Gremio Stew Maestro

I've just begun the game and I instantly liked Gremio. He's so cute when he fusses about "young master" Tir's well being. He's so kind and his profile picture looks so gentle yet sad. The atmosphere in Tir's home when he returns at the beginning of the game is so heart warming.
 (1) Gremio rushing out to meet "young master" and going back to making his STEW
 (2) Teo being excited about Tir's experience in the castle
 (3) Cleo reprimanding of Tir not to come into a girl's room without knocking, and
 (4) Pahn sleeping like a log and going back to sleep again after being woken up by Tir.

All these while the "Main Theme" music is being played is just epic! It's so touching and it reminds me of a lot of 2D old school RPG games with mellow moments (eg. FF6, Chrono Trigger, etc). I'm feeling good about Suikoden I, I think I'm going to like this game a lot. I'm really pissed I came upon a big big spoiler simply after entering "Suikoden Gremio" on the google search bar though... (Hmmm, after the spoiler, I'm beginning to see a common trend among all the Suikoden games I've played.. and I think I'm liking that trend..)

I've got to say though, the Gremio spoiler made me even like him more. I think he may be up there among one of my fav Suikoden characters of all time. Something about the sad expression in his eyes made me really like this character. Moreover, he's so funny when he worries (w/c is all the time) and he has a gentle personality :).

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Suikoden III

Finally got to play Suikoden III and finished the game in about two weeks. I like it; it really exceeded my initial expectation of the game. Several months ago, I tried playing the game but immediately lost my appetite to play the game when I saw the first cut scene where Chris parades around with her knights. Because of the boxy figures, and because I have Persona 4 and haven't played it yet at that time, I opted to forgo Suikoden III. Recently, having nothing else to play after Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes, I finally tried Suikoden III again and I'm so glad now that I decided to really try playing the game.

This time around I started with Hugo's chapter instead of Chris'. For the first chapter, I think Hugo's is the most exciting and I think starting with Hugo's first chapter would build up more suspense before playing Chris and Geddoe's chapter 1. Ironically, Hugo's my least favorite among the three main characters, and I think his 2nd and 3rd chapters are the most boring compared to Chris and Geddoe's. My favorite among the three is Geddoe; although he probably speaks the least among the three, his chapters are really good because of the interaction among his crew (esp Ace-Joker banters and Jacques' quirks) and Geddoe's mysterious aura.

Really though, my most fav character in this game has got to be Yuber. Actually, in this game, Geddoe's totally cooler than Yuber, but the real initial motivator of me playing this game was the prospect of recruiting Yuber. At first I thought he was recruitable because he's listed in a lot of sites as one of the 108 stars. Tough luck though, he's not recruitable in the "main" game (he'll be available in Luc's chapter which only takes an hour or so to finish...).  Errr.., I like Yuber because he is EVIL :), but mostly because he looks mysterious yet charming with his black outfit, black hat, and long blonde braided hair. I love how he gets mad all the time when you beat him and he always refer to the good guys as "worms" or "maggots" and the like. I love his mismatched colored eyes as well, his crimson red and cerulean blue eyes definitely go well with his evil smirk!

Annnnyway..., I think the best thing about Suikoden III is the trinity sight system, the roaster of likable characters, the suspense and mysteries in the game's plot, the runes and skill leveling up system, the "sympathizable" main villain, and Yuber :). Ah, and the music's good too (fav is the Iksay village theme)! I'm currently playing Suikoden V and I think the music sucks so bad I had to adjust the BGM to the lowest level. I'm currently playing Suikoden I along with V, and so far I can say that V is the least exciting and least captivating, and therefore is my least fav among the Suiko that I've played (II, III, Tierkreis) and am playing (I and V), while Suiko III is definitely among my top three fav Suikoden game.

