Info
- Title:: Haibane Renmei
- TitleEN:: Haibane Renmei
- Studio:: Radix
- Year:: 2002
- Format:: series
- Episodes:: 13
Log
2022-08-09 – 2022-09-21
ep1: 2022-08-09
…so when can we start reading this as a metaphor for queerness?
ep2: 2022-08-31
i did like episode 1, i swear!
the way the town dynamics are set up makes this interesting. like it was setting the haibane up as second-class citizens – and they very much are – but it also seems like the human townspeople are caught up in larger power dynamics too.
ep3
wherein hikari invents donuts
(or bundt cakes. it’s unclear)
but also this is a very comfy show. i think it’s like what i wanted aria to be, but it also got a bit too anime at times. this is relaxed all the way through though, and it has a ghibli-esque pleasantness to it…
(at least for now)
ep4
wait. kana’s a girl?
hot
though her describing the town as being protective of the haibane is maybe telling. or maybe i want to read this as being reflective of my experience living in a (sorta) queer refuge city, though it would likely be more accurate to think in terms of them being more like an ethnic group.
yet also the restrictions placed on them mostly manifest structurally. the humans are relatively nice to them…
i assume the parallels between human, haibane, and crow are going to be drawn out more soon too, since really the haibane are a kind of docile, cooperative scavenger.
ep5: 2022-09-01
awww the origin story of the haibane made me tear up…
do they really see themselves as failed creations?
ep6
we’re about halfway though and even still it feels like we’re still setting up exposition. and maybe that’s the point: we’re exploring this world one step at a time along with her. i just don’t see how this is going to build into a greater story with a conclusion yet.
but also i can’t say i really care, since i do love being here.
it really does remind me of Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) in how so much of the joy from that one comes from exploring the town and its inhabitants alongside kiki. yet also this anime is very reticent about showing its full hand, in much the same way that lain is.
ep7: 2022-09-04
we were due for something new but rakka coping with the grief of losing a loved one is maybe the most natural and human one they could’ve gone with… but that also means it works really well here.
ep8: 2022-09-13
i think i would kiss her too, and maybe it would help with her sadness.
ep9: 2022-09-19 ★
god this episode was good
- “One who recognizes their own sin, has no sin.”
- i know they’ve been around for a bit but the wing covers are super cute~
ep10
i love this world so much
even as we’re nearing the end it still feels like there’s so much more to discover.
and awww reki needs to be needed.
(i get the feeling that reki’s is the interpersonal story that the creator wants to tell, whereas rakka’s story is more one through which we explore the world itself)
ep11: 2022-09-20
maybe i fell asleep before the end of it, maybe i fell asleep during the ending, but i definitely remember feeling like i kept watching into the next episode… or maybe i just dreamed what the next episode would be.
ep12: 2022-09-21
fuck. this one’s about the power of friendship too huh…
ep13
a lot of these episodes made me cry, and this was no exception.
this is such a charming show.