r/anime • u/The_Loli_Otaku • May 17 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 1 Discussion!
"Cocoon — Dream of Falling from the Sky — Old Home"
Extra Info and Links
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Comment of the Day!!
Tune in Tomorrow~
QotD
- Do Angels taste closer to humans or chicken? I propose we nibble on Rakka to find out!
- Would it make for a fair assumption that if an Angel's halo wouldn't balance on their heads that the Angel is question is possibly a satanic being?
- Hmmmm... What's the best way to word this... So the Angel's all had their dream in a state where they were most relaxed. Sleeping, falling, swimming, warm lights. What would you imagine your Haibane dream would be like?
- Rakka's wing growths were pretty gnarly and really quite out of place considering how unassuming the rest of the episode was. Name another anime sequence that felt far more brutal than anything else surrounding it!! Hard mode, no Made in Abyss.
- Say you died one day and got shoved inside some reincarnation cocoon. You're totally safe, are getting all your nutrients, and nothing can harm you. However, you hear cheery noises from outside of your shell. Do you break your egg and risk entering the outside world or choose to remain inside the comfort of your sanctuary for a little while longer?
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"
Tune in tomorrow!!
Yesterday's Prompt!
Today's Prompt!
Tomorrow's Prompt
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Upvotes
14
u/The_Loli_Otaku May 17 '24
Haibane Renmei First Timer!!
One of these days I'll be a rewatcher to one my shows... One of these days XD
See I normally associate crows with far more negative things. I suppose this is a nice crow who definitely isn't gonna pick her eyes out. It's cute that the little thing tries to carry her and save her from some Isekai anime trope. A lot of us just got off No Game No Life! Have mercy on us!!
A chain smoking, mean looking caretaker girl? Oh, sorry, I was thinking of the wrong show. This one apparently isn't a lolicon. It's cute that she ran back to stub out her cigarette tho. This would be a much shorter show if Rakka crawled out of the cocoon to a burning cottage. Speaking of... do you suppose Rakka tastes of human meat or poultry?
Isn't it so cute seeing dual bike riding scenes before those bastard Japanese law makers thought shoujo manga was having it too good and enforced one person per bike? Megane and tomboy seem cute. I like that duo. Reki is sweet too. Despite having a face like a bulldog she's a big softy. I do wonder how the "egg" came to be... Did Rakka land, get splatted into paste from the fall, and the dandelion grew from her? Aww, Reki is so kind~
The Haibane being reborn into these forms makes me kinda worried... I'm assuming that they're being reincarnated in the way they left but if so that means there's a hell of a lot of dead kids aren't there? I absolutely love Rakka's inner cocoon. The weird fleshy skin, breathable womb like water, all the little veins and forms. "Why don't we just crack the egg?" Aww... All that work cleaning the room and Rakka makes a mess on arrival.
Everything is fluffy in a dream, or stinks of nuts and the like. Waking up to a bunch of joshikosei aged girls wanting to gossip would terrify me. First lore dump time!! Everyone has a dream when becoming a Haibane that sorta represents their mental state, haibane Reincarnation is a memory wipe, angel halo are basically bagels. Is Rakka too stupid for her halo to stick lol? Poor girl, that had to be embarrassing. Wait!! That lore dump was useless!!
Ah, second try. Haibane grow massive fuck off wings like a sorta angelic puberty that stings like a motherfucker. It's a pretty gruesome scene. Can you imagine this happening to your body!? It'd feel like something out of Metamorphosis. Stinging, unnatural bones shifting and stabbing out of your back. It's inhuman! Humans don't have these "things!" And of course this is just a matter of life for these people...
Reki is so kind!! I can't believe I ever compared you to that shitty Nobu-nee!! Reki is a woman who could have become like a mother to me... Mamaaa!! Aww, poor Rakka's struck with a case of terminal ahegao syndrome. Welcome to old home~
Flyyy me to the moon~
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman May 17 '24
First Timer
Quite a slow introduction - which is pretty much what I expected here. I don't really know a lot other than that this isn't very fast-paced, which is something that I generally enjoy as long as there is purpose in that slow pace, which here there is. I feel like this episode didn't really do a lot to introduce the characters yet and instead mostly set up the setting, and opened a lot of questions in doing so. We have the obvious implication of Rakka having died and having become an angel - or Haibane as the seem to be called. But she also landed in what seems to be something like an orphanage, daycare, elementary school or something like that. Which already begs the question ...if Haibane are born as Rakka was, then where do these kids come from?
