Haibane Renmei – 01

Haibane Renmei on AnimeNewsNetwork

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