About Version 11

This layout is technically very different from the other sorts of layouts I have designed for this site, in that the layout is centered (the first centered layout on Transcendence EVER!), and the content is not positioned using absolutely-positioned divided layers. In fact, there is a table hiding in this layout, which quietly makes everything centered and grouped together.

I'm still in love with non-transparent iframes, which worked well for this layout since I didn't have to worry about the centering throwing off the layout positioning. I also used the table to align the iframe and navigation under the image--fairly simple layout, but REALLY beautiful effect.

This design and part of the name was inspired by the song "Beyond The Sea," performed by the group Celtic Woman. It is calm and flowing music, with a very light feeling and intertwining harmonies of multiple female voices; therefore, I thought it was perfect music and perfect inspiration for a layout celebrating the four main females of the Yu-Gi-Oh! cast.

The purpose of this layout, as may already be apparent, is to honor the YGO! girls who appear most often in the series: Tea, Mai, Serenity, and Ishizu (or Anzu, Mai, Shizuka, and Isis, if you're a fan of the subbed version). All four of them, at some point, are animated with a background of light and sky, and those are the pictures I've chosen for the layout. "Beyond The Light" is a nice phrase to the eye and ear, but it also represents the idea that each of the girls tries to reach beyond herself and beyond what is in front of her, to a larger idea and a larger sense of the world. Examples:

• Tea helps Yami to help him learn his true name/helps Yugi to help him discover his confidence in himself
• Mai leaves shortly after Battle City to discover her true path, and to reconcile herself with her new identity as a duelist with friends instead of a duelist without support
• Serenity reaches beyond her fear of her failing eyesight to save her brother from drowning, and beyond her fear of confrontation to speak up when she knows something is wrong
• Ishizu implants the idea of the tournament in Kaiba's mind, even though she knows her own brother will be defeated in it

All of these female characters, therefore, become symbols of a resilient femininity, one which needs to be spoken of in such a male-dominated anime. They may not all play major roles, but they all help shape the series with each of their actions (and nonactions).