Under the Radar - Haibane Renmei

[@saekka8537]

Haibane Renmei is a hidden gem and should not be missed. It deals with a lot of subjects and gives important messages. However it doesn't force them on you, it delivers them subtlety and without being preachy about it. It has lovable characters that grow on you during the series and in the end, they feel like a family, like you have known them for years and you want to learn more about them. One thing I often see that people dislike the first 5-6 episodes because they are slow and boring. I'd say that they are important, there is world building, foreshadowing and exposition going on that all matter in the bigger picture. I recently rewatched Haibane Renmei, and now I love it even more than I did the first time; there were things that I didn't notice the first time around. I just wish that it would've been longer, to flesh out the characters and the world more. But nevertheless, what we got was still great.

[@porky1118]

I also didn't like it the first time I watched it, about ten years ago. I think, I even stopped after the first few episodes. However, when I started watching it some days ago, I remembered it. It felt like watching some anime, I regularly watched as a child, in the correct order for the first time. This time, it really resonated with me. Maybe you have to be older to like it?

[@Qonell]

This might be my most favorite anime ever. The combination of stellar worldbuilding, this constant mature atmosphere and excellent writing create such great viewing experiences. It's this kind of sophisticated anime we need more in this medium. Btw, there is a book called _Set Apart_ by Daniel Cronquist which analyzes Christian themes and symbolism (even if it was unintended) in detail. I can recommend it as long as you're interested in studying _Haibane Renmei_ further.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

Qonell Sounds like an interesting read, i'll check it out. Thanks ^-^

[@stevenostuni6266]

I'm pretty sure the Christian themes in Haibane Renmei were intentional, if the angel-like appearances of the characters are any indication. I don't necessarily think the show is about religion per say, but there are definitely a lot of religious and spiritual themes incorporated into it's story, probably deliberately. To me, this is a huge plus, since it's a topic few anime utilize, and even fewer utilize successfully. Plus it really contrasts really well with the nihilistic themes of Technolyze, revealing a new facet of Abe's work.

[@Qonell]

Steven Ostuni Ok, I worded it wrong. Of course ABe is aware of Christian symbols and he consciously used them. What I meant (and what you already said) is that he didn't intend for religious interpretation.

[@stevenostuni6266]

Qonell Yeah, that Abe... such a smart cookie. I always found Haibane Renmei's approach to religion to be similar to Mushi-Shi. Mushi-Shi is a very Buddhist show- never explicitly, but it contains a great deal of Buddhist philosophy and occasional bits of Buddhist-esque imagery. Haibane Renmei does the same, but with Christianity instead of Buddhism. Actually come to think of it, Mushi-Shi and Renmei really are similar in a lot of ways.

[@50srefugee]

@@Qonell Consistent with what I've read of what he's said. He definitely had spiritual themes in mind, especially ideas about sin and redemption. And as an artist, he was attracted to the wings and halo iconography. But when he made this show, he basically thought girls with wings are cute, and knew virtually nothing of Christian theology. It's interesting, though, that he regarded trying to forgive yourself as an error leading to sin, which is quite compatible with the Christian idea that while you must acknowledge ("confess") your sins, you must then ask to be forgiven. I would love to present this to a Christian study group; it's one of the best non-Christian examinations of these concepts I've ever run across.

[@nekomimicatears]

Haibane Renmei is one of the few animes that actually made me cry

[@youtuberch4764]

The anime doesn't explain mysteries. I think it was good.I tell some very clear facts for Japanese that difficult for foreigners to understand. Their name clearly suggests "a method of suicide".Japanese language is specialized for reading and writing. Different meaning with the same sound. Same meaning with different sound. We have used them according to the situation, we express diverse emotions.Rakka and Reki, they had a lot of meanings, however, their names sound always has had including "method of suicide".There is a clear moment, that When a girl called "kuramori" came to. Other names have the sound of the nickname. The author avoided real names of Japanese. Because the content of the drama is so tragic. But "Kuramori" sounds like a real name. Why did the artist use real Japanese name?Probably it is due to lack of variations of suicide. "Kuramori" remind Us one of a famous "suicide" dark forest."kuramori" is different sound from other names. No nickname, sound like real name. Still artist chose that name. He wanted to clearly suggests suicide.And the names of small children, it means the future dreams that didn`t never come. They for care the children who were not able to fulfill their dreams.I cried.Sorry my poor Eng. I hope you understand what I said. "Under the Radar" In Japan too. Thank you, this masterpiece`s great review.

[@brettcoster4781]

One of my favourite anime series. I bought it based on the advertising graphic of Rakka {close to full size), so it proves that (good) advertising works. One thing not mentioned was the soundtrack, which was. I think. fantastic. I still listen to it and used one of the songs (Ailes Grise) as my ringtone for many years. I've just recently delved into Serial Experiments Lain, which is also a fantastic anime, again one that needs a lot of thought.

