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| Amethyst the Hothead, Garnet the Tank, Pearl the Know-it-all, and Steven, the Boy with the Heart of Gold |
I swear, neither Asimov, Bradbury, or Clarke ever imagined a technological future as odd as the one that we actually got. Anyway . . .
So, she was watching Steven Universe. Now, I respect the woman's art and entertainment choices, so I stuck around and watched this show which was visually displeasing to me. I figured, well, I thought Adventure Time's art sucked too, and it turned out to be one of my favorite shows ever, so it might as well give it a chance.
Steven Universe is a coming-of-age story about a boy named Steven, His slacker dad who lives in a psychedelic van, and Steven's three . . . um . . . caretakers who are actually . . . well . . . it gets complicated. Let's just call them superheros for the moment - Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.
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| Stuff that happens in space. |
After the first ten episodes, I decided I liked the quirky show. By the time the second ten went by, I had decided that Steven Universe was much better than Adventure Time. The third had some of the best storytelling I've seen. By the fourth ten I was getting a nagging feeling that Steven Universe wasn't just a simple story - but important literature. I know that's kind of an odd thing to say about a cartoon aimed at 12-year-olds, but . . . damn.
Throughout the story, Steven experiences the world, learning and growing all of the time. As he changes, the people around him are effected by his changes, and grow as well. It's not all good. Horrific things have happened in the setting's 6000+ year past. Death is a big, ever-present theme. Fear drives most of the main characters, and they keep him in the dark about what has happened - and what they did. But life and growth are also there, as embodied by Steven.
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| Stuff that happens at the donut shop. |
I'm being really vague about a lot of this, I know. I just don't want to spoil anything for anyone, since the multiple reveals are just fantastic and fascinating . . . an art unto themselves.
The show was created by Rebecca Sugar, who was responsible for several of the best Adventure Time episodes ever, including "Dungeon," It Came from the Nightosphere," "Susan Strong," "Fionna and Cake," "Hot to the Touch," and "Simon & Marcy." She also writes a lot of songs for the show - and we all know how fun singing along to cartoons is. :)
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| THE HORROR |
And every frigging episode ties in with every other one in wonderful and unexpected ways. It's a vibrant world full of vibrant people where things happen and those things matter. I highly recommend binge watching it. But do yourself a favor. Watch the episodes in order. :)
- Ark









