Website - Haibane Renmei

Haibane Renmei is an anime series. It is also one of my favorites. It became my first purchased anime series.

See the related links section at the bottom of this page for some bookmarks that go with it.

Characters

These are the most involved characters of the story. There are several more that I don't list here.

Rakka

The main character. Frizzy hair, newly-arrived Haibane. Her name means "falling".

Reki

An older Haibane who looks out for Rakka. Her name means "small stone". She helps out with the children that stay at Old Home.

Kuu

The youngest (and most energetic) Haibane at Old Home, where Rakka and Reki live. Her name means "sky".

Nemu

The oldest of the Haibane. Her name means "sleep". She works in the library.

Story

Rakka has a dream where she is falling from the sky. A crow tries to keep her from falling, but she is too heavy. She wakes up inside of a cocoon. Upon breaking free of the cocoon, she finds herself in a large, many-roomed, run-down place called "Old Home".

The other people around her have wings and call themselves Haibane. Rakka is also a Haibane, as her wings grow the day after she hatches from the cocoon. Reki tries to make the process less painful, and befriends Rakka.

From there, the story focuses on the life journey of Rakka and Reki as they try to cope with life, dreams, and the world around them.

Miscellaneous stuff

Associations

Haibane Renmei is composed of many elements. Here are a few of them.

• Walking in winter, looking for answers.
• Glazed doughnuts.
• Windmills with bright edges.
• Feeling sad in cold weather.
• Finding forgiveness — the hard questions of life are not meant to be made artificially easy.
• The delightful quiet of a library.
• Having to depend on others for clothing and money.
• Finding a job that you can do.
• Coping with separation from a close friend.

Quotes

Here is a riddle from the series. Rakka received this from the leader/priest of the Haibane Renmei (the council that takes care of the Haibane).

Sinners do not know their own sin.
If you know your own sin, are you a sinner?

Works page

Related: Art/Anime/Haibane_Renmei

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[ Front | Website | Index | Source ] Last updated Nov. 19, 2005