What is Haibane Renmei?
灰羽連盟 (Romaji: Haibane Renmei, English: Charcoal Feather Federation) is a 2002 anime based off of an unfinished 1998 doujin by yoshitoshi ABe. You may recognize him as the guy who did design work and conceptual art for Serial Experiments Lain. This was a project that he directed himself.
The narrative follows a young girl named Rakka who hatches from in egg into a world of haibane, which are angel adjacent beings. The haibane are sanctioned to the city of Glie, where no one not allowed to exit by any circumstances. The only exception is are mute Toga, which represent the link between normal humans and haibane in Glie.
Who is Reki?
Reki (Kanji: 礫, formerly 轢) is one of the secondary characters of Haibane Renmei. In the narrative, Rakka primarily resides in Old Home; a hatching place for new haibane and a sort of free boarding house for them. Reki takes care of Rakka throughout the series, acting as a source of guidance for her.
Why make a shrine?
WARNING: Vague spoilers for Haibane Renmei.
Reki means a lot to me as a character, if that wasn't obvious already. Everything about her (but especially her narrative) haunts me to this day. Haibane Renmei is often praised for making religious symbolism and messages very digestible, and I highly agree with that sentiment. While not universal, her story represents a very human struggle, regardless of religion.
Reki's a charming character. A mix of a caretaker archetype with a strange hint of masculinity. I found her design surprisingly memorable; a smoking angel with a cool girl aura. She's influenced my character design, more than I'd like to admit, alongside the muted aesthetic of Haibane Renmei as a whole. (See: Meiko Hanazaki) More than anything though, it all compliments her story relatively well.
Reki's arc was about malignant shame. In story, being "sin-bound" was a visual and sociological concept. Your wings were not only blackened but a sign of previous karma from a past life; visual and existential punishment. Reki combats this by using special medicine that washes away the blackened areas and by devoting herself to good: working for the community, taking care of everyone, making sure every action she takes is "good". Reki believed her virtue to be artificial to the end.
I rarely cry to shows, let alone anime, but I remember a lot of Reki's scenes hurting me in someway. The devastating juxtaposition between healing someone's blackened and pulled out feathers only to despair in a room with paintings of your trauma cut me deep. I felt like all of the show's themes built up properly to those final moments, encompassed in a single character. It was sad to watch her go. But she left content, and I think that's the best ending she could've gotten.
On a lighter note, Reki has been one of my favorite characters in fiction for a while now. I go back to her character a lot when I'm reflecting back on media or shifting periods of my life. She's beautiful. We got married a few years ago. Here's an image:
If you don't think this is real then you're just a #delusional hater. Begone (and thanks for reading).
Art by Yoshitoshi ABe, heavily edited by A.A. Fish. I haven't found the original source of this image, but reprints are available on zerochan.net and yande.re.
Background photo by y.ganden on Flickr, heavily edited by A.A. Fish.
