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Apr 23, 2008 11:02 PM
#1

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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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i wonder if she really did get away or if they just tell the haibane that to keep them calm.
May 10, 2008 5:19 PM
#2
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Oct 2007
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Bye Kuu
Jun 29, 2008 9:15 PM
#3

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the whole episode was about someone departing

i guess that would be sad... didnt really care about kuu tho.

LOL @ not having a proper animation when they take off the hoods on their raincoat and having their halo propped up like that.

"What happens when we die?" I know that the ones who love us will miss us.
Jul 10, 2008 9:28 PM
#4

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Ranivus said:
i guess that would be sad... didnt really care about kuu tho.


Same. She was never my favorite, even though it was rather depressing all the same.
Jul 20, 2008 6:44 AM
#5

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Oct 2007
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pretty sad episode i hope kuu not really dead.
Aug 21, 2008 6:56 AM
#6

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Aug 2008
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R.I.P. Kuu..
Dec 3, 2008 7:14 AM
#7
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Mar 2008
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She's just flown away to a better place...
Apr 19, 2009 12:23 PM
#8

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That was really a frightening experience. This might be one of the best episode for me since I started this series. It was really dramatic. She left them without even saying goodbye.

This just adds up to the mystery. I wonder how many days or maybe years to let them know that it's their "time" to go?


Jul 3, 2009 10:21 PM
#9

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Jun 2009
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Seems to me almost like the concept of purgatory. I think the dream they have relates to them dying in a past life as a human, then they're born as a Haibane, wearing hand-me-down clothes and using secondhand items, and at some point they leave to be reborn. Not sure what the qualifications for leaving could be, but... Hm.
Dead as the moon is, it still pulls the tide; somewhere within it must still be alive.
Oct 18, 2009 11:05 PM

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Jun 2009
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Fantastic episode in so many different ways.
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Nov 9, 2009 1:20 PM

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Adrian_LaCroix said:
Seems to me almost like the concept of purgatory. I think the dream they have relates to them dying in a past life as a human, then they're born as a Haibane, wearing hand-me-down clothes and using secondhand items, and at some point they leave to be reborn. Not sure what the qualifications for leaving could be, but... Hm.


Well, I thought about the symbolic side of this series as well. But I wouldn't be so orthodoxial about it. For me it's more like a metaphor of a clinic for ones that tried to kill themselves, or lost their identity in other way. I also think such people are Saints in some way and touch the divinity of human existance, by aprocheind death and passing to the other side.

That's why i belive that Kuu simpely recovered from her "immaturity" and went back to "normal world" or the "normal life" whatever you want to call it. Notice how happy and excited she was in her last moments in Haibane Renmei.

I like this episode very much. It's very gently told, as for a departure story. Leaves you wondering. ( @ Ranivus) I admire Yoshitoshi Abe for the scenario of this series. It's a delight to watch something so different (and so much better) than most of anime stuff.
Jun 7, 2010 5:32 AM

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May 2009
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Watching this on a rainy day was quite something.
What a change, from the slightly happy-go-lucky previous eps to a rather dramatic depature. Beautifully laid out, probably the best episode yet from my point of view.
Jun 24, 2010 8:32 AM
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May 2008
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Good episode, and the tone definitely livened things up for me... even if it was a melancholic episode. Also, the mystique I've wanted from this series has semi reared it's head... which is good.
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Aug 7, 2010 8:26 AM

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May 2009
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very subtle, excellent soundtrack
loved it
Aug 9, 2010 4:06 PM

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Dec 2009
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Nice. Sad as well. I think we all knew something was up when her halo was blinking in and out.
Such junk...
Sep 2, 2010 9:27 AM

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Sep 2008
1624
this is the turning point of the series for me. I only just liked the show before this, but this was just beautiful
"...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth')
Sep 25, 2010 1:10 AM

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Jan 2010
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the orphanage symbolism is so high in this...kids turn 18,they have to leave

tbh i had no idea that Kuu was a girl to this point O.o...

so when "the time comes",a Haibane turns into a crow so that she can fly anywhere she wants?

4/5
Sayonara,papa!


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Sep 25, 2010 3:28 AM

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clannad4ever said:


so when "the time comes",a Haibane turns into a crow so that she can fly anywhere she wants?



