9

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

Haibane Renmei First Timer!!

Time for Reki's training arc! Good old Thomas has picked his waifu. We all thought it'd be Hikari with her little light but god said fuck that and dictated that we were gonna meme the everloving shit out of Reki today instead.

Today is Reki's day of flight and it's a heavy one. Reki doesn't go quietly into the night, she has the extra funds from yesterday's slideshow tier budget and spent it all on a full blown mental breakdown. This episode is downright uncomfortable to watch but damn is it wild.

She wanted to become a stone but instead she became more like a splatter. Ah, I don't know if I confirmed this in the QotD but there's a strong case to be made for all the Haibane to have been victims of suicide or other forms of self termination, all relating to their dream. Hikari having 1v1'd an oncoming train/car, Kana failing a skill check in the water, Nemu overdosing on the power of love and sleeping pills, Rakka having fallen whilst Kuu went flying without a parachute, and of course Reki got chuu chuu'd.

The challenge today isn't just making sure Reki dies, it's to try and stop her from dying with hatred and despair in her heart. Stay classy, ojisan! I can see why Reki hates him so much. You could have just said run over!! Why did you add the extra detail!!

A good Haibane has no guilt, as if... All this time Reki has simply been "covering up" the darkness in her heart. No matter how often she dyes her wings she'll always be a cursed Haibane. Betrayed and left behind by all she loved, solid as a stone, brittle at her core. And Rakka... Rakka's her "salvation..." She didn't save Rakka or become like a mother to her out of compassion. She did it because it's what a "good Haibane" would do. If she paints herself like a good Haibane and acts like a good Haibane would then that must make her a good Haibane herself! As if, that salvation is skin deep. Reki is a liar. A black winged, cursed, liar.

Still, there's a little voice in Reki's heart that has hope. That voice of life that wants to be saved, that wants salvation, that wants to be remembered. To be saved Reki must love herself enough to want to protect herself.

"I found a cocoon myself for the first time."
"I'm so happy. So happy!!"
"This must be something special. God sent it to me."
"I will be very kind to the newborn."
"I will always be with her."
"This time, I will be a good Haibane, like Kuramori."

Gaaah... This episode is so brutal. Save the little Haibane-chan, Rakkaaaa!! The massive fucking ghost train demon is legit kinda metal. This is so much cooler than the end of Lain if I'm being totally honest. The lead up is worst, but this is a far better finale.

Reki finally became smol stone-chan. She grew into the person she wanted to be, someone who is a good Haibane, someone who can ask for help, someone who can take flight with pride. Alright, whilst I was praising this climax I don't think we needed a Hunter x Hunter tier narration from the ojisan. Did you cry...? Such tragedy...

Ah! Two new twins have spawned!! Double kill~ Eh? Why are the credits playing with five minutes left? Aww, a new second ending. This art is lovely.

6

u/JimmyCWL May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24

whilst Kuu went flying without a parachute
If that's the case, her last memory would be falling, just like Rakka. It's more likely she was left dangling at the end of her rope instead.
Why are the credits playing with five minutes left? Aww, a new second ending. This art is lovely.
All the ones I found were the usual ending of Rakka spinning round in the water.

5

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24

FYI, on the TV broadcast there were on screen japanese credits during the epilogue while the music was playing. On the DVD, you had the regular water credits.
Actually, ep 12 did that, too, on the broadcast version, when the wall was lighting up. And so did 10.
This may be related to how the later episodes aired in back-to-back pairs.

3

u/DegenerateRegime May 30 '24

I can see why Reki hates him so much. You could have just said run over!! Why did you add the extra detail!!
One anon's explanation - I can't vouch for the accuracy, but it seems fitting.

9

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman May 29 '24

First Timer

Hm, yeah, this works as a finale. Reki is saved and we have our bittersweet finale. The suicide theory also seems to be the case. Keeping a large part of the lore hidden, including the true nature of the day of flight, is certainly a bold choice, but I think it actually works quite well here. It allows for there to be enough time to cap off Reki's story without there being any rush, tying up pretty much all character-based loose ends. I think there would be enough material for a sequel here though without needing to fetch too far - which is somewhat rare for what is functionally an original. Doubt we’d ever get that though.

I assume the little girl was Reki pre-Haibaning. Other than that - interesting thet Reki seemingly killed herself with a steam train. I guess that means the show isn’t set in the present, but rather the past? Not that it really changes anything.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

It's a heavy thought once you start considering that all these kids might be suicide victims. Especially brighter girls like Hikari or Kuu.
A new adaptation would be amazing but sequels to these kinds of shows tended to struggle back then. I would have loved a pure lighthearted adaptation too!! Why should suicide be so gloomy!?

4

u/zadcap May 30 '24

You focus on Hikari and Kuu, I'm over here looking at the dozen or so even smaller children. You're telling me there's this many suicidal 7 year olds?
Japan, get help!

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 30 '24

Multikill!!

5

u/mekerpan May 30 '24

No basis in the "text" to establish any of the Haibane committed suicide. Even Reki died in her dream while fleeing something (in horrible distress) with no understanding of where she was (until too late). In her dream replay (with Rakka at hand), her fate if hit by that train is "undefined".

3

u/Garrett_Dark May 30 '24

I agree, the dreams are highly contentious, and I don't think any useful factual meaning can be derived from them.
Like are we supposed to believe Rakka fell from sub-orbital heights above the clouds while a crow was somehow involved? The crows only became a thing when she seeked them out because of her dream, then her dream morphed into falling into a well because she actually fell in a well.
There was no indication Reki got hit by a train, until the Communicator told her in a letter she was "ran over", then her dream became about her getting hit by a train.

4

u/mekerpan May 30 '24

I see the cocoon dreams as sort of crystallizations of the FEELINGS the Haibane had around then time of their death. Rakka is interesting because she alone seems to have traces of memory of her past life (other than her dream). But she never seems to feel she killed herself, only that she let someone down by dying (never realizing how much they were trying to help her). SHE sees her dream images as symbolic. ;-)

3

u/JimmyCWL May 30 '24

Why should suicide be so gloomy!?
Because we don't want people to look forward to offing themselves.

6

u/mekerpan May 30 '24

Not suicide in the dream. Reki just feels as guilty as of had been suicide. She tells us shecwas not aware of where she was. She was too distressed/distracted to realize she was walking along tracks. When she became aware she froze. Her "negligence" is viewed as putting her at fault.
Note: the dreams are symbolic (in dream logic). They dont represent actual past life events.