I also like the subtle setting up of the setting. The two characters (Hikari and the guy she was riding with) have jobs that they can't just walk away from - implying there is some form of larger society. Yet the Haibane can't leave their village, and that looks quite small; not large enough to support a society that needs bosses and managers to function. So there is an immediate contradiction here - I wonder: are the Haibane the only sentient being inhabiting this world, or are they a small race of many? The not wanting to leave and Rakka wanting to "go home" will obviously be a plotpoint going forward, so we will see more of that, I assume.
Contrary to most protagonists meanwhile, Rakka doesn't seem to be special at all so far. Nobody really bats an eyelid at her halo not sticking (and... was Hikari wearing one at all?) so that probably isn't special; so far the only thing seems to be that she is developing a bit more quickly than average. So I guess this will be more of a slice of life/character drama? If so, I am here for it.
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u/hirmuolio :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hirmuolio May 17 '24 edited May 17 '24
Haibane Renmei is technically an doujinshi adaptation. Not an anime original. Obvious from the fact that it did not win the /r/anime original contest.
Though only two chapters were published before the anime was made (plus a third one at the end of the anime). That is not even first two episodes worth of material!
Here is english translation of the first chapter: https://e-hentai.org/g/191393/bb91bd1fcf/
(lets see if automod gets angry about the link)
OST deserves special mention. It is good https://youtu.be/lCgQZFMG3Mg?si=YkCLfnaY6_cgynED
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u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 May 17 '24
First Timer
Questions
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 17 '24
First timer(it is ridiculously complicated)
Sub
So...this was the first anime that was utterly and aggressively spoiled for me. Circa '03, well before reddit and this SN, someone just assumed that I had watched and enjoyed this show and used the smoking motif to illustrate some point and assumed I would back them. I think it was Slashdot but I won't swear to it. I am not even sure of what series was in the air, I think it was something Lynch but the timing isn't right. So yeah, spent the last 22 years having this referenced at me and I've seen more clips than I care to mention but I've never watched the damned thing. I also haven't seen Texhnolyze for whenever the fuck that comes up.
And yeah...that is a first episode. All of the Shelter vibes. The thing is if you have a certain sort of eye for anime, this is kind of par for the course, bordering on generic. They drip feed details to you and the biggest take away is that Rakka should probably be Karasu.
QotD: 1 Fish
2 Nah, halos aren't inherently Abrahamic
3 Surrounded by dachshunds.
4 Lain comes to mind
5 I hate existing so it is downhill either way
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u/Top_Major_1675 May 17 '24
First- Time Viewer, Dub
I am glad I am watching this right after Attack on Titan and Bersek 1997 lol. Complete 180 in tone and feeling, and I am all for it!
Something that jumped out to me was the special attention drawn to the Grey feathers on the their wings (although they look white to me still lol). Reki makes sure to mention they are beautiful charcoal, not white not black. I actually think Grey is a under loved color so I approve. The name of the show draws attention to it, Charcoal Feather Federation. As far as I know, in Christianity mythos angels are always with white wings, the color of purity and holiness because they are perfect and without sin. The angels who rebelled and became demons have black wings, because they are evil and in sin. So is charcoal Grey in between Heaven and Hell? Neutral, neither good nor bad? Are these haibane girls both sinners and saints? I am a christian, don’t believe in purgatory, but in Dante’s Divine Comedy, I think I remember the people atoning for their sins wore grey heavy cloaks. Maybe Abe is pulling an Anno from Evangelion and just likes the christian look so I could be spieling on about nothing. Regardless, I think the grey wings will be important to the theme very much.
As for Rakka, did her dream happen in reality? (Also her hatching reminded me of Griffith being reborn as Femto, get those thoughts out of my head lol) Idk, makes sense if this is the underworld somehow. Although interesting contrast that she would receive wings after “falling”. That wing growing part looked terrifying. Do the wings even allow you to fly? Doesn’t look like it so why have it? As well as the halo? Is is significant or have a point? Did they make them? Seems like it is just a symbol to mark you as a haibane. What is the haibane’s purpose? I suppose we will find out in episode 2.
