Haibane Renmei ep.8-10

January 29, 2004 | 3 Comments

Geez, I finally managed to get my Haibane Renmei 3rd DVD after one and a half month wait. Thanks a lot Viz, for taking such a long time to send another batch of Inuyasha DVD to the e-tailers to the point that all of my other orders were suspended waiting for just that one DVD to arrive. It's a good thing The Right Stuf.Inc actually saved me the first press edition of this third DVD or I will completely missed out on the limited edition pencil boards. Anyway, back to the show itself, it's good to see this series again especially now the series has dished out more revelations and hints of Rakka's and Reki's past life. I also have to say I really like the color pallettes that are used on the show thus far. As you can see from the screen caps, ABe's decision to use bright colors sparingly produces some striking images that I rarely see on other anime titles.

The eight episode starts with Rakka still feeling depressed due to Kuu's disappearance as well as the weird black spots that appeared on her wings. Despite Reki's assurance that she's a good Haibane, Rakka still believes that she doesn't belong in the town of Glie and that she should just become non-existent altogether. One day while she roams around the countryside, she notices that a bunch of black crows have been hovering around the green field as if beckoning her. Despite her hesitation, she never the less decides to follow the crows. They end up leading her to the west forrest, where she stumbles upon an old well in the middle of the forest. Upon seeing the empty well, she feels as if she begins to remember a part of the dream that she had while she was inside the cocoon.

Rakka's curiosity and desire to find out more about her past life leads her to climb down the well using the metal stairs that is embedded to the wall inside the well. Unfortunately for her, one of the stairs is broken and she ends up falling to the bottom of the well. After being unconscious for quite a while, Rakka suddenly gets to relieve the dream of falling from the sky that she had in the firs volume. This suddenly awakens her and bring her to realisation that she has fell to the bottom of the well and there doesn't seem to be a way out since she can't reach the stairs anymore. After a couple of minute, she realised that there's a skeleton of a crow lying around the bottom of the ground. Instead of being afraid, however, she feels some kind of kinship to the skeleton. She feels as if she knows the bird in the previous life as someone who cares deeply for her. Unforu she can't remember who that person was.

Episode nine continues from where episode eight left off, with the rest of the Haibane in panic since Rakka hasn't come home yet. Meanwhile, Rakka continues to remember how she seems to believe that in her previous life, she has this notion that no one cares for her and yet this person has always been there for her. Unable to remember anything else, Rakka decides to bury the bird's skeleton as a thank you for always being there for her even though she cannot remember who that bird actually represents or what their relationship in their previous live were like. As she finished burying the bird, she heards some rustling noise coming from the top of the well. It turns out a Toga trade person has arrived there and seems to have notice Rakka's presence at the bottom of the well. The Toga trade person ends up fetching another person to help him retrieving Rakka from the bottom of the well.

Despite not being allowed to talk to them, Rakka can't help but asking question in regards to Kuu's status outside the wall. The Toga trade person, however, refuses to answer any of her questions and decides to leave her alone in the forest after rescuing her from the well. Because of this, Rakka ends up stumbling around in the forest not knowing where to go. After a while, however, she ends up in the area where the wall that seperates the town of Glie with the outside world is located. In this area, Rakka seems to hear some mysterious laughing voices that she thinks belongs to Kuu. Overcome by her emotions, Rakka can't help but running to the wall and press her hand and her face to the wall, hoping to hear more of the voice. She, however, is spotted by a Haibane communicator who orders her not to touch the wall. After some conversation, Rakka decides to follow the Haibane communicator, who is willing to show her a way out of the forest.

Rakka, however, injured one of her legs when she fell down the well and as a result can't move very well. Seeing her condition, the communicator decides to give her his walking stick to make it easier for her to walk with him out of the forest. The communicator then tells Rakka that while it's inevitable that the Toga trade people ended up helping her, she mustn't burden them with questions. Their conversation ends up leading to the skeleton of the black crow that Rakka found inside the well. Rakka tells the communicator how she feels that the crow has some kind of connection to her and how she feels responsible for the crow's death somehow. She ends up crying and tells the communicator that she doesn't think she should be in Glie where everyone is nice. But if she's not supposed to be in Glie, then she asks to be placed elsewhere that is more appropriate for a sinner like herself.

The communicator, however, tells her that she should not worry too much about her situation as he points out Rakka's wings, which have now turned to the normal grey color again. He says that anyone who sincerely recognise their own sin has no sin. This is what is called 'The Circle of Sin'. He then asks Rakka if she thinks that she is a sinner. Rakka thinks that she is because she feels that she's somewhat responsible for the fate of that person represented by the black crow in the well. The communicator then says if that's the case, then Rakka has no sin. He, however, adds that someone who thinks that they have no sin may not recognise their own sin. Feeling confused by this answer, Rakka asks what she should do to find out if she's a sinner or not. The communicator simply asks her to think about it through and find her own answer as he leads her to the outer forest.

