Analysing: Steven Universe (ENG)

Warning: these articles are originally written in Spanish. Therefore, some things might have changed because of translation issues, use of synonyms and paraphrasing, or to keep a joke and whatnot; however, the context of the article remains intact. You may see a couple of mistakes too, do warn me so I can fix them. If you do know how to read Spanish, I highly suggest looking at the real deal just in case you missed something. Have a nice Reading!

Ah, a member of what I like to call the current "Holly Trinity", along with its sister Adventure Time and its cousin Gravity Falls. What can I say that hasn't been said before? Let's see and start with the basics: it's the first series on Cartoon Network ever made by a woman, the "Ukelele Villain" Rebecca Sugar (who had previously collaborated in other series like Adventure Time, especially in the music department). I call her a Villain because that woman is definitely capable of taking over the world with her songs: I'm especially happy with the fact that CN's first female producer is that talented and has caused such a big impact already.

There's no doubt, I'm saying this now before I continue: Steven Universe is a precious gem, both metaphorically and literally. I Perfectly understand why is it so acclaimed and adored by almost anyone who has bothered to watch it, although I understand the criticism coming from those who don't love it or it's not of their cup of tea. A gem so desires that rabid fans would defend it ferociously even from its own creators: it happened, and it was a shameful moment considering the fact that who started it was a group of hysterics on Tumblr, harassing a girl for her fan-art until she tried to commit suicide; one of the directors of the series found out and called them out for it through Twitter, and the infamous group answered with comments on how he should be offended because she had dared to draw a character under "discriminatory context" (said character was originally chubby and she drew it skinny). Of course, he politely told them to go bathe in holy water for being such enormous and diabolic snots in one's underwear. What kind of TV series brings to light a bunch of crazy people that would drive a girl to attempt suicide, you ask? Are Steven and his three-and-a-half mothers deserving of this powerful attention and obsession from their public, or are they just a fused-up glorified monster in CN's currently reduced repertoire of shows? take out your magnifying glasses and get ready to measure the karats of this diamond with me, and let's see if it's worth the scandal.

• Premise

Steven Universe seemed to have a simple and basic theme going on in the beginning of its first season: a boy of undefined age living in a small town by the sea with what seems to be three women with magical powers, and who needs to master the abilities he inherited from his mother, for he actually uses them every day to do one of two things: fight a giant monster, or find a magical artefact. It doesn't seem like there's a chronology, and, even if there was some tension in every episode, everything would be solved in the end.

But everything changed when the Fire Nation mid-season episodes attacked. The most observing viewers had noticed with expert eyes that something was hiding underneath all those pastel colours and sayings about pork chops and hotdogs. An actual heavy plot. And so, their predictions and the end of Steven Universe as we knew it were met with chirurgic precision.

Steven Universe now follows the life and adventures of its pre-teen namesake: he lives in a temple with the Crystal Gems, three magical anthropomorphic gems (don't ask me how that works) that used to be compatriots with Steven's mother, and now dedicate themselves to helping him in his quest to perfect his powers while they save the Earth from the supernatural. To Steven's disposition there's Garnet (the silent-leader type), Amethyst (the glutton with fluctuant levels of intelligence type), and Pearl (the perfectionist with OCD type). Neither of the them actually have a clue on how to raise a kid, but they try in the name of Steven's late mother, Rose Quartz (former leader of the Crystal Gems who sacrificed her physical form so her hybrid son could exist).

