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REVIEW: Haibane Renmei DVD

here-and-faraway wrote:

[...] I love this title and teach it to my students every year. [...]

May I ask exactly how you incorporate the series into your lesson plan?

Kinda curious on what the two-disk collection contains, does it have more bonus content than the four dvds combined?

I think it would be hard for anyone who has seen the series to deny that redemption and forgiveness play a absolutely central role in the final act.

Yoshitoshi ABe developed practically a cult following in anime circles in the wake of his creation of Serial Experiments Lain, which stands as one of the most thematically and aesthetically innovative titles of the 1990s.

Funimation's advertising tag line for the release also hedges on being a spoiler

Sometimes God cannot forgive you unless you forgive yourself.

I suppose it depends on whether you attribute spoiler[the redemption for the haibane to be external or internal. I think a lot of people -- including myself years ago -- think it's the former, although nowadays I tend to believe the redemption the haibane undergo to achieve their day of flight to be more internal... or at least not totally external. People look at Rakka and Reki having others looking out for them, but they also forget that Kuu left after she seemed to have forgiven herself. If the self-hatred of their suicide is what they have to overcome, rather than actions toward others, I'd say that's more of an internal issue than an external one.]

Just to be clear, Funimation's marketing slogan for this series is:

Quote:

Sometimes God cannot forgive you unless you forgive yourself.

... which is 100% wrong in the context of the show. I forget the exact line the Renmei says toward the end of the series, but it goes something like spoiler["Reki has no one to forgive her. You had a crow. And it is impossible to forgive oneself," making it clear that forgiveness must come externally.] It makes me kind of wonder if the marketing department bothered to ask anyone what was in the series.

Theron Martin wrote:

Funimation's advertising tag line for the release also hedges on being a spoiler

Just to be clear, Funimation's marketing slogan for this series is:

Quote:

Sometimes God cannot forgive you unless you forgive yourself.

... which is 100% wrong in the context of the show. I forget the exact line the Renmei says toward the end of the series, but it goes something like spoiler["Reki has no one to forgive her. You had a crow. And it is impossible to forgive oneself," making it clear that forgiveness must come externally.] It makes me kind of wonder if the marketing department bothered to ask anyone what was in the series.

unready wrote:

Theron Martin wrote: Funimation's advertising tag line for the release also hedges on being a spoiler Just to be clear, Funimation's marketing slogan for this series is: Quote: Sometimes God cannot forgive you unless you forgive yourself. ... which is 100% wrong in the context of the show. I forget the exact line the Renmei says toward the end of the series, but it goes something like spoiler["Reki has no one to forgive her. You had a crow. And it is impossible to forgive oneself," making it clear that forgiveness must come externally.] It makes me kind of wonder if the marketing department bothered to ask anyone what was in the series.

Yeah, Funi really did a poor job with that aspect. The line certainly is somewhat of a spoiler, and it implies a distinctly christian element of the show when it actually does not link itself to any specific religion. In fact, I believe they went to some lengths to avoid such connections. I fear that it may actually turn some people off from the series if they believe it's a religious series when it certainly is not, though I would say it is a somewhat spiritual series (there is a difference).

I'm not sure I understand this distinction between external and internal redemption. Maybe you mean spoiler[a distinction between helping yourself and being helped by others. If this is the case, I think the show presents a dynamic relationship between the two; that is, if what the Communicator says in Ep. 12 is true, and no one can "forgive themselves," I think it is likely that Kuu's redemption came from another source, one which was at least not made explicit to us the audience (cf. Rakka's encounter with the crow) as we were only able to see her Day of Flight as it were, "from the outside," namely from Rakka's point of view. Case in point, what made Reki's ordeal so trying was not that she had no one to redeem her "externally," but rather that she refused to trust anyone else enough to help her even the slightest bit... which is perhaps why she committed suicide in the first place.]

I also agree that Funimation's slogan does not accurately reflect what is going on in the series. But I want to ask Keonyn how does Funimation's slogan imply Christianity? Just because the word God is being used, it does not have to apply only to Christianity. Other religions believe in god(s) too.

angelmcazares wrote:

I also agree that Funimation's slogan does not accurately reflect what is going on in the series. But I want to ask Keonyn how does Funimation's slogan imply Christianity? Just because the word God is being used, it does not have to apply only to Christianity. Other religions believe in god(s) too.

Of course, but when someone views that slogan they aren't likely going to think of those other religions. I'm not saying it can't be interpreted any other way, but I'm fairly confident it won't be. Plus, the presence of any specific deity is pretty much a non-factor in the story as it focuses on a more spiritual story, not a religious one. I just think that if someone who isn't familiar with the series sees a cover with people who have halo's and wings and they read a slogan about God they are going to come off with the assumption that is a Christian themed title when it is not. I just find the slogan to be unnecessary and misleading, I personally don't think the series (or most for that matter) even need slogans/taglines.