Im not sure about 'anywhere she wants', but they fly off 'somewhere beyond the walls'.
"...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth')
Oct 22, 2010 12:58 AM
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This episode was actually a really emotional to me.
The only thing only negative thing about it, is that I was sitting in my school canteen, and that other students sat next to me and started to talk to each other during the emotional parts...
Oct 31, 2010 4:21 PM

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When the halo blinked I had a huge chill going down my spine and suddenly my eyes were all teary.

Lovely show, just lovely.
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Feb 11, 2011 9:30 AM

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The best episode this series has delivered. The sudden departure of a Haibane was beautifully portrayed in a bittersweet way.

It made my tears flow. Even if couldn’t get to know Kuu to truly make a strong bond to her character, I felt it, the sadness of having someone close to you go away, even though, maybe, they flew over the walls, to their own freedom, to their rebirth. I loved the symbolism.
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Apr 25, 2011 11:15 AM

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What an episode...probably the most affecting moment since the wing scene in the first ep. While Kuu's departure is sad (even if she never got that much screen time), it's the fact that there is now an extra, more melancholic layer to this show rather than just the ordinary try-a-new-job-each-day episodes makes this show even more special than before.
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May 9, 2011 2:31 AM
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No cute girls doing cute things this episode.
May 10, 2011 9:54 PM

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You know, from the very first episode, I had wondered if the Haibane ever would disappear to reincarnate or whatever. Guess it looks like it does happen. And having it happen with no warning, and the Haibane doesn't even say goodbye, it's pretty sad.
Jun 8, 2011 5:49 AM
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The concept of the Haibane re-incarnating really is an interesting one. I hope we learn more about the nature of the Haibane, but I feel like the show will leave the interpretation up to us.

Brilliant episode and really very tragic with Kuu leaving the nest. Reki's words at the end were quite depressing. I wonder if she remembers her previous life?
Feb 20, 2012 11:42 AM

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This was intense and emotional compared all those calm SoL episodes.

It feels sad and somehow unfair they just disappear without any warning or explanation. Well, I hope it's a happy thing for those who disappear. At least I guess Kuu seemed content with leaving/disappearing since she said she was grateful for "the last drops" from Rakka.

Since Haibane seem to have to live depending on others and as something lower than actual humans (they get what they need but it's all second hand and they have limited rights overall) I guess leaving their flight marks their independence. If Haibane are failures like the story at the end of previous episode suggested, maybe they leave after they become complete enough to live without the support and restrictions Haibane have in that town in the world behind the walls. Kuu left behind the halo but onle a couple of feathers, I wonder what that means.
Apr 29, 2012 12:47 AM

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This series is great. That is all for now. :)
May 13, 2012 12:43 PM

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wow, such a change from the previous episodes which were just nice slice-of-like type episodes, to such a sad and dramatic one, I hope that Kuu really has just flown off behinf the walls and its not some sort of cover up, the first half of the episode was actually a little boring, but my god it picked up after 10 minutes. Hope it continues!
Aug 3, 2012 1:00 AM

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May 2012
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Well now, that made me cry. I assume Kuu didn't just fly off, since there were feathers left behind and her halo was blinking during the first half of the episode. She was just... too out of character to just leave in my opinion. Then again, I can't know for sure what has happened. Poor Reki, I have a feeling this has been happening all her life... she's probably been a Haibane for longer than any of them... and to experience that time and time again....
This series just does such a great job of everything.
Sep 27, 2012 12:10 AM
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Wow, heck of an episode. I figured there was going to be some sort of special departure for the Hanibane. I figured something was going to happen to Kuu the moment we first saw her halo flicker. Great symbolism in this episode, and i'm definitely interested in seeing what sort of explanations will be given for everything later on. And I have to say, I do like the certain serious tone of the series. I wonder if that's permanent or not. I expect the later episodes to be like this. My prediction is that Rakka's Day of Flight will happen on the last episode.
Dec 16, 2012 10:52 PM
Jan 6, 2013 1:41 PM

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May 2012
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This was actually a quite sad episode, a good one though but a sad one :(
Feb 16, 2013 3:03 PM

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Knew this plot was coming due to Kuu's "Goodbye" scene in the previous episode. Great foreshadowing there, it was subtle so people probably didn't pick up that it was actually signalling her departure there (I did, I'm good at stuff like that; it also helps that I got the whole purgatory thing they got going on and it only made sense that one of them would eventually depart). The only problem with that was that it made it a rather predictable affair for me, didn't really get sad at all but that also has to do with my lack of care of Kuu as well. Still, doesn't change the fact that this was a greatly written episode, not my favorite thus far but it's probably my third or second.
Feb 18, 2013 1:39 PM
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Things are finally starting to really happen! I'm really pumped. This show keeps getting better and better.
Mar 12, 2013 1:22 PM

