Difference between revisions of "Guri"

Revision as of 19:29, 31 October 2008

Guri (also written Glie or Glee) is the walled town where the story of Haibane Renmei takes place. Throughout the story the name Glie is applied to both the town proper, and the entire area within the wall.

Maps

Map of Guri.

There is a map of Guri in the Haibane lifestyle diary, which gives the relative locations of most of glies major features and the locations that appear in the story (although it probably shouldn't be considered as being 'to scale') It also shows an"abandoned house at the farming village", which may be an as-yet unseen haibane nest; One of two mentioned in the dojin which do not appear in the anime. There is, however, no clue as to the location of the "artists colony" which is also mentioned.

The Walls: The walls completely encircle Glie, and define both the boundries of the town and most aspects of the lives of it's inhabitants. Close up, the walls appear more like a cliff face than any human construction. One suprise that the map holds is that the walls themselves are irregular, rather than circular, which you would expect from the reccuring use of circles as a motif in the anime.

The Town of Guri

Great Gate: The city of Guri is surrounded by walls. The great gate is the only (known)means of entry or exit. over time the gate was sealed, but the Toga are still able to bring items into Glie through the side door.

Main Square: Immediately in front of the gates we have the main square; a marketplace and the venue for major social events such as the end of the year festivities. This is where the Toga set up to trade during thier visits, and as far as they come into Glie propper. At least officialy. . .

Main Street: Main Street runs from the city's central plaza the Great Gate and appears to ba Glie's commercial centre, insofar as that term has any meaning in a place like Glie.

Central plaza:The hub of Glie, the plaza is a circular stone-flagged area surrounded by blocks of some of Glie's tallest buildings, but the clock tower in the centre looks down on them all. The plaza features at least one fountain, and a number of round benches. Idling here on good days seems to be a popular pastime.

Clock Tower: Standing in the centre of the plaza, the clocktower is far and away the tallest building in Glie; Just not tall enough to see beyond the wall. . .

Below the tower, and attatched to it is a shop dealing in the sale and repair of timepieces of all kinds (and presumably other precision instruments The duties of it's owner include the maintinence of the great pendulum clock in the tower, although thier commercial activities could just as easily be considered a sideline to their duty of care to Glie's centeral timepiece. During the show Kana works at the clock tower.

Library: Guri has a suprisingly large library. Unfortunately none of it's books have anything to say about the wall or the world outside. The library has apparently undergone some degree of modernisation in recent years (at least, we are informed it used to have a rather unwelcoming 'scholars only' atmosphere) However any overhaul seems to have been confined to it's day to day operation, as the building's fabric and much of the interior clearly show thier age. The library also houses a small museum, although this is little more than a couple of rooms full of assorted curios. During the series Nemu and Sumika work at the library.

Old Bakery: There are apparently anumber of bakeries in glie, as you woul expect in a settlement of this size, as we are informed that this is "the oldest one in town". Sadly that doesn't say much about it, other than it being the oldest one in town. Hikari works at the bakery during the show. One oddity is that the bakers shop and the bakery proper are in seperate buildings, and getting from one to another involves crossing an alley or courtyard. This might be because the shop is a later aquisition, or because the baker's family live over thier shop, and the ovens are a fire hazard.

Cafe Kartie: A comfortable eaterie down a side street off main street, offering food to eat in or take away. In warmer weather tables are set up outside. Kuu's workplace. it's name may be a reference to aBe's earlier work NieA_7

The Thrift shop: One of a number of places in Glie licenced to deal with the haibane, and the only one we see during the show. The store is a venerable used clothing shop, owned by a grungy young guy who does his best to cultivate an off-hand attitude towards unfortunate details like customers, or actually selling anything. Thee shopkeeper treats his haibane customers as a nuisance, but shows a surprisingly soft side where they are concerned.

Factory District

the east end of Glie appears to hold most of it's manufacturing infrastructure, along with purely residential areas. The area is refered to as the 'factory district', although Glie has little evidence of heavy industry.

Bridge: Built of brick and pointed with stone, The bridge connects the Central district of Guri to the factory district.

Abandoned factory: The Abandoned factory is a coed Haibane nest in the factory district.

Old Home

Old Home: Haibane nest, and setting for much of the sestory. The building is in a poor state of repair, whith whole wings being out of commission.

The Hill Of Winds: The Hill of Winds is filled with windmills that provide electrical power to the city of Glie and Old Home. The hills themselves are quite beautiful, and a pleasant spot to spend a sunny day.

The Western Woods

The Western Woods: Dense, wild and growing all the way up to the wall the western woods are a dangerous place for haibane, and probably not that safe for humans. Stories state that families from the farming district once worked out in these woods, but there really isn't much evidence to support this idea other than, “Sadako's Well.” Either way, the woods have been fairly empty, and generaly avoided, for generations.

Dry well:

Ruined temple: Deep in the western woods, set in a clearing and overlooked by the wall, are the remains of a temple complex, although what form of worship took place here is a mystery. Now nothing remains exept a few pillars, a scattering of stones and a stepped altar. It is in this place, and upon the altar-stone that haibane take thier "Day of Flight"Although there are no eye-witness reports of what occurs during the day of flight, the halo left here acts as a sobering reminder of thier departure. Excavations have apparently been made around the site.

Chapel: The chapel is the last place that Haibane are seen as they take their “Day of Flight.” Although there isn't much information on what occurs during the day of flight, the halo left here acts as a sobering reminder of there leaving.

Haibane Renmei

Haibane Renmei: Haibane Renmei allows the Haibane to live, by providing a means of receiving the supplies needed to keep the Haibane supported. The Chapel of the Haibane Renmei is far away from any other structure, and is rarely visited by the Haibane. The organization, provides notebooks to the Haibane that allow them to buy items. Haibane Renmei is looked over by Washi, a figure who acts as an intermediary between the Haibane and Renmei.

Graveyard: The graveyard is the place in which the dead are buried, although it is unknown who is truly buried here; it acts as a reminder of the mortality of all.

Guri is surrounded by the Wall.