…There were angels born from giant cocoons. Imagine my surprise when the series Haibane Renmei begins with no apparent conflict. Mystery and secrets abound, but they aren’t serious plot devices, and so the viewer begins to wonder where the conflict lies. This is the central idea of the series: it has no larger conflict; the conflict is only revealed in the concluding episode of the series. A few minor conflicts occur, which deeply affect the plot and drastically change the tone of the anime in a short period of time, but the tender message of the story does not change as a result, but is rather strengthened as more truth comes to light.
This series is Haibane Renmei, an anime based on a doujinshi comic series created by Abe Yoshitoshi in 1998. The series débuted and ended in 2002 with 13 episodes, categorized as drama/fantasy. For the Reverse Thieves’ annual ‘Secret Santa’ project, this is the anime I chose to review for the end of the year.