Re: Steven Universe
Heh. A week later, and I still have Steven Universe songs bouncing around in my head. What can I say? For as much as they're often short, there are a lot of them, some are quite catchy, and most have some solid meaning behind them. Stronger Than You remains a favorite, its significance wrapped up in a main character - or a few, depending on how you count. Change, from the movie, has been a new contender. For being only a couple stanzas, there's solid message and meaning to it that's tied into the climactic fight.
It was definitely the characters and interplay that drew me into the series. If I'd been watching seriously, it might have happened earlier, but it was actually the 38th episode that clicked with - watching the Crystal Gems creating a test chamber for Steven (with no actual chance of failure) in an awkward attempt to boost his confidence. Steven is understandably upset by being treated like a kid (even if he may be one), but actually manages to swallow that and play along for their benefit. Throughout the series, as Steven finds his own footing and grows, he becomes the peacemaker - always trying to talk first, even with enemies. Often, it works in the end, but along the way, we get to see how that does weigh on him as well. And it is a bit simplified, but the foundations feel very realistic. Steven grows. His relation to the Gems, his father, his friends, and his enemies are all explored. And dealing with the legacy of his mother is a huge aspect as well. All these things put a lot of heart into the show.
Beyond that, I remain wildly impressed by the narrative. Admittedly, there are a lot of episodes that I would probably count as filler, but most tie into something bigger in some small way, at least. And the main, plot-centric episodes, can be incredible. Learning the origins of the Crystal Gems (and gems) suddenly offers a ton of questions - and those get explored. There are a number of reveals throughout the series and they actually fit.
It's a pet peeve of mine when a series drops a bunch of mysteries and reveals, but they feel arbitrary - more like someone just decided suddenly that X would be a cool twist rather than that's the way it was planned all long. We see that a lot in major comic books where a new writing team might come on and suddenly two characters are long-lost brothers, or a main character is a clone. Without information from a writer directly, it's always hard to be certain whether a twist was planned or not, but when it feels unfounded, that bugs me a lot.
In SU, the big bomb-drops feel right. I can't be totally certain there either, but there's enough foreshadowing and things almost always tie together in a way that feels natural. I absolutely have to give the writers props for that. Even when the movie introduces a new antagonist (I'm reluctant to use the word "villain"), her origins feel completely plausible no matter how terrible.
And twists aside, I just like the overarching story of Steven and his family growing and building up from putting down rampaging magical beasties to protecting Earth from an old threat humans weren't even aware of.
An additional side note, the creators amused me with their design of the movie. Sure, making it a musical totally fits. The stylistic throwbacks to early cartoon design (the "rubber hose limb" design of Spinel, as well as the still-image opening, scrolling credits, and curtains) were a surprise, though.
I'm a little sad that I didn't really have any friends to geek out with about the series in progress, though. Alas.
It was definitely the characters and interplay that drew me into the series. If I'd been watching seriously, it might have happened earlier, but it was actually the 38th episode that clicked with - watching the Crystal Gems creating a test chamber for Steven (with no actual chance of failure) in an awkward attempt to boost his confidence. Steven is understandably upset by being treated like a kid (even if he may be one), but actually manages to swallow that and play along for their benefit. Throughout the series, as Steven finds his own footing and grows, he becomes the peacemaker - always trying to talk first, even with enemies. Often, it works in the end, but along the way, we get to see how that does weigh on him as well. And it is a bit simplified, but the foundations feel very realistic. Steven grows. His relation to the Gems, his father, his friends, and his enemies are all explored. And dealing with the legacy of his mother is a huge aspect as well. All these things put a lot of heart into the show.
Beyond that, I remain wildly impressed by the narrative. Admittedly, there are a lot of episodes that I would probably count as filler, but most tie into something bigger in some small way, at least. And the main, plot-centric episodes, can be incredible. Learning the origins of the Crystal Gems (and gems) suddenly offers a ton of questions - and those get explored. There are a number of reveals throughout the series and they actually fit.
It's a pet peeve of mine when a series drops a bunch of mysteries and reveals, but they feel arbitrary - more like someone just decided suddenly that X would be a cool twist rather than that's the way it was planned all long. We see that a lot in major comic books where a new writing team might come on and suddenly two characters are long-lost brothers, or a main character is a clone. Without information from a writer directly, it's always hard to be certain whether a twist was planned or not, but when it feels unfounded, that bugs me a lot.
In SU, the big bomb-drops feel right. I can't be totally certain there either, but there's enough foreshadowing and things almost always tie together in a way that feels natural. I absolutely have to give the writers props for that. Even when the movie introduces a new antagonist (I'm reluctant to use the word "villain"), her origins feel completely plausible no matter how terrible.
And twists aside, I just like the overarching story of Steven and his family growing and building up from putting down rampaging magical beasties to protecting Earth from an old threat humans weren't even aware of.
An additional side note, the creators amused me with their design of the movie. Sure, making it a musical totally fits. The stylistic throwbacks to early cartoon design (the "rubber hose limb" design of Spinel, as well as the still-image opening, scrolling credits, and curtains) were a surprise, though.
I'm a little sad that I didn't really have any friends to geek out with about the series in progress, though. Alas.
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