Steven Universe

Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by former Adventure Time artist, composer and director Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. The series premiered on November 4, 2013 and ended on January 21, 2019, running for a total of five seasons and one-hundred and sixty episodes.

The series was later followed up with Steven Universe: The Movie on September 2, 2019 and an epilogue limited series Steven Universe Future which ran from December 7, 2019 to March 27, 2020 for an additional twenty episodes.

Synopsis
Steven Universe follows Steven, a young half-human, a half-gem boy who inherited a gemstone from his mother, a Crystal Gem named Rose Quartz, who gave up her form to create Steven. As Steven tries to figure out the secrets to using his gem, he spends his days in Beach City doing activities with the other Crystal Gems, whether it's helping them save the universe or just hanging out.

Main characters

 * Steven Quartz Universe (Zach Callison)- The main protagonist and the youngest member of the Crystal Gems. It took him a while to perfect the powers of his Gem (Located where his belly button should be) however. His weapon is a shield inherited from his mother, Rose Quartz, who was revelled to actually have been Pink Diamond in "A Single Pale Rose".
 * Garnet (Estelle) - One of the main protagonists, the tall yet mysterious (speaking in a very low calm voice) is the leader of the Crystal Gems. She has Gems on each palm of her hand which she uses to summon her Gauntlets. She is a fusion of the gems Ruby and Sapphire.
 * Amethyst (Michaela Dietz) - One of the main protagonists, The very fun, care-free and sometimes reckless member of the crystal gems. She has her gem on her chest which see uses to summon her Whip. She usually shape-shifts a lot.
 * Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall) - One of the main protagonists, The controlled, Graceful Perfectionist member of the Crystal Gems. Her gem is located on her forehead which she uses to summon her Spear. She can also project holograms from her gem.

Supporting characters

 * Ruby - Originally a Homeworld Gem soldier assigned to protect Sapphire during a mission on Earth, the two accidentally fused when Ruby jumped in to save her from Pearl and was forced to flee to prevent Ruby from being shattered by Blue Diamond.
 * Sapphire - Previously a member of Blue Diamond's court, her mission was to inform her Diamond about the Rebels' attack using her future vision. After one of her guards, Ruby, accidentally fused with her, Sapphire fled with her to prevent her from being shattered by Blue Diamond.


 * Lars Barriga - A grumpy teenager who would slack off at work (the Big Donut), as of Season 5 he is now an undead Captain in space who is the leader of the Off Colors.
 * Lapis Lazuli - Former minor antagonist of the first season later one of the recurring protagonists, is a member of the Crystal Gems who made her debut in "Mirror Gem". Her gem was originally trapped inside a mirror. After she was healed by Steven, she becomes kind and friendly to Steven. She was fused with Jasper to become Malachite in "Jailbreak", but was eventually freed by Alexandrite in "Super Watermelon Island". She lived in the barn with Peridot until she left Earth again in "Raising the Barn". She reappeared in "Reunited" and officially becomes a member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Peridot - Former Main antagonist of second season later one of the recurring protagonists, is a member of the Crystal Gems who made her debut in "Warp Tour". She was originally a Homeworld Gem technician and a certified Kindergartener. After being stranded on Earth following the events of "Jail Break", she acted as a recurring antagonist until establishing a truce with the Crystal Gems in "When It Rains" to help them save the Earth from the Cluster. She officially became a member of the Crystal Gems in "Message Received", after she defied and insulted her Homeworld superior, Yellow Diamond.
 * Jasper - Antagonist, homeworld gem.
 * Bismuth - Former one of the antagonists of the fourth season later one of the recurring protagonists, is a member of the Crystal Gems who made her debut in the Season 3 episode, "Bismuth." She was and is now a Crystal Gem in Season 5.
 * Onion - Sour Cream's half brother who is much spoiled and mischievous than Steven.
 * Holly Blue Agate - Main antagonist of season 4 first half and can found in the human zoo.
 * Aquamarine - Main antagonist of season 4 second half.
 * Marty - Sour Cream's dad.
 * The Great Diamond Authority - The matriarchal body of Gem leaders. Its membership consisted of White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and, prior to Era 2, Pink Diamond. As of Change Your Mind, they are officially allies with the Crystal Gems.
 * Diamonds - Former antagonists of finale season.
 * White - The leader of the Great Diamond Authority that formerly ruled over the Gem race
 * Yellow -
 * Blue -
 * Pink - Known also as Rose Quartz and formally part of the Great Diamond Authority, she is the mother of the main protagonist, Steven Universe.


 * Connie Maheswaran - Steven's other best friend (besides Amethyst). She is trained by Pearl to become a sword fighter. As of "Rocknaldo", she is officially a member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Greg Universe - Steven's father.
 * Sadie Miller - Also known as Sadie Killer resides at Beach City and is a former employee of the Big Donut.
 * Mr. Fryman - The father to Ronaldo and Peedee Fryman. He owns Beach Citywalk Fries having both his sons run it with him.
 * Ronaldo Fryman - Son of Mr. Fryman and older brother to Peedee Fryman. He works the deep fryer at Beach Citywalk Fries and manages a blog entitled Keep Beach City Weird.
 * Peedee Fryman - He is the son of Mr Fryman and younger brother to Ronaldo Fryman.
 * Lion -
 * Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz - Steven's mom.
 * Cool Kids -
 * Jenny Pizza -
 * Sour Cream -
 * Buck Dewey - Son of Bill Dewey.
 * Kiki Pizza - Jenny's twin sister.
 * Nanefua Pizza - Current Mayor of Beach City, grandmother of Kiki and Jenny Pizza and mother to Kofi Pizza.
 * Bill Dewey - Former Mayor of Beach City.

