Haibane-Renmei: V.1 New Feathers (ep.1-4)

I think for me the animation was pretty good, I don't mind the CG... I did mind some frames here and there where they did some cheap tricks for the drawn animation. However, my son and I like this story... the characters are people you grow to like... though the development of Rakka takes some time. I tended to like Reki off the bat.

I think for Japanese audiences this may have seemed more exotic since the setting was like a Franch village and the Judeo-Christian symbolism and the dualism of sin and evil... not like the more sophist/Zen outlook in Japanese settings.

In some way, I find it amusing when Japanese artists use crosses (like the one character's gun in Trigun) or stage fights in decrepid cathedrals (like Beebop and Outlaw Star). So I kind of found this movie less exciting in the exotic sense.

I guess I like Japanese settings because then I learn more about another culture (like Fruits or Kenshin). However, I did really enjoy this movie overall, I just find some of their choices puzzling for the setting... reminded me of Myst.

I didn't know what to think when I sat down to watch this in my college's anime club. Angels? As realistic, sympathetic characters?

Was I surprised? You betcher boots.

Picture this: a girl dreams of falling; when she wakes up, she's in a strange world where most of the people she meets have wings and halos. On top of that, nobody remembers their names, so they make new ones based on their dreams. They're not allowed to leave their village, and there are other restrictions. Top it off with a mysterious race of traders, the Toga, and you have a very cool, slow-paced, well-written series that will disappoint you if you think that Sailor Moon, DBZ and the like are the only anime worth watching.

The web of drama and mysticism in this series has to be one of the tightest I've seen in anime. Almost every conversation reveals, in the most subtle manner, the hopes and fears of the characters involved. At first, the town of Guri seems to be an idyllic paradise. Then...

This is "real life". We get to know the characters in "Haibane Renmei" like we do our own co-workers and neighbors: one encounter at a time, day by day, each day a little more revealing than the last. For some of us, our life goals and beliefs about God take years to understand; it is the same for Rakka. "What are the Haibane?" is a question that is asked, and never quite answered, throughout the series. That's the point. It is up to us to take in all the information and decide.

This series is not for mecha-lovers, or for impatient action fans, or for anyone who can't sit still for 13 episodes without a building blowing up or a legion of aliens taking over. This is a series to ponder. Like life, it must be experienced forwards, but can only be understood backwards. That is why multiple viewings are common among HR fans: there are so many layers to delve through.

We start, as Rakka does, confused as to where we are, what our purpose is. We experience incredible highs and devastating losses. We find friends who know what we've been through, and other well-meaning people who love us despite our weaknesses. We don't quite understand some of the processes, the "ground rules", of the world around us. And we learn that the world is not always a safe place.

Probably one of the most "human" animes ever produced.