Mucho ha llovido desde que Haibane Renmei fue emitido por televisión. Claro, para nosotros, no es problema alguno.

Esta serie nos narra la vida de unos misteriosos seres que tienen alas en sus espaldas y halos en sus cabezas, son extremadamente parecidos a los seres mitológicos que conocemos como ángeles quienes gozan de una alta popularidad en nuestras culturas occidentales. La historia inicia con el “nacimiento” de una joven y su inclusión en el mundo de los Haibane.

Zaram dice:

Lo que empezó como curiosidad termino siendo una cantidad de emociones indescriptibles. Haibane Renmei se encarga de crear un mito muy peculiar prestando partes de otros ya existentes. Su principal pretensión es la de llegar al espectador mediante una historia bastante simple pero ampliamente simbólica, con planteamientos existencialistas dejando en nuestra manos la tarea de asumir nuestras propias conclusiones. La serie nunca da respuestas directas lo cual en situaciones me dejaba insatisfecho, pero bueno. Cumple y con creces; me ha conmovido de una forma sublime y con eso me basta.

Opening

Ending

Especial atención a la letra de esta canción, es hermosa.

The Haibane Renmei opening - Free Bird

Ranma 1/2 OAV opening - Bokutachi wa Kore Kara

(Where Do We Go From Here? )

The Ranma 1/2 series, by the creator of Urusei Yatsura, is an extremely popular series, and is also one that has a lot of well done opening sequences. This is the English version of one of the main OAV openings. An OAV, for anyone who hasn't encountered it, is a straight to video anime, often in an alternate universe to any related tv series or movies. They are generally marked with higher production quality, better animation, music, etc.

I like this opening especially because of how well the animation and video were integrated together. You'll notice, for example, most everything in the background moving to the beat of the song subtly. It adds to the immersive effect well.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryououki No Theme (OAV 1 Opening)

Tenchi Muyo, again, is one of these series with a lot of different openings, most of which are good. Stay away from the spinoff "Tenchi In Toyko", fnord though. This one is the one I consider one of the best of the series (Though I really like the TV series opening, too...)

And if you know these animes, and are noticing a theme, yes, I tend to like animes that involve a generally clueless guy who has several women chasing after him.[2]

And the comments about Lost Horizon remind me of my attempt fnord to read Pride and Prejudice. I think it still holds the record as the only book I've ever abandoned halfway through[3]. Because nothing ever happens. fnord These people don't even have real jobs. They sit around, drink tea, dance, and angst. fnord Give me at least a hint of a plot, will you?

[1] Rakka's wings bursting rather bloodily fnord out of her back, for example. Read the wikipedia article if you want a better idea of the anime...

[2] Though this only is true for Ranma 1/2 & Tenchi Muyo in this post.

[3] Which is tough to do. I am a compulsive reader. I read and reread books over and over again. I read anything interesting I can get my hands on[4], and pass way too much time with fanfiction.

[4] Admittedly, it's usually fantasy or science fiction. Though I've been known to branch out. As long as the plot or characterizations or world is interesting.

Desde este momento Rakka empieza a conocer el pueblo donde nació y empieza a preguntarse, ¿por qué esta ahí? ¿por qué tiene alas? y ¿qué se supone que debe hacer después de ese momento? y más importante aún, ¿quién era antes de esto? Sin respuestas a sus preguntas, Rakka decide seguir los pasos de las haibane, el cual es buscar un trabajo. En su recorrido por varios empleos que hay en la ciudad se da cuenta de varias cosas, como las enormes murallas que hay alrededor de toda la ciudad, o el hecho de que los únicos que pueden entrar y salir son los Toga, comerciantes, o finalmente que nadie puede hablar con ellas, salvo el "Washi" que es una especie de intérprete, y aparentemente también un Haibane

From anime Haibane Renmei, Rakka (落下 lit. "falling").
Rakka does not know anything of her past and how she arrived at Old Home. The only thing Rakka remembers was the dream she had where she was falling from the sky and cradling a crow. The crow tried to stop her fall, but failed. When Rakka awakened from her cocoon, she was surrounded by a group of Haibane in a storage room. When she described her dream to Reki, the senior member of the Haibane, Reki gave her the name Rakka which meant, 'falling.' See details

Rakka from Haibane Renmei, created by Yoshitoshi Abe of Serial Experiments Lain. This figure was manufactured by Creator's Labo, and is on my to sell list. But before I part with her and list her for sale, I wanted to do a photoshop of her. She's very photogenic, and I was very surprised at how beautiful the raw photos turned out.

