Review: Steven Universe “Gem Glow”

So, for those who don’t know, this is the show that Rebecca Sugar left Adventure Time to create. Does it have the same magic? Find out after the jump!

Spoilers Below

The story starts out with Steven, who looks like your normal elementary school fatty (I would know, I was one) who is lamenting over his favorite ice cream treat getting discontinued in his store.  As his coworker Lars is teasing him about it, he shows a gem in his belly button. He gets to take the freezer home, where he is attacked by a centipede type of monster. Then Amethyst, saves him with her whip. Pearl beats them up with the precision of a ballerina, and Garnet just uses brute force. They go on a mission to rid these pests from the temple. However, they leave Steven behind, because he doesn’t know how to control the power of the gem yet.

Steven finds a stash of Cookie Cat ice cream, and the girls bought it so he was happy. He raps the jingle better than Little Wayne can rap anything, and you should watch it. Anyway, as he is eating one, his gem starts glowing. Unfortunately, he’s still inept, and can’t do it. So, the girls all take a turn trying to explain it. He gets even more lost, so he tries to recreate the event. He goes to eat more Cookie Cat, and he gets his weapon; a shield. Just as this goes down, the momma bug attacks the house. With the girls cornered, Steven back to being inept, the only thing he could do is throw his now broken Cookie Cat freezer. He electrocutes the bug long enough for the girls to summon their weapons, and the day is saved.

This show is very weird. It’s not weird in a bad way, but weird as in not really seen before. This show definitely has a feminine vibe, but it’s definitely not a bad thing. Coming from the story telling pedigree that Rebecca has with storytelling (i.e. any episode that involved Marceline and Ice King from Adventure Time), you know that a lot will come at you in a 15 minute episode. We get greeted by Stephen, his coworkers, and the Gems, all within 3 minutes. Then we get how they all act and their personalities in the next 3. No big bad yet, but I’m sure that will come very quickly.

That being said, Steven is the absolute cutest thing to come out of this cute-fest. His unhealthy obsession with Cookie Cats reminds me of myself when I was young. Ok, so I didn’t have a gem coming out of my belly button, but you get the picture. This show rocks, and is a great foundation to what will be undoubtedly be a narrative driven show.

One thing needs to be said. If you are looking for a second Adventure Time, you will be sadly mistaken. That’s the best part. We don’t need another one, that show is good as it’s own thing. Unless this gets railroaded, this show looks like to stand with Adventure Time to keep Cartoon Network’s stranglehold on Monday nights for many months to come.