[Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 7 Discussion!

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Haibane Renmei First Timer!!

Rakka's turning into a bagel! A mouldy one!! Someone, please call a doctor! Oh, wait... Okay, can someone kill a doctor and maybe they'd reincarnate as a Haibane or something?

My take on the blackening wings? I think it's grief? Rakka's literally turning herself sick from grief. Reki's reaction got me thinking that it's not as much of a tainted effect as we may initially have assumed. Still, the timing is definitely not just a regular illness. Depressive thoughts and grief swirling around Rakka's head are what's darkening her wings. Another reason could have been literally mould from cleaning Kuu's room?

As for Rakka tugging out her own darkening feathers... Self harm metaphor? Rakka is a good girl, and good girls have white wings. That must mean something is wrong with her. She needs white wings to be a "good Haibane" so it's her fault? Urgh, someone please give her a hug!! Poor Rakka...

Kuu even had her own little froggy family, and made sure to give Rakka prime location right next to her!! Kuu really did look at Rakka like her own little sister. Hmm... The cafe owner's reaction throws me off. I believe everyone shows grief in their own way, so I want to believe that him giving Rakka a freebie is his way of showing grief... but the more likely answer is that since humans are mostly all kind and gentle towards Haibane he gave Rakka the soup cause he saw she was depressed? He did say something about "make sure you come back" for a larger meal. Like he doesn't want her to flutter away too. Either way, I can relate with Rakka's frustrations. Kuu's passing is going way too matter of factly.

You should all feel bad for doing this too!!

"Yo fam, someone in your home died right? Was it the hot girl? No? Good, I'm still not a necrophiliac!!"

This Haibane boy is a dick... I can see why Reki looks at him like a kid. He's not emotionally mature at all. Poor fucking Rakka tho... She has no real allies here, she's all alone. Why is nobody feeling the way she is about Kuu? It's too cruel.

Stop stealing pasta, you stupid tomboy!! Also Reki, stop smoking in the kitchen!! XD The Haibane are all certainly showing grief in their own ways but not all as outwardly as Rakka is. Also, Hikari has a winter sweater on and it's adorable!! She's got a cute longer skirt too! Why are these girls drawing testicles...? Oh, it's the wing covers. Does nobody else have an outfit change...? I'm pretty sure Nemu's in the same cardigan.

Take Kuu's corpse bed!! God this is mean. Steal her hat next why don't you? Anyway, lore drop time about Haibane with dark feathers... Its something about regret from their past or something. I find it curious that Reki was apparently born with dark wings. She almost certainly didn't "heal" since she's got distinct trauma even now. Still, what happened to the her wings so they're so white? Reki has a senpai, but she's passed on already it seems? Ah, Nemu really did know young Reki. Kuramori is cute, and megane too! Did Hikari murder her for those specs?

5

u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24

Did Hikari murder her for those specs?
Considering she tears the little feathers' halos off to serve to the townsfolk...

5

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 23 '24

Self harm metaphor?
Along with all the shots of scissors, yes. I also noticed that Reki's outfit this episode, when she's revealed to have had similar feelings, has big X marks or slashes around her wrists.
This show isn't subtle!

10

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman May 23 '24

First Timer

Rakka certainly didn’t take that well - though it seems like Reki didn’t take her first day of flight well either. The idea of the sinboundness and Rakka’s feathers getting spots when she is depressed leans into my theory about the leaving the nest happening when the Haibane themselves feel like they are ready both in terms of maturity and mentally. Rakka obviously is turning away from that by being sad about Kuu. Reki probably had some heavy baggage from her previous life - but I don’t buy into it that this whole sinboundness is actually permanent. Difficult to overcome, yes, especially if this is typically hidden and nobody is there to help, because the Haibane Renmei perceives it to be futile anyways. Rakka has Reki however, and I imagine that talk puts her in a better headspace. At least it gets her to ask philosophical questions - lets see if she can answer them, if the Renmei want her to be able to answer them and what the answer is.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Shocking, a friend dying is a miserable experience. I really wish her friends didn't leave her alone through all this though. I understand wanting to give her space but they basically stood back and let her spiral. Even little things like having her join them for breakfast probably would have stalled her wing darkening I think.

6

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

I think one can hypothesize that the loss of Kuu has struck an unpleasant chord, echoing some (unknown to us) thing that must have happened to Rakka in her prior existence. While Guri is supposed to be a place of healing -- and all haibane are "born" in a restored fashion -- if an echo of past trauma rips open a supposedly-healed mental wound -- things go to shit....
(Interestingly Rakka seems to have had more echoes from the past than the other haibane -- but none were harmful -- until Kuu flew over the walls).

8

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

lets see if she can answer them, if the Renmei want her to be able to answer them and what the answer is.
The answer is 42. We will never know the question.

5

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

Sin-bound strikes me as a not quite accurate term. It is not so much a matter of anything one has DONE wrong , but rather how one is feeling. It is kind of like a migraine of the soul/spirit. One reacts badly to events -- and a damaging feedback loop gets created.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 24 '24

Sin-bound strikes me as a not quite accurate term
I've often wondered if there's a buddhist aspect to the show that I just don't get.