[@hazukifujiwara4561]

The artstyle is beautiful! Haibane Renmei doesn't need pretty colors to be a masterpiece!

[@Maztuhmind]

After watching it again last year, it has become one of my favorite anime.

[@electrofonickitty823]

When my sister died back in 2019 i decided to watch it. My sister had reminded Renki and it always will remind me of how dark it felt

[@TheFundersam]

This is without a doubt my favorite anime of all time. Thanks for making this video so that more people might give it a chance.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

No problem, thanks for watching! :)

[@NoodleWilll]

I just watched two episodes based off this, and it hasn't disappointed! The sound track is really lovely too.

[@bathysphere1070]

I never watched a show, anime or not, that made me feel as good at the end as Haibane Renmei. It's really a masterpiece that is under appreciated. It's sad that more people do not know about it.

[@lachlanstill4813]

Reading Haruki Murakami's book Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World offers great insight into Haibane. There are tons of differences between the two, but it did serve as ABe's inspiration. He's one of my favorite authors in general, and Hard-Boiled is in my mind one of his best.

[@Tamacat388]

This show is pretty good. I wonder why ABes shows never got as much attention as Lain did. They were all just as good and it's not like Lain was more accessible or anything. You didn't really talk about the music in the show though but I really liked the kind of music it used it wasn't typical of many slice of life shows. It was done by Ko Otani who also did the music for Shadow of the Colossus which is a game that has a very similar atmosphere, color pallet, and even similar world building to Haibane Renmei albeit with a lot more violence of course.

[@ailst]

I also noticed the lack of mention of the music. Honestly the music added so much emotion to a lot of the scenes and a lot of other anime don't really know how to use music to the same effect. The scene where Rakka does her cleaning-job in the wall really wouldn't be the same without "Ethereal remains".

[@KetenReviews]

One of the best for sure. My only real complaint with the show is that it's pacing was rather slow which can feel boring at times but the atmosphere, characters and mature presentation easily made up for it. Great review man, keep up the good work.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

Thanks! :)

[@MrKmoconne]

I liked the pacing, but that's just me... peace.

[@judahosborne8868]

John Doe I liked the slow pacing too. It lets you feel more like you're with the characters, as their lives are relatively mundane.

[@iNeonLightz007]

I also like slow paced anime. Its so much fun to watch those kind of animes before going to bed, it makes you feel relaxed when sleeping.. I like watching 1 episodes of it before i sleep :3

[@50srefugee]

Understand: the first five eps are a travelogue; they describe the world and the people you are watching. The story starts in Ep. 6, but you cannot jump to it, or you will not know what is going on. Watch the show twice; the first few eps will glow with meaning once you know where they are going.

[@AnthonyUbelhor]

Thank you. I thought your review was spot on. Haibane Renmei really is a masterpiece, and one that's often overlooked. And lest we forget, the soundtrack is superb.

[@TheOztaku]

This was the show that years ago really broadened my tastes in terms of anime. Having mostly just been sticking to mecha and pure action shows, admittedly the muted colour choice and slow, but deliberate, pace did seem very jaring at first. But the combination of the presentation and story really made for one of the most deceptively engrosing shows I've watched. The urge too know, and experience more of this world stayed with me even after the finale, but still managed enough closer to statisfy me in a way that even with so much left un-touched, anything more would be excessive.

[@MrTJM414]

Yessssss! Haibane Renmei is great! Bought both this and Texhnolyze on DVD before watching it and it was a great decision. Still working my way through Texhnolyze though. Although its just advertisement for the manga, you should check out Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou if you haven't already. It has a very similiar feel to the first half of Haibane Renmei and only 4 episodes.

[@englishfury1544]

You nailed it, perfect review of a brilliant show.

[@fancho123]

this may be one of the best review of haibane renmei ive ever find. no spoiler review and still yet managed to narrate the beauty of the show comprehensibly. thank you for making this video. this anime deserves more recognition

[@Quiestre]

I fucking love Haibane Renmei. I call it the better Angel Beats. It's so absolutely unique, like all ABe shows. But it is also so different to the other 2. I recommend anyone who has patience to watch it.

[@caladbolg777]

Quiestre Very late reply but I COMPLETELY agree with you. Angel Beats has nowhere near the depth that this show does. I will say Angel Beats had good humor but it was too...I guess produced is what I’m looking for. What I mean by that is it tried to entertain the viewer a lot more whereas HR doesn’t intend to insult the viewers intelligence by going over the top in explaining the world. Angel Beats did a decent job of this too but it didn’t make you think and speculate nearly as much as HR does. Knowing Angel Beats is kind of the spiritual successor to this show, I was a little disappointed Angel Beats didn’t go into as much depth and thought provocation as HR did.

