#And this isnt a complaint. On the contrary i really appreciate it because I think hes a really interesting protag

[4arconinoma]

Ok so I haven't finished it yet But I'd like to ramble just a little about some thoughts on Marble Hornets so far that being: 1. WAY sadder than I had ever expected it to be 2. I find it really entertaining how the protagonist is honestly kind of terrible

[calangkoh]

and im done. up next conqueror of shamballa!

okay honest opinions about this ending. i like that its imperfect. but i still wish it were happier. i get the feeling if they didnt have cos they would have ended this differently, because this ending seems to specifically set up the movie. but the movie is another work, even if its the real ending, and im here to talk about the series. so on its own, disregarding the movie, i think this ending is. ok. i dont think its BAD, but a deeply unsatisfying one that works for its themes and tone. its imperfect and bittersweet. i like that. id keep that. it implies theyll find a way back to each other one day, even if we have no idea how. but id still change it if i could because even if an unsatisfying ending is poetic (because Tragedies exist, where unhappy endings are poignant and meaningful) in relation to the series’ core themes, its still unsatisfying. the ending of cos is satisfying enough, because the brothers are together, but still rather sad.

but heres the thing. mangahood exists. metatextually, this ending is great (and that way i wouldnt say is a definitive way to judge a series, just a way to enhance what already exists within the worlds own universe). because theres a certain level of poetic justice and karma to have an AU that has a tragic ending with characters who suffered so much and didn’t get what they deserved in the end, and then the other work that was released after give you the same characters and give them everything the deserved. 

contrary to how much i try to judge the two series based on their own merits and not in comparison to one another, both fma 03 and fmab feel like two incomplete works that need each other to exist. an example i can think of to explain what i mean is how the two legend of zelda games, phantom hourglass and spirit tracks, are two similar games that seem to both be a half of a whole game, as youtuber King K describes. he says he cant judge them individually because it does them a disservice, as they both feel like incomplete works without the other. this applies even more appropriately to the fma series, because they are both adaptations of the same story and same world and characters. they both do something differently and they do that thing very well on their own. but to fully appreciate either, you need to watch both. because one will deliver something the other didnt. im sure there are people who will disagree with me, because a lot of people have said 03 isnt worth watching and fmab is definitive and all you need. i strongly disagree, of course. but my point is that the ending of 03 is infinitely better when you consider that the writers (which included arakawa’s own input) intended a totally different ending than the one arakawa had told them of in her manga, to specifically make their own story that felt different from fmab when they ultimately go on to make it. they did it on purpose with the manga and brotherhood’s ending in mind. so that people will be hungry for more and be satisfied and surprised by mangahood’s ending. so that brotherhood feels like a do over, a second life where everything works out better, where the universe is kinder and more ordered, for the characters we fell in love with in 03. 

anyway, the ending of 03 is not my ideal. but it works in its story, and i appreciate a special kind of beauty in it. and the ending of 03 could definitely be more structured. i wont deny the common criticisms that 03′s ending feels jumbled. even if it makes sense and has a powerful message after you take the time unjumbling it, it doesnt mean its not jumbled. and i really only feel its in the last couple episodes. i think everything the series set out to do was done great, and they just were so ambitious that the ending was TOO ambitious for them to tell cohesively. and thats okay, ultimately. the series is still good. its still amazing! if most people say “that series was so good, i just didnt like the ending (and likely prefer fmab as a result)” which from what ive seen and heard, is the most common opinion. and if the ending really is the only major complaint, i dont think that makes the whole work bad. tons of works have bad endings, and sometimes they break the series (like game of thrones, from what ive heard). but a “bad ending” doesnt define the whole series imo unless it truly retroactively destroys all it built up and stood for (like how i met your mother, in some sense to me). but 03 doest do that. its ending still adheres to its core themes and goals from the start. therefore, just because the ending isnt a crowd pleaser, even just because its a tad confusing, doesnt mean its bad.

that all being said. fma 03 is fantastic. i love this show. i think its one of the best and deserves to be praised as much as brotherhood. i give this show a 9.5/10 (-.5 points for the jumbled ending and some strange fillers cough episode 4 cough and other weird episodes) and my ratings dont really have any real rhyme or reason, so that doesnt REALLY mean anything other than “this show is good”

so yeah. this has been fun. thank you all who interacted with my liveblog! ill liveblog cos but idk if ill have a lot to say about it. and then ill liveblog brotherhood (in small doses, since i dont wanna take away from this being an 03 appreciation blog)!