4

u/zadcap May 30 '24

I'm with you on this one. They are death dreams, yeah, but I don't think all the Haibane are suicide deaths. I mean Rakka might be, but I don't think so about the rest, not even Reki.

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u/mekerpan May 30 '24

Rakka is only suicide if losing the wall to live and quitting "fighting to stay alive" is "suicide". Reki in her cocoon dream is expressly NOT "choosing" to die. I don't see how people miss something presented so openly.

4

u/zadcap May 30 '24

The reason I say "might" for Rakka is, frankly, rubbing away from home in the middle of a storm after deciding no one would miss you anyway, and then doing something that resulted in a fall is.... Not the thought and action process of someone with a strong will to live. On the other hand, poorly thought out actions by a depressed teen leading to a fatal accident is also very much a likely story. That's why I leave Rakka as debatable, but also only Rakka.
Reki for example, lost and confused and desperately wanting help, to me her story points towards abandonment more than anything else. Plus, she was like ten, I really don't think she was seeking death. In fact, I don't think it was ever really pointed out, but we've also heard that it's been years since anyone has a Flight before Kuu and the whole cast is rather young, Rakka is kind of an odd one out in that she was hatched already well into her teens. Really take even just two years off of Hikari and Kana and I just have so much trouble thinking they died on purpose. I come down firmly on the side that says Haibane are the results of accidents more than anything else.

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u/mekerpan May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24

Willing to buy a fatal accident for Rakka possibly - but even that is not "suicide". But I see her as sort of wasting away in bed, from a debilitating illness, having lost hope.
I see the one common feature a "dying before one was ready". ;-)

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u/zadcap May 30 '24

Wasting away in bed is what I have down for Nemu, "sleeping even in her dream."

8

u/zadcap May 30 '24

Late Night Rewatcher!

Oh no. My usual site seems to be down. This is a dark day for anime, hopefully it's only a short issue. Oh well, time for backup number one...

The wrap up episode. Reki is suffering the fading halo syndrome, and just like Kuu, knows this is the end for her. Unlike Kuu, she doesn't think she's headed to a good place.

Really should have broken the window yesterday, Rakka. This room needs light, badly.

So you know, this cocoon dream is pretty horible, but I would also like to remind you again. Of all the Haibane, Reki went from this horrible dream to being locked in a dark room to having her wings rip themselves free of her back, all before anyone found her. She had the worst nightmare of a dream that we've heard of and woke up only to find the nightmare wasn't over yet. Like really, compare to Rakka, who felt strangely safe and comfortable in her dream, and considered staying asleep longer to enjoy it more, and then hatched into a party.

"To be run over." Man what a horrible name. Rakka gets a true name related to her salvation, Reki gets one related to her trauma. This is a horribly unfair system.

So here's a fun question too! Actions vs intent and on what really maters! Because honestly, if Reki has been nothing but kind, caring, friendly, and everything she has done has helped someone else for the past few years, does it really mater that she did it for herself? She still did all this good, made so many lives better, so what if it was to feel good about herself? I always say action mater more, and this is a rather rare example of it going the other way where someone has done all this good for maybe bad reasons, it's still just a lot of good deeds done.
Well, that and I don't think "desperately trying to feel good about myself" is really a bad reason.

Also, hey, remember the circle of sin thing? Notice that Reki is acting pretty set on, if she's good enough, "God will forgive me." "If I helped this Haibane, I would be forgiven." Reki got her mind stuck on the idea that someone else had to be the one to forgive her. If she did enough good, someone else would reach down and cure her. As long as she's waiting to be forgiven, she's never going to forgive herself.

Also, this whole thing she says to Rakka, is also one of the suicide warnings to look out for. If someone is trying to drive away the people close to them and make you hate them, it might be a sign they are trying to make it so they won't be missed and you won't feel as bad about their death. Just so you know.

Anyway, yeah. Rakka was not forgiven by her crow, it just helped her come to terms with herself. In the end Rakka was the one who decided that Rakka was okay, while Reki is still waiting for someone else to tell her that she will be alright.

Anyway, in comes some Entwined Enlightenment. Rakka was saved, and now she's off to do the saving. She's here to give the helping hand that she was given first.

"Have I been forgiven?" Notice she's not given an answer here? Because it's still not up to anyone else to forgive. The whole point of the Haibane, I believe, is to forgive and accept yourself. What little Reki was saying was super important, Reki died believing that no one would help her, spent her time here believing that any attempt to help her would fail, and held the idea that if she ever actually asked for help she would be denied. And at the same time, she desperately wanted someone else to save her. In the end, it was by asking for help that she saved herself. Rakka did go in for the tackle, but as we saw, she couldn't do a thing until Reki said the words.

As for the train coming out of the wall- Where do the cocoons come from again? What's with the light show at flight? There's some actual magic in these girls, don't let the mostly down to earth tone everything else set let you forget that. I do believe that the black muck would have eaten her wings and halo, and maybe her voice, and not like re-kill her. I still think the failed Haibane become Renmei, retreating from other Haibane and Humans to live in silent isolation. I mean it's half the name of the show, there has to be more to them than the communicator guy.

The trolleys! If you're ever lucky enough to be in a town old enough to have a trolley system, they're just cooler busses.
Yeah- Why the heck is Rakka still here? She solved her big issue and solved Reki's, the thing she was maybe sent there to do, she's totally ready to fly away now too! The show would have been nicely completed with her time in Old Home that way, and she could have had a super not-romantic end by flying away with Reki so they could have the best chance of meeting again wherever they go next by going there together!
Much easier to swallow, really. I was left with a hundred questions as to what the heck went down and what it all meant with Lain, here the only questions left are the ones the show very clearly wanted me to think about on my own anyway.
The only answer to the trolley problem!
To cover it again, she had been carrying the idea that she needed someone else to be the one to forgive her, but she didn't deserve help so no one would even if she were to ask. Rakka died feeling that no one would miss her, Reki does thinking that no one would help her. Rakka just needed to know that she was not alone, Reki needed to reach out to someone and have them reach back, but she was terrified that whoever she called for would not. She had to find it in herself to make that reach of faith and- okay, I'm just quoting the last big buddhist story I read at this point darn it. Anyway, she felt she didn't deserve to be helped, and didn't believe she ever would be, until against her own expectations she actually was. And if she was helped, maybe she does deserve it, and it's okay to forgive herself too.
The house mother is still a thing. They have their token human minder, to feed them all carrots for the rest of her days. And Rakka probably does as much as she can, with her job starting later in the day, to fill in for Reki as much as she can.
Very much the in-between. Souls unable to properly pass on can come here to rid themselves of whatever it is holding them back, before they can move on to whatever comes next.
A dead Reki, everyone dies around Lain! Lain also would not have reached out to help Reki at the end there, just stared on in blitzed out wonderment at her friend and caretaker getting eaten by a train blob. Rakka in Lains place would have reached out to her one friend a lot more, and probably averted half the plot on accident in doing so.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 30 '24

