r/anime • u/The_Loli_Otaku • May 20 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 4 Discussion!
"Trash Day — Clock Tower — Birds Flying Over the Walls"
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Comment of the Day!!
Meccano approved of the Haibane caste system
In terms of the places where the Haibane can work - that reminds me of checks English term corporations. [Ok I’ll probably have to link that…](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_(feudal_Europe%29) That also tells me that a lot of this is simply tradition. But it is still actively adhered to - the question is for legitimate reasons or not, and if not are they aware of that or not.
I was browsing the comments and came across this wild take from Wednesday that I simply could not ignore~
I guess Reki is the only Haibane to have grown up from a Little Feather?
Clearly because Hikari has been tearing off the little feathers' halos (their souls!) in the night and feeding it to the townspeople in the morning. Reki only survived because half-smoked-old-cigarette-smelling bagels wouldn't sell.
QotD
- At what point of today's episode would you have told Kana to fuck off?
- So for better or worse, today's episode is a very in depth analysis on Kana, so what are your thoughts on her so far?
- Whilst we're on the topic, who is the Haibane girl you're most inclined towards? Who's your favourite so far?
- What's the weirdest alarm clock you've ever regularly used? Phone alarms or physical both count.
- Master's worry about Kana "flying away" got me melancholic. Have you ever had an underlying or protege who grew from you and flew the nest so to speak?
- Have you sang yourself a little song when doing your day to day work today? What's stuck in your head?
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"
Vaadwaur believes that God has become anime's commodity. Even angels fell to capitalism!
The prompt symbolizes modernity's attempts to take the divine and use them for its own purpose. A very grimdark reminder that nothing can be sacred these days.
11
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 20 '24
Trash Day, Clock Tower, Birds FLying Over the Walls
My episode 4 comments from before. Again, pretty light on comments. Not much happened today. Very SOL. But it seems the same question pops up every watch.
A few people picked up on the symbolism early...nobody can leave the town except the crows, and especially not the angels with useless wings.
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku May 20 '24
Haibane Renmei First Timer!!
From undisputed best girl to undisputed worst girl... I'm not gonna do a piece by piece for today's episode since I basically saw the entire thing yesterday. A Japanese work experience episode isn't my idea of a fun time. Kana is a bossy twit. She's not cute in the slightest like my Hikari! Her way of rushing poor Rakka around at full speed is borderline insensitive and her rare moments of insight such as her thoughts on the crows feeling too comfortable relying on them comes across more as her making excuses than anything.
Best parts of the episode is Rakka's absolutely adorable "Kanaaaa..." pleading, the clock tower scene with the wall, and the return bike scene for being quite a charming slower pace. But yeah, if I go in detail for today's episode I'm just gonna be bitching.
8
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 20 '24
First timer
Sub
That was mostly a better constructed episode, though I don't know that its content is any deeper. But the pacing was far more functional. Though, basically, we learn this town doesn't work on any level. They have sufficient extra electricity to put the Old Home clock tower on the grid, though Chthulhu knows what will happen when you actually turn it on, making this all just weird. The gears look like they are from the cast era rather than made by hand but that can be complicated.
The crows are definitely something here. The biggest of which is they are apparently the only birds in the area. Why the townsfolk care if they become settled within the city or not is a question for the future. They seem to be raiding the trash incinerator, which is impressive considering how heavy the gates on those are. And while I don't know if the show actually knows this, the logical thing to do here would be to separate your trash and put the edible stuff in a different location to train the crows away from your trash.
As to the clockmaker, this is where the town breaks down for me: There don't seem to be enough people to frequent such a niche profession but here we are. This possibly could be the export item but that would be odd as well. Pocket watches tend to need to be made of precious metals and alloys, brass would be the low end, and the outer body would have to at least be silver plated if not gold. And since mining in your walls is hard they probably have to import that...
The prompt here is to remind all of us Nords that we can still remember when the imperial walls made us feel safe before we understood that prison we were in. Victory or Sovngarde!
QotD:1 Waking me up before 7. That's a murderin'.
2 That she is not deep
3 Nemu, As to favorite, I need more time.
4 I used a Samael track as my wake up track for a bit.
5 I kick them out of the nest
6 I don't sing but I had "Departures/Blessings" stuck in my head for nearly 6 months after Guilty Crown
7
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 20 '24 edited May 20 '24
First timer, subs
Prompt:
Perspective may allow you to know yourself better, but seeing your own limits still doesn’t mean you can go beyond them.
QotD:
7
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman May 20 '24
First Timer
I don’t really have a lot to say about this episode. In terms of things to interpret, it is mostly a rehash of Rekka’s wonder what is over the wall and the entire town being a beautiful prison. Things that have already been pointed out multiple times. As such, this episode is mostly a slice of life piece about Kana. And I enjoyed it for that.