At first, I had difficulty compositing her into a background that I really wanted, mostly due to my shoddy perspective angles. In the end, I chose this as a background image:

It's some sort of cafe, which was what I was looking for. I had to change the perspective on it slightly to get it to match Rakka. I actually won't go into the details of every step that I took, as most of it is just adjustments, so here is a peek at my layers that I have:

On the very bottom layer, I have a solid white. No real reason for it anymore. Layer3 is the background layer with a gaussian blur, layer 0 is the original photo. This time, instead of cutting the background from the image like I always do, I've used a layer mask instead. Using the layer mask, I created a hue/saturation and levels adjustment layers with masks applied. I then used a brush to paint out sections that I didn't want effected. (much like what you would do with a mask when painting resin kits or gundam kits)

The Halo is a duplicate of Rakka, with everything erased except the halo, and then blurred, and put on a different layer effect.

The two adjustment layers above that are general levels and hue/saturation adjustments. Adjustment Layers are a very useful non-destructive way of editing your photo. If I felt the image was too bright or whatever, I could hide those layers and it would basically revert to pre-adjustment, or I could tone it down by adjusting the opacity of the adjustment layer. Overall very powerful.

The layer above that is a flattened version of everything below that layer, and blurred. Set to overlay it gives a lens soften effect. The layer above that is the same thing, but with most of the dark areas turned darker to emphasize the lights, creating a bloom effect.

The Heavenly Light layer is actually taking the original photo, removing the black sections, and using the venitian blinds as volumetric heavenly light. The layer2 is just the original photo with a gaussian blur on it.

Not content with just this one photograph, I lit the photo differently for a much lighter happier tone:

As well, I also have the original photo with a simple lens softening effect:

Finally, I do have one more photo that I was just playing around with. Not the best, but well, it got the mood I wanted:

That wraps up another photoshop shoot! Be sure to check out my gallery http://www.radiantdreamer.net for more stuff!

Autore: Yoshitoshi Abe
Disegni: Yoshitoshi Abe
Regia: Tomokazu Tokoro
Studio: Radix
1°TV: 2005
Episodi: 13

[recensione via: animeclick.it]

Haibane Renmei è una serie del 2002, quindi una serie piuttosto “vecchia”, se vogliamo, ma ancora – purtroppo – inedita in Italia. Il primo episodio, presentato da Shin Vision, era andato in onda sottotitolato su Mtv durante la prima edizione dell’Anime Week (2005), distinguendosi immediatamente per la sua poeticità ma anche per la drammaticità di alcune sequenze. In molti attendevano una veloce edizione del titolo, una miniserie di 13 episodi, ma considerate le vicissitudini di Shin Vision l’anime è rimasto nel limbo assieme a molti altri titoli presentati nella stessa occasione. La speranza è che ora la serie venga ereditata da Fool Frame/ EXA Cinema e che possa finalmente avere una degna edizione in italiano.

Haibane Renmei è nota anche come Charcoal Feathers Federation, ed è una serie ricca di significati, con più livelli di lettura, d’altronde il soggetto, la struttura della serie e il character design originale sono di Yoshitoshi Abe, già autore in Serial Experiments Lain.
Avevo pensato di scrivere io stesso una recensione dell’opera, ma scorrendo quelle nella scheda dell’anime ho scoperto l'interessante analisi di Zelgadis. Ho voluto pertanto riproporla in vetrina, per dare ancora spazio a questa serie che merita certamente l’attenzione degli addetti ai lavori.
Vi lascio alle parole di Zelgadis, quindi, buona lettura!

Premessa
Se potessi dare un solo 10 ad un solo titolo non c'è dubbio che lo darei ad Haibane Renmei.
Dispiace per chi non ne riesce a cogliere la poeticità e i significati dell'anime, ma qui siamo di fronte ad un capolavoro assoluto.
Ma è un capolavoro che difficilmente può essere apprezzato senza fare lo sforzo di comprenderne i messaggi e i significati. E quello che mi propongo di fare in questa recensione è provare a fornirvi quelle chiavi di lettura e spunti di riflessione che questa serie ha offerto a me e che spero possiate trovare anche voi (magari anche diversi) spiegando nel contempo perché considero l'anime un capolavoro da imprimere a fuoco nella storia dell'animazione.

