original set, there isn't really any compelling reason to buy the new one. The Funimation release does have the interview with Ueda and ABe on the last disk, like the Geneon release. As for the show itself, I really can't recommend it highly enough. It's a story that's affected the way I think about life in general in a positive way. I would recommend it to most people. Some may find the pacing too slow; the story doesn't really get much momentum until about the 6th episode. It's very heavy on character development, light on action. It's also heavy on religious/spiritual themes, but aside from the obvious symbolism of halos and wings, there isn't any direct reference to any particular religion. It does make some fairly strong statements about sin and redemption (in fact, the story is structured around a theological paradox), it just manages to do it without taking sides. The music, by the way, is amazing. Almost all of it was composed by Kou Otani (who also did the score for Shadow of the Colossus). There is a soundtrack available in the U.S. I couldn't say whether the English voice acting is any good; I always watch it in the native Japanese. I'm very glad that this show is available again after being out-of-print for so long. It deserves to be more widely known. I hope that Funimation can be convinced to do a blue-ray release.

I'm not so much an anime fan as a cyberpunk fan, and most the animes I've seen and enjoyed skew towards them. This is way outside my norm. Haibane Renmei hooked me. It kept me hooked but not like the constant adrenaline/dopamine rush of Eva or Ghost in the Shell. It's not filled with dumb, over-the-top anime cliches either. No cheap fan service. Just a beautiful story with great characters set in a beautiful world. I'm a grown man who got seriously invested a show about girls living near a quiet village. On paper, it's so lame, but it's not in reality. It's very slow and worth the investment. The pacing is near perfection for a series like this and the 13 episodes do it a favor by keeping useless filler out even though I would have really enjoyed digging deeper into the world the artists created. I tried to give as little away as possible because I felt my ignorance about he series helped me have a better experience as I watched it the first time

Not the fastest moving story line ever, for sure. Still not sure where it's supposed to be going but I'm enjoying it.

I saw this anime long ago, fansubbed when it first came out. My university Comics and Animation Society showed it on a Saturday airing. It was beautiful and haunting, and ever since I've thought back on it fondly. I missed its first release and was bummed to never find copies anywhere. So when I noticed that Funimation had acquired it for release, I jumped at it. The dubbing is very good, I made sure to check it out since I had only watched it in Japanese with subtitles before. I highly recommend it, and to be sure to always comment to publishers when you like their dubbing so good quality dubs are out there. But in either language, the show is very quiet and calm, don't expect anything flashy. It is partly slice-of-life, with a good message about the connections we make in life with others and how you shouldn't be afraid to reach out for help. The art is simple yet beautiful, just as the story is, and the short time we have with the characters endear them to you. You'll likely walk away with the same questions and theories that most people I've seen (online and in person) bring up about where the city behind the Wall is and the purpose behind the Haibane, but that is intentional for you to find your own meaning. For a sentimental, thoughtful show, check this series out. I hope you'll be as pleased with it as I have been.

I watched this series a long time ago and it has always stuck with me so I decided to buy it! Haibane Renmei is a gorgeous story. Simple, with intriguing characters. There isn't much (it's a short series) but what it has makes you want more. The world created by Ryo Hirohashi is quiet, gentle, and filled with a lot of interesting concepts that kept my mind entertained for hours. Please don't go into this expecting action packed drama--it's definitely more on the whimsical side. But when it starts to pick up it really ramps up from 0 to 100mph. Overall, I'd just like to highlight the most important messages of the story. Learning what you need to learn and having friends and supporters are all very key. But perhaps the most powerful two are: 1. Do not be afraid to ask for help when you need it 2. Improvement is not age specific I really loved this series and am planning on buying Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World soon!

Must see anime from ABe and his wonderful mind. No fighting robots or panty shots here; just a soul fulfilling delight as the Haibane children serve out their "Purgatory" time - if you want to think of it that way. And Amazon only charged me $17.49, too bad they raised the price after Christmas. Even so, you get 2 discs with all 13 episodes. Plus the "coming next week" clips - even tho they are separated from the eps. Clean songs and a short interview. Now there's no excuse to not own this wonderful, unique story!

