'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 46

Open Book

As someone who loves reading reviews, I know hard it can sometimes be to accept that what’s amazing to you can be complete garbage to someone else.  This idea is replicated in this cartoon by also showing what could happen if the person with the different opinion is your best friend.  The idea is that Steven and Connie have finished reading all the entries in a book series, and Connie shows complete dissatisfaction with how it ended.  Steven, not being very clear about his own opinion of the ending, decides to please his friend by taking her to Rose’s room to create a new ending.  Just as it did in its first appearance, the room grants Steven anything he asks for, giving him and Connie everything they need to recreate the ending the way they would want it.  As a result, much of the cartoon is just Steven and Connie going through the different parts of their new ending and Steven coming up with different ways the events would go.  The moments of this are mildly enjoyable, but still not all that exciting compared to other moments in the series.  A possible reason for this is that they all revolve around a book series with so much details being revealed at once, making it hard to keep up with what it’s all about, not to mention a book series that isn’t nearly as important as other parts of the show.  However, there are some interesting things to note as the story goes on.  Every time Steven suggests a different idea for the new ending and asks Connie what she wants to do, she simply responds that they should go with what he wants.  After this happens too many times, Steven comes to the conclusion that he’s not talking to the real Connie, and is instead talking to one created by the room when he said he wanted to see her, which is a pretty clever turn of events.  The reveal leads to a climax where Steven rushes to find the real Connie while being chased down by the fake one, and during the chase, just as the pink whale from the room’s first appearance got Steven to see sense, the fake Connie, in a way, does the same thing here by trying to convince Steven to tell Connie the truth.  As it turns out, Steven likes the official way the book series ended, and pretended not to so Connie wouldn’t think less of him.  Appropriately, when he finds the real Connie, she accepts his opinion and states that how she feels about him is more important than how she feels about a book.  This is perhaps the best way anyone can respond to someone with a different opinion, and given how harshly people in the real world can react to people of that kind, they should turn to this cartoon to re-evaluate their mannerisms.  As basic and slow as this cartoon mostly is, it’s great that there’s still some creative and meaningful moments to take away from it. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Rose’s Scabbard
2. Ocean Gem
3. Lion 3: Straight to Video
4. Alone Together
5. Coach Steven
6. On the Run
7. Maximum Capacity
8. Mirror Gem
9. An Indirect Kiss
10. Space Race
11. So Many Birthdays
12. Steven the Sword Fighter
13. Lion 2: The Movie
14. Bubble Buddies
15. Monster Buddies
16. Laser Light Cannon
17. Winter Forecast
18. Giant Woman
19. Lars and the Cool Kids
20. The Test
21. Steven’s Lion
22. Horror Club
23. Watermelon Steven
24. Gem Glow
25. Steven and the Stevens
26. Marble Madness
27. Warp Tour
28. Open Book
29. Island Adventure
30. Rose’s Room
31. Cheeseburger Backpack
32. Future Vision
33. Secret Team
34. House Guest
35. Serious Steven
36. Joking Victim
37. Beach Party
38. Cat Fingers
39. Tiger Millionaire
40. Together Breakfast
41. Fusion Cuisine
42. Frybo
43. Onion Trade
44. Arcade Mania
45. Garnet’s Universe
46. Keep Beach City Weird
    

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode Steven's attempts to advertise his dad's guitar lessons politically backfire in "Shirt Club."