Final Suiko III team: Geddoe, Queen, Roland, Sasarai, Nash, Salome

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NHK Taiga "Tenchijin" 天地人

天地人 (Tenchijin).. My initial thought was, "what a strange title.." Well, so far I'm not as drawn to this series as I was with 2004 NHK's Shinsengumi. I didn't care for most of the main characters in Tenchijin (Naoe Kagetsugu and Uesugi Kagekatsu). I watched this series mainly because I really like Uesugi Kenshin, but I'm kind of disappointed with how the series portrays him to be; I don't know if that is how Kenshin really was, but I felt that he was less grand in Tenchijin than how I imagine/ idolize him to be. In contrast to the main characters, I thought Oda Nobunaga is the most interesting character in the show. He has a commanding presence every time he appears in the show, and I found his determination and confidence in unifying Japan very admirable. One of the most memorable scenes of the series so far was how Nobunaga explained to Hideyoshi (Nobunaga calls him "saru" aka. monkey) the phrase Ten-chi-jin. Where he explains that "'ten' stands for heaven's time, 'chi' stands for profit, and 'jin' stands for harmony of the people" and that "only the general who has these three is able to conquer the country". My favorite scene though, so far in the series, is the part where Kagetsugu was finally able to speak with Nobunaga for the first time and they talk of their differing philosophy in view of attacking Hongan-ji and justice.

thanks to Koala Fansubs for the ENG translations

Nobunaga: "Justice is merely an excuse to engage in battle."
Nobunaga: "Hoisting the flag of justice and being obsessed with it won't bring peace to the lands."
Kagetsugu: "Without justice, human beings would be mere beasts in the wilderness."
Nobunaga: "Then let us be beasts."
Nobunaga: "I'll put an end to this warring era."
Nobunaga: "If it is for the sake of creating a new world,"
Nobunaga: "I will give my soul to the demon"

I never especially liked Oda Nobunaga before, but I'm starting to grow on him because of this series' portrayal of Nobunaga. Hmmm, can't wait to see Akechi Mitsuhide's appearance in the series! Mitsuhide's always been interesting to me, and I've always wondered about why Mitsuhide did what he did to Nobunaga. Aww, I wan't to watch 明智光秀 - 神に愛されなかった男!!!!!! I've read on boards that it's a tear jerker!!!

[turns out 天地人合is a Chinese (and Japanese?) proverb that means the right ingredient/mixture of coincidences that makes someone or something so great, and things would not have been as great if it weren't for those mixture being present at the right place and time.]

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My Top 10 Fav Anime Ending Themes

10. Mr Deja Vu by Naja (Get Backers 3rd Ed)

It's a good song, I especially like the verse at the beginning. I find the song to be sad yet hopeful at the same time. It's the kind of song I like to listen to during rainy days.

9. Over Night by Aya (Le Chevalier d'Eon)

I love the mood of this song. The melody is haunting and peaceful at the same time; love the line "wandering the everlasting way", and the way Aya sings "forever..." so melancholic :)

8. Taiyou no Hana by Okui Masami (Cyber Team in Akihabara)

I have never seen the anime, I only like the ending song; I think the chorus is intense.

7. Real Folk Blues by The Seatbelts ft. Mai Yamane (Cowboy Bebop)

Cowboy Bebop is the only anime with opening and ending theme both in my top 10 lists. Honestly, every single track being played in the anime is worthy of praise and attention. This is another ending theme with captivating intro and opening lines. The vocalist has powerful voice too. I like that the song evokes the mixed moods of sadness, regret, and anger; very much Spike-Vicious-Julia triangle.

6. Kyou Kara Asuhe by Yumi Matsuzawa (Gatekeepers)

A long time fav! I really like the opening lines of the theme, and the way Yumi Matsuzawa emotionally sings during the pre-chorus part. This ending theme is the best thing about Gatekeepers; not because Gatekeepers is that bad, but simply because this ending theme is so good.

5. Love Is by Miliyah Kato (Toward the Terra)

One of the few ending themes where the beginning tunes can really hold my attention and urge me to listen to the whole song right after an episode. I strongly associate this song with Shiroe and Peter Pan; it's like the song was made especially for him because of the sad and mellow tune. The episode where the ending theme plays with flashback of Shiroe moments is quite sad; I think the ending theme with Shiroe clips is my fav moment of the series.

4. Kemuri by Maki Chang (Himitsu: Revelations)

The singer has good voice, great opening lines as well. There's a big contrast in the mood between the chorus and pre-chorus. I like how the song gradually moves from being timid and sad to desperate and yearning. It's another ending theme in the list with intense chorus; I always find that I have to increase the volume at the beginning of the song and lower the volume during chorus :).