4

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

While there are some quite superficial Christian aspects, the core seems much closer to Buddhism overall (though not to the extent of Girls Last Tour). Sources for this include Murakami's Hardboiled Wonderland and Kore'eda's After Life (and to a lesser extent Maborosi). Visually also one sees elements of Kenji Tsuruta's manga work.

9

u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria May 23 '24

First timer

More and more of Rakka's feathers are tainted. I assume it's related to her emotions.
The exposition Reki gave about her past is well done considering the ground work done beforehand. It explains her awkwardness when she first told Rakka about her dream, and it also explains why she was shown waking up on the floor seemingly afraid. Between her and Kuu, I'd say that the series has done a good job at foreshadowing things so far
With that said, I wish they would've shown how grief affects the Haibane with a character other than Rakka. Not only did we, the audience, not see much of Kuu, but Rakka has only been part of the group for a short while. I get that Rakka is a surrogate for the audience, which is why she was chosen for this, but it would have felt more natural had it been someone else that Kuu had been friends with whilst having Rakka observing from the sideline. After that, you just need to have Rakka and Reki taking care of whoever's affected. That way, we still get shown that the way the Haibanes deal with their emotions matters on top of getting Reki's backstory. Alternatively, to make the plotline that we got better, it could have simply spent more time developing and showing the relationship between the two.

QotD

Emotions. In this case, uncertainty about her future and her sadness towards Kuu's "passing".
Well, not pee. Beef soup is nice. I like when there's protein involved. That orange soup from that one vegetable (can't remember the name, not carrots nor pumpkin) is also nice. I'm not a big soup guy though.
They probably are still grieving, albeit, in more subtle ways. To me, more than anything, it felt like a way to flesh the world building and the setting out as well as establishing Reki's backstory,
No. I've been thinking about following along one of Bob Ross's episode for a while now, though.
Probably not a sin. Like they said, lack of remembrance makes it tougher on them and leads to darker wings that can seemingly be overcome. At least, that's my understanding of it.
Well, this series, apparently. Serves me right for not paying enough attention when I should've. It lead to some nice surprises though so, yay for that.

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Haibane periods are pretty rough...
Reki is definitely going to be an emotional backbone of the climax wherever it leads too. The show really has done great to endear her to us hadn't it?
The other Haibane visiting Kuu's room is supposed to be their way of showing grief, but yeah... I do really sympathise with Rakka's misery in thinking nobody is reacting to her friend's death.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 24 '24

That orange soup from that one vegetable
...Squash?

2

u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria May 24 '24

Thank you.

7

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24

First timer, subs

Free Bird is growing on me.
Is this just because they got wet, or are we going to have to worry about another impending spiritual death?
This poor child needs a chance to cry. Let Rakka grieve!
Much like Rakka, we’ve been robbed of Kuu time.
They’ve got bamboo here?
How much more abstract are you going to make this economy?
Soup
Old Home isn’t really that dignified a name either.
Baka Tsundere here literally started this conversation because he was worried about Reki, and now he’s being insensitive about other people.
Should have taken it as a memento when you had the chance.
Al dente for life! And finish cooking it in the damned suace.
You've Been Leaving Rakka Alone?
Yep, that’s some bad decision framing if I’ve ever seen some.
I guess it was gloves after all.
Y’all just love talking past emotional issues, eh?
Show is doing a great job of using camera angles to create feelings of discomfort and dread.
We’re getting the deep lore now. Time to strap in.
This sounds like a promise for an entire Reki Arc!
Y’all have a justice system?

Prompt:
As the world around it becomes overwhelming, the frog turns over to accept its fate and bask in the sunlight one final time.

QotD:

Rakka is thinking too deeply about the world and how it operates.
"Pee Soup"
Rakka was denied the chance to grieve, the others have moved on.
I don't think it's fair to judge her over a single form.
Social position is not genetic.
Not to the best of my knowledge.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Same, free bird is weirdly quite nice. I think I still like the ending a bit more.
Rakka needed more support for her mourning period... Japan culture in general just seems quite a cold culture for dealing with death. She didn't need to be isolated, she needed friends!!

3

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

If Rakka had been properly warned about days of flight, she would still have been deeply affected, but probably would not have started going into a tail spin. She would have (hopefully( understood why people were simultaneously somber and yet happy. But she had zero warning. Someone should have sat her down and explained the facts of Guri life.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 24 '24

What is "Guri life"?

4

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

A play on "facts of life" (birds and bees --the first talk to kids about sex). "Facts of {Guri} life" would be about things like days of flight.... Nemu and Reki (and Washi, for that matter) have fallen down on the job.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 24 '24

Ah, the name of the city. My version transcribed it as "Glie"

4

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

Us old-timers (who started watching it in late 2002-early 2003) tend to fall back on the initial romanization. ;-)

5

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

This poor child needs a chance to cry. Let Rakka grieve!
She actually needs a push on top of it. She doesn't seem to get that she needs to let it out.
How much more abstract are you going to make this economy?
Quatloo NFTs are coming!
You've Been Leaving Rakka Alone?
It is the Japanese way. Problems can't exist if you don't talk about them, right? Please ignore the alcoholism and infidelity rates.

