When it comes to cartoons that center on Steven doing a fun, kid-friendly activity in Beach City, he’s a perfect fit for the type of plot considering his personality. As for the Crystal Gems, with the possible exception of Amethyst, they don’t really seem like a good fit given how seriously they take their job of protecting Earth. Plus, as this cartoon makes perfectly clear, because the Gems are a race of aliens, they don’t have as good as an understanding to the things Earth provides unlike their half-human asset. The plot has Steven offer to take the Gems out for a fun time at Funland Arcade, which is a very nice and thoughtful move on his part. However, given the Gems' lack of understanding of Earth things, including fun stuff like arcades, they seem confused by how to operate the various games Steven sets them up with. That said, their confusion makes for some funny scenes and reactions. My personal favorites involve Pearl struggling with a driving game that requires her to crash into stuff. Then there’s Garnet who’s set up to play a rhythm game called Meat Beat Mania. It’s a tough game for most people, but Garnet becomes so entranced by the game that she advances very easily. As the cartoon goes on though, Garnet’s attachment to the game becomes an issue when she not only stays and plays it overnight, but the next day she’s so engrossed with it that she doesn’t even notice that Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst are being attacked by Gem monsters called Drill Parasites. She’s so engrossed that Steven actually has to try and snap her out of it. He tries taking off her shades (which reveals that she has three eyes, one of her many unusual traits), and beating her at Meat Beat Mania, but doesn’t snap her out until he destroys the system. Relating to what I said about how the Gems don’t feel like a good fit for fun activity plots, Garnet getting so attached to a frivolous arcade game is very hard to believe. She’s proved herself as the wisest and takes Gem work seriously, so she shouldn’t get so wrapped up in something like this, especially when her comrades are in trouble. She doesn’t even use her attachment to the game to teach Steven a lesson or even to defeat the Drill Parasites, so there’s really no good excuse for Garnet’s portrayal here, and since it takes up most of the cartoon, the whole experience is pretty frustrating. Not to mention Steven ends up paying for the mess she caused in the end. While it’s sad that this cartoon really doesn’t do justice for Garnet’s character, it has enough charm and humor to make it enjoyable enough to sit through. 7/10
The Ranking
- Bubble Buddies
- Laser Light Cannon
- Steven’s Lion
- Gem Glow
- Cheeseburger Backpack
- Serious Steven
- Cat Fingers
- Tiger Millionaire
- Together Breakfast
- Frybo
- Arcade Mania
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we're finally introduced to fusion in "Giant Woman."
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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