The religious-themed Haibane Renmei was released as an inexpensive box-set last week, and a number of outlets have since reviewed it. ANN’s Theron gives it an “A” and comments on the purposely vagueness of religious aspects of the series, but how many will comment on these themes (us). [Anime News Network]
Stig Høgset, a big fan of the series, mentions that is include “a rather loosely based belief system.” [THEM Anime Reviews 4.o]
Alexander also enjoyed it, and finds that the characters are perhaps not seeking “redemption or spiritual cleansing, but a journey of rediscovering their true selves.” [Ashita no Anime]
Stephanie also comments on the religious themes in Haibane Renmei in her review [Lilac Anime Reviews]:
There are many religious themes involved, however, it’s more of an allegory then a strict following of a certain religion. Because of this, the themes and symbols of this series not only shine, but make you think and question your own beliefs.
Now on to other anime/spiritual links for the week…
Anime reviewer Rocklobster describes his reasons for being a Christian on another of his blogs. [Aspie Catholic]
In Yippy’s response to the Aniblogger Interrogation Game, he asks the question of which of the seven deadly sins does the responder most commit? [Sekijitsu]
Monsieur LaMoe describes burial customs of various religions in his unique dissection of Natsuyuki Rendezvous‘ final episode. [Anime Diet]
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As part of the Something More series of posts (formerly Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere), each week, Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
I need to buy that Haibane Renmei box set, though now it seems I need to buy the Utena box set too. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. 😉
Also I sorta kinda corrected your spelling of “natsuyuki”Oh, don’t buy Utena! Based on your feelings about Mawaru Penguindrum, you might not even like it that much (or at least not enough to own it). You know, you could just watch Heartcatch Precure! instead…I think it’s been mentioned that it’s showing on Crunchyroll. 🙂
Oh, and I’m trying to procure a review copy of Utena, but I’m fairly certain we won’t be receiving one. If I do, I’ll pass it around
Oh, and thank you. You know, I thought to myself that I should check my spelling of that…but laziness won (as usual).
Good thing because it would have cost me somewhere around $110 at either Amazon or RightStuf. So instead I got the complete collection of GetBackers, which was one of the first anime series I saw and somehow can’t stop thinking about seeing again. Also the complete collection of Suzuka, a sports/romance anime that seems highly recommended, and was inexpensive.
I almost think I should back out of the Utena group, since I will have my hands full with Umineko no Naku Koro ni. Perhaps in exchange I’ll write about Suzuka, and/or GetBackers if I can figure out why it sticks in my mind all these years later. 😉
Heartcatch, though, somehow doesn’t strike me as my kind of thing. 😀
Ah, Suzuka. I’ve considered buying that series a number of times, particularly because of it’s low cost. I consider it a pretty mediocre series with a couple of leads that are hard to like…but it’s a show I’ve watched three times! Just something about it…
Yeah, I think it’ll be good for you to focus on Umineko no naku Koro ni (and anything else that strikes your fancy, if you find something about which to write). Lynna and I should be able to handle Utena. 🙂