It was only recently that I came to this show on the basis that anyone behind Adventure Time was worth following; it also helped that I have a 4 year old who likes a bit of screentime, so at least I have a reason to watch an episode or two each day. Outside of watching a few of the songs on YouTube, I knew nothing of the show ahead of starting it, and I quite liked that the show was happy to leave me in that place for some time. It took me a second to get accustomed to the animation, because at first glance it seems basic in the way everything is rounded and bright colours. Once I got into it though I was not bothered by this at all, mainly because the detail is in the characters and the world.
The narrative is broken down into easy to digest adventures and stories, most of which do not need much knowledge of the bigger setup, you can enjoy the action and comedy without knowing the specifics. However within this there is a bigger world thread that comes out gradually, and the season ends well in how it opens the door to a lot more, while also keeping its powder dry to not get ahead of itself. It does this in terms of the bigger things like Gem Worlds, full origin stories etc, but I liked that it also does this in terms of thematic things relating to the characters. There are plenty of lessons over friendship, growing pains and the like, but the nature of the gems also offer more interesting themes of relationships via fusing. It is not a surprise that some people view this as a plot to convince the general population that alternative sexualities is okay, but for me it was more general than that - and I have no issue with stories which promote acceptance of others, and breaking down barriers of 'difference'.
Within the broad strengths, there are specific highs - the writing is strong, most specifically in the songs, which are as catchy as they are clever. Very enjoyable show, that jumps right to it out of the box.
The narrative is broken down into easy to digest adventures and stories, most of which do not need much knowledge of the bigger setup, you can enjoy the action and comedy without knowing the specifics. However within this there is a bigger world thread that comes out gradually, and the season ends well in how it opens the door to a lot more, while also keeping its powder dry to not get ahead of itself. It does this in terms of the bigger things like Gem Worlds, full origin stories etc, but I liked that it also does this in terms of thematic things relating to the characters. There are plenty of lessons over friendship, growing pains and the like, but the nature of the gems also offer more interesting themes of relationships via fusing. It is not a surprise that some people view this as a plot to convince the general population that alternative sexualities is okay, but for me it was more general than that - and I have no issue with stories which promote acceptance of others, and breaking down barriers of 'difference'.
Within the broad strengths, there are specific highs - the writing is strong, most specifically in the songs, which are as catchy as they are clever. Very enjoyable show, that jumps right to it out of the box.
