Interesting writeup. I came to it late, both times closely associated with a particular person who was touched by it very significantly, so I have little sense of where it fits in the wider anime fan culture. Moreover one was my friend Fall who died last year, and quoted the bell nut scene in her suicide note. That context makes certain episodes, particularly Kuu's departure, just completely devastating, in a way that I don't think I could have appreciated if I wasn't so immediately directly familiar with grief. Losing someone changes how you respond to those themes in fiction in a big way, and while anime is not short of death and grief arcs, the way Haibane Renmei communicates it is painfully true.
I think that, even if the animation is limited by resources, the direction and especially the music does an exceptional job conveying a particular atmosphere that I find... maybe not completely unique, a lot of 80s OVAs (e.g. the Phoenix adaptations) have something of that dreamlike atmosphere, but it works especially well with the themes here. As you say, it may have elements in common with both sekaikei and slice of life on the face of it, but it's all in the specific execution. You go to Haibane Renmei most of all for a feeling of melancholy. It's not the only anime to do well addressing suicide, but its particular quiet and oblique way is an important one.
I agree that there's no need to be all 'not like other anime', but I am glad to know it continues to be remembered well outside of my small bubble.
(Hey Canmom!) I struggled a ton balancing between the deconstructive elements of the analysis and my actual opinion of the show here - I love Haibane, its lodged in my mind, I wanted that to come through even as I outlined how that love had changed. I do think as a standalone work it excels like few other works on tackling the 'normality' and inevitably of grief. I can think of manga that do that! But anime has a trendline towards fantastical stakes which Haibane eschews that has made it stick with me over the decades. (Hopefully that came out in the last section)
I absolutely agree Haibane has a ton of directorial genius - I did the thing in this one I always do as a writer and half-hid my thesis ^^ That whole section about its art direction (and whole essay really) is not really about Haibane-as-Haibane, instead its about Haibane as disparate 'legacies' in the west & Japan over time. It didn't excel in ways 'Japan' would care about, but did for the western audience. I actually had a whole section about the soundtrack I cut for length! Its a great soundtrack that complements the scenes really well - but due to that nature is also very understated, often eschews lyrics, and lacks a 'standout' number. Which means it could have no Duvet a la Serial Experiments Lain or the like, a lasting 'hit' that could stand outside the show, be remixed for memes, etc. Important everywhere, but more important at the time in Japanese fandoms than westen ones, and one that defined the show's approach to its own aesthetic. In a way it sacrificed virality for focus.
(And as always I am sorry about Fall *hugs* I may be repeating myself but despite never knowing them, to pass with the Bell Nuts letter as their last act means I knew them deeply, that is an alternate history version of myself making the same decision. I wish I could have realized that unrealized connection.)
Thank you Ash. I'm sorry if my comment last night came across as overly defensive or anything - it's a good piece on Haibane and its legacy, I can see it means a lot to you too, and I get the constraints of writing. I guess I was trying to figure out why Haibane did stand out to me still, in an era where there's a whole lot more access to anime, and animation in general for that matter.
(hi as well! really cool to see you on here, I like your anime writing a lot ^^)
Oh it absolutely did not - I welcome alternate perspectives and disagreements, and I wouldn't think I have 'the' perspective on any one show. Its media! Subjectivity is the name of the game. And I 'know' you, so I know you any comment is sincere thought.
And length was a huuuge constraint on this one, its the longest essay I have written by far I believe (on anime) - 18 minute estimated read time! - so I ruthlessly cut things like caveats and digressions. "Why 2003 western anime fans - including myself - saw Haibane Renmei differently than Japan" was all I could squeeze in. There is so much more to say on this show, I hopefully do someday; "anime and depression: a thematic retrospective" would absolutely be a magnum opus work for me.