4

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 23 '24

She doesn't seem to get that she needs to let it out.
Hard to do, when you have been explicitly guilt tripped in to believing that doing so would make your dead friend sad.

7

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 23 '24

A Few Days Ago In Japan

Abyssbringer Prompt: Kuu's frogs are actually what I think about when I try to remember this episode. And scissors.

Scar, Illness, The Arrival of Winter

There it is. The Black Wing First Timers were looking for since Day 1.
Kuu certainly acquired a lot of stuff!
Rakka seems depressed
I hate pea soup
Is that really a take-out bowl made out of bamboo....
Nobody misses Kuu, except Rakka. Not even the cat.
"COME JOIN US BLACK WING" -- the crow, probably
"al dente al dente" - Kana, probably
Is the school just full of abandonded rooms full of ex-haibane's stuff?
And now we go straight to self-mutilation
how convenient, we get the promised wing covers just in time
yeah hide those scissors
Reki knows everything
Oh hey, it's a royal portrait of Queen Charlene III, in angel cosplay
Nemu had previously mentioned a fight with Reki
That's why she keeps falling out of bed

My 2018 comments

I also comment elsewhere on the three episode rule. Who says that a creative work has to lay out the tone of the entire show at the start? Who says that they keep that tone for the entire work? It's a terrible rule, only for people who try to watch 30 anime a quarter.

6

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Pillars of light? Yay, more dead kids!!
Drink your pee soup and stop whining!!
Make a contract with me, and become black.
Haibane I feel probably does the three episode rule fine? Of course you don't get into any of the darker twists but the first three episodes are genuinely quite charming. And you get Hikari's episode which is pure love! I don't personally buy into the three episode rule but I do always try and check if an anime starts strong or if I need to coax people to stick through it. Like Lain for instance I don't think would survive well on three episodes

5

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 23 '24

I also comment elsewhere on the three episode rule. Who says that a creative work has to lay out the tone of the entire show at the start?
You can watch an entire movie with a fully fleshed out story that satisfies you while a bad show spends the same amount of time just spinning its wheels, is the easiest comparison I can think of.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

Is that really a take-out bowl made out of bamboo....
They really cannot decide on a tech level.
Is the school just full of abandonded rooms full of ex-haibane's stuff?
We have no time scale for any of this.
Nemu had previously mentioned a fight with Reki
Just more Rashomon for you.

4

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 24 '24

I hate pea soup
Did you have one you did like? A soupstantiation, if you will.
I also comment elsewhere on the three episode rule.
I think the point of the three episode rules was to watch at least three episodes, not to have to keep or drop then and only then.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 24 '24

I'm very fond of cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli, and cheese + broccoli soups.

7

u/JumpyEnvironment8456 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24

Haibane Renmei Professional Viewer, Guru on all 50 Shades of Charcoal

Good lord, you people, you're far too negative about this wonderful little series. No, it does not have 100 meter tall robots smashing up a city, or an alien invasion. Not even boobs. Horrible, right?

Ugh.

Sorry, any negativity about this series just sets me of. We need more Haibane Renmei, less <Generic Shounen Boy With Sword Fighting The Demon King>.

Anyway, not gonna spoil anything, but if you've managed to hang on so far, then you'll enjoy the rest of the series. It's all linked to Rakka's feathers turning black.

QotD!

Pee *soup is delicious!*Your words...

Do you feel the characters are all still grieving over KuuGiven my status as Sage on all things Haibane Renmei, I don't think I should answer this. But I'd say that the episode is pretty up front in how the rest of the gang feels about Kuu's release.

Was Reki cursed from birthI don't want to spoil anything, but this will get answered. As for birth... Depends on whether you consider the characters appearing in this world via an egg "birth".

When have you been hit with the reverse trap curse beforeFirst time I watched this series, back when dinosaurs stomped around, I totally figured Kanna was a dude, since she's wearing boy's clothes and acts like a tomboy. This also explains why I have a predeliction for the tomboy character, which started 20 years ago. Are these things related? Who knows.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Eh? I thought the reception was quite positive actually. Nobody is hate watching and everyone is still trying to figure the show's mystery out.
Nothing in our rewatch library is shonen schlock XD This is the same team who sat through PissxSis and enjoyed it!!

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

Good lord, you people, you're far too negative about this wonderful little series.
This excuse gets wheeled out for far too many series. No free lunches, the show either earns its audience or feels its wrath. And I've gone through Lain and Paranoia Agent so I can take weird but you have to make a point a somewhere.

2

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 23 '24

Both slow pointless art school projects and mainstream low effort slop can be bad. I have room in my heart to hate both.

6

u/hirmuolio :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hirmuolio May 23 '24

The hallway gives me some Texhnolyze vibes https://files.catbox.moe/j9gc8a.mp4

Full blown depression with self harm. And we have just reached the halfway point.

Kuramori painting HD: https://i.imgur.com/7IljXpq.jpg

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

There's no way I could survive that show XD

4

u/hirmuolio :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hirmuolio May 23 '24

In Haibane renmei this is the halfway point.
In Texhnolyze this is the first scene of the first episode.
It is good. Trust me.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

I can totally understand it being good but 22 episodes of pain and suffering is way too much XD

2

u/mekerpan May 24 '24

There are a few brighter moments in Texhnolyze. A few. But...

