Ikoku Meiro no Croisée - Episodes 4.5 - 6

I think that I won't ever try blogging a series episode by episode. Always something happens: it gets busy, PC has problems, I face personal problems... and I'm not really fast at screencaping, deciding what to write etc. You get the picture. But since I started Ikoku and it has some things to offer, I'll blog it to the end; changing the number of episodes reviewed per post- from 2 to 3.

For your own good: childhood traumas and bad parenthood in Mawaru Penguindrum

The tools used to create that 'pure' love

Only blood-related family members can be trusted. Family members never lie. Pure and beautiful love exists only among family. ~ Yuri's father

Anti-freudian Sanetoshi, go!

Don't you think families are a sort of fantasy, a curse of sorts? Think about it. Just how many children suffer because they are bound to their family? Parents who treat their children as objects in the name of love, abusing them. They only love themselves, yet kids must love their parents solely because they are family, and love their siblings. ~ Sanetoshi

In Mawaru Penguindrum's episode 'Savior of the World' Yuri's past is revealed and it's not a beautiful one. More than all the other characters' past, Yuri's is the most loaded with heavy symbolism and dipped in the blue of sadness, melancholy and despair. The dialogues are shoved into the viewers' face and provoke them to deconstruct the notion of family as shelter. Sanetoshi chats with Kanba and echoes Alice Miller's work and that of other modern psychotherapists. Ikuhara sure has read a lot of psychology.

The mysteries of the brain

The Phantoms of the Brain by richworks on deviantart

The title of the artwork refers to The Phantoms of the Brain . It appears to be a very stimulating read; I'm going to buy it when the chance is given.

For the time being I've got some enlightening videos posted here.

PRAY THE HATE AWAY!

 

Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy -- participants are asked to simply "go purple" on October 20 as we work to create a world in which LGBT teens are celebrated and accepted for who they are. ~ glaad

American or not, let's wear purple today and show support.

An Update of Eastern Melodies

Music by Kyoko Taide on deviantart

A little note: Hello to all our readers!
We have not posted anything in a long time, because of a series of personal and professional issues that take most of our time. But now things seem to be coming back to normal, so we hope to update The Beautiful World more oftenly.

This time we won't go deep into any issue, but rather give emphasis on five beautiful songs from Japan and Korea, hoping that they will make your days and nights beautiful. All of the bands presented here compose great music, so we suggest you search more of their songs.

Fear of blood and silence - An essay on my relationship with Silent Hill

Introduction

I recall being a little boy, one who, at the time, could barely understand the English language. I remember how deeply in love I was with video games, the long agonizing hours I sat down playing my favorite stories.

One day of that age, I visited the neighborhood's video club and I noticed a new game, one that had many copies on the main shelf. The cover was blurry and I could hardly tell the main face apart from the rest of the image: there it was, a person looking pale and weak appeared, with a vague look in its eyes. I decided to give the product a try and so I rented a copy. That same night, with the lights turned off and total silence surrounding me, I started walking my path in the streets of Silent Hill.

Pleasure is good but safety is better

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Pool of memories: TRC things to remember and fawn over

crossing time and space is 'remembering love'

Neko has already covered me up and said what it needs to be said about the TRC manga. So this post has to do with things I liked in the series and lots of fan stuff! Like amvs, fanfictions, fanarts, sites and quotes.

The journey for the Lost Feathers: a TRC manga review

A princess, an archeologist, a mage and a ninja, and a white fluffy bun -and the journey begins...

CLAMP are a group of female mangaka that have published some of the most popular manga of the past two decades, with works such as xxxHolic, Card Captor Sakura and Tokyo Babylon. They are extremely loved by fans all over the world. That kind of hype though is what always kept me away from their stories. A few years ago I bought and read The One I Love but I never went any further. That was all until about a week ago, when a friend tagged me in a Facebook picture to a CLAMP character (namely Syaoran) from their manga series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. That was the initial reason I decided to sit down and read the story. In the beginning I told myself today that I would read four chapters, just to have a speedy start and be able to finish the whole thing in a month or two. Three days after I started, I had gone through all the chapters of the 28 volumes and I was officially owned.

Kokia: Bird of Paradise

This flower was used for the cover of her first album 'Songbird'. And how fitting this is indeed. Far more suitable than the hibiskus flower of her nickname.

Kokia is the nickname of Akiko Yoshida. Can you see her inventiveness? A-KI-KO -> KO-KI-A. It's spelled backwards, signifying also her birth flower, a species of hibiskus flower. She may be quite humble and not particular cute for the standards of the japanese song industry, but her voice is stunning and full of surprises. For almost 2 decades she has given us a rich repertoire. She's 35 now and often performs in Europe, basing her activities in Paris. As she was sent a couple of times in America during summer for music classes, she is one of the very few artists speaking so clearly and fluently English. She came to be known through her songs for anime and games.