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Buckets posted:It showed him the secret ending of that video game he hadn't beaten yet. Though I guess that could have just been what he expected the secret ending to be and not the real one. This was how they showed the audience that the room can't show him anything he doesn't already know. The ending it showed him was exactly what was in the game right until amethyst got in the way, at which point it abruptly shifted in tone and appearance to how he hoped it would end.
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Feb 20, 2017 00:40
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The episode felt a bit flat and I think it may have spent too long on the Connie and her mom part of the episode, particularly given the short runtimes these episodes have.
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Feb 20, 2017 01:02
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Steven really doesn't get what war means, or what the gem war was. When Bismuth showed up, he was really weirded out by the gung-ho ready to fight attitude she had, and he latched onto the idea of Rose refusing the breaking point as some kind of moral anchor, one thing she'd never do which could be the basis for claiming the moral high ground. Turned out he was wrong. And really, just because Rose was mostly against shattering doesn't mean she wasn't hurting people. They still get their physical forms destroyed, and maybe what waits them is forever imprisonment, which has its own issues. Steven's just now seeing all the cracks in the pretty picture the gems painted for him, and they haven't bothered to try to set him straight about it all.
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Feb 20, 2017 03:13
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:After all this emotional and mental growth, shouldn't Steven be due a physical change? We know his physical form is based on his emotions, I'd like to see his model change to reflect that. Ideally to what he looked like in Steven's Birthday. god knows his voice actor has changed.
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Feb 20, 2017 03:22
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Motherfucker posted:god knows his voice actor has changed. nope it's still Zach Callison who's turning 20 late this year
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Feb 20, 2017 04:41
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The Ayshkerbundy posted:nope it's still Zach Callison Well that explains why he looks so drat young.
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Feb 20, 2017 04:51
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Feb 20, 2017 06:00
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Otherkinsey Scale posted:That was my favorite part of the episode. (Steven and Connie interacting again was nice too.) Steven's never gonna actually meet her and get that big emotional catharsis because she is dead.
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Feb 20, 2017 06:21
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Augus posted:Steven's never gonna actually meet her and get that big emotional catharsis because she is dead. Yeah that's kinda the whole point of the show. That's what made the whole "What're we supposed to do without you? Why am I left here without you to clean up your mess?" so powerful in the last episode.
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Feb 20, 2017 07:24
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Feb 20, 2017 09:05
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Connie worrying about her mom pushed Steven into thinking about his own mom, which is something he normally avoids doing, so that was a good part of the episode. That this isn't "Tiny hands, my one weakness" is a travesty. It's still good though.
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Feb 20, 2017 13:31
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Cavelcade posted:
Disagree. I think a callback catchphrase would detract from the emotion in the strip. Not everything needs to be referential humor.
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Feb 20, 2017 13:41
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That's just fantastic  Stevonnie is the best
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Feb 20, 2017 13:41
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Feb 20, 2017 15:30
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The Ayshkerbundy posted:nope it's still Zach Callison His voice acting delivery is definitely different. Compare the latest episode to one from the very beginning of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqWVlXRH0_4 Also compare how hideously off-model everything is.
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Feb 20, 2017 15:54
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Wow I forgot how plain ugly the early episodes were. And what's up with those line reads on everyone being a little off anyway, Pearl in particular sounds kinda weird, like she's only halfway interested in whatever Steven is saying.
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Feb 20, 2017 16:27
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It's a miracle that I got as far as I did in the show and stuck with it, because yeah, those early episodes actually made me kind of despise it when I first watched it. It's not just the character models, but the characters themselves that are all "off" in some way. You noticed Pearl's bad voice acting there, and it sums up the great majority of her early appearances in that it never sounded like or looked like she gave two shits about Steven at all. None of the characters seemed to, and looking back at it now I can definitely say it had a lot to do with the earliest art direction and voice acting being really super... wrong. Along with the character models (When they're bothering to BE on model, it's still a mild problem at times), the writing has tightened up a lot since the start to help make everyone not seem like some kind of neurotic, unlikable rear end in a top hat, but that's how EVERY character came across to me as first impressions of the show starting from the first episode until close to around the last half of season one.