3. Tsukiakari by Rie Fu (Darker Than Black)

The best part of this song is the bridge which contains the line "Kono tsukiakari no shita de watashi no namae wo yonde" without music. I have to admit that the first time I heard this song it didn't do much for me until sometime later that I've heard the bridge, and it's the part during the final minutes of the tv-size version.

2. Namida Wa Shitteru by Suzukaze Mayo (Ruouni Kenshin 2nd Ed)

Although my fav part of the song is the beginning verses, this song is perfect from start to end. Great verse, good chorus, nice vocals. It's always been my fav among all the Rurouni Kenshin songs; it doesn't hurt that the video has the most beautiful artwork in the anime series as well. I love Kaoru and Kenshin's facial expressions and the watercolor in the video. This song has been by far my fav ending theme for many years until I've just recently discovered a better ending theme..

1. Haru No Katami by Chitose Hajime (Ayakashi)

The moment I first heard the drum intro when the first episode is about to end, I was already anticipating the ending theme to be quite good. The moment the opening lines were sang, I've already decided that the song is sure to be one of my favorites. The final moment of the song where the lines 貴方の胸に この身を任せ, 私は死んで行こう (against your chest i'll rest my body, that is how i wish to die) were sang, I realized that this has got to be the best anime song I've heard so far (even better than Taiyou Wa Yoru Mo Kagayaku, but only slightly better; it's hard to compare the two anyway because their genre are different). The way Chitose Hajime sings is so tranquil and soothing; moreover, I like the main theme of the song being about holding on to the memories of the past. The English translation of the title means "Keepsake of Spring". I just love the lines 儚い春のかたみには いちばん綺麗なわたしを(this fleeting keepsake of spring is the most beautiful thing I have). Oh, and coincidentally, both my #1 Op and Ed songs (in their full-size ver.) have the words 幻 (illusion) and 踊る (dance)! Great, after all, I love the combination and image of illusion and dance together.


Honorable Mentions:
*Fushigi Yugi Ed
*Saiyuki "Alone" Ed
*.Hack//SIGN Ed
*Nana "Little Pain" Ed
*Flame of Recca 2nd Ed

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My Top 10 Fav Anime Opening Themes

10. Shell by Bana (Witch Hunter Robin)

I was considering having Hellsing or Boys Be's opening for the tenth spot. It's hard to decide which one I like better but for now, my mood prefers Shell so I have it on my tenth spot. I could say this song is the clearest thing I remember about this anime. I thought the anime, especially the last half, was disappointing. However, unlike the easily forgotten series, the opening theme kicks ass.

9. Ashita ni Todoke by Like Uncolored Velvet (Power Stone 2nd Op)

I still remember we had this VHS recording of various anime opening and ending themes, and I probably shortened the lifetime of the VHS and the player by rewinding this song all over again once it was done playing. Good thing there's youtube now.

8. We Were Lovers by Jean Jacques Burnel (Count of Monte Cristo)

The only English language opening theme in my list. Very very nice opening theme. I think it captures the mood which the count must have felt towards the "lover". The song is full of yearning and nostalgic thoughts, and I especially love the piano theme. The song was inspired by Chopin's Etude Op.10 No.3, one of my personal favorite Chopin piano pieces.

7. You Get To Burning by Yumi Matsuzawa (Nadesico)

I don't even like Nadesico. Yet I absolutely love this song. The only song also that has "tsu~uto tsu~uto.." as the most memorable line of a song for me.

6. Cruel Angel's Thesis by Yoko Takahashi (Evangelion)

I never fast forward this opening theme. Never. To me this theme is essentially the 90's anime theme. I prefer the Evangelion manga over the anime series, but this opening theme is one of the really good things the anime has that the manga can't provide.

5. Born Legend by Kasumi (Shadow Skill)

Very memorable and catchy tune. From the beginning to the end, the song evokes feelings of power and survival. The opening video at the beginning with the scene of Elle and Gau in black and white along with the tune of the chorus playing is just epic. I like the continuity of the tune in the chorus, it easily leaves Born Legend as my last song syndrome right after listening to it.

4. Rhythm Emotion by Two-Mix (Gundam Wing 2nd Op)

Easily the best Gundam theme for me (I've only seen 0079, Zeta, Wing, and G though; and I would say Zeta's English ver. opening is the second best, even better than Just Communication). This song kind of reminds me of You Get To Burning, especially since my fav part of both songs are the parts right before the chorus; both songs sounds like they belong to a mecha series as well.