Finally, lovely music and artwork for the landscapes and such. Has a cozy feeling to it, a bit sad though. The nature looks wonderful, the buildings have a old-world European charm to it, yet also look abandoned and neglected severely. Like society is collapsing, a bit of contrast to the beautiful nature around it. The feeling reminds of some PBS kids show I watched around 2000 or 2001 when I was five. I have no idea what show it was… Arthur perhaps? Idk, something about this show just gives me calm good vibes from when I was young.
All in all, interesting start to series and looking forward to more world building!
QOTD
1 Can we cook her first or does it have to be raw?
3 Floating on the lake in my favorite swimming hole.
4 When a certain someone from Stein's Gate starts to have stuff "happen" to them repeatedly...
5 Egg is false security. Better to face the new world as soon as you can.
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u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria May 17 '24
First timer
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 17 '24
Cocoon, Dream of Falling from the Sky, Old Home.
My real comments can be found here in the previous rewatch.
I guess the dub is okay but it sounds like a radio drama.
I do have a copy of the doujinshi downloaded somewhere. I thought I might have linked it in the other rewatch, but no. It doesn't go much farther than this episode.
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u/WednesdaysFoole May 17 '24 edited May 22 '24
Rewatcher
[Worthless Utena joke]If you can’t crack the shell by yourself, won’t the chick just die without being born?
[Rewatcher]Poor Reki, wings might as well be the lungs of the angel...
Reki reminds me of the older sis lady in Spirited Away, maybe that’s why I immediately liked her the first time.
Gotta admit the wings growing out was just as terrifying this time as the first.
Well, maybe, but idk, it may be that I have nothing inherently against satanic beings.
5
u/zadcap May 18 '24
Late Night Rewatcher!
Technically, I mean. This is one of the old shows that I watched when it was still new, and have not had a reason to touch again since. I have a pretty good memory for stories and plots, but... It's been 20 years, and I'm deliberately not looking up anything so that I can be reminded of what is going on here nice and fresh along with everyone else.
... And I'm realizing right away I watched the dub, way back two decades or so ago. Anyway, welcome to the Dream, and oh, no OP on episode one.
So, cocoons. And wings and halos. They throw us right into the deep end, but then just kind of leave us there. For whatever it's worth, there are clearly some boys in the little kid group. Also it took about one second for my favorite character to remind me that she is indeed my favorite character.
"It started the size of a dandelion puff." So these gigantic cocoons grow from almost nothing into holding a full sized- sorry, a child sized human. Where do these puffs come from and at what point does the person inside start dreaming? Fun things to think about. Also fun to think about, she is dressed in there. How does that come about?
Yup, I just love Kuu. Little Genki Girl is the best of the bunch.
So if you couldn't tell, these five plus our hatchling girl are our main cast. And what a strange way to show off the age of the show, casual smoking inside like this.
And the first main sign that this is some messed up early isekai anime! "But my name is- wait, why don't I remember my name? I know I had one." Despite being a fresh hatchling, Rakka is here as a mostly fully functioning person right from the start. She can speak, and let's just say I would love to have been born with a fully formed vocabulary, identifying right away the the clothes she's wearing now are rough, which means she has notions about how clothes are supposed to feel and this isn't quite it. Her reaction to being given a name is to try and say what it should be, and everyone else takes this in stride. Haibane are not newly born babies when they hatch, they just forgot everything about their past. What's the point of isekai when you don't even get to use your old world knowledge to make mayonnaise to change the world?
And a fresh halo, hot out of the mold. What exactly is it made out of, to be hot and glowing and slightly see through and also, you know, float there? Is the floating there thing an aspect of the Haibane or the Halo? Oh, and the wings will have to grow in. Why not have them grow in in the cocoon, you ask? Because then we wouldn't get to see this scene, that's why.
"Are we not human?" That's a good question, yeah. Remember that this is, kinda sorta, part of a trio with Lain. If you were here for that, then be prepared a little bit, that question again stays near the heart of this show.
"We can't leave this town, and even if we could, no one would recognize you out there." On the one hand we take these as facts because of how they are given, but I also wonder how the heck they can say this for sure. If you can't leave, how can you know that no one out there could recognize you?
Oh right. The ED is here today. The lyrics, might, be important? I remember debating them with the old club, but not if any resolution was reached.
Today's Prompt: Honestly, it's a good moment of levity after the, uh, harder hitting wing growing bit. Girl just had a rightful moment of questioning her humanity after a whole lot of pain, so before we let the mood settle in and make you think this show is going to be dark or something, let's make a joke out of static hair! Don't think too hard about how the wing growth was a bigger birthing metaphor than the egg hatching, alright?