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Feb 20, 2017 18:18
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Agent Boogeyman posted:It's a miracle that I got as far as I did in the show and stuck with it, because yeah, those early episodes actually made me kind of despise it when I first watched it. It's not just the character models, but the characters themselves that are all "off" in some way. You noticed Pearl's bad voice acting there, and it sums up the great majority of her early appearances in that it never sounded like or looked like she gave two shits about Steven at all. None of the characters seemed to, and looking back at it now I can definitely say it had a lot to do with the earliest art direction and voice acting being really super... wrong. Along with the character models (When they're bothering to BE on model, it's still a mild problem at times), the writing has tightened up a lot since the start to help make everyone not seem like some kind of neurotic, unlikable rear end in a top hat, but that's how EVERY character came across to me as first impressions of the show starting from the first episode until close to around the last half of season one. I honestly thought the whole premise of the show when I saw those first episodes was "ha ha look at this dumb funny fat kid and how he can't fit in." I mean, yeah season 1's animation is all over the place, but I honestly never think it's flat out bad (asides from episode 2 where Pearl literally has a Regular Show face for an instant) just goofier looking, closer to a more slapstick cartoon. I don't think the show could have maintained that style though going forward given how serious it gets, so it's changes came at the right time. LemonLimeTime fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Feb 20, 2017 |
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Feb 20, 2017 19:06
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It's not unlike the Venture Bros in a way. At first they're just making pop culture jokes and taking characters to their extremes, but then they added more and more until they came out with an crazy, but fleshed out world that has various levels of stuff going on. Some people would complain that the show "got up its own rear end" with this stuff, but I'd rather over arching plots and a fleshed out world that functions by an internal logic than just everything being crazy bananas all the time. I actually found that kind of cartoon show fairly boring after a while.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:38
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Steven Universe had to get popular before it could get good, the earlier episodes being a little more formulaic let them grow into a more complex show later
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Feb 20, 2017 19:49
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The earlier episodes do seem like they were treading water a bit. They really wanted to ease into all the show's elements, and in the meantime they were sort of borrowing from Adventure Time's tone and schtick, which is defined by all the characters being very emotionally distant from each other. After the show got everyone's character dynamics going, those could power the rest of the show. From an in-world perspective, the early episodes where when Steven was graduating from being a dumb child to look after to being a person in the gems' eyes. He didn't know anything about gems or magic, and they didn't know much about him. And then for the gems themselves, they still weren't too used to functioning without Rose. Without her linking them together, they were just a bunch of separate individuals.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:54
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chitoryu12 posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqWVlXRH0_4 Ouch, this kinda makes me wish that they had gone with the art-style of the pilot episode. It would have to be chopped down, of course, but it would have looked far better.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:56
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There's also a brilliance the the experience of watching this wacky monster-of-the-week show about a little boy and his magical family, and then at some point you're watching a deep story about the aftermath of an alien invasion and dying in childbirth, and there's not a break between the two.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:10
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RZApublican posted:Ouch, this kinda makes me wish that they had gone with the art-style of the pilot episode. It would have to be chopped down, of course, but it would have looked far better. I think I prefer the final art style they went with. The original style from the pilot seemed a bit cluttered, like they couldn't decide whether or not to go for realism. The final style is much more minimalist, but it's more pleasing to the eye and likely more receptive to use of dominating color like the green glow from the end of "The Return" or the heavy use of blues and purple when Lapis is first released from the mirror.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:31
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:After all this emotional and mental growth, shouldn't Steven be due a physical change? We know his physical form is based on his emotions, I'd like to see his model change to reflect that. Ideally to what he looked like in Steven's Birthday. I, too, am hoping they take this opportunity to have him age-up after resolving what would be a big step in most people growing up, but I doubt they'll be allowed to do that until the endgame of the series, since it would outdate all of their toys and marketing materials. :-/ Capitalism: once again messing up a good story.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:39
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Blasphemeral posted:I, too, am hoping they take this opportunity to have him age-up after resolving what would be a big step in most people growing up, but I doubt they'll be allowed to do that until the endgame of the series, since it would outdate all of their toys and marketing materials. :-/ If this were true then the Amethyst wouldn't be on her fourth of fifth design.
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Feb 20, 2017 21:18
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Who What Now posted:If this were true then the Amethyst wouldn't be on her fourth of fifth design. There's a pretty big difference between changing an outfit and changing an entire model. Ageing Steven would change his silhouette, where the other gems' silhouettes are largely unchanged by their wardrobe modifications.