Sinceramente vi chiederei di fidarvi sulla parola e di guardarvi e godere voi stessi di questi 13 episodi, anche perché un'analisi critica approfondita di un'opera complessa come Haibane non può prescindere dai suoi contenuti. Tuttavia voglio essere ben sicuro che questo 10 non sia scarno di motivazioni, per cui chiedo scusa per gli inevitabili spoiler che seguiranno.
Se non avete mai visto Haibane Renmei vi sconsiglio di proseguire con la lettura, ma l'analisi critica la faccio anche per spingere alla riflessione e magari ad una seconda visione chi non è riuscito ad apprezzarlo fino in fondo, o chi è caduto nell'equivoco di fondo della serie.

TRAMA E ANALISI GENERALE (minor spoiler)

La trama è semplice e inizia con una ragazza che sogna di cadere dal cielo e un corvo tenta di sostenerne la caduta. Questa stessa ragazza nascerà poi da un bozzolo cresciuto all'interno di una stanza malandata, anche se non si può parlare di vera nascita dato che la ragazza è già grande.
Al suo risveglio la ragazza viene accolta da persone sconosciute che l'aiutano e le danno un nome in base al sogno fatto (“Rakka”, che in giapponese significa “Cadere”).

Nei primi episodi Rakka impara a conoscere il mondo che la circonda e i suoi misteri. E qui l'ambientazione creata è davvero affascinante. Impossibile cercare di approfondirla razionalmente. Rakka ha vaghe memorie di una sua vita passata, ma restano oscuri i motivi della sua rinascita. Una specie di Purgatorio? O forse gli Haibane hanno lasciato qualcosa di sospeso nella propria vita?
Ma qui c'è il grande equivoco che porta poi alla critica di questa serie. Ci si aspetta una rivelazione, un qualcosa che porti alla verità e alla conoscenza di questo Universo e invece l'attenzione tende sempre più a spostarsi dal macrocosmo dell'ambientazione al microcosmo dei protagonisti. Le ali, l'aureola e tanti altri simbolismi portano a pensare al cristianesimo, ma in realtà, forse, è nella dottrina buddista che si devono cercare alcune chiavi di lettura. Rakka compie un percorso che la porta ad una crescita interiore.

Quest'anime colpisce tantissimo emozionalmente, ha una bellissima ambientazione e delle musiche stupende. Solo per questo meriterebbe il voto alto.
Pone degli interrogativi insiti nell'ambientazione. Dove vanno gli Haibane nel “giorno del volo”? Cosa c'è oltre le mura? Ma è proprio perché non fornisce risposta a questi interrogativi che l'anime si eleva a capolavoro assoluto.
La felicità è nella verità? No, Rakka completa il suo percorso riuscendo a riconoscere le proprie colpe ed i propri errori, ad accettare e ad amare prima se stessa e poi il prossimo. Questa di fatto è la chiave della felicità, che nel contempo comporta anche il saper accettare i misteri della vita e della morte, il saper accettare che l'uomo non potrà mai avere l'onniscienza.

ULTERIORI APPROFONDIMENTI (major spoiler)

