Haibane-Renmei - Complete Series (DVD, 2005, 4-Disc Boxed Set)

I was just getting into Anime when a friend who was hugely into Anime highly recommended this to me as being her FAVORITE. She knew I had seen Akira and Ninja Scrolls and recommened this to broaden my view of Anime types. It kept my attention with the complex touching story instead of the graphic voilence and fight seens we've all come to love. If you are looking for super action, this is not the movie for you.

One thing that got me into Anime to begin with besides the art, was how complex and philosophical the stories are for a cartoon or how deep a child-look can be so fitting for an adult's mind. This story is very unique and one that you will take with you afterwards. It is about a new 'being' called 'grey feathers' coming into a isolated, walled town, in which she and her other fellow 'grey feathers' are not permitted to leave.

Even though it is predominatly about a child trying to understand the way her small town works - whether is getting a job, understanding conflict, learning the rules, and that rules have consquences, there is a much greater underlining story that I think only an adult or someone with such experience (wouldn't want to give what experiences) would be able to understand this subtle story of life that we ALL can relate to and appreciate.

All in all, it is a great story, not for action goers that will leave your heart pumping and hopefully your eyes watering with a great appreciation for what we all have in life. I would recommend this for any one (into anime or not) who has some time to appreciate the subtlies of this story. There are so many movies that only entertian us visually today, its nice to watch something that makes us think and touches our hearts and souls.