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Title: Haibanei Renmei
Created by: Yoshitoshi Abe
Genre: Drama Series
Episode: 13 (complete)



Imagine being born from a coccoon that fell from the sky. Imagine that soon after, one grows wings. Imagine having a halo on one's head. imagine that one is not alone, & that there are others. Others that also have wings & halo. The Haibanei.

Haibane, literally translated, means ash wing. Renmei literally means federation or league. Therefore the official english translation for Haibane Renmei is Charcoal Feathers Federation.


note: this picture is not a screenshot of the anime as it originates from one of the artbooks by Yoshitoshi Abe.

This story is created by Yoshitoshi Abe, one who drew the character art for Serial Experiment Lain. & unlike Lain, this story is entirely written by Abe.

After watching the whole 13 episodes in the span of 4 days, which is something i always avoid doing (watching a series in such short timespan, that is), this series is definitely one of the best i've watched. It is gorgeous, it is moving, the music is wonderful - nothing short which makes Haibanei Renmei one of the most memorable anime for me.



It may also be slow moving, but this series is filled with a lot of dialogues & interactions between characters which help a lot in identifying with them & fleshing them out. From the start till finish, the story doesn't bog down & although the end of episode 13 makes me thirst for more stories about the Haibanei, it is a good ending that has a sense of closure.

More than the mysteries of the premise itself, the series emphasises on the characters as well as the subject of redemption & salvation. I can't help but feel warm all over when i watch this series.



Visual
Since it is made for TV, like most anime series, the art is not too detailed yet not too sparse at the same time. It is bright most of the time with few dark scenes, which the contrasts are quite well balanced. Unlike most anime which incorporate very striking colours, Abe used more soft colours. According to Abe in an interview, he felt that the right choice of colours, & that doesn't mean striking colours, are more effective in achieving the right impact. The characters are very well drawn & the art is also very interesting, especially when it comes to certain cultures regarding the Haibanei. An example would be the bells tied to the wings whenever they visit the Haibane Renmei, a federation of some kind that takes care of the Haibane in this totally walled up town.



Audio
The dialogues are well done with the voices done convincingly (as far as i can tell though i don't know japanese). The character voices, though some are cutesy, are not too cutesy to the point of annoyance. It works wonderfully well here. there are english audio too for this series but the set that i have only comes with japanese audio.

The music though quiet & seemingly sparse, is beautiful especially the intro music, which is going to be one of my personal favourite. The ending credit music is not the typical J-pop & it has this new age feel to it, so it is refreshing indeed. I feel that the soundtrack of this series is definitely worth checking out.

Animation
Though there are few noticable quirky animation (again, walking animation is one of the trickiest especially with traditional animation as evidenced in this series), overall all are done well & smooth. Other things about the characters however are very well animated. Often the little things such as the young Haibane (also called Young Feathers) practise fluttering their wings, a new Haibane trying to put on a dress with slits at the back meant for the wings, can be very realistic & insightful on how the Haibane live their daily lives.



This series is safe to watch with the kids though they may not understand what is going on as some parts of the stories (typical of animes, really) were left unexplained thus giving the audience freedom to interpret. This is not a bad thing as the author (according to an interview) wanted the audience to think for themselves on what is going on & why.

This is a quiet little series with a lot to offer - a big heart & most of all, the feel good factor. enjoy! :-/



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