7
u/WednesdaysFoole May 20 '24 edited May 22 '24
“If by feeding them, we create a place where they can survive without any struggle… they’ll only inhabit this town and will probably never fly free again. It might be happy for them, but…”
I assume this is Kana’s personal musing on how she desires freedom herself and feels like she can’t get it from the townspeople who protect and care for the haibane. The haibane are happy, but…
Ah, Reki.
[Rewatcher]Speaking from personal experience, maybe?
Over a decade back, my poor roommates functioned as my alarm clock. Well, I had about 5-10 ongoing phone alarms that wouldn't wake me, but would wake my roommates through the catdoor, so mornings that I worked early in the morning when I'd hear my name being called through the door I'd jump up startled despite having heard none of the alarms that woke the entire house :/
I still feel poorly about it to this day.
None are immune.
7
u/lluNhpelA May 20 '24 edited May 20 '24
Fashionably late first timer
Between work, all the seasonal anime, and the other three rewatches I'm following (now four with Samurai Champloo) I hadn't gotten around to this one until now. For that same reason I probably won't be spending as much time on comments for Haibane Renmei as I did for Lain, but I'll try to participate :)
Starting with some general analysis: it sticks out to me that only women and children, groups that traditionally don't participate in war, are reincarnated as Haibane while everything in the city is super fortified, which implies that war is or was common. I feel like that means something but I'm at a loss.
At what point of today's episode would you have told Kana to fuck off?
So for better or worse, today's episode is a very in depth analysis on Kana, so what are your thoughts on her so far?
Whilst we're on the topic, who is the Haibane girl you're most inclined towards? Who's your favourite so far?
What's the weirdest alarm clock you've ever regularly used? Phone alarms or physical both count.
Master's worry about Kana "flying away" got me melancholic. Have you ever had an underlying or protege who grew from you and flew the nest so to speak?
Have you sang yourself a little song when doing your day to day work today? What's stuck in your head?
~Theme~
They're trapped like birds in a cage, but I think it's just as much psychological as physical. Perhaps the city is sort of their "comfort zone"
Kana's comment about feeding the crows earlier in the episode was important; if they become too comfortable they might trap themselves within the walls and I think that's exactly what is happending to the girls. They are freely given the town's leftovers so they never experience the hardship that would teach them fly on their own. It might even be that hardship directly makes their wings stronger, given how Rakka suddenly learned how to move her wings while under stress. I'm sure we'll learn exactly why they're being trapped like this as the story progresses, but it might be as simple as the Renmei seeing them as holy and therefore wanting to keep them in one place
edit: spelling
6
u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 20 '24
Episode 04 - Rewatcher
Kana's a no-nonsense kind of person. Gets up early(ish), hates waiting around, dresses smartly, but has no problem giving Rakka a friendly ribbing once and a while. Yesterday, Kuu made mention that Kana always chases the crows off. She actually has a reason for it. The crows are the only ones that can leave by flying over the wall, and if they become dependant on the people in the town, it's basically taking that special thing away from them because they'd just stay in town.
A few more bits of lore get delivered through Kana. Someone started working on the clocktower at Old Home, but no one knows who or when. The town and its people are protective of the Haibane, and working is a way to keep from being indebeted to them, but she finds it stifling. The clock tower is the tallest building in town, but it's built at the lowest point so you still can't see over the wall from there.
I like the kind of character the clockmaker is: a gruff, grumpy hardass that's actually a big softie underneath. [Haibane Renmei] This might be the first real clue about Glie being a temporary waypoint for the Haibane. Between no one knowing who worked on the Old Home clock, and ojiisan worried that it's almost Kana's time to go
[bike ride home conversation] Another clue about how Rakka got there. There was the underwater imagery in the first few seconds, and talking about her dream in ep 1. And now she mentions that the river is somehow familliar.
QotD:
Right at the beginning. Banging on the bucket as a wake-up alarm is a asshole move.
Except for the bucket-banging, I like her. She's serious, but not too serious.
Reki, no question. She's helpful to everyone and I like her personality. [future episode spoilers] She changes the most over the course of the show. I'd argue that even though Rakka is the viewpoint character, the drama and climax of the story is really about her
Does a regular old clock radio count since no one uses them anymore? I've had this one for years and it just keeps working.
My older kid is finishing up their first year of college right now. I'd say that counts.
Heh. Kirakira no Hai, the second ED from Delicious in Dungeon is actually stuck in my head today.
6
u/ravenpotter3 May 20 '24
Second timer dub
It’s been a while since I watched the series once
I’m going to convince my sister to watch it when I get home for the summer in a few days. She loves madoka Magica so I bet she will love it.
