I've been wanting to watch Steven Universe for quite some time given how much of an impact it's made. Apparently it's had a bit of a shaky airing schedule, so being able to binge-watch it should help me be able to see it as it was intended. And speaking of intention, while Season 1 is composed of 52 episodes, it's actually split into two parts. So I'm going to review both halves in their own reviews, starting with the simpler (and weaker) Season 1A.
Steven Universe is a show about the titular kid living with a bunch of anthropomorphic gems called the Crystal Gems, who try to protect the Earth by stopping these monsters. Since his mom was a gem, Steven potentially has powers like all the other Crystal Gems, but until he can reliably use them, he spends the season mostly causing trouble for his friends. Believe it or not, I actually think Steven is the weakest part of Season 1A, at least for most of it. While his compassion is admirable, he feels a lot like the "obnoxious Cartoon Network protagonist", not quite meshing well with the more serious Crystal Gems and more quirky residents of Beach City. It doesn't help that the show is centered around Steven, meaning that there are plenty of episodes where it feels like the other characters are doing way more interesting stuff but we have to focus on Steven lounging around the house or goofing off. There are a bunch of just weird aimless episodes, and they tend to be the ones that focus exclusively on Steven. If you add in the fact that it takes some time for his voice actor to truly figure out his voice, it all just doesn't really make the best first impression.
Thankfully, the rest of the cast is great. The Crystal Gems are all incredibly interesting and likable in their own ways. Amethyst's chaotic energy is so fun to watch, Pearl plays off of pretty much every character really well, and Garnet... is just so damn stylish. I was also surprised at how much I liked the humans who live in Beach City as well. Steven's dad Greg is a pretty big sweetheart, Connie is a fantastic side character especially as she learns more about the Gems and magic, and the banter between Lars and Sadie is some of the sharpest writing in the show. And thankfully, Steven's character does improve throughout the season along with the general quality, his voice sounds less grating, and it really feels like he grows by the finale. But probably the most fascinating thing about this season is the slowly unveiling lore about the Crystal Gems, most notably when we learn about fusions and what happens when gems die. However, these moments are still fairly few and far between, and the show never fully picks up until the finale. Apparently Season 1A was meant to be the prologue and that the show really starts with Mirror Gem, but I don't know, it shouldn't take 26 episodes for a show to "get started". Just to briefly talk about the production as well, Steven Universe's art direction is really clean and expressive, though the characters can look pretty derpy at times. And the music is absolutely fantastic.
This season does have some notably episodes, however, especially at the end:
Steven The Sword-Fighter: Steven The Sword-Fighter felt like a standard "combat training" episode for much of its first half, and then Pearl gets stabbed and the tone suddenly gets a lot darker. The sword fights are also really great. This show wears its Utena inspirations on its sleeve, but it's especially neat to see some shots recreated here.
Monster Buddies: While it's mostly a standard "protagonist gets a pet" episode, there's definitely something really impactful about getting to see the main antagonist of Episode 1 be recontextualized as an adorable acid-spitting puppy. The bait-and-switch at the end was also a massive gut punch, even though not every episode has ended on a happy note yet, I did not think the Centipeetle would get stabbed by an icicle.
Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem: I'm pleasantly surprised by how well-crafted this whole season has been, and this two-part finale is easily the best episode of the bunch. It's packed with big lore reveals, from Lapis's debut, to the reveal of Garnet's eyes, to the show's scope expanding to outer space, but the biggest shock was the fact that all the monsters the Gems have been taking were corrupted gems. Lapis is an interesting antagonist with a compelling motivation, the big fight scene is cool especially once Steven gets his shield, and the shift in tone is incredibly effective.
Overall, Steven Universe's first half of its first season is an incredibly slow start for the series and it takes some time to really get a grip on Steven's character, but the side cast is fantastic, the lore is interesting, and the finale is one of those types that makes the whole season better in retrospect.
2/5 Stars
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