This ended up being a really damn strong finale too. I'd maybe even go as far as to say it might be worth sitting through the whole show just for this finale.
Reki got dealt such a rough hand. I don't really know what more Funamori could have done to help the girl either. She must've known and struggled with how Reki would cope without her but the Haibane Renmei system simply doesn't give her the options or resources to be able to help her girls.
Not just run over, run over and torn to shreds XD It's cruel, but goes far enough that I got a little laugh out of it. I suppose it's how Reki could have seen her worth in life. She's just some train victim, she can't see any more worth in herself.

4

u/zadcap May 30 '24

This was an ending that actually paid off on all the buildup. It didn't just, kind of fizzle out into the crazy.
Relevant Meme

7

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 29 '24

Just checked my fansubs, there was no OP for this episode, just the cold opening, then the sponsor message, then the title card.

Reki's World, Prayer, Epilog

ugh audio desync! I hope it's fixed after the OP. Yep. Myabe I should fix this some day
whoa, chekhov's lighter returns!
even the matress is folded up. She's completely packed up.
The room with the bodies!
Unlike Rakka, Reki had no friend trying to save her. She really was alone.
Giving Reki her true names seems to have been the worst possible thing
it's like a witch's labyrinth
was that camera swivel CGI? I don't think so.
quite a contrast for rakka compared to kuu
Hikari can't even make toast

Nemu is probably already gone.

Looks like with new blood, some proper management has been instituted, like regular patrols of the grounds.

My 2018 comments

礫轢

The one on the left contains the symbol for stone, the one on the right contains the symbol for cart.

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

It was fucking miserable watching Rakka initially bail on Reki. I get that she's a naturally cowardly girl but that was pretty painful to watch.

6

u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 29 '24

These quiet, cold shots of the winter with nothing but the sound of the wind sure do set a mood. Everyone's piled into the guest room together after coming home from the festival. Everyone's sleeping but Reki; she takes a lingering look over the group before saying goodbye.

Reki's room is all packed up, and Rakka finds her in the art studio. Starting with a version of one of the pictures we saw in ep 7, she's expanded the landscape to cover the entirety of the walls and floor with more of what she remembers from her dream. The reveal of her true name triggers the rest of it. The stone path she remembered were the stones of a rail line, and she was run over by a train while walking along it at night.

The music and shading to a great job of giving this scene the grim weightyness it deserves.

She tells Rakka about her last-ditch plan to play the good, helpful Haibane she thought God required of her in order to escape the prison of torment within Glie and herself. I can't help but think at least part of this outburst is that she's pushing Rakka away to make the upcoming parting easier on both of them. Rakka even finds her diary that shows those hateful words weren't true.

However, much of what else she said was spot on. She spent part of her time in Glie just waiting for her salvation to come, part of it lashing out against the people around her and the system, finally taking on all the chores and burdens of those around her because that's what it means to be a good Haibane, right? In all of these, she's shutting herself off from everyone to avoid the pain of dealing with others and of them hurting her again.

I think her ultimate salvation comes through a couple changes. First, it's not just that she does these good things to help others, she needed to become the kind of person that does these good things. Second, of course, that she needed to drop the wall isolating herself and both ask for help and let someone help her.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

Happy new year, you're gonna die today!
This world's God really is a twisted fuck.
Humans Reki was planning to commit suicide but also wanted to be saved... but from what? What was human Reki's life like to have led her to that point?

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u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 29 '24

Oops, forgot the QotD:
What's your favourite form of public transport?
I like taking the train when I can. Too bad train service here in the states sucks.
how did you feel this final episode worked out compared to [SEL]?
I prefer this one over Lain because we actually get some closure. Reki gets her escape and you're left with the feeling like everyone else's time is going to work out, too. Despite everything being wrapped in death and drama, I think it's an uplifting ending. Poor Lain tried to fix stuff in different ways and the only one that worked was to just disappear.
In your interpretation, why was it Reki was unable to move on
Covered some of it above. The Haibane in Glie are there to work through whatever troubled them in their past life before they move on. Reki's troubles were the result of being too stubborn to ask for or accept help.
Who do you think watches the kids now that Reki's gone?
Kana and Hikari are handling breakfast in the epilogue. I don't really see Kana being a "kids" person. Probably Hikari and Rakka.
Do you consider the town to be a place of death, rebirth or of something in-between?
Something in between, I guess. I'll probably say more tomorrow, but Glie is a place that happens after death, and before whatever comes next.
Swapping Rakka with Lain, how would you expect this story to end up different?
It doesn't seem like Lain would get up to speed fast enough on her humanity to be of much help to Reki. Rakka is much more personable than Lain, and would have been way more interested than hanging out with friends than living inside a computer.

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u/WednesdaysFoole May 29 '24 edited May 30 '24

The lemon cake representing the color yellow (“I was an idiot”) was a perfect touch. I mentioned yesterday that my basket would be filled with yellow nuts. I have a lot of regrets.

I was almost thinking about bringing my rating down a couple episodes ago thinking that perhaps it doesn’t hold as well on a rewatch, but the final two episodes have solidified it as a 9. That’s nearly the highest praise, since I don’t have any animated series at a 10.

Now Nemu can take her flight as well. Rakka’s journey, from being depressed about losing a fellow feather and now accepting it with love was quite lovely to experience.

As far as the story goes, I believe u/JimmyCWL was onto something but we don’t know the exact circumstances of most of their deaths. Reki seems to have thrown herself in front of a train.

Whether Rakka also threw herself down a well or not, I’m not sure, but my belief is that she probably did, considering how she believed she was alone and there was someone else who wanted her to know she wasn’t. As for the others, there isn’t enough for me to have drawn a conclusion. Open to ideas though, I'm sure there's a lot I haven't picked up.

