Brigadoon: Marin to Melan

Brigadoon was a series I wasn't sure what to make of it considering it doesn't entirely following a specific genre or appeal to a targeted viewer demographic. The art style, Marin's manic behavior and bizarre comedy would have one think this was a light-hearted comedy geared for children, yet the show's dabbling into some pretty dark territory with Marin's tragic past, portraying humanity at its worst in dire circumstances, the occasionally brutal violence from Monomakia and humans, Marin and other girls frequently being nude and the things Marin puts up with in both her family and her connection to the Monomakia would be things youwould expect to be geared for older viewers. I found this mish-mashing to be a bit of a mixed bag throughout my watch of Brigadoon. What I did enjoy with Brigadoon was how effectively it went into its more serious elements. Marin is portrayed as a believable tragic heroine whose tragic past, current upbringing and connections to the Monomakia regularly put her at odds with classmates and others among the human populace throughout the show. She gets regularly bullied for her social status as an impoverished orphan and this worsens throughout the show as her bond with Melan Blue against the Monomakia threat leads classmates, the police and citizens to lash out at her at points thanks to personal tragedies and thinking she has something to do with the problems humanity is struggling with thanks to Brigadoon. Melan also makes for an interesting character as well as he adapts to living life on Earth and tries to maintain his loyalty and growing bond with Marin as he comes at odds with other Monomakia, a few of which being former comrades he used to coexist with before going rogue. Brigadoon is also good at keeping you hooked on its plot developments as the merging of Brigadoon and Earth leads events to worsen throughout the show. The series slowly reveals more about the world of Brigadoon, Marin's possible connections to the world and characters taking their own different routes with trying to manage the problems between both worlds. Mood whiplash happens quite frequently throughout the show as Brigadoon juggles between light-hearted moments and shocking plot twists that worsen the situation faced by Marin and other characters. The series isn't afraid to kill off major characters or put said characters in life-threatening situations stemming from the Monomakia threat. Still though, my praises for Brigadoon's serious elements still suffer from the title's more comical elements. I found the show's attempts at comedy as a breather from the more serious moments to be quite hit or miss as I much rather enjoyed the light-hearted moments of bonding Marin had with other characters over the show's comedic moments. With its comedy, the show quite often gets in the annoying habit of fooling the audience with Marin have a bizarre dream over her thoughts of any serious moments that take place throughout the show, and they are quite often a mood killer following the show's serious moments. Brigadoon's more serious elements are also not safe from criticism from me. Many of the shows' early episodes tend to follow a "monster of the day" type plot that do nothing to advance the title's plot and I did often find myself getting creeped out with the frequent occasions of seeing Marin and a couple other girls around her age being nude. The final episode of the series was quite a letdown as well, having a good amount of deus ex machina to undo any major character deaths taking place, leaving Marin's connections to Brigadoon unclear and any details concerning the major foes of the series rather vague. Visually, Brigadoon is rather average as character designs are on the simple side with details and look a bit rough with their lining with the childish-like style to many designs taking away from the seriousness of the series. Scenery is well designed having vast shots and a nice amount of detail applied to them. Animation shortcuts happen rather frequently throughout Brigadoon with speed stripes, still shots and reused frames being the norm with it. Musical tracks do their part in accompanying the show's calm, comical, serious and dramatic moments. However with exception to the anime's OP musical track "Kaze no Ao, Umi no Midori", the soundtrack to the series isn't too memorable for me. Overall, I felt Brigadoon's mixture of comical and serious moments in exploring Marin's ordeals with her everyday life and the Monomakia to be quite hit-or-miss for me. While I did enjoy much of the show's serious approach to its story, the comedic moments were too much of a mood killer for me and the final episode felt too convenient and open-ended with how it resolved its major plot elements. I suppose your mileage will vary with how well you warm to the series since it looks like Brigadoon has a cult following among anime fans.

