WALL OF NITPICKY NOTES TO ADD TO THE COLLECTIVE OPINION OF THE HOLY AUTHORITY OF MAL SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS EPISODE FIVE OF HAIBANE RENMEI
• I think I should restate my thoughts on the OP. I like listening to it. I really like the piano bit at the end. However, now that I’m listening to it with full attention, I don’t think it would be easy to automatically associate this OP with the show.
• I can’t remember the angel’s name, but I’m assuming the episode’s going to be about her. She’s slow and careful.
• Rakka looks angelically (see what I did there) adorable with her unkempt magnetized hair. I think I know what desktop wallpapers to get next.
• The Angel of the Day’s name is Nemu. Nice name, I guess.
• Sumika gives Rakka the classic pregnant woman philosophy talk. Well, she didn’t really give her any talk. Sumika just asked Rakka something that alludes a lot to her pregnancy.
• There was a moment there (when Rakka places down a stack of books on a dusty table and dust flies everywhere) which could have been far more expressive (and adorable) if they didn’t draw Rakka in such an off-model way.
• The fact that even the humans don’t know what’s beyond the wall brings up a lot of questions. Sure, they may not have left the town ever, but surely they have passed down information from the founders of the town, right? The answer would be that something stopped the passing-down of information. It was probably the Haibane Renmei because they’ve been depicted as real sinister-like. However, I have the strange feeling that the show won’t actually answer the question. Far too many anime have done that.
• Of course, it also brings up the question as to why they’re stuck in the town in the first place. It could be an Attack on Titan situation, or it could be something to do with their religious beliefs.
• The applause after Nemu reads the story sounds really fake to me. It’s not that they don’t sound like actual claps. It just feels artificial. I can’t put my finger on it.
• Nemu seems to be a mature adult. I was actually surprised by this. I thought Nemu was going to be one of those sleeping dunderheads or something. I like her calm-and-collected adult maturity, though. It adds a touch of variety to the cast of fairly lively characters.
• Suddenly… Haibane biker gang.
• So there really are male Haibane that aren’t the religious type.
• Well, I guess we got some Reki backstory. Nemu narrating this backstory adds to her believability as an adult.
• Now, we see Rakka reflecting on her life there so far. Again, it shows her skill in introspection and interpersonal observation. Also, it tells us that she’s happy however she has doubts on whether she deserves to be happy. I like the aesthetic of the wings in the dark.
• “The Beginning of the World” book they’ve been talking about was probably the Book of Genesis or something.
• Is Nemu attracted to Sumika? Those are the vibes I’m getting here. Probably not, but still.
• Although her enjoyment of making up the rest of “The Beginning of the World” does shed light on some sort of desire for fantasy and imagination within her, she probably enjoyed it so much because of her friendship (and attraction????) to Sumika and getting to hang out with her.
• “You won’t laugh?” It seems that Nemu, despite her maturity, still has a sense of insecurity.
• The way Rakka acted during her sort-of “confrontation” with Nemu seems to be very mature, being able to read through a layer or two of Nemu’s character, smiling (in a somewhat smirking way) playfully the whole time. Honestly, she really didn’t do anything special, however the whole thing gave that vibe to me.
• This show can get very off-model, but Rakka riding with Kana at 17:40 is just really ugly.
• “You take it easy, boy.” Kuu’s a GUUUUUYYY!??
• OH MY FUCKING GOD IS THAT CGI!!!!!!?????? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. IT’S UGLY!!!!! THE ROAD’S SO FLAT!!!
• The continued “Beginning of the World” depicts Haibane as lesser to humans. What’s interesting is that Nemu, a Haibane, wrote that herself. Interesting.
• However, one could say that the Haibane were depicted as superior to humans because they were more LIKE God.
• It was a nice legend, but I can’t tell what Rakka added as the ending. None of it sounds like something to really be laughed at. My guess is the part where Haibane escape from God’s head and inhabit their own world was Rakka’s addition but it’s hard to tell.
• It would’ve been nice to see Sumika’s reaction to the thing, but I guess they didn’t consider that part of the point or important enough to be kept in. Maybe it’s in the next episode.
• I guess the legend was supposed to say things about how the Haibane view their places and the humans’ places in society, separate from each other and one, in some sense, being superior over the other.
• Overall, a more eventful episode, more than just a characterization episode for the Angel of the Day. There was the fleshing out of Nemu’s character who, despite her adult maturity and calm collectedness, has a somewhat insecure side to her, especially towards Sumika who she may or may not be attracted towards. However, there was also Reki’s backstory with the cool biker gang kids (a classic) and a bit more exploration of the Haibane’s place in society relative to the humans’ and how the Haibane themselves view them. We also get to see a more mature Rakka, skilled in some way in understanding others and helping them out. Again, just like most of the previous episodes, it flew by quick to me.
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