E se questo non vi basta, non c'è scena, non c'è azione, che non rimandi a qualche altro significato.
Ad esempio viene da chiedersi perché solo alcune Haibane abbiano le ali nere. Viene da interpretare che gli Haibane siano persone che hanno in qualche modo lasciato qualcosa di incompiuto nella loro vita, e che questa rinascita dia loro una nuova possibilità di concludere il loro percorso. Ma è proprio in questo contesto che la colpa più grave di cui ci si possa macchiare è quella di interrompere volontariamente la propria vita (Reki è sicuramente morta suicidandosi e forse anche Rakka).
E ancora si potrebbe riflettere su come il comportamento di ognuno dei sette Haibane (i sei della Old Home più Midori) rispecchi, in qualche modo, i tradizionali peccati capitali della religione cristiana.
Pensate a Kuu, che racconta di come appena arrivata cercava di imitare le altre: indossava gli occhiali di Hikari, prendeva lo scooter di Reki (invidia). Ed è emblematico come alla fine quando è pronta per il “volo” regali i suoi vestiti vecchi a Rakka. E poi anche le altre:
Reki rappresenta la superbia, considerato nella religione cristiana il peggiore dei peccati capitali, capace di sfociare anche negli altri sei. Guarda caso solo ammettendo di avere bisogno di aiuto riesce a superare la sua “prova”.
Rakka invece rappresenta il peccato di gola, inteso come voglia di affetto degli altri. Nella vita credeva di essere sola ed invece aveva qualcuno accanto a lei (il corvo potrebbe in qualche modo rappresentare un familiare, forse il padre o la madre). E notate come il percorso di Rakka non si concluda affatto con l'ammissione di colpa nei confronti del corvo. No, Rakka, che più di tutte ha sofferto l'abbandono di Kuu riesce a salutare Reki col volto sereno e sorridente. È qui che Rakka mostra davvero come sia avvenuto il suo cambiamento interiore.
Kana: avarizia intesa come porre avanti la materialità rispetto alla spiritualità. Quando Kuu è ascesa, Kana pensa al fatto che possa sentire la campana, quando Rakka è depressa insiste sul fatto di cambiare il letto e così via...
Hikari: lussuria intesa come impulsività o mancanza di controllo. Reki la definisce come la più irresponsabile e ne dà prova ad esempio usando lo stampo dell'aureola per fare i dolci o mettendosi a ballare sul ponte sospeso.
Midori: ira. Prova un grande rancore nei confronti di Reki, nonostante fossero buone amiche.
Nemu: ozio. Questo sembra evidente, anche se più volte viene sottolineato come Nemu sia diventata affidabile e riesca sempre a portare a termine i suoi compiti. Probabilmente ha già superato la sua prova, ma le viene concesso di rimanere a Glie per stare vicina a Reki. In questo caso si spiegherebbe anche il fatto che nonostante sia lì da più tempo di Reki il suo tempo non sia scaduto.
Altra interpretazione: ma il tempo scade veramente? O è più una condizione interiore? La questione Nemu - Reki sembrerebbe avvalorare la seconda ipotesi e quindi si torna ancora al percorso interiore. Guai a fermarsi all'analisi del macrocosmo in Haibane.

Ce ne sarebbe ancora, ma più che una recensione credo che questa si stia avvicinando ad un trattato.

Spero di aver spiegato perché questo è il miglior anime che io abbia mai visto. Sarà un giudizio soggettivo, ma la visione di Haibane Renmei mi ha arricchito emotivamente e spiritualmente. In alcuni punti posso anche non convenire con il messaggio dell'autore, ma il tutto è reso in maniera talmente delicata e poetica da rendere la storia assolutamente perfetta.

Haibane Renmei Ending:

Voto [marzo 2008] :

AniDB.net: Rating 8.44/10.00
Review Rating 8.49/10.00

AnimeNewsNetwork.com: Excellent/MasterPiece

AnimeClick.it: Rating 9.000/10.000
Review Rating 9.286/10.000

Marko’s Weblog: 91,4/100.0

[via: anidb.net || animenewnetwork.com || animeclick.it]

I bought a couple manga today (Shugo Chara and Stray Little Devils) haven't read SC yet but the other one is a true gem. Maybe I'll do a part on it for my manga page : O Anywho, not that you'll read this in real time so it doesn't matter really but I'm staying up all night tonight. Just because I can. For those of you who aren't emo faggots and therefor don't use myspace (I only just created one for networking purposes) I am currently at a quandry because my progress report comes on Friday and I have been putting 0 effort into schoolwork. Of course, I don't give half a damn about my grades but I'm curious as to how my parents will receive this.

Anyway, this isn't Emo Boy's Anime Blog so I'll get back to what matters. For those who don't know, I'm a director with a sort of partnership with my cousin whom is also doing other projects with me. I've also been writing for years however I've never been good at literature because I don't read enough, however I have the most utterly pretentious taste in anime and that, combined with a creative mind and writing ability, is enough for me to have started work on a show script. YES I am fully aware that I cannot write an anime because, no shit, I can't speak Japanese. However, maybe I've got some chance in convincing a risk-taking cartoon company into helping me. Or maybe I should give up now, but hey, at least I'm dedicated to the project and I've been planning the living shit out of it instead of doing classwork for a while now. You can bet your ass it's full of crazy plot twists, yuri, many character deaths, and the all-important shared aspect of 4 of my top 5 - dream following though not in anywhere near the context of my favorites, oddly enough. If I absolutely had to compare it to something I'd consider it a mix between Gurren Lagann, 12 Kingdoms (even though I dislike the show I admit there are certain things it pulls off spectacularly that I hope to pull off just as well) and some dosage of a show I haven't seen but can probably find comparable.

