Rating: 
Summary: An Anime On Par With The Best Of Studio Ghibli
Review: "Haibane Renmei Volume 1: New Feathers" is one of the most beautifully animated, intriguiging, well-layered and fascinating DVDs ever released, and features an outstanding sound job, from the mesmerising music to the great voice cast to the general sound effects. An Earth girl dies and is reborn in a castle in some other realm, emerging from some coccoon-like structure in the same physical form, with little memory of her previous life, and is befriended by others like herself who have apparantly arrived in the same manner at different points in time. Near the castle is a small idyllic village, with village and castle both surrounded by a great stone wall, which is the source of the castle's ironclad rule: no one goes outside the wall. Ever.
Enigmatic figures from outside do come inside the wall on occasion, however. The whole wall thing is one part of this sense of dark foreboding that lingers on the periphery on an otherwise bright and wonder-filled movie. It's clear from the onset that the "Haibane Renmei" saga is going to mix darkness and intensity with light and whimsey and wonder, in the tradition of "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away". Unlike feature movies though, Haibane Renmei is a full series stretched over a number of DVDs, and it derives a great deal of its vast strength from that. If this was a hundred-minute live action film from the west, or even a 2-and-a-half hour animated feature from Asia, it would have no choice but to focus mainly on the 'major' events, and the fascinating 'slice-of-life' segments (in this new world where life is a very enigmatic thing) would be rushed through or omitted, and a smaller number of characters would be given time to develop. As it is, the show is perfectly paced, with plently of time for scenes like the new girl travelling with her friends to the various places where they each work within the village, trying to find her own niche. If you're looking for something with constant action and a major revelation every ten minutes Haibane may be too slow for you (not that there's anything wrong with that type of film - "Galerians: Rion" and "Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" both pretty well fit that description and are tremendously great films). But if you like big actionate/dramatic moments and big revelations, PLUS a chance for subplots to flow through in their own time and enhance the whole experience, and for multiple characters to get their screen time, and for slower times to just appreciate the conceptual design and the perfect animation and the beautiful use of colrs, then you've hit the jackpot here.
The villagers are all likable, but seem to carry some shared secret they're hiding from the castle's inhabitants...or is it that they for some reason fear those inhabitants? And yes, as the "New Feathers" subtitle implies, the arrivals sprout wings shortly after their emergence at the castle.
I don't yet know how the whole 5-volume cycle is going to end, but this is a magnificent beginning for the series; pure magic shadowed by captivating hints of dark.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the Amazon.com editorial review
Review: Adding to what the previous customer review says. Each of the haibane come to the town of Guri in a seed pod, that flies into the walled town and grows into a cocoon. They emerge at the same age of their previous life and their names are derived from the dream they had while 'growing' inside. Nemu and Reki have been there the longest, of the haibane, and Rakka is the new arrival.I have seen the entire series and have already preordered the box. Though I did not like SEL I have fallen in love with Haibane Renmei. The pace, art, music, and story are very refreshing compared to your typical slapstick laden, fanservice filled anime. The less you know about the plot the more intriguing the story is. I eagerly await the rest of the DVDs.
Rating:
Summary: Amazon's review falls short
Review: As an artist I am in love with this series. The world is richly portrayed, and unique in it's blend of asian, european and fantastic elements. The story is slow to develop but in a good way, there is a gentle, soft telling of a tale here which is rare and unique, and the characters and unfolding plot are better for it. You can't watch this series without becoming aware of the obvious care and devotion the artists have put into it. This is an animation which evolved from a written story, which evolved from a piece of poetry, so maybe there is some literary aspect of it that failed to engage the Amazon reviewer. But don't believe it, there is a lot going for Haibane Renmei beyond it's artwork. The story, the characters, and the world they live in have depth and heart. It compares favorably to some of anime's great titles, notably "Spirited Away," "Castle in the Sky," "Lain," and "Key the Metal Idol." If you liked any of these, you will enjoy Haibane Renmei. I strongly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the Amazon review!
Review: Charles Solomon is so wrong. This is not a dull series nor are its characters uninteresting. It's true that Haibane Renmei doesn't kick off straight into a storyline. But I have seen many a dull anime series, most of which did launch a storyline at first base. Haibane Renmei is far more subtle than your usual anime encounter. And its characters are far more realistic than most. They don't fly into tantrums or get cartoonishly excited. They have very relatable qualities and are truly likeable people. Now don't get me wrong, hyperactive or very dynamic anime characters are not necessarily a bad thing but they're not the only way to portray human beings. Haibane Renmei just does it differently. Unless you're the type of person who only wants to see fights, explosions and charaters superdeformating every thirty seconds and can't be satisfied with an anime series unless something big is occurring every five minutes, I highley recommend this series. It's not cluelessly boring as Charles Solomon wants to think. It's just very subtle and it expects you to invest some interest instead of sitting back and waiting for something to happen. I could also spend time pointing out the beautiful landscapes and character designs and the superior yet truly underapprieciated dialogue that goes into this series but...well I just did. The main point that I wanted to make was that Haibane Renmei is an excellent series and very much worth watching as long you can apprieciate anime of a more mature kind.
