Haibane renmei

A sweet, low-key, and thought-provoking anime series infused with mystery and a profound sense of melancholy. Gorgeous music adds to the atmosphere.

A slow, moody series about a girl being reborn in a new world, wrapped in a complex litany of themes like loss, depression, forgiveness, sin, suicide, fate, and more. Simultaneously relaxing and comfortable and thought-provoking. Recommended for those who want something outside the anime norm.

A fascinating story about relatively normal people in a strange town with strange rules, facing deep emotions and weird spiritual experiences. It feels a bit oddly structured, like the first half is following a number of threads and the second half narrows down to only a few of them, leading to some odd pacing in the middle and some tantalizing possibilities left dangling. Still, the ending is satisfying, and the characters have wonderful, sometimes terrible arcs.

Probably my favorite anime series of all time. The warm, melancholic mood is idiosyncratic while being bolstered by an ensemble of memorable characters that tether this largely arc-less narrative to the ground. Plot mechanics and environments are backdrops here for more pressing themes of existential angst, care, community, sin, morality, and mortality. With its earthy palette and lush music, HR offers us no simple answers and little exposition; it's concerned with finding faith in the unknown.