Classics of Anime: Haibane Renmei

Written by Kevin Leathers on 08 May 2009

It's easy to forget that, like in a lot of media, you don’t need big explosions, fancy effects or so much cleavage you swear you could hear the screams of fallen men to have a series that is held in high regard. That a series can have such a strong cast and setting that you will happily talk about it for hours with like minded viewers. Haibane Renmei is one of those series and we are going to take a deeper look at this heavenly anime.

Haibane Renmei is one of those anime that has such a humble beginning, it just adds so much more to the charm of the series. Originally created by Yoshitoshi ABe, the very first version of Haibane Renmei was a dōjinshi (self-published magazine) released back in 1998 that actually bore very little resemblance to the final anime, with the featuring of people with halos and grey wings being the only link.

The Haibane Renmei that we all know did not come into existence until ABe reworked the title into The Haibane of Old Home, featuring new characters and a completely new plot. The dōjinshi was about 24 pages long and was the basis for the first episode, featuring roughly two thirds of what would become that episode. This would be followed by the next release which finished up the first episode's story and would begin the plot of what would then become the second episode of the series.

By this time the dōjinshi was gaining in popularity within the market in Japan, which prompted the creation of the anime and effectively the end of ABe’s work. Before this happened though, two special dōjinshis were created called the “Lifestyle Diary" and the "Extra Edition". The “Lifestyle” dōjinshi was to first provide the news that the series had been licensed as an anime and that no more dōjinshi would be created to build upon the world of the Haibanes. The dōjinshi also covered the specifics on character designs, from personality even down to shoe design, as well as layouts of the town and some of the key buildings from the series. It also contained several four-panel comics depicting the lives of the Haibane, even giving some time to the series protagonist Rakka and her curiosity towards her halo and wings. This kind of detail allowed for early fans to get a look into the series before the anime officially began later on in 2002 and gave the world of Haibane that much more life.

But what actually makes Haibane Renmei a classic of anime? We know that the series used interesting characters to help it stand out from the crowd, but it was the world itself that was the true star of the piece. Set within the confines of a walled town, we get a quick skyward snap-shot of it, or at least we think we do, as Rakka has her dream within her cocoon (more on that later). Once Rakka comes to be a part of the Haibane and starts to explore the town of Glie, we get to be a part of a wonderful rural town where the rules of the Haibane are met, but the townsfolk are happy to help in anyway they can. All Haibane must work at jobs in Glie and are not allowed to own anything new or use money, and are forbidden to touch or go near the walls surrounding Glie and the local countryside -Rules that are strictly enforced by the organisation overseeing the Haibane, the Haibane Renmei ("Charcoal Feather Federation").