(Also thank you for the compliment ^^ I love your writing as well ofc - you should cross post your animation history series!Or maybe you already do? Obviously tumblr is great but I alas have found non-tumblr users are skeptical of tumblr links, so its been useful. And its nice to have a home for the effort-posts)
Interesting writeup. I came to it late, both times closely associated with a particular person who was touched by it very significantly, so I have little sense of where it fits in the wider anime fan culture. Moreover one was my friend Fall who died last year, and quoted the bell nut scene in her suicide note. That context makes certain episodes, particularly Kuu's departure, just completely devastating, in a way that I don't think I could have appreciated if I wasn't so immediately directly familiar with grief. Losing someone changes how you respond to those themes in fiction in a big way, and while anime is not short of death and grief arcs, the way Haibane Renmei communicates it is painfully true.
I think that, even if the animation is limited by resources, the direction and especially the music does an exceptional job conveying a particular atmosphere that I find... maybe not completely unique, a lot of 80s OVAs (e.g. the Phoenix adaptations) have something of that dreamlike atmosphere, but it works especially well with the themes here. As you say, it may have elements in common with both sekaikei and slice of life on the face of it, but it's all in the specific execution. You go to Haibane Renmei most of all for a feeling of melancholy. It's not the only anime to do well addressing suicide, but its particular quiet and oblique way is an important one.
I agree that there's no need to be all 'not like other anime', but I am glad to know it continues to be remembered well outside of my small bubble.
(Hey Canmom!) I struggled a ton balancing between the deconstructive elements of the analysis and my actual opinion of the show here - I love Haibane, its lodged in my mind, I wanted that to come through even as I outlined how that love had changed. I do think as a standalone work it excels like few other works on tackling the 'normality' and inevitably of grief. I can think of manga that do that! But anime has a trendline towards fantastical stakes which Haibane eschews that has made it stick with me over the decades. (Hopefully that came out in the last section)
I absolutely agree Haibane has a ton of directorial genius - I did the thing in this one I always do as a writer and half-hid my thesis ^^ That whole section about its art direction (and whole essay really) is not really about Haibane-as-Haibane, instead its about Haibane as disparate 'legacies' in the west & Japan over time. It didn't excel in ways 'Japan' would care about, but did for the western audience. I actually had a whole section about the soundtrack I cut for length! Its a great soundtrack that complements the scenes really well - but due to that nature is also very understated, often eschews lyrics, and lacks a 'standout' number. Which means it could have no Duvet a la Serial Experiments Lain or the like, a lasting 'hit' that could stand outside the show, be remixed for memes, etc. Important everywhere, but more important at the time in Japanese fandoms than westen ones, and one that defined the show's approach to its own aesthetic. In a way it sacrificed virality for focus.
(And as always I am sorry about Fall *hugs* I may be repeating myself but despite never knowing them, to pass with the Bell Nuts letter as their last act means I knew them deeply, that is an alternate history version of myself making the same decision. I wish I could have realized that unrealized connection.)
Thank you Ash. I'm sorry if my comment last night came across as overly defensive or anything - it's a good piece on Haibane and its legacy, I can see it means a lot to you too, and I get the constraints of writing. I guess I was trying to figure out why Haibane did stand out to me still, in an era where there's a whole lot more access to anime, and animation in general for that matter.
(hi as well! really cool to see you on here, I like your anime writing a lot ^^)
Oh it absolutely did not - I welcome alternate perspectives and disagreements, and I wouldn't think I have 'the' perspective on any one show. Its media! Subjectivity is the name of the game. And I 'know' you, so I know you any comment is sincere thought.
And length was a huuuge constraint on this one, its the longest essay I have written by far I believe (on anime) - 18 minute estimated read time! - so I ruthlessly cut things like caveats and digressions. "Why 2003 western anime fans - including myself - saw Haibane Renmei differently than Japan" was all I could squeeze in. There is so much more to say on this show, I hopefully do someday; "anime and depression: a thematic retrospective" would absolutely be a magnum opus work for me.
(Also thank you for the compliment ^^ I love your writing as well ofc - you should cross post your animation history series!Or maybe you already do? Obviously tumblr is great but I alas have found non-tumblr users are skeptical of tumblr links, so its been useful. And its nice to have a home for the effort-posts)