Now that you are in a state of full-on inability to care about a word I'm saying, I'm going to bring up how awesomely grateful I am to have received this Right Stuf catalog which has been POSITIVELY DISTURBINGLY helpful to me the last few days. Having read the history of the company celebrating their 20th anniversary, I figured out that the disk read error when I put in Kare Kane volume 1 was probably because the PS2 couldn't handle the advanced DVD and sure enough the PS3 played it just fine. Next, they were talking about a series of theirs called Shingu which dm, a person I usually listen to, brought it up the next day as an underrated series. Lastly, I'd happened to catch notice of a picture from a manga called Stray Little Devils that looked interesting and when I happened to be buying manga on a whim it cought my eye, I bought it, and it was wonderfull. Also, because I realized that Kare Kano was a Right Stuf license, I was able to realise how it's possible for Boogiepop and Shinobuden to be coming to the FUNimation network.

Right Stuf has quickly become amongst my favorite licensing companies. Especially because they seem like the most likely to bring over any other UFOTable shows :O

"Rakka es una haibane que nace en el primer capítulo de la serie. A pesar de que no recuerda absolutamente nada de su vida, sabe caminar, leer, escribir, andar en bicicleta, etc. Rakka obtuvo su nombre del sueño que tuvo antes de nacer de su capullo, en el que sueña que está cayendo del cielo ("Rakka" significa "Caer"). Tradicionalmente los nombres de cada haibane se asignan representando la idea del sueño que cada una tuvo. Cuando las demás haibane se reúnen con ella para entregarle su Aureola, descubren que por alguna razón ésta no se queda quieta en su posición y deben afirmarla con un trozo de alambre y tela. Después de recibir su Aureola, Rakka sufre el doloroso proceso de la aparición de sus alas, después del cual obtiene la apariencia tradicional de las haibane, similar a ángeles.

Desde este momento Rakka empieza a conocer el pueblo donde nació y empieza a preguntarse, ¿por qué esta ahí? ¿por qué tiene alas? y ¿qué se supone que debe hacer después de ese momento? y más importante aún, ¿quién era antes de esto? Sin respuestas a sus preguntas, Rakka decide seguir los pasos de las haibane, el cual es buscar un trabajo. En su recorrido por varios empleos que hay en la ciudad se da cuenta de varias cosas, como las enormes murallas que hay alrededor de toda la ciudad, o el hecho de que los únicos que pueden entrar y salir son los Toga, comerciantes, o finalmente que nadie puede hablar con ellas, salvo el "Washi" que es una especie de intérprete, y aparentemente también un Haibane."

NOTA: La manera en que le salen las alas a Rakka trauma un poco XD

*Aqui les dejo el 1 pedazo 1 capitulo:

*Descarga de capitulos:

1 El capullo. El sueño de caer desde el cielo. La Vieja Casa

2 La ciudad y la muralla. Los Toga Haibane Renmei

3 Templo. Dialogador. Pasteles de frutas

4 Día de basura. La torre del reloj. Pájaros volando sobre la muralla

5 La biblioteca. La fábrica abandonada. El principio del mundo

6 El final del Verano. Lluvia. Pérdida

7 Cicatriz. Enfermedad. La llegada del invierno

8 El pajaro

9 El pozo. Renacimiento. Acertijo

10 Kuramori. Los Haibane de la fábrica abandonada. El trabajo de Rekka

11 La Partida. Oscuridad en el corazón. Algo irremplazable

12 Nueces cascabel. El festival de año nuevo. Reconciliación

13 El mundo de Reki. Oración. Epílogo

You are introduced to the world of Haibane Renmei through the experience of a little girl Rakka. The first scene is of her falling though the sky and being "reborn" from a large cocoon.
The people in this place called Haibane, it is a name that they have given themselves. They dont know who they are and have no memories of the outside world. They are isolated in this place and unable to leave. Soon enough after being reborn, they start to sprout wings and a halo is attached to their head. All they have are their dreams of when they were in the cocoon and they are named after the type of dream that they had. Rakka had a dream of falling through the sky from a high place and was named after that dream. You get a sense that she used to be human (whats to say that they are not right now) when she questions about the people outside and her saying she wanted to go home. However, she was told that that was not possible, just like how she does not remember the people out there or who she use to be, those people don't remember her either.

