Steven Universe (Season 1)
Basic Premise
When it
comes to modern shows on Cartoon Network, such as Adventure Time, Regular Show,
and The Amazing World of Gumball, I’m
honestly not all that interested. I do
respect their impact since they helped make Cartoon Network popular again after
a rather dark age of lackluster animated shows and pitiful attempts at
live-action, but as for the shows themselves, I just never found myself needing
to see them. Then, around the summer of
2015, I figured that I should start seeing more animated series to expand my
horizons, and the show that seemed to have a lot of love from animation lovers
was one of the modern Cartoon Network shows called Steven Universe. After
spending that summer watching as much as I could of the show, I soon fell in
love with it, and I’m excited to talk about it now.
It follows
a young boy named Steven who may seem like an average human kid at first, but
he’s also half-magical as he has a human dad, but an alien mom named Rose
Quartz, leader of a group of magical beings called the Crystal Gems, who had to
give up her physical form to allow him to be born which in return granted him
many magical powers. He lives with three
Crystal Gems who serve as his guardians; Garnet, the strongest of the team who
is almost always calm and collected in any situation, Pearl, the most motherly,
organized, and worrisome, and Amethyst, a reckless slob who just wants to have
fun, all of which he has an engaging dynamic with. Together, they get up to moments of many
kinds in their home town of Beach City, some as simple as doing a fun activity
at the town’s many locations and some as intense as dealing with the Crystal
Gems’ dark war-related past. Through it
all, we discover more aspects of the Gems’ history and lore and witness Steven
develop as a valuable member of the team.
From this premise alone, it’s easy to see that the show has a lot to
offer, and they help make for many amazing cartoons. This will be a major series to cover in these
posts, but for now, we’ll be exploring the cartoons of the first season. So, believe in Steven, and here we go.
Now on with the reviews:
Gem
Glow
Kicking off this season, and the
series as a whole, this cartoon is a very solid introduction to what to
expect. Our very first moments with the
title character, Steven Universe, show that while he has magic powers from his
inherited gem to learn and is part of a group meant to protect Earth, he’s still a
relatable kid going about his life. In
this case, his main concern is a rather basic one of dealing with his favorite
ice cream treat, Cookie Cats, being discontinued. Even with this basic conflict at the center
of the story, we still get a lot of elements of how the Crystal Gems work which
is the most interesting part of the show.
They’re all introduced fighting a Gem monster referred to as a
Centipeetle which is the main aspect of their roles on Earth, and they each
show off their own weapons that come from their gems being Amethyst’s whip,
Pearl’s spear, and Garnet’s gauntlets.
As for Steven’s weapon, it comes into play when the Crystal Gems reveal
that, as a way to make him happy, they got him a bunch of Cookie Cats when they
heard they were discontinued. When
Steven expresses his happiness for their act, his own gem starts to glow, which
is required for a Gem to summon a weapon.
This leads Steven into different training sessions where each Gem shows
off their methods of summoning weapons. Each one demonstrates their unique appeal as
characters with Pearl’s being precise and delicate as a falling rose petal,
Amethyst’s being laid back without too much thought, and Garnet’s being in
perfect balance with the universe.
Ultimately, these methods don’t work for Steven, but through some nice
reassuring from the Gems and snacking on a Cookie Cat, that not only gets his
gem to glow, but also brings out his weapon, a shield. This gets him to believe that it’s the Cookie
Cats that get him his powers which implies that Steven doesn’t really take the
Gem aspect of his life seriously since it’s a ridiculous conclusion to
come to. Because of this, it’s no
surprise that the Cookie Cats don’t work when the Centipeetle attacks
again. Despite Steven’s overly childish
approach to his powers, it’s acceptable since this is early in the show, and he
does prove helpful in taking out Centipeetle without the shield, so even here,
he’s still a likable character to follow.
He and the Crystal Gems really do get solid introductions in this
cartoon as characters and team members, and combined with the well-told story
and appropriate first lessons about Gem culture make it a solid premiere, even
if it is more of a warm-up to the truly great entries to come. 9/10
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we meet Steven's dad and get a taste of more Gem action with a "Laser Light Cannon."
If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.
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