So apparently in a short about of time, my circle of friends and their circle of friends have gotten into an old and severely underrated gem of an anime from the 2000’s called Brigadoon: Marin and Melan (or Marin at Melan, whatever place you look for it it’s interchangeable) bc of me reminiscing about my kinda niche childhood anime and it got me excited but also full of dread. Why? Because it’s 1 part Amazing and there are new viewers who want to check it out, and it is also also NOT FOR EVERYONE which is fine. I feel like it’s my duty now to list the pros of Brigadoon and the actual trigger warnings no one’s bothered to put up, which is a lot and something I sorta wished younger me had. Making a post for the many to read outweighs the few I keep having to infodump the many greats and the many WATCH THE FUCK OUT’s. Anyways, What to Expect with and what is Brigadoon: Marin and Melan (BRIGADOON まりんとメラン)?
Summary: In 1969, a mysterious mirage suddenly appears in the skies all around Earth. The mirage is actually a world called Brigadoon, which is collapsing into our planet as pieces of our world is falling up. Also falling out of Brigadoon are creatures known as Monomakia, who descend into Japan and are hunting down Marin Asagi, an 8th grader orphan for reasons unknown to her as to why. To protect her under a secret duty, a Monomakia called Melan Blue becomes her protector, and together they must save the worlds, survive assassination attempts by aliens and worldwide catastrophe, navigate school, family crisis, and police brutality, all while they learn to trust one another and then some.
Brigadoon has a lot to offer. You get:
Alien Robot/Human Girl bodyguard slowburn romance
Alternate history set in 1969 Japan
Found family of colorful characters
Incredible original ost (listen to the opening song right here! https://youtu.be/I0aecMKCgKM?si=tlVU-MgeC8SJUKYM
Holy shit, it’s so mystical and magical!
Crazy worldbuilding (an alien planet is suddenly in Earth’s skies and is falling into us while Earth is falling up!)
Cool sci-fi action scenes
Fantasy sci-fi mystery as to why main female protag is targeted by aliens for seemingly no discernible reason
Cute art with smooth animation for its time (2000’s)
Strong and morally grey female characters. Marin herself is very likable so it’s great to follow her around
Satiric characters (for better or for worse is up to viewers)
“Fish out of water alien arrives on Earth and learns to feel and open up” trope
The power of love both platonic, familial, and romantic
Unique alien robots from quirky and silly to serious assassins and deadly
Robo Alien Three Musketeers
Fun theme where all the characters are named after colors because the rainbow is an important symbol
There’s a beach episode!
The Mecha/Human romance is just genuinely, incredibly adorable, heartfelt, and respectable
There are only 26 episodes so it can be an easy and quick watch
Fun shout outs to the following: Godzilla, Edward Scissorhands, Kamen Rider, Star Wars, Sailor Moon, etc.
So yeah! It sounds amazing right (and it is!), so what’s my problem? IT IS NOT FOR KIDS! You come in expecting cutest slice of life nonsense, but then you get slapped by THE HORRORS AND THE DRAMA!
CW Trigger Warnings:
Weird fanservice sexualization/nudity of minors (yes and I’m Truly Sorry, it gives me the ick even if I love the show)
A lot of Tone Whiplash that’ll throw off some at first (you take it at strives)
Death of grandparents (offscreen and onscreen) plus wake
Bullying (the cruel kind and the sexual harassment kind at the same time)
Child Abuse by authorities in power/police brutality
Onscreen death of main characters
Onscreen and offscreen death of bystanders
Offscreen and onscreen death of children
Attempted near murder of children
Suicide ideation + Begging for Mercy Deaths
Depression/Anxiety Attacks
Adult Nudity (90% is censored)
Cheating done by one of the main characters that’s seen as a “Good for her!” at the time
Blood
Intense scenes
1 character is a semi-functioning alcoholic
For extra, watch out for episodes 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, and 21 as they are potentially the toughest cw eps to look out for. And Goddamnit, they all have to deal with in real life Bullshit drama and not Cool Alien Mecha Drama!
Brigadoon isn’t a perfect anime but it’s MY perfect anime. I am fully aware of its flaws. I come back to it every other year or so because the positives outweigh the negatives and it’s my favorite niche into one. I bought the DVDs on eBay because it’s so out of print that’s where you get it for cheap if you don’t want to spent $400-$500 on the Blu-ray. I still cringe at the weird and the fanservice and then cry like a bitch at the sad and the serious. Melan Blue and his other gun swordsman friends should be on your Hear Me Put Cakes and I’m tired of the silence.
Look into it if you want, take care of yourself if anything I listed holds you back (truly whatever you don’t like is too much, it’s Valid, no pressure really), an have a good day.
EDIT: Shit I forgot to mention about accessibility—it’s fucking HARD. Most anime watching sites probably won’t have it and if they do, it’s gonna be in the dub which isn’t bad but it’s…it’s dated and a product of its time. You CAN watch it for free on YouTube but there’s a glaring catch. The Sub is there and it’s what I recommend (shocker, I know), but the quality is either 720 or 480 at best. It’s still watchable, but there are other free YT accounts of Brigadoon that are actually crisp and clean to watch up but it’s either in only Italian or Russian subs, or it’s the Dub yet again, and also voice actress Wendee Lee does 12 different characters and she needs a break, y’all. LMAO.
You can buy the series, in sets of 6 DVDs or the blue ray but it’s $400-$500. Know your balance and what you want on your shelf if you want that kind of commitment.
If you can here’s a torrent (https://nyaa.si/view/840255) and here’s watch you’re gonna do:
To save your computer software storage, cross out some of it bc it’s just HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED clips, two are from the final episode so AVOID if you’re into avoiding spoilers, two more of prominent amvs from ye old past which also contain said spoilers, and the rest are TWO different dub/subs in different languages. Click only the 26 eps of your regional choice and you should be good to go for good HD and sub quality. Sorry, I keep forgetting about this part but HERE
