Media Blog
Picture by hbieser
The 7 Shapes — Reflected in the Stories We Love
Not only in the magical world of Esperia, but right here on our beautiful planet Earth, we can also find echoes of the 7 Shapes—hidden in plain sight.
While we may not possess the magical powers of the Espers, we carry within us a human equivalent of their StarDust:
our incredible brain.
What if we looked at the world around us with greater awareness?
What if the stories we read, the movies we watch, the anime, manga, and books we cherish…
were more than just entertainment?
Each post below explores the presence of wisdom, balance, willpower, empathy, and more—through the lens of popular culture.
Let’s rediscover what inspires us, one tale at a time.
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Serial Experiments Lain: Should we be frightened, sad, or optimistic about a world so close to the WIRED?
Read more: Serial Experiments Lain: Should we be frightened, sad, or optimistic about a world so close to the WIRED?Serial Experiments Lain is a Japanese anime television series created and co-produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, written by Chiaki J. Konaka, and directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura. It was first broadcast in Japan in 1998. The show features surreal and avant-garde imagery and explores philosophical topics such as reality, identity, and communication. Its content is highly experimental,…
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Can “L’Hymne de nos campagnes” Still Awaken Us in the Age of AGI and Environmental Collapse?
Read more: Can “L’Hymne de nos campagnes” Still Awaken Us in the Age of AGI and Environmental Collapse?Are we listening to messages, or just playing the music? I first heard about Tryo when I was in engineering school back in France. While at that time I was not quite self-aware on many aspects, I found it deeply ironic that many of my fellow students admired this band promoting environmental consciousness, even though…
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What Can Les Trois Frères Teach Us About Society, Family, and Emotional Awareness?
Read more: What Can Les Trois Frères Teach Us About Society, Family, and Emotional Awareness?Can humor reveal the deepest flaws of our society? Les Trois Frères is a 1995 French comedy film written, directed by, and starring Didier Bourdon and Bernard Campan alongside their Les Inconnus partner Pascal Légitimus. Three brothers meet each other for the first time after their mother’s death. Believing they will inherit her fortune, they…
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Can Whisper of the Heart Guide Us Toward a Life True to Ourselves?
Read more: Can Whisper of the Heart Guide Us Toward a Life True to Ourselves?What if fiction could awaken our true calling? Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki, based on Aoi Hiiragi’s 1989 manga Mimi o Sumaseba. The movie inspires a profound love for art, literature, and the courage to follow one’s own…
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Can Rhapsody of Fire Help Us Rethink Identity, Society, and the Power of Stories?
Read more: Can Rhapsody of Fire Help Us Rethink Identity, Society, and the Power of Stories?How can music inspire philosophical thinking? Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. I was still in high school when I first started listening to them, after being introduced to…
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What Can Kung Fu Hustle Teach Us About Growth, Responsibility, and the Future of Humanity?
Read more: What Can Kung Fu Hustle Teach Us About Growth, Responsibility, and the Future of Humanity?How does a martial arts comedy inspire self-growth? Kung Fu Hustle (Chinese: 功夫; lit. ‘Kung Fu’) is a 2004 martial arts action comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by Stephen Chow. The story revolves around a murderous neighbourhood gang, a poor village with unlikely heroes, and an aspiring gangster’s fierce journey to find his true…
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Is Howl’s Moving Castle a Fantasy or a Warning? Reflections on Technology, War, and Consciousness
Read more: Is Howl’s Moving Castle a Fantasy or a Warning? Reflections on Technology, War, and ConsciousnessWhat is the hidden meaning behind Howl’s Moving Castle? Howl’s Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on the 1986 novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones. We recently watched it with my wife and, like other works by Miyazaki, it deeply resonates with the ideas…