*Please remember that the opinions stated below are my own and should be taken with a tiny grain of salt. If you don't like Steven Universe, that's fine. You're missing out on pastel rock lesbians and cutesy ukulele songs.
Despite the fact that I'm nearly twenty years old and in my second year of college, I love cartoons with a burning passion. If I had to choose between an orgasm and an entire box set of Teen Titans season 4, you can bet your sweet behind I'm picking the DVD's.
That looks so much sadder written down than I anticipated.
Anyway, if there's one cartoon that steps above the rest, it's Steven Universe. Premiering in 2013, this quirky little TV show has skyrocketed, earning both critical acclaim and a very dedicated fanbase. The premise follows the life of Steven Universe and the "Crystal Gems," a group of intergalatic humanoid rebels named Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. With Steven being half gem, the show follows him exploring his powers and learning about the world that his mother and fellow Crystal Gems used to call home; all the while exploring what it means to be human as well.
This show is a giant orchestra of things done right. Everything from the characters to the art design to the story is executed perfectly.
Like too perfectly. Perfect to the point of suspicion. If someone told me that Rebecca Sugar sold her soul to Cthulhu in exchange for the world's smartest cartoon, I'd honestly believe it.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD! if you haven't seen the show yet and would like to watch it, please do not read this.
1. The Portrayals of Functional Relationships
I'm not sure why people get so up in arms over the inclusion of same-sex couples in Steven Universe. Well, I mean I know. Homophobia, duh. But I'm not sure why people zero in on their genders (technically they don't even have genders. They're essentially anthropomorphic rocks, for Pete's sake). But people seem to narrow in on what's between the characters' legs (which is technically nothing because. they. are. rocks.) as opposed to the lessons that the show has to teach about relationships.
"Fusion" is a method of combining two or more gems physical forms to create an entirely new gem that is an amalgamation of the two gems both personalities and physical features. For example (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER PLEASE LOOK AWAY IF YOU ARE AT ALL INTERESTED IN THIS SHOW OKAY I WARNED YOU AT THIS POINT) Garnet is a combination of both Ruby and Sapphire, who're in a romantic relationship.
The act of "fusion," while not always explicitly romantic, is a clear metaphor for the inter workings of relationships. The show cleverly addresses common problems in relationship with fusion, such as co-dependency, loss of identity, homosexual stigma and even abusive relationships.
For example, the act of fusion back on "Homeworld" (which I'm sure you can figure out is where the gems originated from) is seen as merely a formality between two or more of the same gems to simply make them bigger.
(ANOTHER SPOILER AVERT YOUR EYES)
Ruby and Sapphire were the first two different gems to ever fuse, which was seen as a huge taboo in the eyes of Homeworld. This obviously correlates with the stigma of homosexuality in several communities. The concept of two people (or in this case anthropomorphic space lesbians) being in a relationship simply because they love each other is just not something that people cannot comprehend just because it breaks the typical mold that they've grown used to.
2. Casting of Actors of Color
Another thing that just perks my nipples is the large cast of women of color in the show. You would think that voice acting industry that factoring race into the equation wouldn't even matter.
"Who cares if the voice actresses are people of color?"
"You can't even see their skin color?"
"It doesn't even matter."
But it does.
It still matter a lot.
Usually when it comes to voice casting, believe it or not, white voice actors are much more commonly hired than actors. It seems that voice actors of colors are only used when the character is themselves a person of color (the few POC cartoon characters that there are). But sometimes, not even that. For example, in Avatar the Last Airbender (another one of my favorite TV shows) has entire voice cast of white people (despite nearly all the characters being people of color) excluding, of course, the villain.
Now there's no question that these people are very talented voice actors. Honestly, I cannot picture anyone else doing these voices. But it points to a much bigger issue of voice actors of colors not being as appreciated in this industry. A very interesting post on the relations of race and voice acting is The Voice: The Tricky Topic of Race and Voice Actors. The link is posted below and discusses in better detail than I ever could the topic of white people voicing people of color.
But in the case of Steven Universe, most of these characters are not people, and are instead aliens. So seeing so many women of color voicing actual characters instead of the just the stock few that they're usually cast as is refreshing.
3. Bomb*ss Characterization
Holy guacamole, where do I even begin. These characters are some of the most complex and realistic characters I've seen in a while. Each character, both "good" and "evil," have a very clear motivation and complex three dimensional personalities with their own unique set of insecurities, likes, dislikes, and beliefs. Not a single character is just a stereotype or stock character. You learn something new about a character each episode and get to watch as their personalities mature and grow.
Even the villains are humanized, for a lack of a better word. Unlike other cartoons, where the villain knows very well that they're doing wrong, the antagonists do not see themselves as "evil." They're just protecting the only way of life they've ever known. Lol, but they're still jerks though.
Not every Crystal Gem was "good" either.
(Warning a big rainbow dreadlocked spoiler ahead)
The short lived introduction of former Crystal Gem Bismuth, voiced by my homegirl Uzo Uduba, certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. It was revealed that Bismuth was "poofed" (temporarily destroyed) by Rose Quartz, Steven's mother, after Bismuth invented a device that would permanently destroy a gem.
Rose was big on the whole "let's not totally kill anybody"
Bismuth was like "f*ck that noise. It's killing time."
Only for it to be revealed that Rose Quartz is the one who shattered a diamond.
Which is a huge deal.
The show makes you ask questions about ethics and morality. It asks "How far is too far when it comes to things you believe in?"
Steven Universe is one of the smartest television shows on right now and I honestly have only barely scratched the service. Please watch it at least once. The show's fifth season has been confirmed, but the sixth season has not. I strongly recommend this show if you're a fan of good television. And lesbians.
Give it a try and see what you think.