Once they reach the outer forest, the communicator bids goodbye to Rakka and tells her that she can return the cane to him when she feels better. Not long after that, Reki and the other Haibane finally finds Rakka. However, Reki soon realises that Rakka's body temperature is unusually cold and asks her if she happened to touch the wall inside the forest. Upon hearing her answer, Reki decides to take Rakka back to the old home. Apparently those who have touched the wall will be 'cursed' and it seems the 'curse' comes in the form of total numbness on the part of the person who touched the wall. Sure enough, it doesn't take long before Rakka's body becomes completely cold and unable to feel any sensation. However, as Reki fuss about Rakka's state, she notices that Rakka's wings have become completely grey again even without the red medicine. She therefore wonders if Rakka is now not a sin-bound anymore.

Continuing on the theme of 'Sin-bound', episode ten shows a little bit of flasback to the time when Reki and Nemu were still young Haibanes. We find out that unlike Rakka, Reki was all alone when she first hatched from the cocoon and undergone the painful birth of her wings. One day, an elder Haibane called Kuramori stumbled upon the room in which Reki was 'born' and felt compassionate towards the young Haibane despite the fact that Reki was born with a set of black wings which seem to instill fear in other Haibanes as well as the townsfolk. We also get to see how at first Nemu was afraid and angry at Reki for indirectly causing Kuramori travel all the way to the forest to fetch some leaves that can cure Reki's black feathers. However, as the two get to know each other a bit better, they become friends with one another.

Meanwhile, back to the present, after the medicine that was purchased by Kana doesn't seem to help Rakka whatsoever, Reki decides to go straight to the Haibane Renmei temple to ask for their help. In the process, Reki gets some insight that Rakka has indeed get rid of her 'Sin-bound' all on her own account. Reki asks the communicator whether he gave Rakka the same riddle that he gave her beforehand to which he nods in affirmative. After a long chat with one another, the communicator warns Reki that her time in the town of Glie is going to end soon. Despite Reki's desire to want to remain in the town, the communicator reminds her that she must go elsewhere just like other Haibanes who never reached ther 'day of flight' during their stay in the town of Glie.

Reki becomes sad as she hears this and asks why some Haibane never reach their day of flight, while others get there so quickly. The communicator answers that in the case of Nemu, for example, she never gets to reach her 'day of flight' because she wants Reki to get her 'day of fligh't first. Someone like Kuu, however, got her 'day of flight' earlier because she wishes for it and wants to become example for the other Haibanes so that they'll join her soon. The communicator then tells Reki to get whatever herbs she need to cure Rakka and get back to the old home quickly. Thanks to the herbs, Rakka is finally healed from the 'curse'. Being healed, however, doesn't mean that Rakka won't be punished for touching the wall. As a couple of days later, she's called by the Haibane federation to undergo her punishment.

One the day of her punishment, Rakka was first taken by the Haibane communicator to an underground area which supposedly is located underneath the town wall. She's told to wear a special cloak and then taken to an area where she gets to pick some 'light leaves', the leaves that are apparently used to create the halos that hovers on top of the Haibane's head. The communicator then leaves Rakka in the place and tells her that he's going to pick her later. He reminds Rakka, however, of the importance in not taking her cloak off and to ignore whatever sounds she may hear in the area. As long as she wears the cloak, nothing can touch her. Rakka is puzzled by this but performs her punishment none the less. However, as she performs the job, she notices some markings on the tomb that is located behind a group of 'light leaves'.

A couple of hours later, Reki is on her way to pick up Rakka from the Haibane temple and ends up encountering Hyoko and Midori, the two Haibanes from the Abandoned Factory area. Midori ends up handing out a package which supposedly is a present for Rakka given by Hyoko. Not long after this, Rakka encounters Reki and tells her that she's completed her punishment. However, her punishment will basically become her job from now on and she's okay with it. Back to the old home, the Haibane finds out that the package that was given to Rakka from Hyoko turns out to be a box full of cakes which was given as a sorry gift for upsetting Rakka a couple of days ago. Seeing this, the Haibanes of the old home decides to pay a thank you visit to the Abandoned Factory. Reki, however, is not so enthused with the idea and refuse to come with them. The episode ends with Reki asking Nemu to not worry too much about her well-being to the point that she sacrifices her own happiness.

Overall, these episodes certainly have raised more questions than answers. Having said that, I do start getting some ideas on what happened to Rakka prior to her life in the town of Glie. My guess is that in her previous life, Rakka was so depressed to the point of she ended up taking her own life by jumping into an empty well. The bird, I suspect is a manifestation of someone who tried to prevent her from doing the act but never the less failed as well and probably ended up dying as well. I also get the impression that the reason Rakka is able to cure her 'sin bound' is because she finally acknowledges that she may have been responsible for the death of this person who cares so much for her. That seems to have absolved her 'sin' and purify her wings to a grey state again.

These leads me to believe even more that the town of Glie really is some kind of purgatory for sinners (thus the grey wings) who have died. They get a second chance to realise their mistake and do some good things in this town and when they've fulfilled the requirement, they get their 'day of flight', which I assume a trip to a better place. However, those who refuse to acknowledge their past or make an attempt to realise their mistake seems to bound to go a place that is presumably closer to Hell. Obviously these are just my guesses as to how the world of the Haibane operates and it clearly fails to explain why the humans are there as well. Anyway, with 3 more episodes to go, I hope the writers can wrap up this show quite well although I suspect there'll be some questions which will never be answered on this show.

© memento 2005