I don't think anyone should be expectant of really well thought out characters or episode content because Cartoon Network hasn't produced anything spectacular in a few years apart from Adventure Time.
Oh-ho-ho no... don't you go there bro. *waggles finger* Hahaha, I'm just teasing a bit, but a handful of Cartoon Network's current lineup could be considered a masterpiece compared to the stuff that preceded it. Remember those cartoons in the mid aughts when everyone was YELLING ALL THEIR LINES ALL THE TIME.
Ok, so in some cases they still do that. Heck, the titular character in Steven Universe is guilty of that. :\ Well, at least the mentally challenged character trope seems to be dying off.
Steven Universe, tho. If its worst sin is listening to Rebecca Sugar croon before the show begins, then its already off to a good start with me. I admit there's times I really want to smack Steven, but I love that he's harmless and is just a kid (as opposed to there being a caveat like Johnny Test. He's a kid, but he's got an extreme wacky talking dog and wacky genius twin sisters and they go on extreme wacky adventures. Barf). I also appreciate that it's the first CN show 100% created by a woman. Even though other shows have female writers, it's good to have different perspectives.
I do think the fem-gems are flat-ish in character. I'm sure that more development will come through as the series progresses, so I'm not concerned yet, but we'll see. I like, uh... the leader's(?) dryness. She's the only one who's name I can't remember, oddly. You can never really tell what she's feeling but she's not always serious, either. I can see Amethyst being a fan favorite, I already like her the most. Overall, though, I'm enjoying the female leads (don't I always?) and the fact that Steven genuinely looks up to them without being "eww girls" or bravado machismo man. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the crew writing Steven as someone's sweet little brother. Annoying as he can become in his Eek the Cat like good intentions, it's very heartwarming.
So, I'll be watching. Not like Antemortem. He's too cool for cartoons. XP (Again, I jest. I can't ever tell here, heh)
ETA: Frybo episode! I found when the other boy (not Steven) start talking about how jobs only give you cash, but that cash can't give you back what the job takes from you, to be pretty close to home with me. Pretty deep coming from a kid (I'm well aware adults write for these shows, I am one). I've always been one who'd rather have more time than money for starters, but a bum job isn't worth whatever they're paying you, even if it's supposedly "doing what you love" or "what you're good at", but I've had some not-wonderful experiences.
It was a really good episode that played around with other characters that weren't the gems. In fact, I liked that the only main characters were Steven and Pearl. I hope they continue to make good use of their secondaries to expand and flesh out the world.