If you were to ask me to fit Brigadoon: Marin and Melan into one dominant category, I would honestly be at a loss. This is a series that doesn’t tie itself down to any specific genre, Brigadoon instead opts to include a wide variety of elements into its grand stirring pot. You want series mech (or very mech-like) battles? Heartwarming family drama? A world endangering conspiracy? Goofy comedy? Yuri undertones? Dark psychological drama? Brigadoon brings all of these ingredients together. This type of blend will likely prove off putting to those who aren’t a fan of one or more of the aforementioned areas, an willprobably end up too jarring for some folks to get into. Even then there can be little doubt that once the wheels of the plot start spinning, that Brigadoon is at the very least a highly imaginative title. The storytelling of present here isn’t something that can be judged based off of the first couple of episodes. While the monster of the week format persists throughout the 1st half, there are other serious elements at play here. What sets Brigadoon’s earlier episodes apart from other proxy battle titles are the actual repercussions that come with a child summoning a monster to combat other monsters. Lives are damaged/destroyed, thus people grow fearful and act on their fear. This is where the more tragic elements come in to play as not only does Marin become a pariah in the eyes of her peers, she is also targeted by the police as well for being at the centre of all the madness she never asked for. This is a series that won’t pull it’s punches and knows how to use shock factor as a means of getting points across. Once the 2nd half hits, Brigadoon plunges head first into its own strange mythos and slowly reveals elements, those that are both entirely new and those foreshadowed earlier on. The story picks up a greater sense of urgency as well, as its plot-twists suggest that there is more at stake than just the lives of Marin and Melan. Although there are many elements at play within the setting of Brigadoon, some of the more vital ones do not receive much attention and feel pulled out of thin air with last minute explanations during the last episode. Another somewhat annoying trait this series adopts is use of cliffhangers sometimes. Very rarely will there be a cliffhanger that isn’t resolved via disappointingly simple means. It’s these somewhat cheap tricks that put a damper on what is otherwise a rewarding experience. The true heart of Brigadoon lies in the intriguingly handled relationship between Marin and her alien guardian Melan. It develops from protector/protected, to father/daughter, and finally to the kind of relationship that should by all accounts feel wrong. The progression of their love feels gradual and given their extreme reliance on each other, the destination feels justified. The actual ending as a result gave me what as the “feels” even though the path to that ending came about could have gone smoother, as I’ve already mentioned. The wrapping up of their character arcs as a result feels cathartic enough to bring one to tears. Helping Marin get through her hardships is her makeshift extended family. Their personalities often rely on one-note gags, but the levity they offer is welcome in the face of the looming despair hanging over the story. Brigadoon’s aesthetic, while dated visually, evokes a feeling of uniqueness not unlike the story itself. Although the visuals are by no means amazing, the overall cartoony style gives the show its own look. The series is set in 1969 and it certainly shows since special attention is given to make the locations give off that kind of vibe. Though the fight scenes are fluid enough, still, the OST is much more remarkable. “Kaze no Ao, Umi no Midori” by Ikuko is a damn good opener with an appropriately sorrowful feel to it. The rest of the track is diverse enough to accommodate for the range of tones that series employs. My only gripe lies with the ending theme, which on its own is pretty decent, cutesy stuff. However when an episode ends with a serious cliffhanger, it only serves to damage the mood with its cheery tune. It’s better to just not watch it once the second half hits. It’s to easy see why Brigadoon: Marin and Melan incapable of achieving any more then cult status. I believe that the quirky look may have given off the wrong message to many anime watchers as to what this series is all about. It’s a “something for everyone” sort of show to the point where it ends up being an acquired taste, if that makes any sense. Perhaps the best recommendation I can make for this series is that you should watch it if you’re the sort of person who can live with having their emotions jerked about. If so then prepare for a game of Genre Roulette the likes of which you may never see replicated to this success.

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 bemainstream 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.

