Gem Hunt (Steven Universe Season 3 Episode 17) - 'Toon Reviews 23

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Gem Hunt

For this routine Gem mission, a few things make it stand out as a charming milestone.  For one thing, with the depths of corrupted Gems now known, Steven has a whole new understanding. Inside every mindless monster is a helpless Gem hurt by the Diamonds during the Gem War. 

It also brings to light a nice dynamic from those who join him.  The reason this mission is such a milestone is that it’s Connie’s first one.  Her involvement plays to her training with Pearl from last season, so it’s a benefit to see its results.  In fact, Pearl comes along partially to ensure that Connie has remembered what she’s learned.  There’s an interesting setting for the action too in the Great North, a vast snowy environment which is wholesome and nice change of pace from the show’s usual beach setting. 

The one thing that shines the most during the search for the corrupted Gems is Connie’s determination to be a valuable team player.  It’s huge because for the longest time, the Gems have been very hesitant to get humans involved with serious magic business which can get destructive to their well-being.  Now with Connie learning sword fighting, the Gems are slowly entrusting humans to help in missions, and Connie actually wanting to help fits this concept.  Her chance to prove herself comes when the two corrupted Gems split up with Pearl going after one while Steven and Connie go after the other. 

From there, the main focus is on Connie taking charge with everything she knows, all playing to her primary character traits of being knowledgeable and statistical.  It’s not just with sword-fighting, but also with basic wilderness survival featuring believable skills relevant to the mission.  She tracks footprints in the snow, finds shelter, and makes nourishment out of any good plants in the area when a blizzard comes. Connie's also really prepared by bringing the appropriate supplies and alternate energy sources should civilization collapse.  It’s nerdy stuff for sure, but when stating her knowledge, Connie approaches everything with a youthful tone and upbeat attitude, making for a nice character to follow.  In addition, her role is enhanced by her comrades. Steven follows her survival techniques in his own way while also applying what he now knows about corruption, and Pearl gives motherly guidance through a walkie-talkie. 

For all of Connie’s training and smart survival skills though, it leads to an unexpected conclusion. They find the corrupted Gem, but the situation is too intense for her to remember her training and take it out.  It’s only when Jasper suddenly appears and brutally rips out the gemstone of the corrupted Gem when the beast is defeated. All Connie can do is simply contact Pearl for help like she was instructed to do.  There’s genuine sympathy for Connie since she failed to play as big a role as she planned, but it’s very appropriate that Pearl praises her involvement anyway.  As for Jasper, her menacingly showing those gemstones to “Rose” (Steven) brings a great show of promise for what she has in store for cartoons to come.

Ultimately, this cartoon is one of the best put together works of the season. It succeeds with a wholesome snowy setting, great follow-ups to recent reveals, and character moments bringing charm and likability to a serious mission.

A+

The Ranking

1. Mr. Greg
2. Monster Reunion
3. Gem Hunt
4. Greg the Babysitter
5. Alone at Sea
6. Gem Drill
7. Super Watermelon Island
8. Too Short to Ride
9. Beach City Drift
10. Barn Mates
11. Hit the Diamond
12. Same Old World
13. Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service
14. Steven Floats
15. Restaurant Wars
16. The New Lars
17. Drop Beat Dad

The next Steven Universe review is on Amethyst offering an interesting lackadaisical training approach that works for Steven and Connie, but not herself.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Down the Hatch" and "Road Rash" from Rocko's Modern Life.

If you would like to check out other Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'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 1: Hey Arnold Season 1 Episode 6

