Customer Reviews

Haibane-Renmei - Day of Flight (Vol. 4)

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From the start of this series it has been clear that it is something truly exceptional. Creators Yasuyuki Ueda and Yoshitoshi Abe's tell the touching story of the 'grey feathers' children who find themselves reborn into a walled town where, complete with halos and wings they live and work, moving toward a mystical 'day of flight' where they attain transcendence.

The series starts out focused on Rakka who has just arrived, and who goes through many stages of development, sorrow, and forgiveness - helped by the other Haibane to take an active part in the world within the walls. But even as she discovers her own equilibrium the viewer realizes that the real story is about Reki, and older Haibane who has played faithful mother to the others, and who is haunted by a bitterness that seems to make her own transformation unreachable.

These last episodes are Reki's tale and Rakka's full blooming into wisdom. They contain some of the most touching and wise moments I have seen in any media, anime or otherwise. Without ever crossing into religion, the result is a spiritual story of growth and healing that strikes directly to the center of our own fears and hopes. There moments that are actually exquisite, a word I rarely use.

In addition to its impact as a theatrical work, 'Haibane-Renmei' is beautiful as art and music. The world of the angels is full of individual characters, finely detailed residences, and lavish scenery. And the ear will be as pleased as the eye. This is one of those series that is fated to take a special place in the list of great anime. If you watch only one anime series this year make it this one.

In the final installment of the series, we see the beginnings of a new year and the close of a Haibane's time in the mysterious walled land. These last three episodes--and the last ten minutes of the finale--are so moving I always end up misty-eyed. It's a tale of loss, of sadness, of joy and of redemption, and these things make Haibane Renmei one of the finest anime series available today.

I can think of very few Hollywood movies that have the power to touch the heart as the last three episodes of Haibane Renmei. Due to the previous episodes' investment of time and care in crafting the tale of Reki and Rakka, the other Haibane of Old Home, and the people of the mysterious walled town, the finale is simultaneously sad, beautiful, and life affirming. I recommend it for its art, for its storytelling and for its heart. This is one series that deserves to be seen and to be shared.

I have never before seen an anime with such intensity and depth. This is absolutely amazing, and I highly, HIGHLY recommend it.

The Haibane story - at least, the story so far - ends with this volume, episodes 11-13. As always, it tells about a small band of Haibane, angelic in appearance though very human in their everyday lives. These chapters continue to focus on a group of female Haibane, living in an otherwise abandoned building, and continues with a point of view centered on young Rakka.

Instead of telling just her story, though, this brings Reki to the front. Reki has been there all along, a not-quite-adult, not-quite-mother figure to the girls and children of Old Home. In the last volume, Rakka discovered and resolved a crisis of spirit. That barely prepares us for Reki's crisis. It has simmered silently all along, but burst out in these chapters. The story avoids real violence as always, but only just barely. We also see supernatural powers at work on the world of these peaceful and magical beings.

The series maintains its air of mystery, as if there's a long story of many parts, where we see only a few and only for a while. The ending leaves room for future episodes, too, so we might see more. If so, I hope the creators keep the Haibane world as calm and believable as in the earlier chapters. A few features of the last episode went beyond that. They were dramatic and well done, but relied on narrative tools that could easily be over-used. Still, I've enjoyed the series as a whole. It provides a welcome alternative to the combat and frenzied action of so many anime, and preserved its charm to the end.

-- wiredweird

Not much I can say about this series that hasn't already been said. Very touching, and probably one of my all-time favorites.