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

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 44

Marble Madness

We got our first glimpse of Peridot back in “Warp Tour,” yet we didn’t really get a sense of what she was up to.  All she did was investigate the Galaxy Warp, take out defective robonoids and then leave.  All we got was a mystery of not only why she was coming to Earth, but also what exactly was she like.  Now, we have this cartoon that attempts to answer some questions about Peridot.  Much of the first part of the cartoon follows a beat-for-beat routine.  Steven tries to understand a book series that Connie gets him into, but then one of Peridot’s robonoids shoots down to Earth, prompting him and the Crystal Gems to go to where it landed and destroy it.  The fact that these same instances happen a couple times in a row make the early part of the cartoon somewhat monotonous.  They’re mildly entertaining on their own, but the show has had more enticing moments than this.  However, there is one truly enticing part of the cartoon in the second half when Steven comes up with a smart idea of following one of the robonoids to where it wants to go and why they’re all being shot to Earth.  This plan brings the Crystal Gems to the Kindergarten from “On the Run,” where they come across Peridot who has accessed the Kindergarten via a screen.  As the Crystal Gems wonder what Peridot is trying to do, Steven decides to find out by going up to talk to her which is both smart, and boneheaded since no one knows what Peridot is like.  One thing about his first conversation with Peridot that’s worth pointing out is that him mentioning a list of humans to her goes on to play a role in one of the most recent cartoons.  The fact that this one little line from the conversation starts something huge much later on demonstrates the cleverness of the storytelling and gives this cartoon more value than it already has.  Anyway, when Peridot goes on to attack Steven with hand robonoids the screen provides, the Crystal Gems come to his aid, and reveal that they’re protecting the planet at all costs.  Through it all, we see more of what Peridot is actually like.  Although she’s meticulous and technical when it comes to going about her work, instead of serious and menacing, she’s quickly agitated by others interfering.  Even though you don’t want her to succeed and fear for the Crystal Gems when she leaves to report her finding, it’s still somewhat easy to feel for her as she complains about her destroyed robonoids among other things.  This trait of Peridot among others would become more prominent for the rest of the show.  As you can see, this big reveal on Peridot adds to the appeal of this cartoon which, while not being the most exciting story, does its job in preparing for what’s to come. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. On the Run
6. Maximum Capacity
7. Mirror Gem
8. An Indirect Kiss
9. Space Race
10. So Many Birthdays
11. Steven the Sword Fighter
12. Lion 2: The Movie
13. Bubble Buddies
14. Monster Buddies
15. Laser Light Cannon
16. Winter Forecast
17. Giant Woman
18. Lars and the Cool Kids
19. The Test
20. Steven’s Lion
21. Horror Club
22. Watermelon Steven
23. Gem Glow
24. Steven and the Stevens
25. Marble Madness
26. Warp Tour
27. Island Adventure
28. Rose’s Room
29. Cheeseburger Backpack
30. Future Vision
31. Secret Team
32. House Guest
33. Serious Steven
34. Joking Victim
35. Beach Party
36. Cat Fingers
37. Tiger Millionaire
38. Together Breakfast
39. Fusion Cuisine
40. Frybo
41. Onion Trade
42. Arcade Mania
43. Garnet’s Universe
44. Keep Beach City Weird

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where this season and the whole show hits its emotional high point with "Rose's Scabbard."

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

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 42

Winter Forecast

It’s great to know that even in cartoons that don’t have a strong tie to the grand scheme, those that focus on Steven and Connie’s friendship usually turn out great, and that’s the case with this one.  The overall story here is very simple.  It’s just about Steven needing to get Connie home safely before she gets snowed in at his place, but they don’t want to stop hanging out yet.  Simple as this story setup might sound, certain things make its execution impactful and very charming.  It all comes from one short moment of Garnet kissing Steven’s forehead while telling him to make the right decision just before he and Connie head over to Greg.  This brief moment is what makes this simple story greater than ever.  As Steven and Connie leave to get Connie home they stall Greg in different ways so they can hang out longer and everything goes wrong, and it happens three different times.  To explain, every time Steven and Connie’s goofing off leads to something very bad, Steven finds himself back at a particular part of the trip home and they continue on in a different way from before.  Each version is well put together mostly with how they even grow in severity with each one.  The first version has the kids stall Greg so long that he crashes his van, and when they get to Connie’s house, her parents are mad that Connie’s so late and cold, threatening the end of her bond with Steven.  The second version starts with the van crash, Steven suggests they stay put, but it turns out to be a worse version when they all get struck by Connie’s dad who crashes his car into the van because he’s can’t drive in the snow.  The worst version of all is Steven insisting that Connie stay with him for the night despite all opposition, and that literally leads to everything blowing up.  Watching these versions from Steven’s perspective, you connect with him as he wonders what’s going on.  Then, after that version, we learn the meaning of Garnet’s kiss.  It symbolizes her giving Steven some of her future vision so he can see what could happen if he doesn’t get Connie home right away.  Not only is this interesting development for Garnet’s powers, but also for Steven’s maturity.  What he saw lets him realize he has to get Connie home right away to avoid anything bad happening.  He truly makes the right decision as he and Greg get Connie home long before the storm gets bad, and he even gets to watch the snow fall with Connie when her parents allow him and Greg to spend the night.  The last scene of the kids watching the snow really allows you to take in the beauty of the atmosphere and their friendship through its simplicity and silence, making for a perfect finish.  Although this cartoon isn’t too important, its character moments, charm, and creativity make it truly great anyhow. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. On the Run
6. Mirror Gem
7. An Indirect Kiss
8. Space Race
9. So Many Birthdays
10. Steven the Sword Fighter
11. Lion 2: The Movie
12. Bubble Buddies
13. Monster Buddies
14. Laser Light Cannon
15. Winter Forecast
16. Giant Woman
17. Lars and the Cool Kids
18. The Test
19. Steven’s Lion
20. Horror Club
21. Watermelon Steven
22. Gem Glow
23. Steven and the Stevens
24. Warp Tour
25. Island Adventure
26. Rose’s Room
27. Cheeseburger Backpack
28. Future Vision
29. Secret Team
30. House Guest
31. Serious Steven
32. Joking Victim
33. Beach Party
34. Cat Fingers
35. Tiger Millionaire
36. Together Breakfast
37. Fusion Cuisine
38. Frybo
39. Onion Trade
40. Arcade Mania
41. Garnet’s Universe
42. Keep Beach City Weird