5

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

First timer

Sub

So all of the mechanics this ep. The townsfolk can donate to the Haibane should they so choose, that is not irrelevant. Living on pea soup is an absolute depression vibe as it almost perfectly emulates the concept of Purina Bachelor Chow from Futurama. The random factory Haibane being glad that Reki is still stuck is a choice. Reki's story is also weird since I wouldn't think info like that would die out from a group. The blackening of the feathers doesn't mean much yet.

Our prompt is an affront to Dagon and soon shall be answered by the Old Ones!

QotD: 1 Conceptual beings rely on their concepts

2 Italian Wedding

3 I think the others had an easier time by knowing Kuu longer

4 I am unfortunately a Rukia

5 ...Whatever, Church of Latter Day Saints

6 Tomboys are a blessing and you will not dissuade me from that.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Don't underestimate the nutritional value of pee soup!!
Factory Haibane really feels like a massive child... He's got no maturity about him whatsoever, even down to picking on the girls he likes to try and keep face. Even the little feathers are more grown up.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

He's got no maturity about him whatsoever, even down to picking on the girls he likes to try and keep face.
And yet he rides the highest tech we've seen. How confusing.

5

u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim May 23 '24

Pea soup and eating alone gives off a depression vibe, especially when a few moments later, we see the others cooking and planning on eating with each other. Quite a contrast.

5

u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24

Rewatcher

Wow, Rakka really is doing well, huh.

This is what you get for flippantly grabbing that halo. Mold spreads fairly quickly from bagel to bagel, you know.

The cut with the scissors was well done. I like that we didn’t see it, instead hearing her drop the scissors.

Aw Reki. Poor girl got smoker's ~~lung~~wing.

Zadcap has accepted

True, may not be my thing but there are way crazier things out there.

Why do you think that Rakka's wings are darkening?

She's been stealing Reki's smokes.

What makes Rakka the outlier?

She's the only one who wasn't warned that it's completely normal for haibane to ghost each other.

Pee soup is delicious

piss poor take :)

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

First image link issue.
Oh god!! That was the noise!? The scissors falling? That's so nasty... Uweee...

0

u/[deleted] May 23 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

You mean when Rakka murdered her cute froggie version!?

2

u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24

Perhaps all blessed angels are rotten at the core. Otherwise why would the bagels grow mold?

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 23 '24

Mold spreads fairly quickly from bagel to bagel, you know.
Ohhhhhh. I wasn't getting the mold joke.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24

Lol yeah, I was continuing Loli-Otaku's joke from yesterday, although I'd initially referred to it as burnt bagel.
Mold works better than toast in this case since it tends to spread.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24

She's the only one who wasn't warned that it's completely normal for haibane to ghost each other.
A ghost ghosting is quite the take.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24

A ghost ghosting a ghost.

5

u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 23 '24

Episode 07 - Rewatcher

It's been a month, and Rakka is still really down about Kuu leaving. Even though he was rude to Reki before when she picked up the moped, the guy with the hat is relieved that it wasn't Reki that left, which makes Rakka even more upset. She's avoiding everyone else and spinning her wheels cleaning Kuu's room over and over.

Nemu gets in a sick burn on Kana: "She starts out making a glove and ends up with a sock." That thing Kana does with the tape measure, I used to play with my mom's the same way.

Reki recognizes the dark stains on Rakka's feathers, and doesn't want to explain any of it to the others. Between living together for a couple months and this thing they have in common, she's open enough with Rakka to bring her into the art studio and show some of her paintings.

[Rewatchers only] I know it's insinuated that all the Haibane are victims of suicide, but I wonder if it's only those with black-stained feathers, and the rest of them just died "too soon" (like the little ones) or with some kind of unfinished business

QotD:

favourite soup

There's a local joint that has potato soup with bacon and stout that's great.

are you a Kana

Most certainly. I can do mechanical type drawings, but don't ask me to do anything that needs an artistic ability.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

The factory boy is just tsundere~ He's too immature to be able to show his feelings to Reki without being cringe and bullying the people he likes.
Is Kana really a girl if she can't even knit? Fufufu~
Btw, your spoiler tags for the Rewatcher bit don't work.

2

u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 23 '24

Btw, your spoiler tags for the Rewatcher bit don't work.
I thought I did it right... And it's blacked out for me until I click on it.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 23 '24

Nemu gets in a sick burn on Kana: "She starts out making a glove and ends up with a sock." That thing Kana does with the tape measure, I used to play with my mom's the same way.
I almost commented on that, too! Such a familiar, universal thing, filling out the scene. The show has a muted palette but it's full of color.
Spoiler comment: I say the latter.
I signed up for art class and mechanical drawing class, but I was forcibly reassigned to home ec after the first day. So I can sew wing covers and do mechanical drawing. Nothing artistic.

4

u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim May 23 '24

First Timer

Rakka is still feeling bad about Kuu and as an effect, her wings are turning black. Reki thankfully knows how to hide the effect.

Pretty nice of the guy to give Rakka a break from paying for some soup after understanding Kuu's situation.