3. Tank! by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts (Cowboy Bebop)

Ah this may be the coolest opening theme ever. I love the beats and the jazz trumpet tunes right at the very beginning of the song, and I just can't stop myself from anticipating the "okay, three, two, one, let's jam!" part during the earlier seconds of the song. This is another song that I don't fast forward whenever I watch the anime. Love, love, love the part where three guns pointing towards the viewer goes off one after another in time with the beats of the song.

2. Kouya Ruten by Fiction Junction Yuuka (Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto)

Eh I suddenly ran out of words to say with this one, but i fell in love with the song the moment the first few lines of the song was played wherein Kakunojo does her kabuki movements with her fan.

1. Taiyou Wa Yoru Mo Kagayaku by WINO (Hunter X Hunter 2nd Op)

Oh this is it. Translated into English, the title means "The Sun Also Shines at Night". More than six years ago, the first time I heard it I thought it was very unique; the first few lines of the song sounds like the vocalist is trying to scare the listener or something and I thought it was amusing and interesting. The more I listened to the song the more I grew fond of it until not only is it my fav Hunter X Hunter song, but has also been my fav anime song even up until now. Heck I even memorized the lyrics of the song simply by listening to it over and over again even though I didn't understand a thing the song says then. I even recall without checking (as I am sure of it) that the song is the 4th track of the Hunter X Hunter album that contains all the HxH op&ed songs. I don't understand why this opening song was never played in the local broadcast of HxH anime though. Anyway, this song is really good and my fav line in the song is 幻が踊る街に さよならの鐘が鳴る (something like "the chime of farewell echoes in the street where the illusions dance"), but the line isn't in the tv size version. The full-size version of this song is far better than the tv size version, especially since the full-size version has a long melodic bridge.


Honorable Mentions:
*all Rurouni Kenshin Op
*Hellsing Op
*Le Chevalier d'Eon Op
*Paradise Kiss Op
*Boys Be Op

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戦国Basara. I ♥ 片倉小十郎

Since college first year, I've been seeing the artwork by Makoto Tsuchibayashi of Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura and have wondered for years what Capcom game that is. Sengoku Basara becaume famous later on, and I found out more about Sengoku Basara by browsing through CreativeUncut's gallery of video game scans.

Another year or so, Sengoku Basara 3 is already out for PS3 and Wii. I saw Revoltech's release of Ishida Mitsunari figure and because I don't know much about ather Basara characters, he soon became my fav; this is based purely on looks and style; he's badass and swift, but he's also quite short-tempered and says "IEEEYASSSUUUU" and "許さない(unforgivable)!" all the time..

Ishida beating up Ieyasu army troops

Last week, I finally got to play a Sengoku Basara game! My very first Sengoku Basara Game was Sengoku Basara X. It is a fighting game, and I suck at fighting games so I moved on to Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes. SB2Heroes is in vein with the standard SB games as they are all a "beat-em-up" sort of game where the player goes around button mashing their way out of the opponent's army troops; but the cool thing is that there are lots of character customization: weapons, accessories, alt outfit, skills. I started playing with Hanbei, Mitsuhide, etc.., until I tried using Kojuro.

he'll ask "地獄が見てか?" (do you want to see hell?) when he starts to get pissed

I generally prefer the baddies over the good guys; however, Katakura Kojuro (片倉小十郎) is soo badass he'd be what locals in the Philippines would term as "siga". Well he should be, I've read that his mannerisms and his slaughter mode moves are inspired by the typified yakuza.

Although he appears and acts like a gangster boss, it's funny that he likes planting vegetables in the field during free time (in fact, his joke lvl 7 weapon is a leek, as in the one like the pokemon Farfetch'd carries). Moreover, being Date Masamune's retainer and strategist, he's extremely loyal to Date that Kojuro's nicknamed as "the right-eye of the dragon" (Date only has a left eye). It's ironic though because in the game, Kojuro is left-handed, the only one in the game at that.

