After being so impressed with Gakuen Senki Muryou, I asked SilverStar
for more recommendations. Of course, begging someone to cough up a
good recommendation is far from ideal, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
The end result is the first three volumes of this Sunrise series.
SilverStar did warn me already, so I started off with an
understanding that this isn't going to be as good as Gakuen Senki
Muryou. First of all, Brigadoon is not produced using cells. That's
too bad because I've been re-watching Muryou and it's just amazing. I
wonder if it's Mad House's last cell animation production. I should
try to find each studio's last cell animation and buy them all. I
already have J.C.Staff/Gainax's (Mahoromatic -- original TV series).
Anyway, Sunrise's cell-less process looks okay to me. In fact, I like
it more than that of Mad House's cell-less process I've seen on more
recent titles like Texhnolyze and Paranoia Agent. For all I know,
though, it could have gotten worse for all the studios. Either way,
Sunrise still has the edge when it comes to mecha(nical) scenes.
I won't go into the story just yet, but I think I'll pick up the whole
series. It's not like there's anything better to buy anyway.
One thing I noticed about the show is the voice of the main character,
Marin. She's listed as KAORI. Apparently, she stopped using her full
name (Kawana Midori) at some point. She is the same KAORI who has
sung a number of songs for games (99.9% sure now). As usual, her
performance on the Brigadoon ending theme is impeccable. I really
ought to buy the CD.
Also, Shintani Mayumi is featured as Roro, which is this weird
cat-like... thing. Weird.... I actually remember Shintani-san
mentioning a role like this in her interview for something I can't
remember. I think it was for Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou. Just in case
you don't remember, Shibahime Tsubasa in Kare-Kano was her debut.
Also featured is Saitou Ayaka, who is often featured in Daichi-san's
works. Speaking of Daichi-san, there are a lot of comical elements in
Brigadoon that reminds me of Daichi-san's works. It's not quite upto
the level, but it's enough to remind me of Daichi-san's comical
direction. I thought I'd mention it.
Now for the lucky ones who skipped reading my babble, here are some
screen captures.
Image1: Roro and Marin. I think all the base animation was done on
paper and then the rest using computers. It looks pleasing enough.
Image2: Roro and Marin again. Great casting for Roro, by the way.
Image3: Peaceful mood is destroyed once that thing comes along.
Image4: Melan and Marin. I wonder if you can figure out why Marin is
so upset. Hint is that you should be able to figure it out just by
looking at this single image. Remember, she has to be held somehow.
Otherwise, she'd fall. No, falling isn't her problem here.
Image5: Marin and her best friend, Moe, voiced by Saitou-san.
Background is little fuzzy, but the blending is very well done.
