The Anime is called Haibane Renmei. It is by far, one of the best Anime I have ever seen.
If you've had the chance to see Air, this one blows it out of the water.
A kind of a pre-requisite for this one is that you are familiar with and understand the basic principles of the Catholic, Buddhist and Shinto religions so to speak.
I was unsure werther or not I'd post about it here until I saw it to the end, because I had limited knowledge of the three religions so the Anime didn't make too much sense to me past the obvious. After I read other people's take on it (like Buddhist monks) and realised the inherit symbolism, the depth sort of blew me away.
I enjoyed it without realising a lot of it, and now after I got it I feel extremely lucky to have taken it up for viewing.
I'll give you a short story overview from a site that contains HR information.
One very important mention is that this anime is produced by the studio which made Serial Experiments Lain. Even though the art and drawing is vastly superior to SEL, it still bears some resemblence to the art style. And so does the story, though it may not be as complex as SEL was.Story Overview
Based on a doujinshi manga by Yoshitoshi ABe, Haibane Renmei ("Charcoal Feather Federation") follows the story of a girl named Rakka, beginning with her dream of falling through the sky and her subsequent birth out of a large cocoon. Rakka is a Haibane; she looks like a normal girl except for a halo and a pair of vestigial ash-grey wings. No one truly knows what the Haibane are. When they are born, they remember nothing of their previous life, and even their names come from the dream they had while in the cocoon ('Rakka,' for example, means 'falling' or 'descent').
Rakka lives in the Haibane Nest called Old Home, in the town of Guri. Guri is surrounded by a massive wall - no one is allowed to touch it or pass through its gates except traders from the outside known as the Touga. A mysterious organization known as the Haibane Renmei oversees and protects the Haibane and orchestrates their dealings with the townspeople. Haibane have specific rules which govern their lives:
- Haibane must find some sort of work. This is their way of giving back to the town, which pays for the heating and electricity costs at Old Home.
- Haibane are not allowed to use anything new. All their possessions, including clothes, must be used items which the townspeople no longer want.
- Haibane do not use money. All their transactions are marked down in their handbook, and presumably people are reimbursed by the Haibane Renmei at a later date.
The thirteen episodes of the series follow Rakka as she learns more and more about her surroundings, her fellow Haibane, and ultimately about herself. It is a dramatic, gripping show which will sometimes make you smile, and sometimes tears at your heart. It deals with serious issues of loss, grief, and self which keep you riveted and draw you close to the characters.
Highly reccomended from me.