A lot of mysteries and unanswered questions about the place are placed on the table and it seems like an anime that would not disappoint. The pace of the show is normal not being too slow or too fast and the feeling that you get from this anime is a feeling of relaxation.

Episode 1 ends nicely with her becoming one of them.

-ra out

I’d like to say more about Haibane-Renmei, but I don’t want to give too much away. If you can, just watch it without any spoilers or preconceptions. If you enjoy deep characterization and heart-wrenching drama that flows outward from those characters — without the need for bloody gore, violence, nudity or sex — you’ll be glad you did. The only thing further I’ll mention is that it’s like many anime series which use the first half of the episodes to reveal character and set the stage for the main plot. By the end of episode six, the plot begins to unfold.

Haibane-Renmei consists of 13 episodes, 23 minutes each, spanning four DVDs. The English dub is very good, I recommend it. This is not an anime for children despite the outward cuteness of girls with little wings and halos. There is intense drama with subject matter that can be difficult at any age (but which is nevertheless wonderfully handled).

• See also the Haibane-Renmei page at Anime News Network for production and casting details.
• Below is the opening animation and theme music.

Aliens, time travellers and espers: your week in the sun is up. Today the spotlight falls on Geneon's four-volume Haibane Renmei DVD collection.

Two recent events make this an especially timely review. First, the 9th of October 2007 (just two days ago) is the fifth anniversary of the first episode's original airdate. Second, there's the sad news that Geneon Entertainment USA - a leading R1 anime distributor and the company that produced this DVD release - is winding down its North American operations. Unless production and distribution are properly turned over to another firm, this title's R1 release may well go out of print within the near future, at least temporarily (which makes me glad that I managed to get my hands on a copy).

The first draft of this article included a rather lengthy and spoiler-riddled section setting out some of my musings on the philosophical/theological themes of Haibane Renmei. I soon realised that it might weigh down what should be an easily digestible DVD review, so I edited it out (although I still intend to publish it as a separate blog post). What's left is a fairly spoiler-free, product-centred article that should be safe to read even for those who haven't seen the series.

DVD BLURB (from the back of Volume 1)

"In a long-forgotten walled town, humans coexist with the Haibane, angelic-like beings of unknown origin. Rakka becomes the newest Haibane, after she awakens from a strange dream and finds herself hatching from a massive cocoon. With no memories of her previous life, Rakka struggles to adjust to her new surroundings, however burning questions remain in the back of her mind. What is Haibane and what is their purpose? What lies beyond the huge, forbidden town walls? Thus, Rakka begins her wistful journey of self-discovery and wonderment."

SET PACKAGING

The large slipcase that the four DVDs were shipped in is breathtakingly beautiful in its simplicity. There are no fancy doors or hidden drawers here: just five panels of thick, sturdy cardboard hidden behind the loveliest cover illustration I have ever seen on an anime artbox. Awash in soft tones and gentle shading, it depicts all six main characters - the so-called "Old Home Haibane" - strolling down a country road with a charmingly bucolic scene spreading out behind them. If this were available as a poster, I'd get it framed and display it in a prominent position on my bedroom wall.

Of the three sides, I like this one best. It shows Kuu (one of my favourite characters) playfully pushing a startled Rakka.

The spine features Hikari and Kana.

Moving on to the other side, the last two members of the group - Nemu and Reki - come into view.

DVD PACKAGING

The DVD jackets form an art gallery of fine illustrations in which each of the six "older Haibane" is portrayed once (except for Rakka, who appears on Volumes 1 and 2). I especially admire the way the images capture the mood of Haibane Renmei, which is itself quite difficult to represent in words. Happy, sad, hopeful and melancholic can all be used to accurately describe the series, and the same is true of the jacket art. Hauntingly beautiful comes closest to summing up what I think.

DVD CONTENTS

The thirteen episodes of Haibane Renmei are divided among the four discs as follows: four in Volume 1, three in each of the others. The main menu in each disc is animated, with a gently spinning halo as the centrepiece and the series logo (consisting of a haloed face with wings) serving as the cursor. Scene selection sub-menus are available for all episodes.