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Jan 2013
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Good episode.
I was waiting for Rakka to mention that Kuu's halo was flickering and fading.
Mar 15, 2013 3:36 PM

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She probably got struck by lightning before takeoff and then eaten by the crows. That's why the only things left are feathers and a black halo. Ooooohh the plot thickens. ^________^
Mar 25, 2013 7:17 PM

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Ria said:
Ranivus said:
i guess that would be sad... didnt really care about kuu tho.


Same. She was never my favorite, even though it was rather depressing all the same.


i cant belive you guys :( not to be mean but why did you not like her?
"Stop whining, all I did was chop off your stupid legs."
Apr 30, 2013 3:30 PM
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ITIaster4 said:
Ria said:
Ranivus said:
i guess that would be sad... didnt really care about kuu tho.


Same. She was never my favorite, even though it was rather depressing all the same.


i cant belive you guys :( not to be mean but why did you not like her?


Well I think it's because we still don't know much about Kuu, or anyone really, and that's why some people don't feel the connection with Kuu. I personally am still indifferent to most of the characters, but I do agree that is was sad to see Kuu leave, and I shed a few tears for her.

Seems like there are a lot of speculation on the symbolism or the meaning to the Day of Flight, and I'm not sure what to think of it yet. Although it's sad to see someone leave, I'm sure Kuu went somewhere else that is even better, after all, she didn't seem sad about leaving. She said that her "cup" was full now, which must mean something along the lines of being content, maybe with herself, or with everything in general.
May 28, 2013 11:29 PM

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The first half of the series is meant for you to introduce you to the characters individually.
This is a very important episode that signals the turning point of the show.
I do agree that Kuu wasn't the most developed, but I think it's particularly sad because of how it effect Rakka.

Also, Reki's response to the departure is chilling: "Everyone always leaves me."

Sep 3, 2013 6:23 AM
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Finally an episode that made me sit up and take notice. It seems the introductions to the word and characters are over.

A sad episode, specially for Rakka. This place is the very definition of purgatory/ or a kind of spiritual no mans land.
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Feb 17, 2014 3:09 PM

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Apr 2013
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A very sad episode :(

Those crows look suspicious.
Apr 16, 2014 8:45 AM

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Well I saw something like this coming. Guess the show is about to get a whole lot more depressing.
May 29, 2014 1:46 PM

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That was sad. Kuu's dim halo left behind made an impression.
Nemesis_AndrmdMay 29, 2014 2:19 PM
"Me ni wa me wo, ha ni wa ha wo, aku ni wa aku wo."
Jun 7, 2014 11:51 AM

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I imagined this would be the concept of the series, but I can't say the drama was well handled in this episode at all. Not only Kuu was an average character, it wasn't even shown why and what kind of "enlightenment" she had achieved to leave this world.
Jul 9, 2014 3:31 AM

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cub said:
She probably got struck by lightning before takeoff and then eaten by the crows. That's why the only things left are feathers and a black halo. Ooooohh the plot thickens. ^________^


Haha that's crazy
Dec 29, 2014 4:56 PM

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I guess we'll never see Kuu again.
Still, I don't think she's dead.
Jan 6, 2015 4:18 AM

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Well done episode, most shows can't capture my curiosity so well, in 6 episodes no less.
Feb 12, 2015 6:47 PM

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I saw it coming after Kuu said that stuff about the water.
Maybe Kuu had become depressed and he died of depression because maybe that is how people pass on the world of the Haibane
Maybe if the world were a purgatory, then she either became good enough to go to heaven or bad enough to go to Hell.
That bright light was probably how the Toga get move Haibane from the world.
Apr 27, 2015 1:46 AM

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This certainly took a solemn turn. The already thick mystery has only grown as more questions have arisen with Kuu's disappearance. This also makes me wonder if the crows are really former Haibane who experienced their days of flight. There's been a constant connection between Rakka and the crows, they're the only creatures that can freely leave and enter the city, and they have charcoal wings.
Apr 27, 2015 8:50 AM

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Nov 2013
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damn, well that was a change of pace.
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