Haibane Renmei - Try saying that 10 times when you're drunk! A 'race' of angel-like people born from giant cocoons, the Haibane live in a disused school dormitory, buy their clothes from charity shops and aren't allowed outside the town walls "because". Oh, and one of them smokes.

Haibane Renmei is set in a green hilled country town, with streaming sunlit waterfalls, scenic rock roads and big, rusty wind generators. The backdrops are beautifully drawn, and particular attention has been paid to the lighting, water and smoke effects, which are magnificent. The style of the artwork also suits the theme of the anime. It's not overly shiny, or too clean cut, it's rough, and dull, similar to the artwork of Last Exile - a touch of realism. The "wings" scene was dramatic and a graphic wonder, and it touched us in a place deep inside (usually only reachable via gunfire or sharp objects). The most impressive graphical quality is the use of perspectives, with layers of foreground and background animated to give the impression of a point of view, rather than a simple scrolling background image.
The music is used well to create the correct atmosphere for a particular piece of dialogue. It's largely violin and acoustics; the music hardly ever sets a sombre or depressing mood. In itself, the music is excellent. While not utilising more than a few instruments to create a melody, its simplicity suits this anime extremely well.
Haibane Renmei opens each episode with a mini-synopsis similar to the likes of Love Hina, for example "Temple Communicator Pancakes". Makes perfect sense! (?) The storyline is very open, with the first four episodes concentrating on introducing the ways of the Haibane, as well as the individual personalities of the main characters. The storyline is slow paced but never boring. You could quite probably sit and watch it for hours, without losing interest, and the mannerisms and interactions between the characters are for the most part optimistic and hopeful. The comedy moments help to balance out the mood, and long pieces of dialogue can be broken up with comments such as "careful or the birds will crap on you". The anime is far from cutesy, and the characters reflect this in a more realistic style of dress (Sorry, no skin-tight PVC for you perverts!) The connection with the main character, Rakka, is almost instantaneous, and despite her obvious appearance as a young girl, it is (literally) like watching her grow from her cocoon birth.
Unfortunately, this anime is let down slightly because of it's lack of action. There appears to be no hint of anything physical, no combat or conflict, and most action-based anime fans will find this a little too slow paced. However, this is no reason to not give it a try.

Haibane Renmei a reasonable series that stands on it's own in terms of originality in concept. The artwork is beautifully presented and the style and characters are charming, loveable and they grow with the story. A must for anyone that likes a good story.

Haibane Renmei scores a good 6-and-a-half pints of beer out of 10. Not that drunk, but enough to sentences our get up mixed.