Grumpy Jii-san gets his Wings (every time a bell rings,)

[literacyscaresme]

Funimation rescued Haibane Renmei and a bunch of other Geneon titles sometime around last summer, including Serial Experiments: Lain. No word on the release date, but Haibane is going to be very easily accessible again soon. c: Hopefully Funimation's re-release will draw in more attention to the series, too. It's very deserving of attention, and I've always been disappointed how few people have seen or heard of Haibane. It's a true masterpiece of storytelling.

[nahkampfbiber]

Very enjoyable review. This is one of those few series that completely bypass your rationality and grab your emotions subconciously from within.

Have you reviewed "Kino's Journey", "NieA_7" or "Mushishi"? Those are very elegant with that, too - in their different ways.

[feedmepaper]

Excellent review. Haibane Renmei is one of my favourite series. I just love its soothing and gentle theme, and it's one of those series which you can come back to at any time and enjoy it all over again.

In case you haven't seen Mushishi already, give it a try. Very similar feel but amazing on its own. I don't know how good the Mushishi dub is since I tend to stay away from them but please check it before you decide whether to go for the English dub or the original Japanese one with subtitles.

[Pigziggy]

oh lordy

[Fallingsideway5]

Lolwot

[Levitz9]

Ah, Haibane Renmie....it's like Lain, only not as maddeningly confusing. Also, I see what you did with the title: smart, Gramps!

Thanks for the review; happy holidays, however late I am!

[animeindoorsir]

Grumpy if you ever decide to retire from anime reviewing please give us a video explaining, don't just ditch and leave us craving more of your epic beard and sage wisdom from decades of anime watching. Uncertainty is a horrible feeling.

[trunksss5]

I felt a little bad when you find out what their dreams mean.

Kana was always my fav

[tricofilms]

Right on, GrumpyJiisan! Great review!

Say, have you covered Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal yet? It's an animated and musical masterpiece. Check it out if you haven't already.

[Fxtaxmax]

Abe was influenced by Haruki Murakami's novels and he created Haibane renmei. Novelist Haruki has used his acceptance speech for the Jerusalem Prize to voice support for the Palestinians. Actually I read some his novels and pretty good.

[ClownVonDavid]

One of my favourite anime. Glad you like it too. Since you're reviewing something you've already seen once, does this mean we'll be getting a review of Cowboy Bebop soon as well?

Also, you should watch Revolutionary Girl Utena. I think you'll like it.

[prede89]

eh...Cowboy Bebop...that title...it never dies

[GrumpyJiisan]

Bebop is on the list somewhere...

I tried Utena a couple of times, but I just couldn't get into it.

[Alaskaslim]

For Bebop, in terms of popularity, I'd say you'd have to add Pokemon and Dragonball to the list to mention one more well-known. It was a part of Adult Swim's original line up in 2001, and they're still broadcasting it from time to time (no other series has lasted as long with them).

For myself, it's actually the only anime I've discussed in detail in person with someone about, never done so with any other, not even Eva.

[ClownVonDavid]

That's a pity. Utena is extremely tedious in the beginning, but it slowly gets better. When the 3rd arc comes about everything will fall into place and it will be magnificent till the end. Don't rush yourself, just watch a little at a time.

[Husse67]

I'd been missing the 3rd volume of this show for forever and could never find it for an affordable price although I check periodically. This review inspired me to look again, and I FINALLY found one for $15. O_O

You are good luck, Jii-san! ^w^

[prede89]

i was lucky enough to find the entire series in singles for sale at a coconuts near me only a few months ago. It was cheaper then you could find it online for too. But it is getting anoying to find this title

[GrumpyJiisan]

Glad you found the DVD.

It's unfortunate that many off-beat titles like this, FLCL or Paranoia Agent have gone out of print and disappeared.

[prede89]

Yeah it sucks when great shows become hard to find :(. Things like this, FLCL, and Paranoia Agent , etc should never go out of print :( . Sad really

[silentk1987]

dam I didn't know those anime were out of print, they haven't been along too long.

[FFandMMfan]

I'd personally give it a 4/5. It really was well done, but I felt that a few of the episodes/parts of episodes were a tad on the boring side, and I do usually enjoy these slow, artistic anime.

[prede89]

Ah Great review!!

I love this little series. While the first half (hel most of the show) I enjoyed it, I really didn't "get" why everyone loved it so much. Then I saw the ending. Very powerful!! All of the "drama" (if we can call it that) comes to head in 2 long scenes in the last episode, that really blew me away. It manages to do so much, and make everything that came before it make sense for me. It's a very personal work for Abe, I can see, but it's filled with emotion, care, and wonder...

[SteppingWind]

yay, been waiting for this review. I found it hard to explain to people why I liked the show so much but you did a good job putting it into words :)

[suprecheese]

This is on my To Watch list. I think I'll raise the priority.

[TrowaVidel]

I was hoping to see this pop up on your channel for some time. You have mentioned it in in several reviews so I knew you had seen it. It;s one of my favorites. Quiet but beautiful...

[RandomName158]

Probably my single favorite anime series. It's so quiet and powerful. Also, best soundtrack ever.