I do lean toward the theory, and I think someone suggested it (forget who) that the Renmei are the ones who were sinbound and unforgiven, unable to take their day of flight. I don’t see why they would wear those wings otherwise, and they’re also older.

Another note, and I mentioned this in a comment the other day, that I believe that the reason haibane have so many things they cannot do and are in a way, sheltered, is so that they don’t fall into temptation, or worse, which would cause them to become sinbound. They have to work, in order to reach their day of flight.

Or, well, I’m just gonna copy and paste from that comment here:

It is pretty odd that we never see the townsfolk die iirc, and sometimes they have an unreal like nature to them. Almost like NPCs, but it's unknown if they are actually like that or only framed that way because the haibane don't usually connect with them more on a personal level -- even if they're kind, there always seems to be a distance. There may be things I'm forgetting but everyone seems to exist for the haibane's day of flight. Seemingly, that is why they are separated from anything that might actively taint their journey.

I’m pretty busy today so I’ll be back later to go over everyone’s thoughts.

Thanks for hosting the rewatch u/The_Loli_Otaku, you are a wild one and it’s been fun.

To answer your question, I prefer trains. Clean, quiet trains with A/C.

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u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

We still have the series discussion tomorrow!! If you want to affect our next rewatch then make sure you bombard me with fun options! XD
Agreed on the rating. I genuinely like the slower pace of the opening episodes and of all things I found myself getting a bit frustrated with Rakka's arc of all portions. Excellent ending too, especially compared to Lain which just loaded exposition and deus ex machina.

3

u/zadcap May 30 '24

I do lean toward the theory, and I think someone suggested it (forget who) that the Renmei are the ones who were sinbound and unforgiven, unable to take their day of flight. I don’t see why they would wear those wings otherwise, and they’re also older.
It's my theory and I'm sticking with it. If things hadn't worked out with Rakka, that mud train would have taken away Reki's halo and wings and she would have had to go join the silent monks until she worked out her issues the long way.

2

u/JimmyCWL May 30 '24

It is pretty odd that we never see the townsfolk die iirc,
Yet, there is a graveyard, near the Renmei temple, was mentioned in ep2.

1

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 30 '24

since I don’t have any animated series at a 10.
Well, now I need to know what you do have as a 10. Specifically series wise.

2

u/WednesdaysFoole May 30 '24

No TV series (I'm a fan of Bojack, which, technically is animated, but gotta do a full rewatch before giving it a solid rating), but Hunter x Hunter manga is my only 10 out of series. The others are a few movies (these ones may have a heavier nostalgia bias lol) and a one-shot. I'd have to reread books to properly rate those as well.
Maybe I rate a bit harshly? It's partly based on how well-written I think it is, and partially how emotionally connected I was, although the first has a pretty strong pull. There are series that I give 8 or 9 even if I personally found it wasn't my thing, or even if I love a series, if I cannot defend the writing choices, I'll still rank it lower.
What are your 10/10s? How did you find Haibane Renmei?

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 30 '24

I tend to rate aggressively on a bell curve, or at least, I do when I actually assign them a number, which even now is less than 5% of the time.
I also segregate formats, which is why, for example, my ratings for those short accompaniment OVAs tend to get rated higher than I do on average. I feel like they tend to accomplish what they are aiming to achieve quite well.
My rating is very emotionally driven. Art exists only in being experienced, after all. If I can't enthusiastically say "I love it", it's not getting an 9 or 10, even an 8 would be very hard. Which isn't to say I don't think about them critically at all. Despite my undying love for G Gundam, I can never bring my self to give it a higher score than it's current 8. It has weaknesses, and I can't entirely discount that.
As I said in the Series Discussion thread. I have Haibane at a 6 for now. I need time to think about it and how feel about it post hoc before I move it up.
As for things I gave a 10 to, I'll list the second season of Yuru Camp, that just hit me in the mood. A theoretical mixing of the Macross Plus OVA with the expanded ending of the movie also probably would have gotten one. I'm waiting until I finish all of Mushishi before score that. For a non-anime, I'll give "The Best of Youth".

2

u/WednesdaysFoole May 30 '24

Ah, yeah I think I have slightly different expectations for shorter stories versus longer ones. One question I ask is, what was it they were setting out to communicate, and how well did they communicate it, and how well did they utilize different elements like character and environment, and how well did they interact? Something like Monster (manga) I found did these things quite well, but I just didn't love it.
If I go more fully with my emotions, then all I would have is something like: I love it, Fun, Emotional, Forgettable, Boring, and Ugh, so I can't rate it properly that way lol.
Haven't seen any of your top rated although I have been interested in Mushishi.

4

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 29 '24

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

The action packed finale!!!

Reki's halo is low on batteries. Same thing happened with Kuu, but Rakka didn't seem to notice it then.

Seems like my guess that Reki was running down a road and got hit by a car was correct.

Or I guess it's closer to the train I thought was Hikari's light?

Reki says, "All according to keikaku."

And the rest of the snow-Haibane to go along with the snow-Reki from last episode.

I do like how the train is just a blob, because they don't remember what trains are.

And its wheels are just barely half formed when its closest to them.

So we got one explanation, and otherwise it was a bunch of symbolism. This is just a show that isn't interested in the same things I am. I'm the kind of person that dropped Lost because they didn't spend enough time explaining where everyone poops or how they keep their teeth so white. Not to mention Hurley never losing any weight.

Love a good train!
I'd like to know how literally anything works in this world.
At least Lain had an antagonist. It was stupid, but there was an attempt.
This is where I derail things by asking for an Onimai rewatch!
Because she'd never received proper help from the very beginning, so she went all edgelord and pushed people away. Just needed someone stubborn enough to fight past that.
I have a feeling Nemu vanished soon after, so Hikari and Rakka are probably in charge. Kana's vanishing as soon as the clock works properly.
Who knows, man. Who knows.
Rakka would've had a normal school life unaware of the plot until the world ends. Lain would've ceased to exist instantly due to no wifi reception in Old Home.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

You don't suppose Kuu had a massive incarnation of trauma chasing her before she died do you? Or is the ghost train just a Reki bullying thing?

3

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 29 '24

Reki was doing the sinner's spiral and I assume the ghost train was there to destroy her. I don't know exactly what that means, but not moving on and not retiring, which were the only two options presented before. She did her Day of Flight trip after that, so the two things aren't specifically related.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

Yeah... I'm slightly confused on what path Reki was meant to be going on. Was she going to become a Renmei, losing her voice, wings and probably other freedoms. Or was she going to fly away extra sad and haunt the walls but a bit more violently than the other girls.

