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Haibane Renmei is another work by the brilliant Yasuyuki Ueda, creator of both Texhnolyze and Serial Experiments Lain. Since these are some of my favorite anime of all time, I was bound to check this one out. However, I had no expectations set, because I've seen many opinions that this is the weakest out of the three. Still, Ueda seems to consistently deliver, so I was hoping for something at least good enough to get a solid message out of, but what I got was much more.

This is an uncommon instance where a tv show has multiple messages hidden within it, and they are all ... filled with a great deal of meaning. There is commentary on discrimination at two different levels: the townsfolk towards the haibane in general and the haibane towards the sin-bound. It pursues this message while simultaneously having a mysterious world that no one knows about with very mysterious people that don't know about their past or how they came to be haibane in the first place. The people of the haibane grow up without questioning how they were created, and they live life in no particularly unordinary way. However, Rakka hatches from the cocoon, and soon she starts to question what purpose the haibane even have, and what the purpose of life is in general. Living life to the fullest is a common theme here, and while this is what the general haibane ideology consists of, Rakka is an outlier and her curious yet intelligent way of going about things is absolutely striking. She makes for one of the most interesting and developed characters in anime.

I could see criticisms about the art, but in my opinion it fits the show perfectly. The realistic art style and the way nothing is overly animated makes it an amazing representation of what the meaning of Haibane Renmei is in the first place. The soundtrack is also something to take note of, and it has some of the most lovely and chilling songs you'll ever hear.

The only gripe I have with this anime is that there were a lot of questions left unanswered at the end of the show, and the slow typical slice of life pacing near the beginning with nothing really happening wasn't for me. For some this might add more mysteriousness to the show and environment, which I could see, but for me it ended on a note I wasn't really expecting. Since I'm avoiding spoilers I'm not going to name any specifics, and don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, I just hoped for something more.

Overall, Haibane Renmei slowly but beautifully unravels its message throughout the show and makes for one of the most interesting and intriguing pieces of media I've ever had the pleasure to consume. I would say it is certainly near his other works in terms of quality and barely any aspect of this show falters. You have to be patient with it, but if you enjoy his other works then I feel like you'll have the ability to appreciate the beauty that this show provides. Even if you don't, there's no denying the sheer quality and meaningful nature of this excellent piece of art.

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS*

Sword Art Online has the most mixed opinions I've ever seen. This was my very first anime back in 2014-15, and I mindlessly fell in love with it, proceeding to not watch any more anime as I thought this was simply untouchable. However, around 5 years later, I finally started developing taste, and then a couple more years later (today) I finally got around to rewatching SAO. Because of everyone you can think of on the internet constantly bashing this show for poor writing, characters, etc., I did not expect to like it that much at all. I especially did not ... expect to like it as much as when I first watched it, because that would simply just be impossible. However, I was definitely surprised with certain aspects and elements of this anime, but immensely disappointed with others.

The first 14 episodes of Sword Art Online is the show at its best. I truly wish that the show stopped after the Aincrad Arc finished, and that was the end. To me, this collection of episodes stand out to me as actually enjoyable. I also love the spot where it ends as well, adding an element of mystery to the story with Kirito mindlessly running down the hospital isle and screaming Asuna's name. What turn will he take next? When I read other opinions online, most stand out to me as hating the show as a collective, but I truly do not believe that Sword Art Online deserves the hate that it gets because of the Aincrad Arc. For me, it's something that is easily enjoyable, fun, and romantic. Kirito and Asuna during this arc have some of the best chemistry that I've seen throughout various romance anime I have dabbled in, and in my opinion they are one of my favorite couples to watch connect with each other during an anime. This portion of the show really makes Sword Art Online shine, with an interesting premise, a pleasant MC (even though some may argue otherwise), and just an extremely enjoyable relationship between Kirito and Asuna. I should also mention the game itself, because I still thought that this aspect of the show was enjoyable, but in my view I think what really made this arc stand out was Kirito and Asuna as a whole, and the adventures they went on together, whether it be fighting tough bosses on the various floors or literally just going on vacation for two weeks. Even with some of its flaws, such as the side character episodes or the character depth, I still have a strong opinion about this arc being a legitimately enjoyable experience.

However, past this point, I could totally understand the hate for this show. My enjoyment for SAO past the 14th episode goes exponentially down, and when I say it I mean it. I was so disappointed with the Alfheim Arc, and they wasted so much potential that the show was gathering up. Because the Aincrad Arc was so enjoyable (even though it did have its flaws), I thought that this show could still go on and provide something good. With everything set up like this, they could have gone off and developed the characters more, provided some more rich action or story, but here we experience none of that. Instead, this arc just consists of disgusting and despicable fairies as well as Kirito's sister/cousin literally being in love with him. I don't know how they were able to mess up this bad, but trust me, they did it. I was so uninterested with every single thing that was happening during this arc, that I literally was tempted to just stop watching. Nothing interested me, including the fairies, the antagonists (please no), and Kirito's little cousin/sister. If anything, this interested me because of how much it made me want to puke. I cannot believe how much they made me stop liking everything, even Kirito and Asuna to an extent. Also, just thought I would mention that the sexual harassment scene with Asuna and Sugou is one of the worst scenes I have ever seen throughout anime history. I just think that this arc literally ruins the whole show and it shouldn't have even existed in the first place. Such a nauseating experience and a total waste of my time.

I know most of the people reading this review or most of the people on this website in 2021 have seen SAO, but I couldn't help but express my enjoyment for the first arc and the massive disappointment for the second. I just think that it is totally ridiculous how a show can fall off this hard, however I do not want to discredit it only because of the first 14 episodes. In my view, that collection of episodes is something that legitimately provides an interesting premise, cool ideas, and heartwarming moments. I just had to get my opinion out there, and keep in mind that this is my first review so I decided to write it on something I am very passionate about. To sum it all up, I think that if you haven't seen SAO yet, and you are just looking to watch something enjoyable, please just watch the first 14 episodes. You could just stop there, and you're saving yourself from the terribleness that Sword Art Online really has to offer. If you stop watching at that point, I definitely think that you will get maximum enjoyment (it's still not for everyone), but if you keep going, do so at your own risk.