Anime: Brigadoon Marin to Melan 563pv

Most anime series can be neatly categorized into some kind of cliche-ridden group or another: magical girls, mecha, sports, slice of life, ecchi. "Magical girl" series, for example, will always show extraordinary girls with long transformation sequences, and the heroines will always and without exception have brains the size of about half a Chinese dumpling. That, my dear children, is "cliche", and it causes cancer.

Brigadoon, I am happy to report, isn't like most anime, and as such does not suffer through the same cliches. In fact, it will quietly defy any and all attempts at categorization and will summarily step on your face if you attempt it.

Brigadoon Marin to Melan's story revolves around Marin Asagi and a giant humanoid monomakia, Melan Blue. In an understated nutshell, they must work together to save both earth and Brigadoon from destruction. Combining fantasy, sci-fi, action, comedy and drama, it's a happy mix of everything every anime genre has to offer, all packed into 26 episodes.

First, be cautioned that Brigadoon requires an open mind. Most people find it unsettling that it romantically pairs a 13-year old heroine with a much older-looking hero, and decides to not even give the series a chance. This is a sad mistake. There is no pedophilia here. The most intimate thing that ever happened between Marin and Melan in the entire series was a goddamn kiss, and half the time Melan didn't know what a kiss was to begin with.

It DOES have fanservice, but the pantyshots were mostly for humor. It saddens me how many potential fans this series has lost because some people described it as pedophilic. Pedophilia has very serious and highly criminal undertones; It would be wise to Google the word up before slapping the label on this or any other series.

Second, be cautioned that Brigadoon's story, unlike Sailormoon's, is not something you can appreciate by watching the first 5 episodes and then jumping to the last episode. Despite all the action and the blood and the killing, Brigadoon is, deep down, a love story, brilliant and intricately built over a span of 26 episodes. Marin and Melan's kiss on episode 26 requires the past 25 episodes to explain; save my keyboard the trouble and just watch all of it.

Now that we've got that out of the way, on to the review:

STORY: 8/10. Brigadoon's first few episodes makes it look like your run-of-the-mill, monster-of-the-day anime. Thankfully, it changes its mind and the pace picks up after two or three episodes. When it finally does, Marin's brattiness stops and Melan's slam-bang kick-assery begins.

Even though Melan's present actions are heavily fueled by events from the past, the series manages to avoid too much flashbacks by letting Lolo narrate Brigadoon's backstory little by little. However, there are still some confusing points in the series and even as a fan, I found it hard to follow especially at the last few episodes. A more prominent flaw, however, is the series' 'deus ex machina' ending. It's very abrupt, a little too convenient, and leaves so many unanswered questions that I can't help but wonder if the makers originally had a sequel in mind. Explaining the motives of the Hensu-chi alone should take more episodes, considering that this is not the first time Brigadoon and earth almost ended because of the Hensu-chi.

ART: 7/10. The fighting sequels were superb, showing tense, high-speed action with no repeated cells to make a one-minute fight last five minutes. The character designs for the monomakias were excellent, most notably Melan and Kushatohn. Most people dislike Marin's character design however; She's supposed to be 13 but she looks everything under 9. And her feet. I'm pretty sure something's wrong with them... But that isn't what bothers me. What DOES bother me is how the animation decides to screw up at the worst possible moments. There were a few bad sequences in the Submaton Color episode, and it irritates me to no end that Melan's first smile in the entire series was drawn by a retard. I actually have to cover half of the freaking monitor with my hands to make Melan look normal! [Thankfully, Melan smiles radiantly in another scene in the same episode.]

SOUND: 9/10. Brigadoon's soundtrack is an enjoyable combination of classic, Celtic-themed acapella singing, balanced by bouncy instrumentals and the fun closing theme. The acapella rendition of the opening song, "Kaze no Ao, Umi no Midori" is powerful and heart-wrenching despite its simplicity. This provides strong contrast to the catchy ending theme, "Nijiiro no Takaramono", sung by the actress who voices Marin herself.

As for the dubbing, I command you to forget it exists and watch the subbed version instead. Although Melan's English voice sounds decent, it's not worth it to miss out on his Japanese voice, which is far richer, more solid and fits his character unquestionably. I... it's just... perfect. There are no other words to describe it. On the other hand there are a lot of words, mostly offensive, that can describe Marin's English voice. Let me see... it sounds like a fully grown woman trying to sound like a cute 13-year-old, the kind you hear when you dream of little girls holding bloody knives to kill you and you wake up in the middle of the night screaming. I hate it with all my heart.

CHARACTER: 9/10. With more than a dozen characters and only 26 episodes, Brigadoon manages to provide enough 'camera time' for most of them. Not enough time for character development, but enough for the viewer to develop empathy towards them. [e.g. there's Uncle Onando, who never says anything and just keeps throwing peace signs whenever he's onscreen. But I like him, and I don't know why].

ENJOYMENT: 10/10. I've watched the series over three times already, and although I am aware of the series' flaws, it has not stopped me from enjoying it. It's a pretty obscure anime and it's a pity people have not enjoyed it simply because they don't know the series exists. Highly recommended. [review by the dojowitch, a.k.a chillwinterheart]

Brigadoon combines childish naivety with dark and depressing stories, and it’s easy to misunderstand what it’s going for because of its cartoonish bright colored artstyle. Almost everyone will assume it’s kidstuff and will not bother with it. The few who will try it out will be confused with what it’s trying to be, since it is full of nudity, mass destruction, and tragedy, while also playing out like a cheesy shojo romance. It’s a great blender of ideas that did not found a way to mesh properly. It constantly jumps genres, and does not have a certain age group, meaning it’s not trying to be mainstream and has constant mood whiplashes. The complete lack of mention by retro fans and the mediocre average score are only adding to its obscurity.