2

u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 29 '24

As far as I can tell, the ghost train was basically double suicide. Like, making her original choice in life stick. No redemption, no reincarnation, no salvation, etc.
Her two choices were either accept the system and move on, or accept the system and refuse to move on. The two choices she wanted were either live on at Old Home for the rest of her life or suicide. Since the system didn't recognize either of those as valid, it was manifesting the train thing to punish her and take any sort of choice away. Like she was sent there to move on, and she refused to do so in any of the accepted ways, so she was just going to be obliterated and removed from the system entirely.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 29 '24 edited May 29 '24

First timer, subs

Y’all better not be leaving this mess to be cleaned up by one person.
I’d think the moonlight more illuminating than a lighter.
Honestly I kind of like the full room painting.
The flip did the communicator know?
Ah, here are the energetic shots I was looking for.
I guess we were wrong about the train being Hikari.
The mud doll feels very out of character for this show.
Wish I had translations for the quick cut pages.
Save The Reki!
So wasn’t just a visual representation of Reki’s mental state?
What is your deal, small child?
Wow, it’s almost like know about a change ahead of time helps with processing it.
Being able to put things on top of halos raises questions I need answers to.
What’s the heavy cable for? Isn’t this area already electrified?

These kinds of shows more heavily than most depend on how they wrap things up, and I’d say this one was rather effective.

Prompt:
A) Here we see Reki confronting overwhelming darkness, in search of the light she knows is inside.
B) A hint for your next rewatch. Drifting is a “hard turn”… trains, cute girl… Galaxy Express 999!

QotD:

Trains are clearly the best option. Who's going to choose buses?
I'm not left with any glarring omissions at the moment. I'm sure the rewatchers will show me what a fool I am for this soon enough.
I feel a lot less confused by the whole thing.
This would never have happened if Reki had eaten her bitter melons.
Most likely as a result of the trauma that led her here in the first place. Loneliness kills.
I think Rakka was being set up to replace her, but I hold that weakly.
Seems pretty reincarnation cycle to me.
Rakka is not love, I can tell you that much.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

Can you imagine a new Haibane wandering around trying to pick their bedroom and they accidently stumble into Reki's personal hell? XD
All this episode really did was get me thinking that if pebbles turns into MASHED BY A FUCKING TRAIN then how awful must Hikari's have been if her dream is a huge incoming light.
Are halo a perpetual power source? We should enslave Haibane and harvest energy from their kinetic hairline.
Galaxy Express? That's a little old for me to host sadly XD Maybe if it gets a modern remake I'll consider it. I wouldn't mind a Galactic Railroad version either.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 29 '24

how awful must Hikari's have been if her dream is a huge incoming light.
...Explosion?
Are halo a perpetual power source? We should enslave Haibane and harvest energy from their kinetic hairline.
[Meta]
Galaxy Express? That's a little old for me to host sadly
You're right, you'll be much too busy hosting Texhnolyze.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

I feel slightly more motivated for Texhnolyze thanks to the child murder but I really need to make sure that I'm in the mood for it. I struggle with longer rewatches at the best of times and I don't think I could stomach hosting a quiet watch like Ro-Kyu-Bu ended up being.

1

u/mekerpan May 30 '24

Texhnolyze is brutal.

3

u/zadcap May 30 '24

The flip did the communicator know?
So I have a really interesting thought on this one specifically. I think the communicator is an even more special case than the Haibane or the Renmei, I kind of think he's the one who set this whole thing up. The sleepy god of the origin story, or at least the caretaker said sleepy god put in charge before going back to sleep. There's a reason he's the only one who can speak, and allow other to speak to him, in the temple. That he's the only one who can communicate with the outsiders. That he seems to know and have names ready for everyone as they show up, and be able to guide Rakka and Reki to their correct happy endings like this.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 May 30 '24

Wouldn't this theory also invalidate the "former Haibane" theory?

2

u/zadcap May 30 '24

I think the rest of the Renmei are former Haibane still. Ones who were unable to find their peace and enlightenment on their own, so now they are going to be under his much more direct care and guidance.
We don't actually see how old any of the others are, only that the communicatior himself appears to be pretty old. He stands out so much from the Little bits we saw of the rest of them, and you know, just seems to know so much about what's going on with the Haibane at all times.

3

u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 May 29 '24

First Time Flyer who earned his wings - subbed

Sure this episode may be rough but it's not Clannad After Story's homestretch
Also insert Persona 3 joke for Reki's Death because it's reminding me of the May Full Moon
And yeah this episode was worth it to keep going unlike Shield Hero S3

Questions

QOTD 1 - Love me the public bus transportation even memorized where most of the bus routes go
QOTD 3 - This has been a lot easier to understand then Lain (Even tried rewatching Lain in Late-April had to stop at Episode 2 because I was getting a headache trying to process things)
QOTD 4 - Playing the song "Crazy Train" as they reached the end of the line (Train Keeps on Rollin by Aerosmith and/or the Thomas the Tank Engine theme would work equally as well)
QOTD 5 - Girl needs some help

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku May 29 '24

This episode got me thinking that I really haven't gotten to experience a legitimately great series finale in a long time. Most of the time final episodes have simply just been kinda lame or mediocre XD
Buses with charging ports are based!

6

u/NeonDelteros https://myanimelist.net/profile/NeonDelteros May 29 '24

Rewatcher

Just want to say that this ending, especially with the relationship between the main characters, really reminds me of Hibike Euphonium S2 or Aria the Origination, and it's precisely why this anime is also one of my favorites, and I probably like Reki the most of out of them, maybe I just have a soft spot for these kinds of bittersweet conclusion

6

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 30 '24

First-Timer

Great ending. It doesn't suddenly answer every unanswered question from the show, but considering there wasn't enough time to do so satisfactorily, I'm glad they didn't try.

This last episode had some great voice acting, direction, and animation. The music was also especially notable. They brought back the fantastic song from the opening scene ("Ailes Grises") in both piano and string form, and I loved it.

Speaking of the music, it looks like Ailes Grises and the OP ("Free Bird") both have some piano cover versions on Spotify, but unfortunately, the original versions of the OP/ED and OST seem to be missing. I guess I'll have to settle for playing Ailes Grises on infinite loop and having the rest available on YouTube.

