It...doesn't show any kneecapping though. Having a dose of reality thrown in isn't a kneecapping, because ultimately, it's still Steven firmly showing that he is his own person and he loves being that person. That's *the point*.
The problem with SU discourse is that people think an escapist fantasy has to be their escapist fantasy, but it still has a few imperfect aspects of the world and that makes it compelling to me.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
I dont think is much that, after all people didnt have much issue with peridot redemption and kinda expect the same from Jasper even if didnt happen(if anything Jasper for me is more ballsy since you kinda expect her to join eventually except the show kinda settle into "she is what she and steven just....part ways with that).
But then again, Peridot was at best a cute minion and a sort team rocket kind of baddy, the one you kinda want change side easly. The diamond are in a way the source of Steven problems given how much his life is set to deal with this and now how utterly petty they and yet it steven who have to go so far in order to lay a hand and yet future show how much that affect it, which I will said is kinda more than a dose of reallity. It just leave for many a sorta sore taste.
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"People very much did have an issue with Lapis forgiving Peridot, at least. But also Peridot was hashtag relatable for many people so they were easier on her redemption.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Huh, it's been so long since Peridot was originally redeemed so I've forgotten what the original reception to her redemption was like. I remember that a lot of fans wanted Jasper to have her own redemption arc but that never happened (and no, submitting to Steven in Steven Universe: Future after being shattered and reconstructed does not count as Jasper redeeming herself.)
"Punishment is not the answer. Punishment is easy. It's lazy. Redemption is hard. Redemption makes you work."-Skulduggery PleasantI think another big issue with Lapis forgiving Peridot is that it happened completely offscreen, and the last time we saw her, she wasn't even close to doing that.
Stuff like that is why the show refusing to use anyone's POV but Steven's (and before you bring up "The New Crystal Gems", those events was explicitly being retold to him by Connie) is the single biggest sticking point I have with it. It just causes us to miss out on so much important context.
Edited by badtothebaritone on Aug 27th 2023 at 11:03:25 AM
We see where Lapis starts to forgive Peridot enough to live with her. And we see the things the two collaborate on and the ways Peridot is conscientious of Lapis’ feelings
It could have been nice to see more of it explicitly but given how much was going on, how much time could be spent on it? To put all the development up front and center could have forced an unsatisfying “big moments” reconciliation arc, while what happened off camera seemed more like a long process involving a lot of low key interaction
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Let's be honest, Jasper would've absolutely shown up just to fight Spinel, simply because she doesn't care about the Earth itself and also as a way to stick it to Steven and the Crystal Gems.
The thing about Jasper is that she only respects strength, and she’ll willingly submit to those who dominate her and utterly smash her to the floor in battle.
So the most likely outcome of Jasper meeting Spinel during the movie would be Spinel wins their duel and J is now in the service of a Looney Tune who also wants to kill Steven.
The funny thing is that Steven actually does turn out to have the power to straight up shatter the other Diamonds. It's just that doing so requires him to be in a really bad place mentally. Needless to say, this just reinforced the notion that he was a monster which culminated in him becoming the Final Boss of his own show.
This was foreshadowed in the original series too with "Pink Steven". The raw unfettered power of his gem is enough to easily repel White Diamond in its desperation to return to Steven.
Edit:
Now that I think about it, how many other Kid Hero shows end with said Kid Hero becoming the Final Boss? The only other one I can think of off the top of my head is OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.
Edited by M84 on Aug 27th 2023 at 11:05:43 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedKind of. Though that one stands out since the Kid Hero already died right before being turned into a demon.
Even the one I mentioned in the spoilers has the qualifier of the Final Boss being the kid hero's already established Superpowered Evil Side that was something of a Recurring Boss throughout the series. And in both this case and Demon Slayer it was due to the machinations of the Big Bad of each series.
Steven Universe otoh is one where the Kid Hero becomes the Final Boss through nothing else but his own personal issues.
Edited by M84 on Aug 27th 2023 at 11:40:50 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedWe do have a trope for that: Main Character Final Boss.
Even the threshold for her was very much lower than others like Jasper, since Period was just bad enought for being a seasonal baddie of sort but quirk and likable enought to cross without much issue, I remenber even a meme about how serious she look until she got redeem and then she become mostly a sort of NEET gem of sorts and pretty much the comedy relief.
Diamond redemption like very other depend VERY much in how engageable they are and for most part they never move out beyond being mercurial, petty, merciless and prone to feel bad about a sister they never fully understood.
