STEVEN UNIVERSE-WHAT NOW?

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Written by Octaviano Macias



The show’s finally over right? Right!?

So in case you missed it, Steven Universe recently finished its fifth season after two years, hooray, congratulations! On top of that it’s tied up a lot of loose ends, like who was Rose Quartz, the insecurities of the Crystal Gems, Steven’s identity issues and even the Diamond mystery. You’d figure that should be it, well it turns out we got a movie and a season 6 coming... Okay the movie I can ignore, because hey it’s a new story, granted you’d wonder what they could do to raise the stakes now, but I figure with all the anime inspiration it might just be non-canon, but season 6? Why? I mean maybe it’s good, but sometimes shows need to end and I think if any moment was right, it’s now.

Now just so we’re clear, I like Steven Universe, I don’t love it, but I like it enough to worry about whether or not this is a good thing. Everything deserves a good end, dragging things out is how we get mediocrity.

So what happens now? Whether I want it or not a sixth season is coming, so will I review it? The answer is maybe. I know I made a promise I’d review the entire show, and I know someone who might be disappointed if I walk away now, but there are multiple factors as to whether or not I continue. The fact is, I’ve slowly been moving away from written reviews, they’re time consuming, not a lot of people seem to read them, so I’m not sure I’ll be dedicated to them while I move more and more to videos only. Of course the issue then becomes why not do video reviews of Steven Universe? Well that too takes time, and unless I can free more time from my job to focus on this my output will be slower, unless I do unscripted reviews, which could work, doing these as simple reactions might be easier and allow me freedom to regularly work. If that’s fine I’ll do it, buuuut it also depends on other factors.

As I said earlier, I like Steven Universe, but I don’t love it, it’s why I hadn’t really followed the show for years until it pretty much became mandatory for me to review. I think that the characters are charming, the songs are as well, while The overarching story is pretty interesting, but the pacing, the repetitive solutions and the lack of consequences for Steven always sticking to pacifist ideals just burn me out. The first season alone made me wonder if it was worth it, in fact it wasn’t until season four that I felt the show had finally left the pilot stage, which is not a great feeling. I do admit every time I thought I was done The show would find a way to get back in my interests, but that roller coaster of fun and disappointment can only go so long. Season 6 needs to show me that I need more, it needs to start being consistent on the high points, less uncomfortably nice messages about just talking with bigots or abusers to solve problems, more action, fun characters and messages applicable to real people who have dealt with horrible people. Simply put, I want season 6 to grow up and focus the story, as well as tackling themes from a more relatable standpoint.

If I were to guess, season 6 may be a bit closer to DBZ or Naruto Shippuddan, in terms of the story approach, a continuation of course, but one that jumps a few years, focusing on more mature stories, as well as maybe even the next generation. I’m not sure that’s something I want from the franchise, but if that’s how they can keep the story going I might be interested, though I’d also wonder if I should continue as it may feel like a different show at that point, which might be a good reason to stop reviewing. I don’t think it’s an instant disqualify for reviews, but if the show’s different enough it would be a bit more understandable for me to quit, because as I said before, I’m not the biggest fan and I’m not sure a change in direction would feel right with my promise to review the show, because it might just be a different version of what I initially signed up for, almost like a new show.

Ultimately though, I plan to hear what’s coming next, maybe let a few episodes come up before a single review to judge whether or not Si should start. In either case I wanna give a shout out to Samantha Cruz, who was always excited for my reviews on the show, not sure if what I said was to her liking, but I hope she understands my decisions regarding the show. I’ll definitely update if I decide to review the show going forward or not, but I hope you all check my other stuff regardless, maybe I’ll tackle some other things to fill the void.