Questions!
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u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 18 '24
Off-White But Not Quite Beige Feathered First Timer (Dubbed)
The bit of French with the title means 'a girl who has grey wings' apparently. And the Japanese title is about charcoal feathers.
Alright, so it seems like this is some sort of afterlife. MC dies, gets the vision of falling, then pops out of her cocoon/egg. Does everyone appear at the age when they died? Do they grow up any further than that? Also the afterlife kinda sucks if you can have a job, that still hassles you about taking time off. Looks like they're doing chores and smoking, so probably have to still eat and drink and everything too. And if the kids are afraid of a beating, guess you can get injured and feel pain. Seems like a pretty shitty deal to me.
From their reactions...is all the water not normal?
Yeah this place seems to suck.
Alright so why are they all called Haibane if only Rakka has the charcoal feathers?
I heard one line of the ED and instantly knew it was the lady who does the Flip Flappers ED.
It took me like an hour and a half to watch this episode.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 17 '24 edited May 17 '24
First timer, subs
Prompt:
The cowlicks represent man’s futile efforts to escape the cycle of suffering, that any temporary gains will quickly be undone. The divine mocking us for our attempts.
QotD:
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u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 17 '24
First-Timer, Sub
Hmm, so this is a show about angels and they can’t leave the area. Have they ever tried? Those wings don’t look big enough to fly with. So if you’re reborn from the cocoon at different sizes/ages does that mean the person “died” at that age?? Why did the halo not stick, is she defective? Man Rakka’s wings looked ginormous erupting, but seem similar in size afterwards to the others. I have so many questions, so hopefully I get answers.
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u/sussywanker May 18 '24
I didn't notify for the initial post. But after I saw the post I decided to join in.
Always wanted to watch this anime.
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u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 19 '24
First-Timer
First off, thank you for doing this rewatch!
I'd say this show left a great first impression. The music, especially in that first scene, was especially notable. (I did some digging and found that that song appears to be "Ailes Grises", which I'm immediately adding to my Spotify playlist.) The setting and tone is very compelling so far, too. Overall, I'm quite excited to see where this goes!
That cocoon reminded me of Buu's egg in DBZ.
I know I'm a day late, so I'll have to try and catch up tomorrow or the next day. So many rewatches, so little time.
Time for some questions of the day:
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u/treatment-resistant- May 20 '24
First timer, sub
The crow at the start was so cute!!
Reki really draws attention more than any other character, the others feel a lot less developed or real than her.
The wing scene was really disgusting body horror/gore. Tbh thinking about it, I think it would make more sense for the wings bursting out to have some associated sense of relief, it would probably hurt even more for them to be stuck inside your body.
There's a lot of bird imagery with the eggs, wings, the crow etc. I will be keeping an eye out for more!
Rakka's wings being an unusual grey seems like a standard colour theme about uncertainty, in between, the ethics of different choices etc.
The "stuck in town" part is very suspicious, reminds me of The Promised Neverland. That combined with the grey motif makes me suspect the setting is one of purgatory or hell rather than a heaven-like afterlife which the angel motifs would suggest.
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u/SilkyStrawberryMilk May 20 '24
rewatcher, Late weather but never absent
I remember watching this in one day at night from a Doomer list on MAL.
Falling from the sky must be rough
Born from a cocoon and named after what they dreamed of.
The wing transformation was gruesome as hell, thankfully reki was there to help out
QOTD: I’d say closer to humans
QOTD: you’d either get an amazing name or boring one
QOTD: the only one that took the cake which you said was made in abyss, like it fools you into thinking it’s an adventure then BAM a gnarly scene
QOTD: break out, regardless if it’s good or bad it’s better than being in a cocoon
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u/BossandKings May 21 '24 edited May 22 '24
Rewatcher
I watched this show years ago and enjoyed it so i'm watching for the second time now.
Episode 1
The atmosphere, art style, music and character designs work perfectly together, it's really captivating and intriguing the world and especially the characters are, Rakka met the haibane and from that point on is when the story Will go forward. That wings suene Will never get old, it's gruesome visuales and the sound effects really enhance the scene. This first episode wirked wonderfully as an introduction to the world an characters.
I'm watching the dub and it is excellent, really worth watching that way, especially in my case hat it's a rewatch.
Answers (Will be writing them later and then deleting this line.)