The Cartoon Network Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Steven Universe is created by Rebecca Sugar, former artist, composer and director for Adventure Time. The series aired on Cartoon Network on November 4, 2013. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios. This is the first Cartoon Network show with a non-binary creator. The 100th episode of the series, "Bismuth", aired on August 4, 2016.

The fifth season concluded on January 21, 2019.

Synopsis

Steven Universe follows Steven, a young half-human, 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.

Characters

  • Steven - Main protagonist, youngest member of the Crystal Gems. It took him a while to prefect 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 reveled to actually have been Pink Diamond in "A Single Pale Rose".
  • Garnet - One of the Main protagonists, The tall yet mysterious (speaking in a very low calm voice) 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 two gems named Ruby and Sapphire.
  • Amethyst - 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 a her Whip. She usually shape-shifts a lot.
  • Pearl - 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.
  • Lars Barriga - A grumpy teenager who would slack off at work, as of Season 5 he is now an undead Captain in space.
  • 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.
  • Connie Maheswaran - Steven's other best friend (besides Amethyst). She is trained by Pearl to became a sword fighter. As of "Rocknaldo", she is officially a member of the Crystal Gems.

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 ended on March 12, 2015 with "Jail Break".

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 44-minute episode.

Future

Another season has not been officially announced as of July 2019, but there is evidence to suggest the show will go on after the movie.

Movie

  • A film based on the series, Steven Universe: The Movie, was announced at San Diego Comic Con in July 2018. It is to be made available on Cartoon Network in Fall 2019.

Video Games

App Games

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

Console Games

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.

Criticism

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.

C36

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.
Advertisement