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Beach City starts a new year while Amethyst convinces Greg to go back to the past in "Maximum Capacity."

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

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 37

Alone Together

With the animation medium, you can give any moment in life a unique perspective that can make it feel something grand and unforgettable.  It’s appropriate that this idea applies to this cartoon because it features Steven take a major step in developing as a Gem.  Looking back at the fusions we’ve experienced so far, they’ve all been composed of beings who are completely Gems.  It’s been alluded that Steven, who’s half-Gem, can fuse too, but as a fun, energetic scene of him attempting to fuse with the Crystal Gems shows, the fact that he’s also half-human could be preventing him from doing so.  This statement makes what happens later all the more impactful.  What happens is that Steven offers Connie a chance to dance with him after hearing she once dropped out of going to a school dance out of fear of everyone starring at her.  This act of caring leads to the grand moment of Steven having his very first fusion as he fuses with Connie while they dance forming an entirely new being known as, Stevonnie.  The rest of the cartoon is a collection of moments where Stevonnie goes about life, taking in different experiences along the way.  Everything that she, or he considering she’s made of both a male and female, goes through ties into the idea of animation giving a unique perspective on life and it’s made grand by the simple fact of this being Stevonnie’s first time existing.  Not to mention, it’s all initiated by Garnet explaining that as a fusion, Stevonnie is an experience and should be a good one.  You can really feel the joy and pleasures of Stevonnie running through town and impressing everyone she/he meets with her/his appearance based on how it’s staged to feel like these simple moments of life are being experienced anew.  At the same time, negative emotions are built in to make the fusion experience feel believable and earn the audience’s sympathy.  The negativity comes from a dance Stevonnie attends where she/he attracts the attention of an inconsiderate harassing hunk named Kevin, and embarrassing herself/himself through dancing alone and getting everyone to stare at her/him, just as Connie had feared.  It really makes Stevonnie feel helpless and alone, which threatens her/him being a good experience, but it leads to an enlightenment moment that brings everything together as Stevonnie ends it on a good note by firmly declining Kevin’s incessant offers to dance, and intensely dances alone without fear as she/he unfuses back into Steven and Connie.  Ultimately, the whole experience of this cartoon really succeeds for depicting the grandness of doing something for the first time such as Steven fusing and Stevonnie existing making for a great range of emotions and genuine development. 10/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. Mirror Gem
6. An Indirect Kiss
7. Space Race
8. So Many Birthdays
9. Steven the Sword Fighter
10. Lion 2: The Movie
11. Bubble Buddies
12. Monster Buddies
13. Laser Light Cannon
14. Giant Woman
15. Lars and the Cool Kids
16. Steven’s Lion
17. Watermelon Steven
18. Gem Glow
19. Steven and the Stevens
20. Warp Tour
21. Island Adventure
22. Rose’s Room
23. Cheeseburger Backpack
24. Secret Team
25. House Guest
26. Serious Steven
27. Joking Victim
28. Beach Party
29. Cat Fingers
30. Tiger Millionaire
31. Together Breakfast
32. Fusion Cuisine
33. Frybo
34. Onion Trade
35. Arcade Mania
36. Garnet’s Universe
37. Keep Beach City Weird
    

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Steven sets out to have a victory in a real Gem-related challenge in "The Test."

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