darkSpyro

Story was on point, if you had problems with the direction it went in recent seasons you won't like the movie very much either, it's the same deal. Someone comes to the plot having some unexplained beef with Rose, Steven has to deal with that ****, they discover why the Gem hates Rose, they solve or discuss the trauma, story is over. I guess the Diamonds coming in at the last minute to take Spinel with them can be seen as a bit contrived, but only because they only showed up at the beginning of the movie, vanishing afterwards. It makes sense and it didn't feel like a cheap way to wrap things up, as everything was wrapped up in a satisfying way. It makes sense that Spinel would rather befriend other people rather than try to force a healthy relationship with Steven, as his mere presence brings back terrible memories for her. Felt emotionally realistic and complex, which is what I like about the show. I've seen some people complaining about Steven being unusually mean, but given how tired he is of dealing with this sort of stuff, it makes sense. Again, emotionally realistic.

Speaking of Spinel, goddamn what a good character in all fronts. Great conflict, great personality - both in her rebooted and reformed versions, great design, and with a banger of a theme. All of the soundtrack is great, by the way. Some of the best in the entire show, I dare say. Visuals are on point and they try some ambitious stuff, but you can see it lacks that extra polish to be something you would see at a cinema. One thing that isn't as ambitious is the story. I mean it's good, but not groundbreaking, follows the usual stuff of the show.

Also can I just say I love Rose? She is such a good character, and I love how complex the conflict around she is, and how the writing team doesn't just make her one of the heroes or villains, It's a very gray character, and her depth has only gotten better with the movie. I really hope we see more characters like her in animation, that don't comply to simple, binary views of morality, and creates a story that really makes me think.

at first i didnt really understand why steven would ditch spinel, so i thought there was something missing in the plot. i trawled for explanations online, and people explained that spinel was behaving toxically, even if she didnt mean harm to steven.

i love the music. the ost is very popular at art school, and i can see why.

im sad spinel nerfed the gems so easilly. apparently they were rusty, but id like a better explanation.

there was more peridot and the b team. i always need more of them.

Also lmao nicknaming the Pearl that has been implied to have been physically abused to some extent Volleyball is so funny like yeah name her after something you hit around lmaooo

good:

• the final episode felt like a good conclusion in that it made me miss seeing new adventures from these characters. i've spent the last couple years watching them interact, and in the meantime i've grown and changed along with them.
  
• hugs save the day!
  
• i like that the diamonds got new powers. also, they were hilarious, specifically white in the finale. her rave power is nice. it's hilarious that she makes everything about her. (also sometimes i feel like i struggle with making everything about me, so it's good to have this pointed out so that i can manage that. this review is not the time for that, because reviews are generally subjective)
  
• ahhhh spinel! i mean, i knew they were going to bring her back. it's nice that we got to see everyone again. also peridot. they should just make a show about peridot.
  

bad:

• steven should have stayed a kaiju. ok, i'm kidding, but all i could think of when i saw that scene is "man, i wish i was a kaiju"
  
• i'm upset that steven still comes across as manipulative in the final episode. he still won't communicate with anyone! jeez, just ask the gems why they're not sad. it's not that hard. did you learn anything from being a kaiju, or do we have to turn you back into one?
  
• oh yeah the cluster is a thing! it was cool to see it show up, but i was under the impression that it's basically the core of the earth. wouldn't it be stronger if it was that big? furthermore, wouldn't it manifest more arms or something larger? maybe it was trying to be gentle so as to not break the earth...
  
• i've also heard people complaining that peridot is someone steven could have gone to. i, quite frankly, agree
  

su as a property:

• presented lgbt themes to me at a time where i was much more ignorant about the community. it sort of helped normalize lgbt stuff for me after my exposure to it from sailor moon. i'm not saying the representation is perfect by any means. it did, however, provide a positive environment for me to start my own research.
  
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• the crewniverse blog got me interested in storyboarding/animation. mind you, i'd have probably fallen down that pathway regardless of su, but it was cool that they were pretty transparent with production for a while.
  
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• bonding experience. i was in middle/high school for the majority of the show's run. i never had many close friends, but i was able to talk to other people about su. i specifically remember talking to someone about the su finale in my senior year. although they weren't perfect, i'd recognized some themes that run parallel to the trans experience. i talked to one of my classmates about it. this was before i'd socially transitioned, and i think was a good primer. furthermore, i spent much of my time watching the show with my dad. we have a strained relationship, but it was something i could look forward to doing with him every week. you know, when su aired weekly.
  
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• oh yeah, utena. i wouldn't have found out about it without su. some youtube channel was recommending shows to watch during one of the breaks between episodes. they said utena inspired some stuff in su. i ended up relating more to utena than su, tbh
  

i recently rewatched the entire series with some friends who had never seen the show before, and got to go through all of future blind so we could all react authentically together. what a brilliant show. seeing the show in weekly bursts over a few months instead of over years and hiatuses helps any pacing issues i had the first time through. the story is wonderfully told and i really only think there are 2 bad episodes in the entire thing. while some might be slower than others (s4 is definitely the sloggiest season of the bunch) i appreciate all of them for showing how these characters develop subtly over seasons and arcs. even though they might not have been given as much time as peridemption (still best gem and my favorite arc in the show) i felt reunited and change your mind were amazing episodes in how much they were able to pull off effectively in that much time. fragments got me genuinely shaking for my girl jasper. nothing will beat having my friends react to ruby sapphire fusing or rose is pink diamond for the first time. pretty much every bit of music they wrote for the show is a banger, i listen to these soundtracks very often. i love the little musical queues or motifs that pop up whenever a character is on screen, and how they mix or change to fit the vibe or character development or group dynamic of the scene. the worldbuilding is awesome, me and my friends had really long discussions between seasons about what they imagine would happen next for the world and the characters. we all got so sucked in to the world the show was building up over time. i gotta be honest, i don't think it could end more perfectly than change your mind -> movie => the future. such a wonderful series of conclusions, each one more complete than the last. showing different stages of the process of moving on. i could talk for pages about everything i love about this show but ill cut it short. overall the animation can be absolutely stellar, the themes engaging, the music is in a league of its own in terms of tv shows (damn that movie soundtrack is tasty) and the characters feel genuine and lovable, even at their worst moments. the show has helped me through a lot for a while, so its a kinda sad to see it go. even still, im always gonna remember it for all the wonderful times. here we are in the future, and its bright.