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> 4.2.4. Are all the haibane suicides?

> No. Reki is the only one who clearly killed herself in her former life. Although all the
> haibane names used in the show could be interpreted as some kind of suicide, there
> are far too many indications that this is not the case for me to agree with this theory.

> For starters, Reki is the only one born with black wings. She is set apart from the other
> haibane from the very first, and this continues throughout the show. She's also the
> only one who displays any actual self-destructive behavior, her smoking. She
> also views the town very differently than the other haibane, who are rather happy there.
> Remember that in the Judeo-Christian tradition suicide is a major sin. This is why
> Reki was born with black wings. The other haibane were not. Rakka is kind of a special
> case, but I still don't think she was a suicide, at least not in the same way Reki
> was. Reki threw herself in front of a train, but judging by Rakka's reactions in the show,
> she more likely died from self-neglect. Whatever was troubling her in her former
> life, she probably did much as in the show; ran away and acted without thinking about her
> own safety. To compare it with Reki's actions, Rakka probably did something on the
> order of stepping out in front of a bus because she wasn't watching where she was
> going.

> The suicide theory also doesn't explain the younger kids. They are set apart from the
> older haibane in a couple ways; they go to school rather than work, and their names tend
> to be about what they want to be rather than about things from their cocoon dreams. They
> are explained much better by Glie being Limbo, the destination for the souls of
> unbaptized children.