[@gurdimeikenskjaldi5060]

After reading a interesting comment in another video about Haibane Renmei, I started thinking about something I once heard saying about Pink Floyd's song "Wish you were Here" (I think from one of the band members himself...) Basically Wish you were here isn't, as many think, a song dedicated to the loss of their band mate and friend Syd Barrett, but a song about longing and loss for something/someone, made so universal as to be "usable" on every situation which involves that kind of emotion. Well, then what? I think in a way Haibane Renmei is the Whish you were Here of anime, its setting, the directing, the narrative, the portrayal of feelings is made in a way that we can read its symbols and moments in a vast array of ways, from a literal allegory of Purgatory to various kind of situation of emotional "limbo" etc. It's a interesting show and a interesting experiment, I'd say a exemplary child of that kind of 90s-00s experimentation we don't really see anymore in anime. We still see people adapting unhortodox and peculiar things and even a feeeew original productions, but I've never seen again this kind of exploration of pure feelings, like you can see in Haibane Renmei or for example in Yokohama Shopping Log

[@50srefugee]

"Unique" is the word. So much so that I wouldn't use it as an introduction to anime, despite being one of my favorite stories in any medium. It stands on its own.

[@paulscott88]

[@davidsabillon5182]

Just started this anime and I can't stop watching 🤔

[@50srefugee]

One of my favorite stories ever, in any medium. Watch it twice, at least, because (as I always say) things you don't notice at all on first viewing glow with meaning on the second. One thing you missed: the extraordinary soundtrack, so far from the usual j-pop. As to the color palette: ABe has said in an interview that when everything is brightly colored, you don't know what to look at. Here, so often, colors mean things. There's a shot early on where the usually greenish/yellowish sky is reflected in a puddle, and behold! It's the blue we expect in our world.

[@mrmoviemanic1]

One of my top 30 anime ever. Just some of the most amazing work by Abe ever. I at times thought it was like a Ghibli film.

[@OrioleSongbird]

This is my favorite anime of all time. I’m cosplaying Rakka at a convention this year.

[@dweebosupremo5904]

I agree. This is a clasic.

[@madaophilippines8418]

It was one of the most melancholic anime ive seen

[@seanbcusack]

still love your review, i come back to watch it from time to time because i feel like you're one of the few that "get" this show as much as i do. if you even go back to re-review it, maybe also comment on the sound design. the incorporation of small musical moments without turning into a sweeping background theme is really effective in it's minimalist storytelling. also, there are tons of well-placed sound effects in minimalist moments. nothing but a broom hitting the floor with a clunk. footsteps moving from left to right as the sound of a waterfountain in the background sweeps in and out, with almost no animation at all. the only other anime i know that pulls off minimalist storytelling like this is mushishi, but haibane renmei feels more "sound oriented" to me. it's just a rare thing to focus on, an uncommon focus for storytelling.

[@chaznabarth2279]

The video was great and you really managed to explain what you liked in the show. I personally got nothing out of this show but I can't say I regret watching it.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

this is very different from Lain or Texhnolyze but it is still amazing

[@twinklelittlestar1238]

Some parts in Haibane Renmei Were really well animated, also, Ping pong has an objectively excellent animation quality, the fact is that the art style is (For an artistic reason) very raw and not very rafined-- Just wanted to point it out, but good video, man

[@gilgamesh310]

An interesting take on the ending you gave. It's something GRarkada clearly didn't get. This is one of the best anime for sure. It has a similar sort of ethereal atmosphere to Team Ico's games.

[@gilgamesh310]

***** I didn't know that, but I did know that the same composer done the music for FMA 2003.

[@gilgamesh310]

***** Brothers does sound very similar to the main theme of Ico.

[@vejymonsta3006]

I've been intending to give this a watch for months. Thank you for reviewing this, now I definitely have to check it out.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

Enjoy it :)

[@vejymonsta3006]

+AnimeEveryday Well it's been about a year and I've finally watched it. Haibane Renmei is even more beautiful than I expected. It's right up there with Texhnolyze and Lain.

[@ailst]

@@vejymonsta3006 I'm watching Lain right after rewatching Haibane Renmei and I really wonder what people like about it. I'm 9 episodes in I think Haibane Renmei is way better than Lain in basically every aspect that matters to me. In Lain nothing feels real and it's hard to get invested into the characters when they act like in some sort of fever-dream. There's also almost no proper dialogues in Lain. Someone asks a question and the other person just gives them a blank stare until they walk away.

[@rogervandusen576]

A true masterpiece.