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Feb 20, 2017 21:45
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Blasphemeral posted:I, too, am hoping they take this opportunity to have him age-up after resolving what would be a big step in most people growing up, but I doubt they'll be allowed to do that until the endgame of the series, since it would outdate all of their toys and marketing materials. :-/
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Feb 20, 2017 21:51
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LividLiquid posted:I hear this argument all the time, and it never makes sense. If they changed his model, all the people with Steven Universe toys would have to buy a new toy. Yes, but all the stores would have a ton of Original Steven merch that they'd have a hard as hell time selling. The "adults buying too many toys" market is much smaller than the "children with a limited allowance" one.
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Feb 20, 2017 22:07
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Keep in mind, merchandise driven shows like Gundam or Transfomers have "Mid-season upgrades" where the cast gets fancy new stuff as an excuse to roll out a new toy line. And it usually works. SU could do the same with aging up Steven if they played it up right.
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Feb 20, 2017 22:22
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Quote is not edit.
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Feb 20, 2017 22:22
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personally I was hooked from episode 02 but yeah there are a few rough patches in there (and good episodes, but not something I'd rewatch so easily like Catfingers)
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Feb 20, 2017 22:29
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I almost dropped the show with Together Breakfast because Steven is so god drat needy and completely ignores everyone elses wishes because he needs to eat breakfast NOW with EVERYONE. The Gems are all apologetic and it came across to me as if it was saying your spoiled, demanding child deserves you to drop everything your doing to attend to his wishes. Though I was told the writers realized that Steven was coming off as something of a spoiled brat early on so they worked to fix that.
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Feb 20, 2017 22:37
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I love everything about Cheeseburger Backpack especially the way it looks! edit: ok no I was being flippant and not very fair. Still! I see that episode (and a lot of early ones) get bashed quite a bit, and it bums me out. I think hooking kids in with goofy cartoon hijinks and then slowly maturing the storytelling was both a deliberate (based on RS and co. talking about the story being highly planned out in advance) and smart move; it let the audience and the writers/storyboarders grow with it simultaneously. Worth noting too that even at the time, Cheeseburger Backpack was notably off-model and hyper-exaggerated. Gem Glow and Laser Light Cannon were super ON-model and (much as I still have lots of time for them, especially the later) they hold up much worse than CB. I also really love CB because it has Ian JQ's fingerprints all over it, more obviously than any other episode, and dude is just knocking it out of the park with the faces & poses in it. Compare Crystals Have Power from AT, which was Jesse Moynihan's first episode and still gets slammed for being off-model and weird looking, when personally I think it's one of the funniest and best-looking episodes of the show to this day. It's NEAT when storyboarders have such a confident and immediately noticeable first entry into these shows; it makes their episodes stand out. IMO. misadventurous fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Feb 20, 2017 |
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Feb 20, 2017 23:02
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I got impatient with some early Steven but it delivered frequently enough with stuff like Cat Fingers and Tiger Millionaire that I didn't think about it too much. Before too long Steven starts growing as a character, even before Lapis shows up, and it becomes a moot point. It probably helped that i wasn't watching it at the constant behest of friends and the internet so I wasn't "waiting for it to get good." It came to me casually recommended. misadventurous posted:Gem Glow and Laser Light Cannon were super ON-model Your points are well made overall but http://i.imgur.com/WptiOel.jpg (not my screenshot)
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Feb 20, 2017 23:32
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Oh man lol I always forget about Regular Show Pearl.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:45
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I really like Cat Fingers because while SU wears its anime influence on its sparkly pink heart, people were by then mostly expecting Magical Girl references instead of fuckin' Akira.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:48
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So, what exactly is Rose's room? Previous episodes place it as a wish-fulfillment machine that can manufacture what someone wants so long as it's not too complex. But Holo-Rose/Holo-Connie both started to get weird and self-referential when Steven breaks the illusion, and this last episode it seem more like a therapy room than wish fulfillment. On the topic, I miss seeing the other gem's rooms, I wonder if Pearl has redecorated after some of her character development.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:51
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T-man posted:So, what exactly is Rose's room? Previous episodes place it as a wish-fulfillment machine that can manufacture what someone wants so long as it's not too complex. But Holo-Rose/Holo-Connie both started to get weird and self-referential when Steven breaks the illusion, and this last episode it seem more like a therapy room than wish fulfillment. Did we ever see Garnet's room? I'd love to see Opal and Sugilite's rooms, even though I'm sure we never will....
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Feb 20, 2017 23:58
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For all we know, Steven might have to die to change form. Does he die? Does he poof? We don't know. Do you think Crystal shrimp are corrupted gems, or just some gemimals from homeworld?
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Feb 21, 2017 00:02
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