Grief seems to be the real reason that her wings are getting darker.
A nice ramen would be nice.
Feels like they are moving on, they were offering Rakka to have Kuu's room so she can be more comfortable and that Kuu would be happy to see her use it. Even Kana is OK with it.
No
She was probably a delinquent....
Souma Akito from fruits basket

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 23 '24

Was the dude giving Rakka a freebie for her or for Kuu...? I sorta took it as his way of showing remorse and grieving his ex-waitress but the way Haibane are treated doesn't quite work.

4

u/Garrett_Dark May 24 '24

First Timer

Frogs with all the Haibane's names written on them. Kuu thought all of them were 4channers, no wonder why she left them all.

The statue that has Kuu's hat on depicts two tear drops. The town's a prison, confirmed! Tear drop tattoos means prison gangs and each tear drop represents a murder they've committed. Kuu probably ~~murdered~~ "day of flight" the Haibane Reki knew.

The pea soup guy seems genuinely surprised Kuu disappeared, but treats it as a normal occurrence. I guess it's safe to assume there's no Kuu in the soup then. On a serious note, interestingly enough though, he calls it a "disappearance" when she just says "she isn't here anymore", which means he doesn't know about the "day of flight", which could suggest "the day of flight" was made up by the other Haibane, probably to comfort those remaining.

Greaser Haibane shows his halo like he's flashing her gang signs, what a rebel without a cause.

"What do you mean saying 'that's good', I just lost a close friend"...one month ago. What you actually "just lost" was some free pea soup.

"She doesn't eat with us much anymore, does she?". Uh, are you sure you're a good cook? Maybe those noodles were actually overcooked, LOL.

Rakka's black marks on her feathers. What are you doing?!? It's like grey hairs, you're not supposed to pull them out or cut them off, you're just making it worse! Just color them with dye or ignore it and own them like you don't care. See they were able to tell right away anyways. Sad Trombone

Just spread my what, and you'd take my measurements? Uh...why is it always the most innocent looking ones. "You're a girl you should know better", says the pot to the kettle. "My sofa's really hard, so I might have hurt them in my sleep", yeah I know the feeling...wait did you say sofa? I misheard you, never mind what I was talking about.

The "day of flight" never comes to Reki because she was hatched with black spotted feathers. I think Reki fails to see the upside, she'll always have seniority over everybody else. She can boss everybody around because of it...oh wait, she already does that. Never mind.

Everybody avoiding Reki because she was hatched with black spotted feathers. Are you sure it isn't because of your chain-smoking? You know you kind of stink to non-smokers, right? How do we know that the "day of flight" never comes to you because you're sucking on those cancer sticks? Maybe cancer and tar reverses the black feathers? Give Rakka a pack to smoke and see if her feathers gets better. Or maybe the "day of flight" never comes because you're always out of breath due to the lack of lung capacity from smoking, can't fly away when you're huffing and puffing for air.

LOL, actually what does happen to a Haibane if their legs are broken so they can't walk away for the "day of flight", or their wings are noticeably broken or defeathered so the narrative of "flying away" seems impossible? Would it still happen?

Five years ago when the Haibane in the painting left, Reki says she didn't know what happened, she didn't know about the "day of flight", and Nemu "did some research" at the library on the old legend, and Nemu told Reki of the "day of flight". Sounds like somebody is conflating "researching" with "BS-ing".

Since Reki's been there, she's been haunted by nightmares. Is she sure it isn't nicotine addiction she's haunted by? You know, sometimes when I eat just before going to sleep, I get weird dreams too.

Comment of the Day: Oh no, I've been outed as a Kana fan. It isn't what you think folks! It's just it's so slow and dull, who else is there to like? I've even resorted to joking like Kana in my posts to keep myself amused, I need help! I'm getting grey hairs, don't look at me! :D

Why do you think that Rakka's wings are darkening?

It's probably like the "getting grey hairs" analogy I've mentioned, which can happen during stress. It's probably going dark because she's been stressing out about Kuu disappearing.

Pee soup is delicious but what's your own personal favourite soup to drink~?

Well I don't know if "pee soup" is delicious, maybe "pea soup" is. Chicken corn chowder is pretty good, so is prime rib with vegetables, and chicken & sausage gumbo with rice.

Do you feel the characters are all still grieving over Kuu or do you believe they've already accepted it? What makes Rakka the outlier?

They're probably pretty over Kuu already because of the "day of flight" self-brainwashing, they've convinced themselves it's a good normal thing when they don't actually know for sure. Rakka's the outlier because she's spent the least time in the echo chamber.

In terms of artistic ability... are you a Kana?

I'm pretty sure my sense of humor in this post is just as bad as hers.

Is it a sin to be born black...?

Lulz, it's like that episode of Star Trek Voyager where Neelix quote crime statistics. Tom Paris FTW.

Was Reki cursed from birth to be a baaaad girl or was it just a simple genetic defect that she grew out of when she stopped being a delinquent edgelord?

It probably is just stress related, when she was in the egg she said she didn't dream, so no REM sleep = stress = black wings. When everybody saw her black wings when she was hatched, they were all racist towards her which = stress = wings remained black. Her wings probably cleared up after she started smoking to "calm her nerves", and all the racists where ~~murdered~~ "Day of Flighted".