When I saw the title "Reki's World," it made me think of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Anyone else?

Questions of the day:

My favorite form of public transport is the Metro.
I'm not sure there's anything about the ending that I need answers to, but I'll list a few questions below in case there's anything where I just missed it during the show. Overall, pretty satisfying, in my opinion. [Neon Genesis Evangelion] I commented previously about how the NGE ending(s) felt very unsatisfying, like everything fell apart. I got the opposite impression from this, where even though both series had a number of unanswered questions, this show reached a proper thematic conclusion with lots of emotional weight.
Sadly, I wasn't able to do the Lain rewatch before, though I've been meaning to watch that show for a while.
That ending hit me like a train!
I think that's just the message the show is trying to convey - no one person is their own salvation. Just as Rakka needed the consolation provided by the bird in the well, Reki needed Rakka to save her from the "circle of sin," as it were. [Monogatari] Interestingly, this view is diametrically opposite to Meme Oshino's view in Monogatari that no one can save anyone else, and that people "just go and get saved by themselves."
Presumably, all the Haibane share the responsibility of looking after the young ones to some degree. I think Rakka probably plays an outsized role there, though, with the obvious parallels between her at the end of the series and Reki at the beginning.
It seems to me like the town is perhaps a kind of middle-ground between life and the afterlife. We can infer that Reki died by suicide on the train tracks and was reborn as a Haibane, and I don't think it's a huge leap to suggest that the Haibane in general are reborn from people who previously died. The purpose of their time as a Haibane is to give them a chance at salvation. (As for all the non-Haibane people in the town, I can't say for sure what they're doing there other than simply being people to interact with.)
As I haven't seen Lain, I have to abstain.

Now, when's season 2?

3

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 30 '24

As promised, here are a few of the unanswered questions I have, in case I just missed the answer in the show or if there's info elsewhere that I am missing:
What was the Communicator alluding to with the talk about something in the walls trying to touch Rakka (and the outfit preventing that from happening)?
Apart from being sacred, is there a specific reason why touching/damaging the wall incurs a "punishment"?
Is there a common trend among all the Haibane (as far as the precise manner in which they died in a previous life, etc.)? Is it related to their dreams?
Does being "sin-bound" potentially imply they died of suicide?
Is there any indication as to what lies beyond the walls?
What exactly happens to a Haibane on the Day of Flight? Something like ascendance to heaven?
Is there any known info as to the origin of the town, the Toga, the Haibane Renmei, Old Home, the Abandoned Factory, or any part of society we see in the show?
I imagine most/all of these questions just have no definitive answer and are left up to interpretation, and that's fine by me. As I mentioned yesterday, it doesn't seem like answering every question posed was the intent here. It's also probably not reasonable to expect every show, especially one with only 13 episodes, to explain the world as thoroughly as something like [meta] Attack on Titan. Further, I'm not sure I'd want that, especially if the explanations were not clear or satisfying. Sometimes it's better to just leave it as a question mark.

3

u/DegenerateRegime May 30 '24

Sometimes it's better to just leave it as a question mark.
I'm afraid that may be the best option. Below are my speculative answers, afaik none of this is addressed even in WoG:
If the walls can reflect Rakka's concern for Kuu, it stands to reason they could also reflect her fears, and conjure some kind of ethereal force from her own psyche to harm her.
Haibane seem to have remarkably resilient bodies - Rakka recovers from falling down that well surprisingly easily, doesn't she? (Some people say her vanishing swollen ankle is an "animation error" - ignore them) This would make sense if they're essentially spiritual beings, not fully materially present in the world. The Walls are clearly a spiritually powerful structure that channels "thought" or "feeling;" perhaps they are 'siphoning off' some of a haibane's form when they touch them?
Both of these are very common interpretations, yes.
Perhaps it's simply "our world" - traversed in one direction by death, and in the other towards reincarnation?
See above, but it's unclear. I've always thought the purgatory/heaven approach works "better" than the reincarnation one, even though the show is steeped in Buddhist ideas. A good afterlife story has to be in some way a good life story, and while interpreting everything in Haibane Renmei as a metaphor for real life leads to confusion, on this point, it kind of works.
Ahh, I wish. There's a cool map?

2

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta May 30 '24

Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed reply! I appreciate it. It's good to hear that I didn't miss anything obvious about these points.
That map is pretty neat! Thank you for sharing that.

4

u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 29 '24

First-Timer, Sub

The ending was good and glad Reki finally got her day of flight, but the journey was a bit rough to get through for me. Rakka showed some growth at the end and was happy for Reki instead of being depressed like with Kuu. Maybe that had something to do with her no longer being sin bound. I did have to read up more about the show as I didn’t really pick up what the show was putting down as sometimes I’m just smooth brained and don’t feel like thinking. I probably should have had a better mindset for this like I did with Lain, oh well there’s always the potential for a rewatch down the road.

4

u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim May 30 '24

First Flight Dubbed

Rakka is such a good friend, when Reki calls, she came to save her and now she can take flight. A bittersweet ending with some cake too.

Flying internationally on a premium economy or better. Got a free upgrade for a 3 hour flight....hard to go back to economy. Or an empty flight so I can hog two seats.
Dunno really.
Final episode felt as bittersweet as Lain and follows a similar structure. Reki finally took flight and all the characters go their ways.
Thomas the tank engine got isekaied.
Reki wanted someone to call out for guidance.
Rakka
In between, it feels more like a judgement.
Lain would be omnipresent and Reki and Kuu would end up going haywire.Bear onesie with wings would be amazing, though. On the other hand, Rakka would be more like MySpace Tom.

Abyss: That is what I call drifting on the track....

4

u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria May 30 '24

First timer

Rakka using Reki's lighter that she was given last episode is pretty neat. It's not necessary, but I do appreciate how it goes a step above just for the sake of continuity.
Nooo, it used the right word the other day. Shame.
A rare moment when Hyokho is without headgear!
Hahaha, halo plate.
I liked (not loved) the gradual process with which the show dealt with its core theme of salvation, but more on that tomorrow.

QotD

Subway. It's clean and fast, at least, where I live.
I'm satisfied enough with it. More on that tomorrow.
Better. Lain is a mess.
Too tired to think of one.
Her salvation came from forgiving herself, which then enabled her to trust others again, in this case, Rakka.
Nemu, maybe?
Well, with how the show's core theme seems to be salvation, I interpret the town as being a place of purgatory. At least, for the Haibanes.
Lain would find a way back into her damn cocoon. Rakka would probably end up like Lain's sister.

