Brigadoon: Marin and Melan is a 2000 anime created and directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani, about 13 year old Marin Asagi, who after a parallel world called "Brigadoon” starts merging with our earth, is protected by a teenage biological weapon with a gun and a sword for hands named Melan Blue.
It’s hard to pin down a single genre or tone for the series: it’s got comedy, sci-fi elements, Super Robot mecha fights, romance, slice of life moments and after
Brigadoon has an art direction employing a very stylised, cute look: with lots of the human characters looking younger than they are, and thickly applied bright rim highlights almost constantly on the characters, which can look gorgeous in close up shots where the cast is drawn with weighted line work. The cute art makes the dark scenes hit you in the gut so much harder- similar to Madoka Magica or Made in Abyss. The 'two worlds collide' theme of this anime extends to its unique, memorable score: Tracks relating to Earth or Marin are very upbeat and use a lot of flutes and strings, and tracks relating to Melan and the world of Brigadoon are much more alien sounding, and use frequent use of choral singing.
The fight scenes are well animated- quick and flashy but in a way where you can always follow exactly what's happening.
There is occasional fan service that the series really could’ve done without, with 3 episodes in particular being quite heavy with it, and while it’s usually meant to be a representation of purity and vulnerability than anything else, there’s a few scenes where Marin is nude, which could make viewers uncomfortable.
While the other cast members fulfill their purposes very well, the best written characters are Marin and Melan themselves- particularly their relationship to each other, which becomes a heavy focus of Brigadoon as the plot progresses. Marin and Melan are both very well written characters, and play off each other perfectly. The way their relationship develops gradually from a girl and her bodyguard to friends to
The main themes of this anime are about how "with understanding people from very different cultures can live together peacefully", and how "the bonds you've made can help you in the most dire times". The themes are executed very well, being easy to grasp, yet as a viewer, you don't feel talked down to. The writing falters, however, with certain worldbuilding/plot elements that take place in the world of Brigadoon seem to be undeveloped or come out of nowhere, particularly
Brigadoon: Marin to Melan is an anime that takes absurd and unique concepts and plays them seriously, and never tries to court an audience, making many viewers offput by one of the many genres or tones it is at once. It feels intensely personal and sincere in a way a lot of anime don't, and if you can handle what it throws at you, it's highly recommended you experience this series.
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