[@lachlanstill4813]

There's a difference between animation and directing, and it is in the latter that most shows stand out. ABe's series generally have fantastic animation (as does the referenced Ping Pong) whereas plenty of shows with high production values have really uninspired, dull, or utilitarian direction (something like Parasyte let's say).

[@DreamedLint]

Loved to hear you gush about this show.

[@fuzzydragon]

I've shown the series to a number of people Who claim to Hate anime, Every last one of them was Desperate to see the next episode all the way to the end

[@ChineseNinjaWarrior]

Holy shit bro you cover all my favorite anime. Do the Phoenix anime it's awesome.

[@MasterU61]

Really one of the best Anime

[@TheKingWhoWins]

What are your thoughts on Anime reviewer Glass Reflection?

[@EternlGamer]

I don't agree animation quality doesn't matter. It certainly depends on the show. For instance, I would say my enjoyment of Kiki's Delivery Service was dependent on how lively it was animated. Same with Little Witch Academia. To say "animation quality means nothing", I dare you to watch any anime with the inbetweens removed and see how distracting it can be.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

Avenger Like i said in my video, a lot of my favorite anime have low animation quality. As long as the art & directing is good, then the quality of animation can be disregarded.

[@polka_polshka]

灰羽連盟には、その作者が大きな影響を受けたと言われる、村上春樹 著の「世界の終りとハードボイルド・ワンダーランド」という1985年の小説があるので、読んでみると面白いかもしれません。

[@McDudes]

Just watched it and it was awesome!

[@orindae1032]

Love this one.

[@imreplyingtothiscomment2378]

Thanks man

[@Zaka11]

You should cover Shin Sekai Yori or Now and Then, Here and There.

[@justcallmpeter]

i thought haibane renmei was kind of boring. it was probably because of how i was feeling. i should revisit haibane renmei not half asleep then i might like it.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

I would give it a rewatch, you might like it. It is a show that you need to be paying a lot of attention to.

[@ratjockey]

thanks for the video

[@fireignitus9767]

I can't stand many anime because of the one dimensional characters and world (Not saying I don't like anime) many have great consepts have the problems I mentioned. This was an amazing show and definitely one of my favorites of all time

[@porky1118]

I don't fully agree, that a story like this would still be a good story, if the animation quality was much worse. It does have to fulfil some standards, I guess. It needs to be clear, what is presented. If you had the same story, but without animations of the landscape and the places inbetween, which don't seem important, it would probably be a totally different feeling. Or if everyone just had the same face and no expressions, or something like that.

[@Ferilin]

mhm i loved Heibane Renmei. Anime tells stories through being the whole art medium. Animation Quality is a part of storie telling. But i agree when you say in most cases it doesnt matter. Ofc it could be much better with better animation Quality, but the piece is already realy good without it. Fate zero is a good example. The animation Quality may be regarded high. But i dont realy see how it tells its own storie together with the art and the directing so it does not realy do much for me. On the other hand Type moons The garden of sinners wouldnt be able to build a thick atmosphere without the animation quality.

[@Khlaid77]

TNX

[@deavin4293]

What's the backround music

[@justinc6536]

Ailes grises

[@McDudes]

It's 13 episods tho...

[@khosrow]

Subscribed!

[@pokemon7954]

What happened to Hanashi?

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

Zohaib Chauhan I'll be uploading the second episode soon :)

[@pokemon7954]

@AnimeEveryday Nice I really enjoy those pod casts

[@KOTEBANAROT]

hey dude what the hell do you mean by "animation quality"? fate/stay stuff is objectively worse animation quality wise than ping pong.

[@maxuscrap]

cant really agree with the character part the side characters were really underdeveloped but reki was just perf

[@alraisenavecesdario1744]

Having fallen in love with Haibane Renmei, I'm against most of the things you said. Particularly since you attached few reasoning or critique to anything stated.

[@LN.2233]

Ping pong actually did have good animation. The art is the one that is inconsistent. This show just looks low quality and dull.

[@AnimeEverydayYT]

LN2233 The animation in Ping Pong was very poor, Yuasa had to go around lots of studios asking for people to animate it. The production quality of the show was very low, like many of Yuasa's other shows.

[@LN.2233]

AnimeEveryday I found the animation to be cheap but fluid.

[@leonardofernandes9922]

The last episodes felt weird, the show suddenly started being about the uninteresting problems of the characters, and Rakka wasn't the same anymore. This review only applies to the first 10 episodes.

[@khosrow]

I hate to agree.

[@GabrielOliveira-yo7zc]

I believe it was about Reki since the beginning. We had a few tips of Reki's past and her importance here and there, building up to its final episodes. After watching it for a second time, those tips become even more clear (the way Reki asks about Rakka's dream on the first episode looks like she might be wondering if Rakka is like her). About Rakka's change, I think it was part of her character arc thus never thinking she was out of character during the final episodes.