Was “Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” an influence on Haibane Renmei?
It’s possible. I’ve read the book, and there are some similarities. The “Hard Boiled Wonderland” section really has nothing at all to do with Haibane Renmei, but the other half, “The End of the World”, does have a setting similar to Haibane Renmei. There’s a city people aren’t allowed to leave, a wall, a river, a library and a clock tower. Everyone has to work, but they’re named after their jobs rather than their dreams. In fact, they rather specifically don’t have dreams, which leads in to my point here, which is that Haibane Renmei uses many of the same symbols in completely different ways. They’re almost completely opposite in theme. There may be an influence there, but if so ABe saw something and completely reinterpreted it to suit himself. At Anime Expo 2003 he did confirm that this book was an influence on Haibane Renmei, and he recommends it to everyone.
