10/10 peak one of my fav cartoons ever.
ok but for real i did really enjoy it actually and it is one of my fav cartoons now. theres a lot of glaring problems with steven universe which im gonna explain later but i wanna say the good things first :)
ok first of all that ending was beautiful i cried i sobbed it was genuinely such a touching moment that final confrontation with steven and white diamond bro... the animation, the music, the whole message of that scene it was beautiful. just such a way to depict self love it made me sob so hard actually. unironically top 3 cartoon moments of all time.
love the characters and how messy they are but still likeable pearl and rose my favs for real. but not just them almost every character is just so messy i love it.
i also just enjoyed the vibe(?) of the show idk thats probably just nostalgia but whatever. s2 and s3 were the best seasons. and steven universe genuinly has one of the best color direction of any cartoon. this and bee and puppycat were really popping off with their colors.
ok now lets talk abt the problems. omg steven universe actually has so many problems they werent lying.
the biggest problem of this show is definitely the pacing and inconsistent tone. bruh why is steven just chilling in beach city after going through the most horrible, most traumatizing, most life changing moment in life like nothing happened. there were so many episodes like this in the show where steven just returns to normal again after something incredibly important happens it was just so jarringly bad.
and the pacing was so bad bro i know the show was cancelled and so they had to rush the ending so i cant really blame the writers for this but man it couldve been so good. the homeworld (final) arc shouldve been atleast an entire season long.
ok 2nd i dont like what they did with garnet, amethyst, and bismuths character. and also the diamonds character and their redemptions
garnet after s1 her entire personality was just abt fusion like why she was such a fun and good character in s1 but then they reduced her to just knowing abt fusion why.
amethyst she had an arc but idk it just feels like the writers didnt really care abt her like the other characters. her arc of overcoming her insecurities just didnt hit that well.
and bismuth she was such a kind, caring, and interesting character and then the writers did absolutely nothing with her when she couldve been so much more interesting. i wanted to know more abt her history with the crystal gems and her relationship with rose it wouldve been so cool.
the diamonds redemption arc was so rushed its so crazy. steven really just talked to them once and then they stopped their mass colonization that lasted for millions of years. its such a shame cuz i actually think the diamonds are really cool characters with really cool designs and interesting lore. i would lowkey eat up a prequel series thats just abt the diamonds.
i wish this show wasnt cancelled man it couldve been so good. and also if they fixed some of the writing problems.
i have lots of other problems but this is getting so long so ill stop
steven universe is a 6.5/10 show if were being fr but it is also a truly special show tho i dont think another cartoon like this will ever appear again. like i wouldnt rate it that high but it has a special place in my heart. peak cartoon