The particularity of Steven's world is found in its supporting cast: everyone has a name and personality, and interact at one point or another with the protagonists in a significant way: there's repercussions to their actions, because both Steven and the character evolve from these interactions. Among the most recurrent support characters is Greg Universe (father who adores Steven but now shares "custody" with the CG), Greg's generally a decent example to follow as an adult character since he breaks the stupid/negligent father trope; Connie (Steven's friend and possible love interest), grows out from being a reserved and timid girl, learns sword fighting from Pearl and makes it look like she's catching frilly butterflies; and the Homeworld Gems (from the same race as our protagonists), they're Gems part of an absolutist empire from which the CG separated after a 1000 year revolution to stop them from conquering and colonizing Earth. I'd go into more details about the Nazi Gems, but I don't want to spoil too much about them.
All of the protagonists have a dark past and reasons to defend the Earth, and can be summarized in the following way: Steven wants to follow on the steps of his mother since he's the hippiest kid ever made for television and he believes in unconditional love, respect and harmony; Garnet is fighting for her right to stay as a mixed perma-fusion, something considered treason and taboo in Homeworld (basically she's two dwarf Gems in a trench coat trying to enter the theatre with only one ticket); Pearl had has an unhealthy romantic obsession with Rose Quartz and wished to defend her ideals even when the woman sacrificed her physical existence in favour of her child with someone else; Amethyst was born and raised on Earth and that's the only stable fact in her chaotic existence. All of them have at one point (or almost every day) an emotional/existential crisis with musical numbers and explosions of uncontrollable tears included, especially after the first season. What the heck, Rebecca, stop breaking my heart with lesbian space rocks!
The only down point that comes to mind, narratively speaking, would be this: the series focuses, for better and worse, in character development more than the actual plot; this translates into what could be considered "filler" episodes by the hundreds, but I'll leave it to personal criteria to decide whether it's a good or a bad thing.

• Animation

It's divine. The animation in Steven Universe is simply divine. Fluid, clean, consistent, detailed. It follows the parameters of traditional 2D animation, elaborated in digital format; every episode is planned directly into a storyboard instead of going through a written script first, and it shows marvellously: action scenes, body language and fast dialogue is truly delectable, even the musical numbers are enchanting although the character might be only spreading butter on bread (I mean it). The only defect of this working format is, that depending on who's the main storyboard artist, the drawing style may vary: there's episodes where Steven and company look more cartoony, or taller, or shorter, or more thin, and so on. Even so and despite these changes, I believe the show won an award for best character designs once.

But if there's something to praise here... it's the relieving colour palette; for some reason, the current series broadcasted on Cartoon Network all use highly saturated and clashing colours, in horrible combinations that cause sore eyes more effectively than a Brazilian Macumba that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Steven Universe uses almost exclusively pastel tones, especially in its backgrounds that are very reminiscent of watercolour paintings. When I sat down for the first time to watch an episode, the first thing I noticed and exclaimed was a comment on how pretty and well done everything looked thanks to the palette, a rainbow of happiness that calms you before the EMOTIONAL STORM that EXPLODES IN YOUR FACE when you're watching Steven Universe, If it weren't for the colours constantly telling you how to feel, this series would definitely not be what it is. Everything's calculated so those ten, eleven minutes of animation you actually feel completely and fully invested in the melodrama on your screen. Another point for Rebecca, for getting my sympathy through the wise use of baby clothes' colours.

• Conclusion

Steven Universe is a series of love. The main subject is love towards everything that makes us humans, and all forms of love out there: romantic love, platonic love, loving friends, neighbours, communities, pets, the world, even your mortal enemy that's trying to kill you with lasers (and ho they mean it!). It's about understanding, tolerance, respect, balance, overcoming difficulties and reaching self-validation. Steven Universe was created with love, to spread love and teach love in a time where rendering homage to your favourite series may end horribly because a group of "justice warriors" full of intolerance and on the wrong track can't seem to understand the message they're preaching. No series deserves a public like that, even less a "gentle giant" like SU, but I understand why a cartoon for kids can awaken such passion in people; you just need to remember that such passion, when misguided, can cause grave harm. I strongly recommend SU, but also encourage you to remember its message: virtues must overcome defects, and spread love like a fatal disease because whether you like it or not, you depend on people as much as they depend on you and we're all, ALL connected, so the least you could do is shine as a person for both others' and your own sake. Just like the promotional trailer said, "Believe in Steven".

Signing out!

-Gatt