Heat

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a cartoon that takes a common occurrence in real life and attempts to portray it in an entertaining way.  The occurrence for the cartoon is a heatwave.  I don’t even have to assume that most people in the world have been exposed to heatwaves several times in their lives usually in the summer, so that alone should aid in the relatability factor of the cartoon.  You think of things you find yourself doing whenever a heatwave hits, and you practically see it all here.  There’s residents of the city sweating up a storm, people catching a breeze near the air conditioning, some people dunking themselves in something cool, customers buying ice, Arnold and Gerald struggling to get into the movie theater or pool, and all the kids demanding the local ice cream man, the Jolly Olly Man, to give them ice cream at a decent price.  These are all believable things that anyone can find themselves facing whenever there’s a hot day, and that’s where the appeal of this cartoon lies.  Is it entertaining and enjoyable?  I’d say it is for the most part since it means a lot if you can relate to it.  However, even if it is really hot, it can sometimes get a little too mean.  Every time an attempt to keep cool fails, everyone is very bitter and hostile and we see poor Arnold getting the short end of what goes wrong.  Some of what he goes through get some laughs, but spending too much time on him suffering isn’t exactly fun.  Then there’s the climax with the Jolly Olly Man.  Arnold and Gerald come across the kids of the neighborhood demanding ice cream, but the Jolly Olly Man sells them at prices they can’t afford.  I certainly can’t side with the Jolly Olly Man because his high prices he’s given these roasting kids are all kinds of unreasonable.  As for the kids, I really don’t know how to feel about them.  I keep going from supporting their anger for their unfair treatment which includes trying to flip the ice cream truck, to finding them to be just as unlikable as the Jolly Olly Man.  Even Arnold doesn’t seem to know how to feel about this since he willingly intensifies the kids’ riot, and then regrets it.  Basically, this scene is pretty frustrating.  Fortunately, the cartoon ends on a satisfying note for all when it suddenly rains, and everyone gets some nice relief from the heat.  At least we end with a reminder that heatwaves don’t last forever.  There may be some mean moments that don’t sit well with me, but this cartoon is worth a look for its undeniable relatability. 7/10

Snow

To say the least, it’s interesting that this cartoon is teamed with the previous cartoon about heat.  Together, you get a half hour filled with views on different cases of extreme weather be it hot or cold.  In the case of this cartoon, the extreme weather is cold, and it leads to a much more pleasing experience of a snow day.  There’s a charming factor to a cartoon that revolves around a snow day which takes great advantage of showing the many different ways the characters involved spend their time.  We see characters put their spin on activities like sledding, starting snowball fights, and building snowmen, Grandma gets a humorous running gag of having a sled and the herd of animals always running out the boarding house door as a dogsled, and moments of people showing disdain towards the snow, particularly a rap called “I Hate the Snow” are fun to watch.  Amidst these short scenes of snow day fun, the main plot of the cartoon follows Arnold wanting to get in on the fun, but is constantly told to help Grandpa with doing some snow-related chores instead that take up most of the day.  All the while, he constantly is told Grandpa’s philosophy about how there’s not enough work ethic in today’s society.  As a kid, I held a strong dislike towards this cartoon because of how Arnold is forced to work all day and not join in the fun.  Looking back, that may have been my inner immature little kid talking.  While I still find myself pitying Arnold missing out on the fun more than enjoying the fun snow day moments going on, I can still admire the relatability of what he goes through especially since at my age, working is all I do when it snows.  Plus, Grandpa eventually gets a reminder that snow days are meant for fun as well as work in a nice flashback of his youth inspiring him to create an ice rink in the middle of the neighborhood.  It’s frustrating that he gets it going without telling his own grandson about it, but at least he does let him in on the fun later on.  Plus, it makes for a good message that in this life, you got to have a good balance of work and play, which are especially good words for me to live by.  Ultimately, with Arnold finally joining the snow day fun at the homemade ice rink, we’re gladly able to end the cartoon on a charming note.  Your enjoyment of this cartoon will depend on how much you can tolerate Arnold being given all these snow chores while everyone else plays, but I still say it’s a good one for its nicely built snowy atmosphere, relatability, and charm. 8/10

The Rankings

1.      Stoop Kid

2.      Arnold’s Hat

3.      Helga’s Makeover

4.      The Baseball

5.      Downtown as Fruits

6.      The Old Building

7.      Field Trip

8.      6^th Grade Girls

9.      The Little Pink Book

10.  Snow

11.  Eugene’s Bike

12.  Heat

 Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 7th episode of this season: "Operation Ruthless/The Vacant Lot."