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: Chris Solomon, are you sure you watched the same anime that I (and many others) have seen? It is true that the begining is a bit slow, but to view the series as a whole...
Wow.
The last episodes were amazing.
The characters are not uninteresting, at all. They are REAL people. ABe has a way of making the extraordinary into ordinary. Mr. Solomon, I bet you were expecting a sterotypical one, weren't you? Well, this one is nothing like the norm.
The series makes you think, and it has very beautiful music to help.
I would reccomend it, definitley. (The last episode was reallyreallyreallyreally good, I mean- if the series doesn't interest you at all [can't see why it wouldn't though] I'd watch it just to see the last episode.)
Rating:
Summary: Csoundara has it wrong.
Review: Completely wrong. Haibane Renmei is of a very deep level...So deep, it will absolutely fly over any kids head. An entire forum at sekai no hajimari site still continues making threads discussing every facet of the anime, and Haibane renmei can be viewed and enjoyed on several levels. It is at its deepest that you really realize how truly great it is. The story may seem shallow at first, but to take Haibane renmei at face value and dismiss it after first episode is a travesty. Its not that this anime is dull, quite the opposite. It is a slice of life type anime, heavy on drama and values of friendship, love, and forgiveness, and it is just too thought provoking to simply sit down and watch for sheer throwaway entertainment. It is a masterpiece,and really theres no other way to describe it. The story isnt all that hard to grasp if you just take time to think about it, and you will find yourselves truly caring about the characters. The artwork and animation is beautiful, the setting is very European looking, like an old medieval town almost. The whole anime has a very mysterious and light, airy feel to it, but as the latter episodes show, there is a much more somber, serious, and dark tone underneath. This is an anime rich in culture, religion, personality, charm, and substance. Highly HIGHLY recommended.
Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece. pure and simple.
Review: Csoundara has it wrong. Completely wrong. Haibane Renmei is of a very deep level...So deep, it will absolutely fly over any kids head. An entire forum at sekai no hajimari site still continues making threads discussing every facet of the anime, and Haibane renmei can be viewed and enjoyed on several levels. It is at its deepest that you really realize how truly great it is. The story may seem shallow at first, but to take Haibane renmei at face value and dismiss it after first episode is a travesty. Its not that this anime is dull, quite the opposite. It is a slice of life type anime, heavy on drama and values of friendship, love, and forgiveness, and it is just too thought provoking to simply sit down and watch for sheer throwaway entertainment. It is a masterpiece,and really theres no other way to describe it. The story isnt all that hard to grasp if you just take time to think about it, and you will find yourselves truly caring about the characters. The artwork and animation is beautiful, the setting is very European looking, like an old medieval town almost. The whole anime has a very mysterious and light, airy feel to it, but as the latter episodes show, there is a much more somber, serious, and dark tone underneath. This is an anime rich in culture, religion, personality, charm, and substance. Highly HIGHLY recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure
Review: Haibane Renmei is a rare treat - an anime that utterly eschews bright colors, violence, nudity, and giant robots, yet is utterly captivating. The pace is somewhat slow at first, but it serves to deepen the numinous mystery of the setting. The effect is one of deep unease. What is the nature and purpose of the Haibane? The answer seems destined to be unsettling. We get to know all the major characters in the first disk, as well as the lay of the land - Old Home, the town, and the Wall. The latter will play an important role in the series to be sure, but in an unexpected way. The real meat of the story is the growth of Rakka's character and her relationships with the other Haibane. This is what makes Haibane Renmei a treasure. The collector's box, pencil boards, and the Haibane Hakusho (info booklet) are all wonderful additions to this DVD. Extras on the DVD are pretty standard for an anime, and include previews for other series, some character sketches, and a few other things like that. The English dubs aren't exceptional, certainly inferior to the Japanese voice talent. Hopefully the other volumes will include a more interesting assortment of extras.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Haibane Renmei is clearly the finest work thus far from the creators of Lain, Neia Under 7 and Haibane Renmei. It has quickly risen to a place among my top anime series. Like other reviewers have noted, it is best compared with Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away, two seminal works in anime in their own right. It is best categorized with the Studio Ghibli-style of anime; slower pace, low action, fantastic story. If you enjoy Studio Ghibli, there's very little doubt in my mind that you'd love Haibane Renmei. I highly recommend this series. I am eagerly awaiting the final volume to be released and future shows from this great studio.
Rating:
Summary: Stairway to Heaven!
Review: Haibane Renmei is definately the most moving anime, i ever saw. Nearly everything's perfect here: The pictures, the characters, the soundtrack and (of course) the story. Even if it's told very slowly, the story unfolds to a great tale about guilt and expiation, friendship and life itself. An anime which is equally philosophical, tragic and humorous - how often can you find something like that?
Surely worth buying...
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