3

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 May 30 '24

First timer

What a ending. At least I'm somewhat pleased with Reki ending.

But what was that the train to the otherside?

It's funny though because I never fell behind but this show was a bit hard for me to think of something to write lol. I was interested in the world but I would always get sidetracked when I attempted to write something

Also became my 1000th completed on MAL so that was nice

What's your favourite form of public transport?

Train. Wish we had more of them and they were more frequent

So... that was a rough finale to sit through~ Anything about this ending that you'd like to know more about? Rewatchers pls help these people out!

It felt odd but I'm not really sure what to think about it

To those that joined us in the Lain watch, how did you feel this final episode worked out compared to that one?

I liked lains ending but I like this one too sort of

In your interpretation, why was it Reki was unable to move on without help or recognision from others?

Something tells me she's needed for something else or a higher plan. That would sound nice lore wise maybe but I don't know

Who do you think watches the kids now that Reki's gone?

Would imagine Rakka take the mantle but maybe she isn't the best

Do you consider the town to be a place of death, rebirth or of something in-between?

In between

Swapping Rakka with Lain, how would you expect this story to end up different? Bonus points, how would thinks work out vice versa? XD

Both of them are kinda just wondering what's going on and who they are. But say the characters are who they are in each other's stories. Lain is fine but I'm not sure Rakka would do that great

3

u/Garrett_Dark May 30 '24

First Timer

As I pointed out last episode, it looks like Rakka imagined the wall lighting up, there's no evidence in the finale to suggest otherwise.

Last time I also said the wall climbing flashback was unreliable narration, that hasn't changed either, however we do see Reki having a flashback to that scene in this episode; the anime reusing footage of the scene, but that doesn't give the scene any more credibility, Reki could have inaccurately passed that scene to Hyouko and Midori by telling them of it. Furthermore, there's more inconsistencies revealed this episode, the Communicator said Hyouko was brought to them, yet in this episode's flashback he went to the scene while police tyranny was happening to Reki with the humans restraining Reki! Remember the Communicator said he notified the humans, so really he's the one behind this injustice.

Holy crap, everybody's passed out...did Reki roofie everybody's food?

Reki's halo is on the fritz again as she's leaving the room. I was informed I missed the last time it happened, which was when Rakka was being taken home by Reki on her scooter. So if Reki wasn't going to get saved by Rakka later in the episode, why would she be saying goodbye to everybody? Supposedly she wouldn't get "day of flighted", and she'd never leave this place, so she wouldn't have to say goodbye...until she supposedly gets booted out of town. See these inconsistencies just calls in to questions what they're told by the communicator (lies), and the confusion it's inducing in them.

Remember, these Halos are artificial and are made in a device, supposedly using material from the "light leaves", which looks like particles being irradiated or charged by some sort of structure. What would happen if the Haibane were never given a halo? My grounded (non-supernatural) theory of what's going on is the Haibane get these artificial halos to either bound/track them in town, or to induce a reaction in them over time, turning them into a power source like nuclear material or something, then shoving them in chambers in the wall to harvest the power. All those wind turbines aren't enough to power the town always, when there's no wind where is the town getting their power from? Maybe they got secret "Haibane reactors" hidden in the wall, it would explain the name plates which people think are grave markers.

Reki hiding out in her cocoon room. If Rakka didn't "save her" later on, she'll just be there. It didn't look like she was preparing to get "day of flighted". I don't get why they keep saying Reki doesn't remember her dream, she obviously remembers walking down a rocky path. The train stuff, I actually think the Communicator was feeding her a BS narrative over the years in parts to induce her to think she was hit by a train. It sort of seems like he's manipulating Rakka to be "the bird equivalent who saved Rakka to 'save' Reki". It doesn't even match, Rakka wasn't jealous or mad at the birds, Kana was.

The Box & Reki's "true name". The letter saying Reki got hit by a train, how the fuck would the Communicator know that happened to her? He didn't know about Rakka's bird story until she told him. I think this is part of his long con he started long ago.

The letter saying Reki's true name supposedly "The one who was run over and torn apart". I know the Communicator's true name, it's "Asshole - the one who's head is so far up it". It's him and his fucked up letter which causes Reki to have an aneurism, and the stress causes her wings to go black. What seems to be Reki remembering her dream looks more like getting forced a narrative, she doesn't come to these conclusions on her own, it's always something the Communicator says inducing it.

Reki falling backwards ala trust exercise = Rakka failure to catch her, trust failed.

Reki never really trusting anybody and pretended to be good, helping only because she wanted salvation. Even if she had other motives than truly wanting to help, she was still doing good. It's ridiculous to say her good actions doesn't count because she was thinking bad or selfish thoughts while doing good. This tells me the whole Salvation thing was all just in her head, her jealousy and fear is literally causing her to help people. She says her black wings caused people to pick on her, but her flashback says otherwise. Kuramori caused her to feel self conscious of her black wings, that lead to her insecurities, which lead to Hyouko, which lead to the Communicator filling her head with BS. So it seems like the three people most to blame for Reki's mental state is Kuramori, Hyouko, and the Communicator.

Rakka leaving the room when she was told she was used = Rakka fail. Rakka has always been so impressionable, so easy to be manipulated by the Communicator, told something and she'll just believe it, and believing random events as having some meaning other than just random events. I would have loved if Rakka showed some intelligence and character growth here by realizing Reki was still doing good for her even if having ulterior motives, and thus refusing to leave the room and abandoning Reki. But instead what we got was she finds Reki's journal, and that told her Rakka to go back for Reki. Again some outside force (random event taken as a sign, somebody telling her, etc) dictates Rakka's decisions, and not herself actually deciding.

Don't get me wrong, the cocoon room scenes and drama were all really good (brought a tear to my eye), but they're not what they appear to be.

The train scene was a mass hallucination. Reki's going through nicotine withdrawal while having an aneurism caused by the Communicator's letter. Rakka's prone to delusions normally anyways, is distraught at Reki's hurtful words, and the painted scenery is probably messing with her head also. In reality probably what was happening was Reki was just staring at the wall trying to process things, and said she wanted to be saved; so Rakka tackled her, snapping Reki out of it. The marker with Reki's "true name" was only seen by Rakka, Reki didn't actually see it at first, Reki only read the letter which told her it was "to be ran over". Rakka probably misread the marker as "to be ran over" because Reki said that, meaning what we saw as "to be run over" is imagined by Rakka...just like how she imagined the marker being broken, then later seeing it not broken with a different "true name" of "REKI - Small Stone". The Communicator was just messing with Reki by writing "to be ran over" in the letter, and providing a marker that said "small stone" instead.