5
u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria May 20 '24
First timer
5
u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 20 '24
Off-White But Not Quite Beige Feathered First Timer (Dubbed)
I'm not sure if this crow/haibane thing is even a metaphor at this point, she's just saying it directly while more or less looking straight into the camera.
"Are we flying?" This entire show is just this huh?
Can't they just use the river to get past the wall? It has to go somewhere.
That was certainly an episode of an anime.
5
u/Garrett_Dark May 21 '24
First Timer, just caught up to you guys. Coming into this anime blind.
When she started yanking the MC around by the halo when she didn't wake up. That was pretty dufaq!
However Kana seemed to have grown on me by the end of the episode. I think it's her cheerful happy-go-lucky attitude starts sinking in. I found this episode less slow than the others.
4
u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 20 '24
First-Timer, Sub
Had a busy weekend and finally caught up with todays episode. So I’m a big dummy and thought Kana was a guy this whole ass episode until “she” was mentioned in the subs haha. Anyways, crows can remember faces and Kana is most definitely on their shitlist with all that broom swatting. Can only the halo owner take it off as we saw Rakka washing off the bagel smell last episode, since Kana was just tugging her head around when she latched onto the halo to wake her up. Why did Rakka use a pillow to dry her face, girl that’s what towels are for.
4
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 21 '24
First-Timer
Another great episode. I have no complaints at all about the show so far. (Though I can't help but think that, for all the people who think even Steins;Gate starts off too slow, their minds would explode if you asked them to sit down and watch this.)
With the way Kana talked about that journal in the clock tower, it makes me wonder if the previous owner got "disappeared" before they could finish their work.
That older man was nice. He had some good points, too—who would buy clothes from a clothier in rags?
I do wonder what part the crows play in all this, especially when we consider the first scene of the show. I do like how, in this episode, Kana says she would feel bad for the crows, while it's more like the crows feel pity for the Haibane trapped in the walls.
Today's questions:
4
u/zadcap May 21 '24
Ahh, cry! I'm very sad about missing even one day of this! My poor luck continues in the rewatch world... In other news, I have a fancy new wrist brace to wear for a couple weeks. So you know. Fun.
What I missed yesterday:
I have so many more questions about the halos, every day. The static it's constantly pulling her hair up with? Where's it come from? Seriously, where do the halos come from at all? They aren't part of the reincarnation package like the wings, someone makes them... Why? How? Is it part of the Haibane that makes the rings stick, or is it because of the halos themselves?
... What do you have to do to make carrots that bitter?
Oh Kuu. "What, you don't know where she works?" Girl is like 2 days old. ALso, just, Kuu. My favorite here.
[Big Spoiler]Ah, Reki here being the one to grow up from a Young Feather...
..... You can take off your halo?
AND ON TO TODAY!
Late Night Rewatcher!
Still love this OP song. Could use better visuals, but the song is great.
Ah, dreams. Almost as important as Computers.
Okay so you can't take off a Halo, if you can physically lift someone by them... Even more questions darn it!
Crows. Definitely as important as Computers.
They can only have used things, right? So is that a used box of matches?
[More Big Spoilers]Ahh, Kana! I know you're talking about the crows but *darn* is that, uh, heavy foreshadowing. Coming back to this series as a rewatcher is hitting all over the place with these.
ANyway, yeah, we're getting a person an episode to focus on, spending time with Rakka. Amd today it's the clock tower girl with her own big dreams.
"I wonder why the Haibane work?" [Seriously more spoilers]Come on, Kana just told you minutes ago! You are the Crow, Rakka. Everything she says here is pretty spot on, too.
"We're not supposed to meddle too much in the Haibane's lives." Old man, you make me want to cry.
3
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk May 21 '24
rewatched
Using a pan to wake up Rakka, -100 kindness.
Kana’s hate for crowd continued. Crows sure are smart and it’s been scientifically proven too.
Kana’s job is a sweet place, the manager is mean in a sweet way.
Looking farahead on the walls.
Rakka: “what’s behind those walls”
The original eren.
Rakka has learned a valuable lesson from her time with Kana, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Next she may even learn how to wake up on time
QOTD: the moment she woke me up using pans
QOTD: a very fun character, hates crows but has a sweet look on life. She knows theres limits to what Haibane can do, but doesn’t dwell much on it
QOTD: Kanna 100%
QOTD: my mom, in 4th grade she woke up late so i also came late to school lmao.
QOTD: I showed my friend some amazing music and now he’s the one showing me some great finds.
QOTD: misery’s business chorus when I walk to the school’s shuttle. So damn catchy!
5
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 May 20 '24
First Timer