Anime North 2009: Haibane Renmei panel
Got in a bit late for the Haibane Renmei panel. I don't have any opinion about what was said, nor any familiarity with the show; the series has been on my watch list for maybe a year and a half. Why go at all? It was that or the Dealer's Room.
Looking back, some statements contradict, i.e. there seems to be a lot more Christianity than is claimed. I hope that's just a mixup on my part. Everything below has been paraphrased unless quoted or emphasized.
According to my notes, I got in around the point where the assertion was made that the world of Haibane Renmei was, in effect, purgatory. Not a bad way to start your Sunday morning.
Rakka is a bit of a head fake because the show is not about her. Reki's path into self-introspection is the focus, a journey that manifests itself as different terms in different religions, but is ultimately a spritiual exercise. It's something that dredges up the nasty side of humanity. Having to confront the dark points in your life can be distressing, maddening even, which is why it must not be done alone. Without someone to pull you back, you can be lost to the abyss.
With respect to the above, someone pointed out that the most violent moments occur at the end, in dreams [potentially misheard].
The most extreme is Zen: "Break the circle of logic."
On Rakka: the first two episodes are for the purposes of learning the rules of society. But self-discovery is only accomplished by breaking them.
Monastery analogy: self-discovery in a rules-based environment. There's a support network, some measure of safety.
"Don't feed the crows because that makes it too easy for them to fly away." Haibane live off the crumbs of their past lives. It's something like "The Matrix," where the past is recreated. Names of some places: the old school, the abandoned factory.
According to the panelist, much of the technology is from the 1950's. The only exception is the radio [why?], because there is no corresponding radio transmission tower anywhere.
Townspeople: "Not your normal spectrum of human beings." It's as if they took the general population, and removed the a-holes. You're left with a bunch of very reasonable people. One wonders if they're trying to sort out their own destiny in their own way.
The notebook: like money, checks and balances. What is interesting is that they sign their name, something that is less prevalent in the age of plastic. Signing a cheque was a very personal thing: you wrote the amount in letters and words, again in numbers, and signed your name. It makes you think, and the signing of a cheque was symbolic of personal committment.
Someone brought up the point that the notebook wasn't really like money because everyone seemed to be able to afford the exact same amount of anything. Clothing store example: everyone buys the same thing. Panelist's response was that it resembled post-war rationing, also around the 1950's. As someone who grew up in post-WW2 England, he lived through that rationing. Everyone took only what they needed.
Despite any similarities, the truth is the economy makes no sense, but purgatory is not a place that has to make sense. People don't go to purgatory to live normal lives.
When asked about money [I think] in the clock tower, Kanna gives an answer that is not the real answer. The statement she makes when/about feeding the crows, is.
If there is a particular religion that Haibane Renmei strongly identifies with, it would be Buddhism. The Christian elements are mostly aesthetics. However, some symbols: the dark forest (Divine Comedy, Inferno), cups of some of the Haibane ("God is not interested in the size of your cup, but in how full it is.") [Is that really a line?].
On borrowing from other religions: Japanese lack the baggage that we over here attach to elements and symbols, so there is nothing holding them back from incorporating them, generally in ways that conflict with our preconceptions.
[Read: fretting about Evangelion and portrayals of Catholic all-girls schools is a mug's game.]
Hell is a matter of self-will, pride. "All Hell is a personal Hell," whereas Heaven is to resonante with the universe. Purgatory as an idea is found in all religions and recognizing the pain is not enough to leave it; pain must be embraced, the individual has to be taken to the brink, and then,
"Tasukete. Save me." [This was pretty dramatic, for a panel.]
Salvation cannot be attained through the individual; the plea is an acknowledgement that help has to come from without.
Incidentally, Haibane Renmei is not about Hell. If you want Hell, then go see Texhnolyze. Also, Serial Experiments Lain is dark, but ultimately positive (i.e. not Hell).
Someone lamented the dearth of fan art/fiction. Is there something inviolable about the series? The irony being that Haibane Renmei started out as a doujin. With respect to fanfic, it requires a huge investment in order to do a good job. An author must be willing to show a deeply personal side of themselves for all the world to see, and it's extremely difficult to commit to that.
Yet that doesn't stop people from writing terrible stuff for other series that should merit the same caution, and that is why Haibane Renmei stands apart. It truly is a masterpiece.
[Much of the discussion was dominated by an elderly British panelist. I wonder if he was a professor. I should have asked, shouldn't I.]