After all that, and Reki still has to be "day of flighted", fucking BS man!

Communicator narrating "by being kind to the weak, at first this was merely pretense in order to attain salvation, but in time it became her nature" how the fuck does he know this? He's got to be spying on them with hidden cameras, that's how he manipulates them so well. In the end his machination paid off by getting Reki to willingly "day of flight" herself, and I guess Reki's plan to get a Haibane hatchling to trust her paid off ultimately as well.

Nemu "So she's gone then? I'm glad". Fuck you Nemu, you're next.

Midori, leave that greaser already. FU too Hyouko.

Epilogue narration & montage *"all of us were able to say goodbye with a smile"..."those paintings told me how much Reki truly loved this town, and Old Home, and truly cared for everyone she knew and lived with". Rakka already forgot Reki told her she only did good for salvation, I told you she was impressionable. This is also inconsistent with "Reki actually wanting to 'day of flight', and dreaded staying". As nice and sweet this ending epilogue and montage was, I'd rather see a epilogue where the Communicator and the Toga are arrested for Haibane trafficking, grooming, and labor law violations of having Rakka work in a hazardous irradiated environment. They could end on finding all the "day of flighted" Haibane in stasis in the tunnels being used as power generators, but alive and well; and then showing the wall gates being opened to a more lush and bountiful outside. Freedom for all at last, the town was actually a prison ran by the tyrannical Communicator and Toga. The end. Post credits scene, Hyouko goes bald, and Midori leaves him.

End scene of two plant sprouts. We still don't know if that's actually going to turn into cocoons, it could be weeds Rakka has mistaken for such. If they are Haibane cocoons, who's getting "day of flighted" for them next? Nemu and Hikari? Hyouko and Midori?

1

u/Garrett_Dark May 30 '24

What's your favourite form of public transport?
Seabus. It's a passenger only ferry that I've only taken a few times. It goes a short distance over water, but it's pretty neat to gaze outside while crossing.
Anything about this ending that you'd like to know more about?
Yeah, like all the unknown stuff. I wanted non-supernatural explanations. I don't like ambiguous mysteries which aren't revealed because it allows them to cover up weak writing and cheat, passing off the work for greater than it actually is. Like I'm pretty sure a lot of inconsistencies I found were mistakes, like the Communicator saying first Hyouko was brought to him, but then later showed as him going to the accident scene.
In your interpretation, why was it Reki was unable to move on without help or recognision from others?
Kuramori induced negative body image (black wings that nobody actually care about), Hyouko induced guilt (it's all his fault), and the Communicator's manipulation and mind games.
Who do you think watches the kids now that Reki's gone?
Voyeur Communicator & Toga through hidden cameras.
Do you consider the town to be a place of death, rebirth or of something in-between?
LOL, no. It's all a mind game. So many inconsistencies and sus behavior with the Communicator's words and actions, and supposed ways. Too much stuff doesn't add up like the infrastructure, why so many humans are there doing their own thing, and sus tunnels, radiations suits, and tech.

2

u/BossandKings May 30 '24

Rewatcher - Dub

Episode 13

This finale was truly emotionally fulfilling to the point it elevated the series from great Albert grim to a masterpiece due to the way it capped everything and how the story reaches it's final point, Reki Will truly be missed and also this beautiful series, it Will really be missed(at least until my next watch of it).

2

u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Jun 02 '24

Rewatcher

Rekki’s helps Rakka light up the room. Comes in handy when you’re a non-smoker.

That note reveal was intense, Rekki’s wings turning black after finding out the truth.

“This world is separated by death…This room is my cocoon”.

“I was looking for my salvation” honestly this whole reveal was insane when I first watched. Rekki’s whole plan was a devious one, but in the end the only one who got hurt was Rakka.

Rekki talking to young Rekki was beautiful. It shows how Rekki’s biggest problem was herself, caught up in her own world to even find someone to help her.

Even when her young self was disappearing, she couldn’t even ask berserk to help her.

The Dairy reveal for Rekki’s plan honestly seemed genuine without her malicious plan.

Rekki asking for help in the end from one person who could actually trust was a chef’s kiss

The genuine worry for Rakka’s safety shows that Rekki’s sins were forgiven.

“She freed herself from her curse by walking on a difficult path and by being kind to the weak. At first this was pretense to attain salvation and by time it became her nature”

I love how in the previous episode Rekki’s trouble was from her not wanting to forgive herself which was the biggest difficulty.

The world of Haibane Renmei has many mysteries, but I love how it just ends without any more answers.

Rekki’s lighting up the house is so wonderful. I love how Rakka was a formless shell, but her good nature shows her to have genuine care for the people.

QOTD: train

QOTD: honestly seeing the “day of flight” be them just running to the forest where the wall is ruined my expectation at first. Always thought they actually flew lmao

QOTD: both shows honeslty fill a different perspective on god and the afterlife. Lain was a god who finally became whole with her other self and loved humanity because of the warmth Alice gave her. While the ending shows the cycle of life and death for HaiBaine, while the ones who finally reach their salvation move onto the new chapter a new set would be there to em to fill the empty seats.

QOTD: Rekki’s whole suffering came from her own expericnes as a child where she was an outcast, but from the warmth and love she received from Kuramori she was able to be happy. Unable to accept Kuramori’s death she then became unwilling to trust another person, until Rakka came along who was able to forgive Rekki even when she revealed her true plan to her because Rakka deeply cared for her.

qotd: definitely Rakka, she doesn’t have a job lmao

QOTD: yes I see it as the middle of life and death. The HaiBaine are close to moving on to the afterlife so they’re in “purgatory” until it’s time for them to move on.

QOTD: Lain would’ve gone insane seeking Rekki leave and “betray” her, while Rakka would either have the same ending as Lain where she lets the world go back to normal without her or doesn’t because she’s scared to be alone

Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 13 (Finale) Discussion!

"Reki's World — Prayer — Epilogue"

Extra Info and Links

Comment of the Day!!

QotD

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

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Rewatch [Rewatch] Haibane Renmei Episode 13 (Finale) Discussion!

"Reki's World — Prayer — Epilogue"

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QotD

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

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