Steven Universe Is Beautiful, and Here Are 40 Reasons Why

I watched the first episode of the new Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, which premieres tonight at 8, and I’m happy to report that I loved it. Steven Universe could become a big deal for Cartoon Network. I hope it does, at least. It looks beautiful. It reminded me of Ponyo in the way it smooshes goofy and serious together onto a colorful landscape, and the character design suggests a world that Osamu Tezuka might have dreamed up — lanky Pearl in particular.

In case you need convincing about how great Steven Universe looks, here are 40 stills from the pilot that show off the majesty and hint at what it may be capable of.

Also? Happy to report that I approve of Estelle as a voice actress. Singers do not always make for good voice actors, but Estelle does as Garnet. Also also?I have investigated and discovered that “American Boy” holds up pretty well. Your day will perhaps be better if you give the original take on it a spin right now.