Despite its many issues, it’s worth a shot just to witness its creativity. It’s unconventional in many ways, having a wide scope, and likable main characters, and enemies with various types of powers, and a mystery in the background, while mentally torturing everyone. It keeps the stakes high, it is brimming with cool ideas, and it never stays the same for too long. It was made for people who got fed up with typical anime and are about to give up on them. At the same time, it can make people drop anime because of how offending it is with its constant lolicon and yuri overtones, cringy comedy, and crazy amounts of plot armor for the main characters who never die no matter the ridiculous amounts of damage they receive. Yes, it is that eccentric.

It still tries a lot harder to be more than just loli torture porn ala Elfen Lied, and it’s not random bullshit strategies ala Code Geass. There are robots, and explosions, mass destruction, most of which need tactics instead of raw power. It never feels pretentious in its themes, or begs of you to take it seriously. The cartoony artstyle is giving an extra punch to the jokes, assuming you dig their style, and at the same time nobody is just repeating the exact same joke without offering something more to the plot. There are even many scenes of calm everyday life, with many locations and events being based on actual places and actual historical events. It feels holistic, since as a whole it is not neglecting something in favor of something else.

It’s the transitions from one genre to another that can be hard to swallow, or the animation not always being on point, and the creepy fan service could have easily been toned down without damaging the narrative. You need a very specific mindset to get into it, which is something most viewers cannot do. It is not generic nonsense with predictable outcomes and it can get very confusing to get what it’s going for. And I am not trying to sell the show like some sort of underrated avant garde piece of fine art. It’s no Fooli Cooli or Tatami Galaxy. It has lots of issues, yet as a whole it doesn’t feel forgettable as most other series, or that offending as most light novels which are full of deviance yet try to sound serious and deep.

It’s a jewel in the rough, which I will always adore for how different it was, for its mesmerizing opening song, and the broad scope of themes and characters. It’s unpolished, but it’s no train wreck. It’s partially sleazy, but it’s also packed with a lot of creativity. Its characters look cartoony and there is a lot of slapstick comedy, but they are not one dimensional and there is more than throwaway jokes. It’s very hard to recommend it to anyone, and it has way too many highs and lows to be considered a great series, but for those who seek something special, this is a fine choice.

Animation: The animation is generally flawless and the fights are great to watch. The animation style shifts depending on the mood; sometimes the surroundings are very gloomy and sometimes they're awfully bright. Of course that makes this anime really interesting to watch. Sometimes, however, the animation gets so gloomy that it breaks my heart. That is also one of the attractions of the anime. The monsters are funny and seem to fit their purposes very well.

Sound: The opening theme doesn't really strike in the beginning, but as you continue to watch, it starts sounding good. Even brilliant I would say. The background music is good and doesn't lose it's touch during the whole series. Unfortunately it doesn't stick to the mind very well even though it's good.

The voice acting is done very well despite the fact that Melan is a living weapon and doesn't have much emotion. If he had, why would he be killing stuff then? Marin sounds just like you would imagine. Just like all the side characters. Personally I think Moe has the best voice :P

Story: The story starts with the introduction of a little girl, Marin, who is poor and living with her grandmother. Marin's grandparents found her when he was a baby so they don't know who they are or where Marin comes from. Marin (13) is a hardworking girl, a little clumsy I might add, and of course she has an amazing imagination. She lives in a tenement community called 'Nagaya'. After work she spots a cat-like alien who leads her to a place where a "blue knight" is sealed. In the evening the sky suddenly turns colorful and out of nowhere, evil robots start attacking Marin. After some running away she gets to the shrine where Melan is sealed. After he appears, Melan says he's there to protect Marin. So he slices and dices the alien robot and comes to live with Marin.

The story, although in the beginning might seem absurd and simple, contains a lot of turning points and changes in the mood. There are a few fillers in the beginning but they aren't a bother. They contain a lot of action and weird humour. The story gets compliments from all the little things that happen. Even though there's a lot of fighting and action, occasional tearjerkers are abundant. In the end you wish the series was longer though.

Character: Even though there are some really annoying characters, like the triplet trio and the bullies at school, I decided to give this the rating 10. That is because there are very much depth in almost every character. In the beginning, Melan is very mysterious, but how deep can a living weapon's character be? Surprisingly deep. Marin is supposed to be an archetype of a poor, energetic girl, but can also be interesting and have a scary imagination (which usually involves herself getting killed gruesomely). In the end you'll see that every character has some depth and there are no plain archetypes. Not even the bullies are all bad. They're just humane. Of course there are the Gaijin-archetypes, but that's the way japanese are. No reason for me to get offended for that is there? :D

Value: What can I say? Of course you can watch it all over again. You might figure out more things on the second time once the spoilers are given. Of course it may also reduce a little fun because the story is generally complicated until you know the truth.

Enjoyment: A must watch for every anime-freak out there. Once you cross the treshold (which is fairly high), there is no turning back and it will keep you glued to your monitor/tv-set until the end.