This anime is certainly up there as one of the weirdest yet intriguing anime series I have ever seen. In many ways this series showcases how mixing completely different themes and genres and even animation styles has given Japanese animation such a varied and unpredictable pallet. Storyline Our main character is a zany 13 year old orphan girl called Marin who lives in a small town and usually just goes about her day with her head in the clouds delivering newspapers. Suddenly and without warning Marin starts being chased out of nowhere by mechanical monsters. This incident leads her to come across a tiny capsule like bottlewhich contains a human weapon called Melan Blue who then protects her from said monsters but for some reason will not explain the current situation they are now involved in. Soon after this it is revealed the earth itself seems to be in peril due to a strange phenomenon involving a parallel world floating above the earth called...you guessed it Brigadoon. Somehow all these events are connected to Marin….the question is how and more importantly why? What I both liked and disliked about the story is, just like our main character Marin, we the viewers are totally kept in the dark about what the hell is actually going on with these continuous ongoing manic encounters and this can be intriguing to watch…….well, to a point So while this mysterious story lingers on the character interactions actually start to fill the void and keep things interesting enough so that you don’t feel yourself getting agitated waiting to see what is going to happen next and more importantly why The story has elements of drama, action, comedy and surprisingly even romance. Now mixing all these things together in one show has been done before but with Brigadoon it kinda feels like things go from one extreme to another…..and this is something I didn’t particularly enjoy very much. For example one moment Karin could be daydreaming about something humorous and insignificant and then a moment later she would be getting the s*it beaten out of her….because that’s how life is? Erm….okay!?! lol Alright, to be fair those extreme moments were actually genuine in formation, however they just flow together rather abruptly and the cruel moments in this series are pretty intense Add to this we have the mix of other extremely zany characters (the brigadoon alien committee) with extremely serious ones (the gun swordsmen) and the series really does feel like a washing machine full of various opposing elements set to super spin and for this series it works out for the most part. Okay a better analogy would be it’s like having a bowl of ice cream with sprinkles of chopped onions all around it….not the best combination to have at the same time Ultimately, the story IS quite interesting but still a little convoluted with continuous questions that will not get answered until the last eighth of the series. Elements of this story did however come around as a surprise and it even had it's share genuinely sad moments. Sadly I'm not sure I like the actual implementation of the story on a whole To me, the actual setting and character interactions make this mixed up story standout more than anything else……intriguing….yes…..consistent……not really Animation The animation style in general looks quite colourful and pastely as almost everything drawn has a visible white streak around the edge giving it a unique shine affect….and I’m not sure how I feel about that as an art style in here Character designs look very cutey and soft looking overall which plants a friendly atmosphere perception in this anime……which is intentionally misleading. Action scenes and various disasters points were animated quite well however because of the childish animation style things that happen in this story tend to HIT you harder when they come out unexpectedly. The overall feeling from the animation style also reminded me of shadow star narutaru somewhat. I did actually like the fact that this animation style puts your mind in a certain place while the storyline alters that original perception and explores different….well..darker things you would not have invisioned being in here. This weird mix of dark theme storyline and cute animation is the kind of thing you will only find in Japanese Animation…reminding me just how different Anime can be in comparison to other animation types Sound This is without a doubt the strongest point for this title. The English dub was excellent, I have to applaud Wendee Lee’s performance for playing both Marn & LoLo as well as Tony Oliver as Melan Blue - I can honestly say I felt the emotions these characters were carrying through the dialogue because of the great voice acting…..good stuff Background themes where very smooth and classical reminding me of escaflowne. Op and Ed where cute and full of life...but the ending theme got very annoying at times mostly because some of the crueller episodes would end on a very dark note (take episode 24 as an example) and then the happy go lucky ending theme just did not make sense at these points. This I will admit is more of a personal nit-pic. Overall I will just say the sound, dialogue and English dub was very impressive for this series Characters I actually found the characters to truly be the heart and soul of this series. Your two main characters Marin and Melan both have a kind of blind innocence which is endearing and compelling to watch. Although I am pretty sure I have seen this kind of character setup before (human and alien/monster/cyborg etc) in this case the partnership did not feel like just another variant of an overused formula. Melan Blue’s character in particular grew the most throughout the series and I found him a particularly likeable and admirable character Supporting characters are also surprisingly realistic with their interactions and although the story can jump from zany comedy to dark drama in an instant at no time did I get annoyed with the characters motivations as they all seemed to be playing their parts very well making things more believable as the series progressed I guess the only thing I really did not like about some characters was the fact that they would not explain their actual intentions for so long I just did not want to see them at all sometimes (Brigadoon aliens) but that fault I should put down more on the storyline itself as keeping things secret or hidden was also a major running theme in this series. In conclusion I can honestly say that if it was not for the genuine-ness of the characters and their realistic reactions to the situations in this series I certainly would not have enjoyed this anime half as much as I did Enjoyment It's fair to say I enjoyed this series quite a bit and was consistently engaged to find out WHAT the hell was really going on and who was pulling all the strings. But as I said before, over time I soon became more interested with just watching the character interactions themselves and just hoping everything would turn out for the best for them The thing I think that kept throwing me off at times with this series was the zaniness of the Brigadoon aliens and the sometimes radical shifts in tone which often made me wonder when I should take things seriously. Also there was the occasional yuri-ish vibe I got from another female character that was actually named “moe”. Well it’s not like I’m opposed to Yuri or anything it just came on a lil thick at times (Moe the Giant). Value This title as many others have said is hard to label as it mixes many genres with a cartoony animation style, but even so I can honestly say this series achieved a sense of originality in my eyes and once it was over I really did feel the impact of the relationship between the characters. Unfortunately I still feel the actual implementation of the story is a bit all over the place and I believe that if it had dropped some of the more comedic-zanyness and stop throwing the emotional tone from one extreme to the other this series would actually be more consistent making it’s grade be of a much higher level. However, regardless of all that this series is still a solid and original experience....some patience may be required though. Planet Tyro Rating: Solid B Visual Version: http://bit.ly/11oRWaH planettyro.com

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