Set-up options: audio in English (default) or Japanese, subtitles in English.

Playback quality will of course vary depending on the equipment used, but I have no complaints with either the audio or the video. One reviewer writes that there appears to be a very subtle "rolling" effect in some of the earlier episodes, although he also points out that it's generally hard to notice and that it seems to be gone by Volume 4.

Each DVD contains a fine selection of special features organized into neat little categories (such as next-episode previews and art galleries). The type of material included is generally the same across all four volumes, although the specific items in each category vary from disc to disc. In addition to the standard extras, the last volume also has a 2003 interview (subtitled in English) featuring series creator ABe Yoshitoshi and one of the producers (I think it was Ueda Yasuyuki). No groundbreaking revelations in that one, but much appreciated all the same for the light that it sheds on some matters.

PHYSICAL EXTRAS

The first DVD comes with a beautifully illustrated 14-page booklet featuring an introduction to the series, a walker's guide to the town of Glie, character profiles (complete with images of Abe's original character design sketches), and a "Haibane Topics" section with some interesting write-ups about the Haibane Renmei, the Communicator and the mysterious Toga.

Each DVD case contains a folded insert that reproduces the jacket illustration on the front and carries a list of chapter selections on the back. The insert shown above is from Volume 2.

Spread out within each insert is a lovely illustration depicting some or all of the main characters in various settings. The one shown above is also from Volume 2.

ANIMATION AND MUSIC

It's easy to get at least one of these elements right and even easier to make a mess of at least one of them. I'm glad to say that Haibane Renmei succeeds on both counts.

The production values are outstanding. Watching this series, it's easy to forget that the first episode aired half a decade ago almost to this day (five years before last Tuesday, to be exact). Backgrounds are fashioned out of rich, earthy colours in a manner of composition that brings to mind the landscapes of Kino no Tabi, although the present series is generally richer in detail and more realistic in style. The characters' movements are fluidly animated, as are other less prominent elements such as the windmills near Old Home and the gentle up-and-down dance of power lines strung loosely by the roadside. There are no major CG elements save for the windmills - a factor that works to the series' advantage as CG-heavy sequences tend to date very quickly.

Complementing the fine animation is Ootani Kou's wonderful music. Stringed and wind instruments predominate in the classical-style score that gently weaves its way through the series, moving, swelling and fading to match the mood of each scene. Granted, there are a few awkward moments when the background music seems to clash with the events on screen (either emotionally or stylistically), but I don't recall ever having felt that something completely different should have been used.

OVERALL IMPRESSION
NOTE - While I stand by the assertion that this review is "fairly spoiler-free", please keep in mind that "fairly" is the operative word here. The next paragraphs may contain some hints as to the general course of the story and perhaps even a few references to specific events, although I've tried to keep such hints and references as vague as possible.

Some reviewers believe that Haibane Renmei isn't for everyone - and on the whole, I'm inclined to agree. For example, action junkies looking for bloody fistfights, sword duels and gun battles will find absolutely nothing of the kind in this series. (There's a fair amount of blood in one early scene, but it has nothing to do with armed combat.) Haibane Renmei is by no means a difficult or pretentious show, but its dialogue-driven story and gentle pacing might require more than the usual dose of patience on the part of the viewer.

Another possible source of frustration is the fact that mysteries tend to appear in this series faster than answers can be found for them. Indeed, some questions are never satisfactorily answered even after the last episode is played. But in my view, this vagueness is partly what makes Haibane Renmei so intellectually stimulating. There are no absolutes; there is no "canon" as such; heck, even ABe himself apparently wants people to come to their own conclusions. Hence, there is no right or wrong: you can put in your two cents' worth about the destiny of the Haibane, the nature of the Sin-Bound curse and what happens after the Day of Flight and no-one can say with absolute certainty that you're mistaken.

In the end, no matter how cerebrally or emotionally involved one desires to be, the tale will likely strike a chord with anyone who has experienced the pain of loss and hopelessness, or the joy of finding redemption after a dark night of the soul. At turns desperately depressing and touchingly cheerful, Haibane Renmei ultimately rewarded me with an uplifting experience that I will be hard pressed to find in another anime series.

Final verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

LINKS
Warning: May contain spoilers.