Broadcast history
Main article: Steven Universe/Episodes

Steven Universe premiered on November 4, 2013, it has aired five seasons and 160 episodes as of January 21, 2019. Reruns aired on Boomerang from June 2 to July 29, 2018.

Season 1
Season 1 began on November 4, 2013 with "Gem Glow" and "Laser Light Canon" and the season finale aired on March 12, 2015 with "Jail Break". However the season did not officially end until April 16, 2015 due to CN airing episodes out of order.

Season 2
Season 2 began on March 13, 2015 with "Full Disclosure" and ended on January 8, 2016 with "Log Date 7 15 2".

Season 3
Season 3 began on May 12, 2016 with "Super Watermelon Island" and "Gem Drill" and ended on August 10, 2016 with "Bubbled".

Season 4
Season 4 began on August 11, 2016 with "Kindergarten Kid" and ended on May 11, 2017 with "Are You My Dad?" and "I Am My Mom".

Season 5
Season 5 began on May 29, 2017 with "Stuck Together", "The Trial", "Off Colors" and "Lars' Head" and ended on January 21, 2019 ,with "Change Your Mind", the series’ first and only 44-minute episode.

Movie
A film based on the series, Steven Universe: The Movie, was announced at San Diego Comic Con in July 2018. It premiered on Cartoon Network on September 2, 2019.

App Games
Several app games of Steven Universe have been released, including Attack the Light, Soundtrack Attack and Dreamland Arcade.

CN Battle Crashers
A crossover game featuring characters from Steven Universe, Regular Show, Adventure Time, Gumball, Clarence and Uncle Grandpa.

Save the Light
A sequel to the mobile game, Attack the Light.

Website Flash Games
Several including Spike Squad, Let's Bubble It, Steven! and Gem Bound.

Home Media
DVD volumes:
 * Gem Glow (January 13th, 2015)
 * The Return (June 7th, 2016)
 * The Heart of the Crystal Gems (August 14th, 2018)
 * Steven Universe: The Movie (November 12, 2019)

Season DVDS:

 * The Complete First Season (January 30th, 2018)
 * The Complete Second Season (May 28th, 2019)
 * The Complete Collection (November 3rd, 2020)

Appearances in other media
Steven and the Crystal Gems were all featured in the Uncle Grandpa episode, Pizza Eve.

Garnet was featured in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, Crossover Nexus. She later appeared in Thank You for Watching the Show, the show's finale.

Airing Schedule
Cartoon Network has a frustrating and somewhat erratic way of scheduling the series, it is frequently aired in week-long "StevenBomb" events and will typically go on hiatus soon after. One infamous example was when Cartoon Network aired the entirety of Season 3 in the month long "Summer of Steven" event, thankfully though, the series did have weekly episodes for a few weeks after it.

In 2017, Cartoon Network would continue to air yet another "StevenBomb" for the "Out of this World" event (which was leaked in its entirely almost a month prior to airing). The series would briefly return with a weekly schedule from February 10, 2017 to March 10, 2017, but this was followed up with yet again another "StevenBomb", this time for Aquamarine and Topaz arc.

On May 29, 2017, the hour-long Steven Universe: Wanted event (which consisted of 4 new episodes) would air as the opener for Season 5. It was immediately followed up with a near-half year long hiatus.

Steven Universe eventually returned for six new episodes on November 10, 2017... online. They eventually aired on television over a month later.

Art Inconsistency
Steven Universe is heavily criticized in the online community for its inconsistent art style, where characters are constantly growing and shrinking.

Leaked Episodes
Several Steven Universe episodes can be up online as soon as hours before it actually airs to even an entire month before airing. This can be very frustrating to the fans.

Censorship
Many Steven Universe episodes have been censored on foreign feeds of Cartoon Network. These edits mainly occur due to the television content guidelines differing from the United States, and often include removing scenes or lines that may be unsuitable for younger viewers. Cultural differences are also another common reason episodes might get censored.

Censorship has been reported in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Scandinavian countries, Latin America, Spain, Portugal, France, Africa, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Russia, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Australia, Taiwan, India and Pakistan broadcasts respectively.

Most censored versions in regions controlled by Turner EMEA and Turner Asia Pacific use master "foreign" edits, with broadcasts in some countries further shortening these already edited versions (e.g. RSEE and MENA for Turner EMEA and Philippines for Turner Asia Pacific).

In Kenya, this show has been banned due to its LGBT themes.

Trivia

 * Originally, Steven Universe's 2nd and 3rd seasons were to be 52 episodes long, but Cartoon Network would later split them in half, the original Season 2 became Seasons 2 and 3 and the original Season 3 became Seasons 4 and 5. The new seasons are now 26 episodes long.
 * While the last Season 1 episode to air was "Shirt Club", the actual season finale was supposed to be "The Return" and "Jailbreak".
 * The longest hiatus was from May 29, 2017 to November 10, 2017 inbetween the episodes "Lars' Head" and "Dewey Wins". The hiatus lasted 5 months and 12 days.