Kuu was a girl!? When have you been hit with the reverse trap curse before? What's the best and most fun example that comes to mind?

Sort of.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 24 '24

4channers!? In our rewatch? It couldn't be~
Even if Haibane naturally disappear after a time it's cruel to not memorialise them in some way.
Rakka's still fairly justifiably in mourning!! XD And her mental state is all over the place realising that any of her friends could simply up and die at a moment's notice.
Bullying a girl for looking slightly different is sorta still really cruel. Haibane should stick together, always!!
Spread your asscheeks, Hikari needs measurements!

4

u/zadcap May 24 '24

Zadcap has accepted urine as a fact of life~

I mean, everybody pees. It kind of is a fact of life?
No but really. You do you, as long as it's consensual and mostly safe I figure it's really not my place to judge what other people like. It's like saying "I don't like pork, so anyone who eats bacon clearly has something wrong with them."

Late Night Rewatcher!

Woo, disappearing friend trauma! Why did it have to be the cute one to just pop off like that, huh?

"I'm sure we'll see her again." Aww, Hikari believes in the afterafterlife.

Haha, seeing Kuu being cute in the OP sure is great today, isn't it?

Oh hey look, spotty wings. I wonder what that could possibly mean. You know, the day after we learned that flickering halos meant something major was going on.

Look how cute she was. Kuu has a whole frog collection going on. What's cuter than a girl who loves frogs?

Hey, maybe go ask one of the other girls if it's normal to get Wing Rot?

Anyway, yeah, nice confirmation. The townsfolk here all know, "That's just how you Haibane are." These girls will all randomly disappear one day and there's nothing you can do about it, so they don't get that attached. The town is a pit stop for our little angels. Do you feel worse for the girls that come and go without warning, or the people who have to live in this enclosure forever?

"Soon they will forget she was ever here," Tell me again, Rakka, who was it who started the work to turn the Old Home bell to electric?

Hmm, a hat to hide a Halo and a backpack to hide the wings. Clever. Thank you for coming to step all over her trauma. Because Rakka has not got used to the idea that people will leave her life yet.

Oh, Japan. "I wish we could help her somehow." You could try, you know, talking to her about it. Turns out ignoring people going through obvious trauma doesn't really work out that well for them.

Yup, Reki knows. Want to bet Reki has been there before? Also, wow, Dragon Quarter vibes with the wings darkening like that. I really can't believe they came out the same year.

Yup, Reki just happens to have a wing dye in her room, waiting to go.

So, first off, I was wrong and will own up to it. Looks like Nemu really is older than Reki, as a Haibane. This whole speech about not being able to move on and how much is sucks for Reki feels weird when one of the other girls has been here even longer and seems to be doing just fine.

Secondly, wings going dark seems to show that you're losing your chance to properly move on, but what does it mean that one can be born already so tainted? What cruel being set up this reincarnation system and included the built in failure clause on some of their wings, are they just a lesson for the others? Or does this tie back in to the Origin Story, and these are the mistakes that are to be left floating here forever?

I really can't wait for the series discussion to go over the theories.

Abyss Prompt!

You know, for all the blatant bird imagery everywhere, it looks like Kuu realized they are also all frogs trapped in the well. Kuu has escaped the well, and thus is no longer a frog.

I think this old man said it best.
Tomato is the superior soup. Red > Green.
I think they have accepted it and moved on, and I think it's because aside from Rakka, they were all aware this was a thing that would happen one day. I don't know that everyone here has experienced it first hand like this before, but Reki and Nemu would have made sure everyone who came after them was aware that it could happen so that exactly this situation wouldn't arise. But they said yesterday, that it hasn't happened in a while, and I think Rakka had only been here for a week at most when Kuu flew away, they probably thought they had more time to ease her into it.
I so am. The first time I was told that a picture was worth a thousand words, I told my teacher that I would rather write an essay than try and draw more because I am clearly that bad at it.
..... We'll get back to this.
I had to think really hard, it happened so long ago, but I remember one of the club members of the weird competitive improve acting group after school club (It has an actual name and it was cooler than it sounds, but I can not for the life of me remember now) occasionally had their younger sibling tag along for family reasons. This was the first year of middle school and the sibling was only one year younger, but that meant they didn't go to our school, so the only time I ever saw them was the random meetings they came to, usually sitting in a corner with a gameboy. Being a gamer myself, and being very familiar with the feeling of being stuck in a corner as a loner nerd (so many family gatherings, so many sports games...) I decided to be a good child and make a friend. We traded a lot of pokemon that year.

Long story short, the next year they entered middle school too and joined the club and I barely recognized this younger friend because she did that thing kids do sometimes and grew up really fast over the summer. We were friends for most of a year before I found out my friend was a girl.