Next to Kojuro, I like to use Kenshin, Mitsuhide, Fuuma, Kasuga, and Hanbei. I like how graceful Kenshin is when he fights, it's like he's dancing; his voice is really pleasant too (oh, and he has a super useful skill where he can swiftly move around while multiple-slashing enemies). Fuuma and Kasuga, two of the only three ninjas in the game are good too; Fuuma's alternate outfit has black wings :). Mitsuhide's can be pretty creepy but I really really really like his voice :D, and the way he says "痛い" or "itai (ouch)" whenever he gets hit is pretty funny, I couldn't tell if he's mocking or truly hurt or enjoying being a sadomasochist that he is. Hanbei is fine too, his combat range is good and he's kind of evil as well :), too bad he has weird violet lipstick..

Now I'm begining to want the One Coin Sengoku Basara figures..! Seeing my fav Basara characters everyday would probably bring a smile to my days :).

this is the only set with original outfit Kojuro. Mitsuhide's in the set too yay!

Oh, maybe next time I'll blog about my favorite historical Sengoku era characters when I've made up my mind. One of them is probably Kenshin, I like great tacticians and strategists, and he's written himself a beautiful death poem in anticipation of his death.

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Aoi Bungaku (青い文学)

Aoi Bungaku (青い文学) is the most recent anime I've seen. It's a series containing 6 stories adopted from Japanese novels:

(1) No Longer Human (Dazai Osamu)
(2) In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom (Ango Sakaguchi)
(3) Kokoro (Natsume Soseki)
(4) Run, Melos! (Dazai Osamu)
(5) Spider's Thread (Ryunosuke Akutagawa)
(6) Hell Screen (Ryunosuke Akutagawa)

I like Run,Melos best because of its storytelling, where the personal experience of the character (playwright) is being paralleled with the story within the story (Run Melos play); this is being done while the storytelling interchanges between scenes of the playwright's life and flashbacks with the scenes of the play. Furthermore, the whole theme and the quote about the pain burdened by the one waiting vs the one making another wait is very interesting and is a new insight for me.

No Longer Human is my second favorite. The visuals are stunning, the score is great, the main character is a troubled creep :) However, the story is actually a bit slow, was it not for the visuals and the score, it could have been dragging (No Longer Human is 4 episodes long; the others are 2 episodes long or less)

I could have really liked In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom a lot more if not for the color and artwork. I like the musical/song segment where the lady-wife sings along with the pretty backgrounds though (I'm thinking of drawing an image like that one above and placing it above my bed).

Spider Thread and Hell Screen are okay, I like Spider Thread a bit more, maybe because Hell Screen is too dark for me although I like the idea that the painter drew X (noun) then requested Y (verb) simply for the sake of painting X. The last half (hell and thread) of the Spider Thread is really familiar, it is quite similar to a story in a Chinese philosophical comic strip from a book that I used to borrow from my grade school library.

Kokoro is the most unremarkable among the 6.. though the nice thing about this one is that it shows two differing perspective ("summer"/"winter") of the same events.

Not really a fan of the guys behind Death Note, Prince of Tennis, and Bleach. Nonetheless, Takeshi Obata is involved in No Longer Human and Kokoro; Takeshi Konomi with Run, Melos!; and Tite Kubo with Spider's Thread and Hell Screen.

Oh also, Sakai Masato (I just saw him play as Yamanami in NHK's Shinsengumi) serves as the narrator appearing before every episode introducing the authors and the stories. He's also the voice actor of EVERY "main character" of each story.

Aoi Bungaku is good! I like series with several interesting short stories.

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Ephemeral

I just discovered this month about this Japanese term 物の哀れ (mono no aware). Wikipedia says that it literally means “a pathos of things” or “a sensitivity of ephemera” and is a part of Japanese culture; it is associated with the cherry blossoms and their transient nature.

From time to time I get depressed when I think of “what used to be”, as in, those things I used to do or enjoy when I was young. I get this feeling a lot whenever I finished watching a series or I just finished a game. The sense of culmination of the stories, or the journey I seem to have shared with the characters within the series or games often leave me in a somber mood. I would wander if I would still reminisce of these stories or characters after some years have passed like I did with previous stories and characters. I feel uneasy whenever I question myself and my memory’s capacity to remember all things I enjoy or find significant. I wonder what my fixation on the idea of “what used to be” is. I notice too that I am particularly moved by stories where the characters long for their past. Cowboy Bebop has a lot of its major characters run into their past memories. Spike’s and Faye’s association with their past are the most interesting and moving moments of the series. The soundtrack accompanying those past memories provide even further surge of emotions and association with the past. Whenever I hear Green Bird, Goodnight Julia, or Kawaisouna Fei among others, I instantly feel sad yet happy. Sad because it is something only of the past (for me and for the characters); happy because they have been also part of my memory that I am fond of reminiscing about.