I've been waiting to purchase this forever and was surprised when my order came in a day earlier than expected.Haibane Renmei is a beautiful story that delves into some of the philosophical questions that confound us to this very day.Where did we come from?Whats our purpose?Where will we go?The core of the story centres around forgiveness and redemption,following the story between the two main characters Reki and Rakka.What you get from this series will be totally up to you as its open for interpretation and leaves a few gaps for the viewer to fill.The artwork and music work harmoniously together to paint the peaceful and calm scenery in the quaint little town of Glie.Its a short series(13 episodes) but absolutely worth it,and probably the best anime I've ever watched along with Full Metal Alchemist.The director/writer definitely deserve more esteem and recognition for coming up with such a deep plot,along with the characters that are so multi-dimensional!

The story opens with a tunnel of light and then a girl falling from the sky in a sort of dream-like scene. It then cuts to some dusty rooms where a large cocoon is suddenly discovered, resulting in some frantic cleaning and excitement from the small close-knit community living there. This is because an haibane is about to be born, children of various ages who emerge from cocoons that arrive in the form of a shooting star, implant like a dandelion and grow rapidly until the day of 'hatching'. With no memory of who they are (or were), they are named according to what they dreamt about. After the painful emerging of her angelic wings, Rakka ('Falling') is cleaned up, presented with a halo and inducted into the Haibane. This walled town of regular/non Haibane people in which they live is never fully explained except they know they are not supposed to be there forever. They are watched over by the cloaked Haibane Renmei, are expected to work but are not allowed to earn money or own anything first hand. At some point their halo will begin to flicker, they (should) feel the urge to leave without saying goodbye and go into the middle of the forest to embark on their 'day of flight'over the walls. This inevitably leaves close friends left behind confused, upset and at a loss of how to cope with their sudden absence. The story is naturally open to interpretation but seems to revolve around the various characters finding peace before moving on, possibly in this sort of half way house in preparation for their next life. The story can get a little fraught at times but is beautifully told and full of hope. Not wanting to spoil things but feel it is important to say it does end happily (anime doesn't always), and should most definitely be persevered with! Just to add, fantastic opening, it was worth buying the whole soundtrack just to get hold of 'Free Bird'.

war sehr skeptisch weil hier keine Rezension vorhanden war. die serie ist super. Ich kannte es schon zuvor und wusste worauf ich mich einlasse dvd funktioniert, dass war für mich das wichtigste. zur inhalt der serie am besten googeln

The DVDs all played no problem and they arrived quick. The series was cool and interesting. Happy with purchase

No regrets (unless you count seeing spoilers on wiki). This is a lovely story with sweet music and loveable characters. There is pain and ambiguity throughout this tale... but having watched disc 1 I put disc 2 in straightaway instead of going to bed because I wanted to see what came next. Life is confusing as a Haibane... you awake from a dream (which it is vital to remember) in a cocoon. Having broken out, you find yourself amongst a group of people who arent quite human...they have halos, and charcoal grey wings.... you are given a halo which takes its time to attach itself to you (but it will to the extent it can be used as a handle to yank you out of bed!) and you get wings that erupt agonisingly from your back in a splurge of blood and goo...and which take a while to actually feel part of you enough to control them independently of your arms. But you will if fortunate enough find yourself amidst a group who all look out for each other (evinced by the way they look after you as your wings burst out, it would be a beggar to clean the gunk off by yourself. And there are a whole lot of customs and rules to learn and live by.... You will warm to the Haibane and the little closed town they live near. What of the humans in the town? They are closed in too, relying on a group of mutes called the Toga for trade beyond the Wall that none may pass or (in the case of Haibane) even touch without dire consequences. There are more questions than answers but I recommend this series and will watch it repeatedly.