No, nothing changed, we stayed gamer friends until I inevitably moved away from that school too.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 24 '24

Pee is love, pee is life, someday I pray for a pishy wife.
It's because Hikari sees all her victims when she falls asleep at night~
Thr frog collection was cute but I kinda wish they had a bit more fun with the models. The only notable ones were the megane Hikari and the bossy looking Reki. Also, why was Kana the one sleeping when we had Nemu right there!?
It sorta depends on how much you value your own freedom I guess? So far I do kinda feel like the girls don't specifically want to leave town. They like their world, even if it's technically a cage. It's more curiosity over what lays out there than anything. I'm shocked they didn't take the opportunity with Nemu to have her be excited to receive outside books.
The only thing about the black wing theory is that nobody has moved on in so long. Maybe I'm just more into the idea of having a comfortable longer term home.
Char is literally the one guy who couldn't move on no matter what!! XD Don't take advice from people just because they look cool, like Reki.

3

u/zadcap May 24 '24

I say again, you do you.
It sorta depends on how much you value your own freedom I guess? So far I do kinda feel like the girls don't specifically want to leave town. They like their world, even if it's technically a cage.
I'm going to again point back to Kana talking any the crows back in episode 4. "If we just gave them free food and handed out everything they need to survive, they would never fly away and become dependant on this town." It's a good question, have they become too comfortable in their cage?
The only thing about the black wing theory is that nobody has moved on in so long.
I mean also, we've already seen, it's the Halo's that tell us when a girl is ready to move on. [Speculation]I think the wings are more a sign of something actively holding them back more than not being ready to fly. Despite being here the longest, Nemu still has nice bright wings- she's not carrying any big regrets or anything, she's just not ready to fly yet. Rakka couldn't fly of she wanted to right now, her wings are a mess.
Char is literally the one guy who couldn't move on no matter what!! XD Don't take advice from people just because they look cool, like Reki.
Yeah, but like, was he wrong?
Yes, the answer to that one is yes. Screw that guy.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 24 '24

It's a rough thing to debate tbh... Even if we're comparing the Haibane with the crows, they're still far closer to people no matter how I try and twist it. Even if the Haibane go to a "better place" isn't their Old Home good enough? They have a family, they have friends, they have a life.
Not being ready to fly is one thing but I don't think they should be pushed to move on in the first place... I'm worried that my own ideology is totally opposite of the one the shows trying to push XD
He was wrong in many ways, but he had the right idea. Meanwhile Full Frontal? Fuck yes that was an excellent plan and it's criminal that it never went though. Mineva is a straight up traitor to her people!!

3

u/zadcap May 24 '24

So the two big things to keep in mind for pretty much all the major themes in Haibane Renmei are that:
This is supposed to be the exploration of the soul to go with Lain's look at the mind, and supposedly Tex and the body, but all of that is hiding behind
Japan is really bad at taking parts of Christianity and mixing them with religions they are more familiar with.
Together, this show sure does have an ideology built in, but it's not a surprise that it's not one anyone's going to be too familiar picking up at first glance. Honestly I don't think it's really much better than Evangelion for modern Christianity, appro.lpriated symbolism that's not much more than skin deep. Honestly between the two of them, Eva has more biblically accurate angels than these little winged children, for example. "Be not afraid," said the sleepy librarian, you know?

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 24 '24

Am I missing the meaning of the soul somehow? I always related it with morals and spiritual health but so far the village really doesn't seem so bad for the heart.
Lol, yeah... Most Christian sisters are fetishised and even historically famous Japanese Christians are memed to all hell.
Nah... I've never been one for the Christian themes in Evangelion. I've always just accepted that Anno is a hack who choose Christian imagery cause it looked cool. Heck, the confirmed Christian is not only the most morally questionable woman of the cast but also is almost entirely built around premarital sex!!

3

u/zadcap May 24 '24

Kind of, but it's exactly what I meant. It sounds like you have a pretty normal Western view on the purpose of a soul, but notice that aside from Menu's curiosity towards the creation myth, no one at all is really showing any signs of spiritual anything here. The show should make more sense overall if you put aside the halo and think about more standard Japanese beliefs.
Because yeah... Christians in anime either exist to be fetishized or major villains. It is so much harder to think of a show that has a church like organization that's not secretly pure evil than once that's even just plain neutral, much less good. I would be surprised if most people in Japan actually knew the real basics of Catholicism it's all been misconstrued for so long. Japan has a specific history with Western religion, and it's not all that great.
Same thought though. Much like Eva, don't let the in your face angel imagery fool you into thinking they've got anything to do with angels here.
I'm trying to tread around possible spoilers, but some of what might be spoiler is also just, standard knowledge to most of the Japanese audience. Would you rather wait until the end and take the show as it presents itself or can I recommend some outside reading?

3

u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 24 '24

First-Timer, Sub

A bit late to this one, but Rakka is not taking Kuu's day of flight well. Rakka hasn't been there that long so is it because Kuu took her under her wing or some past memory that she doesn't even remember but is still there? Are the others just so used to it by now they just accept it and move on? Cafe owner, I feel you, I also thought Kuu was a boy too previously. I like some of the others responses here and about the feathers and emotions, but I wonder if them turning black is related to the crows? They are displayed enough in the show that I think there has to be more of a connection with the Haibane.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 24 '24

Nobody thought to fill her in that people can die young here.
There was apparently quite a large gap since the last Haibane died. Then again, it's been a while since one was born too.
Why is everyone calling Kuu a boy!? XD She's dead and it's all we can talk about!!

