Steven Universe.
sigh I want to like it, and in a way I do, but I really just can't.
The draw for checking out Steven Universe- I'm not a worry wart about spoilers, so I read all the spoiler-y tumblr mess about Steven Universe, and when I read strange stuff about what Garnet is, I was interested. "What is Garnet? How do they go about that? Who are the characters inside? How does it work?" And, Garnet having been my favorite from all the exposure, I was particularly curious.
I watched the first 3 episodes to give a "diagnostic" on the show, like Nostalgia Critic does. It didn't tell me enough... it told me quite a bit about the characters, yeah! But about the world, the underlining story? It wasn't enough. I searched for episodes that might pertain to Garnet's identity, and when I had watched a good few I decided to skip around and watch some more. All that being said...
I cannot appreciate the show. The characters? Fantastic. All super well designed, very interesting in relation to each other and to the universe they exist in, the concept is super cool and seems really fun to explore. Sounds great.
The problem is the message. The message that Steven Universe "preaches" I simply cannot get behind, I think it is as unrealistic as could possibly be. I mean, granted most of these characters are aliens, but you can see the show is trying to make a point about people through said aliens. And the art? Yegh. I have yet to see a cartoon network show that had pleasing art styles, save for Teen Titans the original. Stuff like Foster's Home, Ed Ed and Eddy, Chowder, Adventure Time, even Gravity Falls, and now Steven Universe? They're ugly. I mean, it's a cartoon, cartoons are supposed to look cool, neat, pretty sometimes. Why are they ALL ugly?? Designs are nice and all, but you can't make up for ugly stuff with cool designs.
I mean, S.U. in particular grows as a show in it's style, and over time they get less.... ugly, I guess. But it's still not fun looking at. And to cap it all off, it's SO cheesy. It's got some of the cheesiest cheese a cheese could ever cheese, topped with can cheese and sprinkled with shredded cheese. ...Okay, it's not that bad. But it's bad enough to be a nuisance. I don't mind kid-friendly shows, but I DO mind kid-oriented cheesy shows.
All in all, it speaks too much of Rebecca Sugar. I don't want to see Rebecca in every little detail of the show, I want to see the characters do what those characters would really, really do in that situation. I want that fantastical universe to be REAL, not a propaganda for the secret "wisdoms" of Rebecca Sugar. It needs to be a Universe, not a Cartoon Network show by Rebecca Sugar.
Y'know what I mean? I dunno. I want to like Steven Universe, and I'll keep up with some of it every so often. But I still have my qualms with it... Wary glare at Steven Universe
Also, that is a SICK Garnet @purrlpankras
