Imagine, if you will, combining the wacky characters of URUSEI YATSURA with the robotic mechanics of GUNDAM. The result might be something much like the latest anime series from our friends at Tokyopop - Brigadoon. The first DVD release contains the initial five episodes from this rather bizarre combination of robot/monster battles and schoolgirl hi-jinks. So read on, intrepid anime lovers!

Episode 1
A young girl delivers papers through the streets of what looks to be Paris. As she zooms along, racing a fellow delivery-person, she spies a weird cat-like creature when she makes a stop at a local temple. . Excited, she follows it into a mysterious shrine. When she enters the temple, a giant snake eats her! No, this is just one of her daydreams (she does that a lot.) Actually, the cleaning woman throws her off the sacred grounds. We then learn her name is Marin; she's a plucky 13-year-old orphan who lives in a tenement with her Grandma, and various wacky residents. At school, Marin is teased by the boys in her class - they lift her skirt exposing her underwear to the entire school. Suddenly, the sky is obscured by a glowing "city", which covers the horizon and sends everyone into a panic. Something falls from the structure, landing in Marin's tenement! It's some sort of evil robotic top, and it's on a mission to kill our little lady! The contraption follows Marin as she runs wildly through the streets of town, winding up back at the temple. Hiding in the forbidden shrine, Marin picks up a strange blue bottle. Unfortunately, the killer robot finds her hiding place. In desperation, Marin hurls the bottle at the assassin. What happens next has to be seen to be believed...

Episode 2
Grandma and the tenement residents ready themselves to search for the missing Marin. However, she arrives home, carried by her new protector Melen Blue. Melen explains to everyone he is a Monomachia - a living weapon - who has come from Brigadoon, the city in the sky. His sole purpose is protecting Marin from others who would harm her. This causes an incident the following day when the schoolboys teasing Marin are confronted by Melen; ashamed and chastised by Marin, he retreats to his ampoule until called upon by his mistress. Meanwhile, a tower has fallen from Brigadoon and lands in the harbor. Authorities investigate, but are attacked by three creatures known as the Bronte Brothers! The weird cat-thing - Lolo - shows up at Marin's home and tells her the robots are after her. Marin flees, but the triplets find her in a railway yard. Marin brings forth Melen Blue, but can even he protect her from three sinister assassins?

Episode 3
Authorities discover a huge empty flask inside the tower. Dr. Sho, the tenement's 'mad" inventor, shows off his latest - a tank to protect Marin from the bad guys. Of course, once inside, Marin can't actually do anything. Marin goes to school with her shy friend Moe, who seems to be the only friend Marin has in class. At school, three girl bullies attack Marin, and injure Moe. She fends them off with a stick provided by a mysterious older girl. However, the hassles continue for Marin throughout the day. Meanwhile, the animals at the zoo are behaving badly - reacting to 'something" in the water. Marin finally snaps and confronts the bullies head-on. They overpower her and start to cut her hair. But Melen Blue appears. Will the bullies wind up like the evil Monomachia?

Episode 4
Marin hides under her bed cover; she is upset with Melen's trashing of the school. Melen is also upset for hurting Marin's feelings; he doesn't quite understand "human culture". Melen says he'll wait in his ampoule until summoned. Marin leaves the bottle in her room when she walks to the park later. There, she meets the girl from the school roof - a loner named Midori. Midori tells Marin that Moe is her true friend, always defending her without hesitation. An aquatic Monomachia chooses that very moment to attack! Grandma has told Marin's teacher the whole story of Melen, but when they hear of the water monster's attack, grandma finds out only Marin can bring forth Melen from the ampoule! Moe is at the tenement and races to the park with the bottle. Will she arrive in time? Or is Marin doomed to a watery death?

Episode 5
Marin heads over to Moe's to pick her up for school, but is told by Moe's mother that she is sick. It's obvious the town people blame a lot of the recent carnage on Marin. In fact, two detectives question Marin at school about what she knows about Melen. Much to her classmates delight, Marin is escorted to Police HQ. On the way, a mini-Monomachia assassin tries to take her pout, but only succeeds in trashing the police car. Melen Blue rescues Marin from the wreck and they fly away and hide. In an isolated spot, Marin confesses to Melen she's upset because she seems to have a lot of enemies now. Melen reveals to her he has been trained since birth as a weapon; he has no parents like her. The police continue their search for Marin, so she has Melen return to the bottle and hides out in the library. There, she learns from a boy names Makoto of the legend surrounding Brigadoon and it's 'Blue Knight'. Excited, she leaves, but it's a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire...

Brigadoon is certainly one heck of a strange series. The show bounces between school hi-jinks to monster battles in a blink of an eye. The mystery of Melen and Brigadoon and why Marin is so important has only been hinted at; we're still in the dark as to why everybody wants our girl Marin dead. That actually is one of the shows strengths, because you really don't know what to expect next. The creators have done a nice job in developing the characters, especially the secondary cast. They've allowed the series to grow as it goes along; events from one episode have a ripple effect throughout future installments. Stylistically, the animation is split between the rounded "cute" style for Marin and her brood, and the "straight" style for Melen and the monsters, but the combination works in the story context extremely well. The combination of the two styles and the accessible yet complex storyline makes Brigadoon a unique, yet worthwhile anime series.

I did not see the final product version of Brigadoon, but according to Tokyopop, there will English/Japanese language options, "motion" menus, cultural notes, and outtakes included in the DVD release. The picture image is excellent, as well as the sound (it's probably in Dolby Digital Stereo.)

If you're in the mood for something out of the ordinary, then Brigadoon is for you. They've taken the cheekiness of the schoolgirl comedies and added the action of the Mecha/Monster adventure shows, and they've made it work. Best of all, I've got the second DVD of the series to still watch! Enjoy!

Check out Tokyopop online!