Sick of stereotypical anime? No need for big robots, big chests, lots of yelling and immature humor? Check out Haibane Renmei. In my opinion, it's in a class by itself.
HR begins with a young girl 'hatching' from a cocoon, unable to remember her name, her life, or anything else. She is greeted by 5 other females (looking to be between 10 and 25) who have wings and a halo. She is given a name, based on her dream in the cocoon (Rakka, which means "falling), as are the others. Soon she grows wings and is given a halo as well. The winged creatures are called "Haibane."
The first 5 or so episodes are intentionally slow going, as we are given a view of Rakka's adjustment to life as a Haibane. However, as slow going as they are, the episodes are very engaging. By episode 6, Rakka suffers a major loss, as she spends the rest of the series dealing with the loss and trying to answer the question: What are the Haibane?
This series was created by the same person who created Serial Experiments: Lain. Rakka even looks a little like Lain. However, HR is a bit more straight-forward than Lain. It is an especally quiet series, the use of classical and baroque music add to the feel of the show. We're told a little about the Haibane, the rules they must follow, and the world they live in.
The animation is intentionally not very flashy, however it is detailed and quite immaculate. We get the feeling that the Haibane live in a quaint little town which hasn't changed much over the years. The show is much the same in its feel of timelessness. It could take place now, 100 years ago, or even 100 years from now.
In short, this is a show to show off to non-anime fans who have stereotyped all of it as either Pokemon or porn. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a trend...
