Brigadoon GN 1 (2)

Studio - TOKYOPOP
Age - T for Teen (13+)
By Nozomi Watase
Original Concept by "Hajime Yatate" and Yoshitomo Yonetani
TOKYOPOP Staff
Translation and English Adaptation by Naomi Kokubo (Lavamind)
English Adaptation by Steven Hoffman
Lettering and Retouch by Raymond Rehayem
Editor - Luis Reyes
Once upon a time there was a girl named Marin, who lived in an "Elseworlds" style alternate universe 1969 Tokyo... why is it an alternate universe? You'll see shortly.
She's often the focus of bullying... well, by the ONE bully... who seems to have it out for her.
But that is not to say Marin can't stand up for herself, which she is capable of. She also has a good friend in a girl named Moe (whose part of a rich family that disapproves of her friendship with Marin), and a huge family she loves very much.
So how is it that an overabundance of "IOU"s written out on a sacred tree at a temple lead to the appearance of a new "world" in the skies above? Marin, it seems, is the center of the chaos around the appearance of this alien world, called Brigadoon, and apparently this new world knows that because it starts sending out enemies to terminate Marin.
Luckily for her she has come into possession of a "guardian" who'l l protect her, a blue Gun-Swordsman named Melan Blue. But can even Melan protect Marin when it seems that two worlds have turned against her? She is briefly exiled from her own school after an attack by one of the aliens at her school, then she is briefly arrested by an overzealous cop but is forced to release her when she comes under the protection of the White House (Washington DC).
But the worst is yet to come.
Apparently the devastation being felt on Earth is mutual... Brigadoon is also being torn apart same as the Earth, and their next deployment may test Melan's resolve to protect Marin as it seems his two allies (friends) from the past have been sent as their enemies...
After that only one more book and epilogue.
Breakdown time.
Brigadoon Breakdown 1st of 2
What's Hot?
It's a fairly nice read. Short, and kind of nice. I found it readable and interesting.
What's Not?
HOWEVER, that being said? I found it rather ordinary at the same moment.
It was good, BUT it didn't stand out as an extraordinary read.
It was middle of the ground for me. It was good BUT it wasn't spectacular.
And from what I heard from associates about the Anime series? That also suffers from the ordinary blues.
I liked this book, but it wasn't a runaway hit.
Moments to Remember
Marin is the center of all interesting things. How she interacts with her family, with Melan, with Moe and so forth... she is the center of all things memorable.
What to Ignore?
Well, it's good but it could have been better.
Overall?
If I had to compare this to another short read (mainly ADVManga's Figure 17)? I'd have to say that this title falls a little short in comparison to the other title. While that title had some warmth in the relationship between the two (human and alien), this book doesn't do enough to explore that, nor does it do anything to really stand out as a unique and special read.
It was good, but it could have been better.