Or too put it simple, beyond the stakes at play, it never really engage in a meanifull reason for Steve to go so long for then.
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"Peridot worked in large part because she stopped being a threat on her own once she lost her limb enhancers. It also helps that she reforms mostly on her own. It starts with her telling off Yellow Diamond herself after Yellow outright refuses Peridot's suggestions to spare Earth. Even before she turns for real, Peridot had already grown attached to the planet.
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Yeah, but I was referring specifically to those with a Kid Hero main character. I'm also not too surprised that most of the Kid Hero ones on that page are in the Anime folder. The Western Animation folder otoh only has Steven Universe, the spoilered one I mentioned, and one that the entry admits is a downplayed example that doesn't quite fit.
I do think Steven Universe stands out among them since it's one of the few where the Kid Hero becomes the Final Boss not through any outside interference but entirely because of their own inner demons.
Edited by M84 on Aug 28th 2023 at 2:24:32 AM
Disgusted, but not surprisedQuestion about these examples from CharacterPerceptionEvolution.Western Animation, which require their appearances prior to the change being re-evaluated and 5 years since their original perception.
- When the late Rose Quartz was first introduced, the fanbase fell in love with her. This was thanks in part to her chemistry with Greg, her formation of the Crystal Gems to save earth, and her encouraging Pearl and Garnet to be themselves, the former of whom she had a romantic subplot with. However, as the show went on, many both in-universe and out of universe learned about her character flaws. In particular, her views on humans were shown to be much more condescending than originally thought, she was implied to have left Pearl for Greg without considering her feelings, and she poofed Bismuth and left her trapped for eons in a bubble without telling anyone, a situation that was morally grey at best. But what really changed many people's opinion on her was the revelation that she was Pink Diamond the whole time, Pearl was her slave, and her faking her shattering lead to the corruption of all Gems on Earth and the creation of the Cluster in an attempt to destroy the planet outright. This caused many to turn on her, viewing her as a selfish individual who's irresponsibility, poor decisions and numerous mistakes overshadow any good she might have done, a view that was reinforced by the Movie and Future tying her actions into the backstories of both Spinel and Volleyball respectively. On the other hand, many defenders remained, pointing out her more positive traits, such as her genuine love of Steven despite never getting to meet him, being genuinely horrified that her colonization of Earth would result in its death, and hints that she genuinely regretted at least some of her actions. As a result, she became one of the most polarizing characters in the entire series; though even her die hard fans view her as a severely flawed individual. As written misuse as disliking the direction they went as opposed to changing the popularity of prior portrayals. Is it the case their perception prior to this changed? I can see this as the case but double checking.
- Kevin was regarded as one of the biggest Hate Sinks of the series due to his creepy behavior towards Stevonnie and his unwillingness to take no for an answer. In recent years, his reception hasn't improved per se, but it has undergone a lot more analysis and scrutiny. Many fans feel the narrative of the show was more sympathetic towards the Diamonds, who colonized an untold number of planets and nearly destroyed Earth itself, and notice Steve showed more contempt towards him than the Diamonds. Others have also pointed out that he actually seemed genuinely shocked and horrified when learning that Stevonnie was really two kids, and felt that him actively pursuing them was a complete 180 in terms of his character. While he is not necessarily liked, it's nearly impossible to bring him up without a slew of fans enraged at how he was treated as worse than the Diamonds for a far milder fault in scope. As a result, many fans have since deemed him a character they wanted to see be Rescued from the Scrappy Heap rather than writing him off as a mere Hate Sink. Want to double check this change in opinion is widespread enough to count.
- On a similar note, the Diamonds were universally beloved villains when they were first introduced, being seen as beautiful yet terrifying embodiments of persecution and privilege with plans to completely exterminate all life on earth to fuel their imperialist agenda. Their respective introductionsnote By the end of the story, however, they had become violently polarizing due to the amount of sympathy the narrative shows to them and how easily they were ultimately stopped. Some fans still like them, some are disappointed by how little they actually do in the story, and some are disgusted by the writers downplaying if not outright retconning their crimes. As written misuse as disliking the direction they went as opposed to changing the popularity of prior portrayals. Is it the case their perception prior to this changed?

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: That is part of the fantasy, in the sense that you can bear with them without having to really like or spend much time with them. They're now on a level you can control and deal with, instead of this insurmountable obstacle.