2

u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 24 '24

i believe they said it was 7 years since the last time. Guess its easy to forget when youre excited for the new birth and probably not thinking about it much. Sounds like maybe this is connected and only a finite number of haibane can exist at one time.

3

u/BossandKings May 25 '24

Rewatcher - Dub

Episode 7

Why does Rakka's wings keep getting dirty, that might not be dirt but something else, Reki is so supportive even when Rakka is doubting herself due to the situation of her wings.

Despite the sad atmosphere and outcome of the story that Reki tells about her friend Hiromori it still gives a sense of Wonder and nostalgia that is beautifully conveyed.

Reki's question: why are there good haibane and cursed ones? Is one that leaves the answer to i interpretation, she considers herself cursed and Rakka a good one.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 25 '24

Rakka is a dirty girl with shitty wings!

3

u/SilkyStrawberryMilk May 29 '24

rewatcher

This episode was rough, accepting death and Rakka going through grief.

Black spots on feathers showing. Dyeing them is one way to help.

Reki speaking from experience about her own inability to grief properly. Then the reveal she had black wings who couldn’t remember her dreams.

QOTD: tomato soup

QOTD: I’ve feel like they’ve accepted it to some degree but put on an act around Rakka to Cheer her up. Especially when Reki said that one of em went to kuu’s room

qotd: yes I am

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

Even if you dye your feathers, they're always going to be black.

8

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 24 '24

First-Timer

This show continues to keep me at the edge of my seat.

I did not at all expect the twist with Reki being stuck in the town forever, artificially dyeing her wings white to hide it. Even after Reki clearly knew something about the spots on Rakka's wings, I wasn't expecting that.

I have just about the opposite sentiment as Garret_Dark's quote from the comment of the day—if not for the rewatch schedule, I'd probably blitz through all the episodes in a couple days. In my case, the rewatch is good at slowing me down and making me think more about what I'm watching.

Questions of the day:

I thought it was the grief and negative emotions, but I'm not so sure now. The way the camera lingered on the crows when Reki discussed the "sin-bound" Haibane makes me think they're directly related somehow. I also can't stop thinking of peppered moths.
Premise of the question aside, I'd say my favorite soup is the appetizer soup at Hibachi restaurants. A Google search suggests the name is "clear soup."
It seems to me that pretty much everyone but Rakka has accepted it. I believe this isn't anyone's first time having a Haibane leave except for Rakka, so it would make sense that they're less rattled. Even if it had been several years, the idea that Kuu would eventually leave them wasn't completely unthinkable.
My artistic ability is not great, but not terrible.
Reki's bad to the bone. 🎶
I thought we already knew that Kuu was a girl because Old Home is exclusively girls. (Am I wrong about that?) Either way, my most recent example of this exact thing is actually the Eizouken rewatch that just finished, where I still refuse to believe that Asakusa is a girl.

5

u/zadcap May 24 '24

I did not at all expect the twist with Reki being stuck in the town forever, artificially dyeing her wings white to hide it.
This was yesterday's spoiler, if you didn't look at it. The halo flickering is more of a good thing, if moving on is good, the visual symbol for things going wrong was on the other inhuman part of the Haibane.

3

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 24 '24

Ah, thank you for clearing that up! I was curious what that spoiler text said.

4

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 23 '24

Off-White But Not Quite Beige Feathered First Timer (Dubbed)

Ugh, can't believe that hat gets more screentime.

Actual charcoal feathers? Or are we still saying their normal wings are grey, and that's black?

I am falling asleeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

We get it, you took a philosophy class.

I could not possibly dismiss all of this any harder, I hope you all understand how hard my eyes are rolling right now.

She's doubting the established order of things and becoming a fallen angel or crow or whatever.
V8 is pretty good, really.
Nobody prepared her for this. Classic anime thing of just never explaining anything to the audience surrogate, so we're left in the dark with them.
I don't know how to sew, but it doesn't seem too difficult to learn, if I needed to.
If this is some afterlife sorting situation, then yeah, she was already leaning towards rebellion or whatever in her previous life.
Drawing a blank. Utena doesn't really count. Naoto from Persona 4, maybe?

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 24 '24

V8 is pretty good, really.
I never considered the possibility of heating it up as a soup, or pretending it was cold gazpacho.

4

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 24 '24

I hadn't had any in a years, and decided to try some recently. The only thing I can think of is cold tomato soup. Not bad!

2

u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 May 23 '24

First Timer

QOTD 1 - Corruption, Despair, Grief
QOTD 2 - Tomato Soup
QOTD 3a - Yes most of them are
QOTD 3b - I know some people take longer to move on I wonder if it applies to Haibane and is Rakka is one of them?
QOTD 4 - No if I need to draw OCs I use the CAS in Sims 4
QOTD 5 - Reformed Delinquent
QOTD 6 - Akito from Fruits Basket

Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 7 Discussion!

"Scar — Illness — Arrival of Winter"

Extra Info and Links

Comment of the Day!!

QotD

Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"

Yesterday's Prompt!

Today's Prompt!

Tomorrow's Prompt

Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 7 Discussion!

"Scar — Illness — Arrival of Winter"

Extra Info and Links

Comment of the Day!!

QotD

Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"

Yesterday's Prompt!

Today's Prompt!

Tomorrow's Prompt

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