Let's Talk About Steven Universe

So I've been wanting to write about this for awhile, but I figured I would wait until the hiatus for winter started before I sat down and talked to you guys about Steven Universe. Now I must admit, I don't often give newer cartoons the time of day because well, I have that 90's mentality that most cartoon's after the mid 2000's will be terrible. However some shows, like Regular Show and Adventure Time will prove me wrong when I finally say "Why not?" and sit down and watch. That was the case with Steven Universe by genius Rebecca Sugar (who's done tremendous work for Adventure Time) . Now I've heard and saw snippets of Steven Universe and from that I didn't bother to give it the time, that was a mistake on my part.

Now Steven Universe reminds me of the whole Magical Girl genre of anime in many ways, however Steven....is a boy for some of you that haven't figured it out. However the one thing that I like about this show is that it dares to be different. I will say that the show starts off a little slow but what show doesn't start off slow, I mean you have to set up the world that they are in and making you actually care about the characters. I personally think that this was the hardest part of this series, only because for those of you that watched the first ten or so episodes it was a little all over the place (Especially the "Cat Fingers" episode,my least favorite).

The Story of Steven Universe started out simply enough, a boy figuring out his special powers, with the help of his guardians who also have special powers themselves.Simple enough right? We'll essentially that's how it started out but it goes much deeper than that. Such as you learn that Steven was created by his mom giving up her physical form to have him, and that the gems are actually aliens hundreds of years older than you or I. That there was wars and that there are a crap ton of other gems and there was even a battle for the fate of earth. The story of Steven has good pacing and that wins points for me, unlike Adventure Time which started out all over the place but then tried to form some kind of plot among that. Steven Universe however, has chaotic structure in my opinion.  Steven still has random episodes here and there like when he deals with the other humans of his city such as his Dad, Connie, Lars, Sadie and the others, which makes sense because well Steven is half human. Those relationships he has with them are important because it's apart of who he is. The more story development comes from stuff with the crystal gems, sometimes they can go to the random side but for the most part now they tend to drive the plot further, it's well executed and Rebecca Sugar (the creator and also worked on Adventure Time), is a genius.

Steven: Half Gem, Half Human

The Cast is amazing, all the characters are well thought out in my opinion. Each one of them growing in their own way. You have Garnet who is the de facto leader, strong, calm and collected. She deals with things straight forward and is pragmatic, however as the story progresses she becomes less stoic and quiet and expresses how she feels more.Not to mention she's voiced by Estelle. Then there's Pearl, a perfectionist, knowledgeable and composed but with low self-esteem, however as time goes on she becomes more confident and less of a follower. Next up is Amethyst (one of my favorites) who is laid back, fun loving and often mischievous. Since she was made on earth she relates to a lot of earthly customs. She has issues with her past, originally being created by the antagonists.(watch the show) I think after the hiatus her past will be explored more thoroughly. Then there's Steven. The titular  hero. He's like optimism personified, and just an all around good little dude. Early on he was kinda just that annoying kid brother that got in the way but as all kid brothers, they grow up and actually become useful. He also is understanding his powers way more than he did in the beginning. Also I found Steven beyond annoying at first but now he's a lot better. There's a crap ton of characters in Steven Universe, but I covered the main cast. All of them are just good characters Connie, Steven's dad, and just all of the residents of beach city, and the gems they have come across (I really like Peridot, like a lot and Lapis Lazuli too).I don't think there's a bland character of of the bunch which is a hard feat to pull off for a 15 minute Cartoon Network Cartoon.

The Cast of Steven Universe

The Animation to Steven Universe is easy on the eyes, while the animation is a lot better now compared to when it first started (like many shows), it feels like a work of art. The characters themselves have rather simple yet aesthetically pleasing features. The thing that really catches my eye for Steven Universe is the backdrops. From Beach City to the various places dealing with Gems, each background is beautiful, like something straight out of a videogame. Honestly sometimes I find myself easily distracted by the art during an episode.

How can you not appreciate the art?

The Music is fantastic to say the least. Rebecca Sugar composed many songs for Adventure Time so it was only going to carry over to Steven Universe. Her along with the cast all have great singing voices, I mean you have an actual singer as one of the main characters for crying out loud. In all seriousness the voices of the gems and even Steven have all sang at least once, and it was honestly impressive. I usually don't care for singing in shows but both Adventure Time and now Steven Universe have made me reconsider. The singing is the only part, each episode has amazing background music. A lot of the background music comes from Aivi & Surasshu. I love their SOUNDCLOUD because not only do they have their personal work on there but they upload everything that's come from Steven Universe too. The music reminds me a lot of Mario Galaxy, and it's easy to get lost in the electronic beats and piano tunes of music with a video game-esque nature.

Aivi and Surasshu please play at my wedding

Final Thoughts: Okay to wrap things up Steven Universe is a fantastic cartoon. Cartoon Network has been releasing a lot of gems since 2010 and this is one of them. If you haven't watched it yet, start from the beginning, it might be a little rocky but trust me, it's worth it when you catch up. Rebecca Sugar is a brilliant soul who not only was the first woman to independently create a show for Cartoon Network but she managed to make a gem of a series ( I couldn't resist the pun). I look forward to when the hiatus is over and we're blessed with more episodes. Remember guys,

 Believe in Steven and