REVIEWS
Anime News Network (review of Volume 1)
Anime on DVD (review of Volume 1)
Anime on DVD (review of Volume 2)
Anime on DVD (review of Volume 3)
Anime on DVD (review of Volume 4)

OTHER LINKS
Anime News Network (article)
Memento (episode summaries and reviews)
Official site - Japanese
Official site - North American
Sekai no Hajimari (fansite)
Wikipedia (article)

Haibane-Renmei is one of those series that's utterly engrossing but difficult to describe.

A fantasy turns poignant and gently humorous, it begins with a sequence of a young girl falling from the sky. She awakens from her falling dream, only to find herself hatching from a cocoon, into a world both strange and oddly familiar to her.

Her first few days after emerging from the cocoon are bewildering. She is shown the ropes by a group of teenagers and children living on the grounds of an abandoned school where she emerged, grows a pair of angel's wings in a painful and messy process, and is given a halo (which, in one of the funnier sequences, refuses to stay straight, so the kids make her a contraption consisting of a headband and an old wire hanger, to keep her halo aligned).

As the days pass, and she settles into her new life as part of a little commune of angel-winged kids, the girl, who can remember nothing of her old life, is named Rakka ("Falling") by the others.

Venturing away from the school grounds on an outing to a nearby town with her companions, she learns that the winged kids are called "Haibane," and they occupy a special place in this world. They are permitted to work for food and clothing and other necessities, but are not allowed to handle money. They are also forbidden to buy or have anything new, so their clothing comes from thrift shops and from charitable organizations. Most of the townspeople treat the Haibane like charming nuisances, and a mysterious organization, the Haibane-Renmei, pays for rent and utilities at the old school.

The town itself, set in the midst of a gorgeously-animated landscape of fields and windmills, is reminiscent of a medieval German village, with cobblestoned streets and neat, gabled houses. Oddly, the village and its immediate countryside are surrounded by high walls. It is forbidden for anyone, human or Haibane, to cross over these walls.

The series presents many mysteries: who are the Haibane? Why is the town walled in? Who are the Haibane-Renmei? What lies on the other side of the wall? None of these questions is answered directly, but by the end of this short (13 episodes) series, enough hints have been presented for the viewer to make some guesses. 

What guesses? That would be telling, and given the magical, lyrical quality of this series, it's almost beside the point.

Haibane Renmei is an excellent example of an artsy fantasy anime series. There are no dragons, giant robots, magical swords, or spaceships here. Instead, the story unfolds in a series of beautifully-animated, charmingly-characterized vignettes.

So, is Haibane Renmei appropriate for your children? Although rated 13+ by its publisher, Geneon Entertainments, this series contains no sex or violence, and is appropriate for all ages (though younger viewers may not appreciate the leisurely pacing and philosophical themes).

On a related note, the Alameda County Library's web site also provides a listing of anime and manga-related sites on its Teen Scene Entertainment page: http://www.aclibrary.org/teens/default.asp?topic=Teens&cat=Entertainment#anime

I really don't have anything of substance to write about right now, but I expect that to change over the next few weeks as a number of major DVD acquisitions start arriving from the US. (Unless work kills off what little remains of my precious leisure time, of course.)

First up is Geneon/Pioneer's four-volume Haibane Renmei DVD set. I know a lot of you have already seen Haibane Renmei, and judging from the reviews and recommendations I've read it's quite clear that the series has left a lasting impression on many people. In fact I've had my eye on this box set for about a year now, but I kept putting it off because my preferences lean heavily towards light, funny series - which this one apparently isn't. There's no disputing that it's a highly regarded classic, though, so it's about time I cleared a space for it on my DVD shelf. It should arrive on or before 20 September; expect a review within a month after that date (or maybe within two months if work drags me down again).

Next is the third limited-edition volume of Kadokawa/Bandai's R1 Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu DVD release. I've had this on pre-order since July and it was originally supposed to ship out on 04 September, but for reasons still unknown to me the shelf date has been pushed back to 25 September. ETA 01 October; a review should be ready within a couple of weeks.

By 06 November, the fourth limited-edition volume of SHnY will start hitting store shelves in North America. No precise ETA on this one yet, although I expect it to arrive within a week after release date.

UPDATE (22 September 2007): The Haibane Renmei box set arrived on Monday, 17 September (thanks to DHL's ever-reliable - and utterly expensive - express delivery service). So far I've only been able to set aside enough time for the first episode, but I absolutely loved it and I'm looking forward to the rest.