Recently, I just finished the 2004 NHK taiga series 新選組 (Shinsengumi), and it reminded me of the anime series Rurouni Kenshin and Saitou Hajime. 斎藤 一 (Saitou Hajime) was my favorite character from Rurouni Kenshin but when I was in elementary grade three or four, I did not know that he was based on a real historical Saitou Hajime who was also in a real historical group called the Shinsengumi. There are Taiwanese manga of Rurouni Kenshin at home, and it was explained in the author’s commentary page that Saitou Hajime was a historical person, but I can only understand really basic Mandarin that I did not understand much of what was written in the manga; I merely study the figures and drawings in every pages. Anyway, I recently read the English translation of Rurouni Kenshin (only the parts with Saitou) to revisit my memories, and as I read and read, I have begun to like Saitou Hajime a lot more than I used to when I was a kid in elementary. I used to like him simply because he’s strong (well third or fourth strongest alive person at the end of the series more or less) and he cannot be characterized as “good” or “evil”; I like the neutrality even when I was a kid. However, now not only do I like him because he’s semi-evil/good, but also because he’s arrogant and sarcastic while being able to act and look cool and superior all the time. Hmm, I like to find out if there are real life people who can be sarcastic and arrogant while being “cool” and tolerable to others at the same time (if there is, I would like to copy and learn from him/her hehe). 

image from www.the-oro.com

Going back to the topic of “what used to be”, I searched youtube for Rurouni Kenshin anime scores. I always find that I can strongly associate music and songs with my particular personal emotions, and memories. I was actually looking for two particular themes, one which is often played during sad scenes (“Departure”); the other whenever Sanosuke Sagara thinks about his past mentor/master during his time with the Sekihoutai (“Minagoroshi No Elegy”). The two scores were my favorite when I was a kid, they still are. Later, I listened to one of the Rurouni Kenshin albums and I’m surprised to have forgotten about two songs that I have been really fond of during those grade school days when I often listened to the album as I (was forced to, but appreciates it now) practice Chinese calligraphy; those two songs are そのまま (As It Was) and 夏の絵 (Picture of Summer) summer version. I am beginning to like the Japanese phrase そのまま. It is supposed to mean “as it was”; I like the feeling I get when I remember that I like something when I was a child, and still remain to like it; I often move on from one interest to another, but preoccupying myself with another interest does not mean that I don’t like the preceding interest. There are times though that I may completely forget about something that I liked in the past, but that is probably okay since the feeling of revisiting a lost love is magnified when I stopped thinking over it for some time. However, I would remember again how it used to be during the times when I first enjoyed the stories and characters, along with it the memories of grade school, and how much they are “what used to be”. When I think about my grade school days, it is funny how I was able to watch tons and tons of anime when classes are from Monday to Friday from 0730 until 1600 compared to the Monday to Thursday approximately 6 hours a day class schedule of undergraduate days.  Well no matter, I probably won’t be able to spend as much time watching anime series as much as my grade school days as I get older and face more responsibilities. I wonder if there are people who “stay as kids” forever? The more I think about my conquests of anime series and my grade school days of free time, the more I think that childhood is the peak of my life, however meaningless the activities I did seem to be (of course I cannot say for sure since I still have years ahead of me). I think that from age 0 to 16, one spends their time for themselves, from age 17 to 20+ one would start thinking about living for others, from age 20+ to 60+ one would probably have to live for others, from age 60+ and above, it’s whatever your imagination says.  Well, I hope to experience more stories and ideas as I go on with life, I’ll simply make do with whatever “free time” I have for myself so I’ll continue to have more things to reminisce about.

Apparently, 物の哀れis often incorporated and evoked in several manga and anime as well as in Japanese films and series. The transience of everything in life, there is something about this idea that is so poignant that it ironically makes a lot of things in life beautiful..

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