'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 13

So Many Birthdays

So far, the tone of this show has been lighthearted and comedic for the most part.  With this cartoon, it really starts mastering playing the audience’s emotions, or make it easy to feel all kinds of emotions without making the shift feel jarring.  It’s a trait that some of the best animated works possess.  Leading into the story, we have Steven learn that Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst are 1000s of years old, much older than any human.  As it turns out, although the Gems look like average women, the appearance of their bodies is just a manifestation of light from the respective gemstones.  Being made from light, the Gems can avoid death from aging and can live forever unless their gemstones are broken.  It’s additions like this presented in a clear, to-the-point manner that make the ways of Gems so fascinating, creative, and understandable.  Keeping with Steven’s childlike mindset, he feels that since the Gems can live for so long, they deserve to celebrate their birthdays to make up for all those 1000s of years without any.  So for a while, the tone is mostly lighthearted and fun as Steven puts on several birthday parties for the Gems complete with favorite birthday activities like treats, piñatas, balloons with faces, and clowns.  The Gems don’t really get these birthday rituals, which makes for some funny confused, or overly emotional in Pearl’s case, reactions.  They also feel that the parties are more suitable for children, and the more they show their disinterest, the more depressed Steven feels which makes the tone shift from fun to emotional smooth and natural.  The emotional stuff comes in when Steven walks through Beach City and his gem makes him age rapidly, stating how everyone’s going up so fast and will have to put childish things behind them all the way.  It’s emotional enough that the usual happy-go-lucky Steven is now lamenting life after the Gems showed little appreciation for the nice thing he did for them, but the tone gets just plain sad when Steven ages to a dying old man.  Watching Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl break down as they scramble to try and get Steven younger is really heartbreaking stuff.  It’s relatable to anyone who’s ever come close to losing a loved one and shows how strong their love for Steven is.  It all works out in the end though when the Gems get Steven to feel like himself which gets Steven’s gem to change him back to his real age and cleverly showcases a message that even though you get older, you can still feel younger.  Still, the heartbreak from the Gems almost witnessing Steven’s death is very impactful.  That moment along with the natural tone shifts, character moments, and the new information on how Gems work make this cartoon another package of greatness for this show’s first season. 10/10

The Ranking

1. So Many Birthdays
2. Bubble Buddies
3. Laser Light Cannon
4. Giant Woman
5. Steven’s Lion
6. Gem Glow
7. Cheeseburger Backpack
8. Serious Steven
9. Cat Fingers
10. Tiger Millionaire
11. Together Breakfast
12. Frybo
13. Arcade Mania

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we learn that even the jerks of this show truly have a heart in "Lars and the Cool Kids."

If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.