Cartoon-Review: Star vs. the Forces of Evil Season 1 - 3: Overambitious Sugarbomb

I think Earth is a pretty fucked-up place
And that says something 'cause I've been through out of 

schpace
I think it sucks mate, but it's just mah sta-hyle
I think I'm gonna gay a little while

I think that rapists are just friends you haven't met
I'm doing monsters and I never break a sweat
I'm really thinking I could call this place pure hell! 

That’s right, Star vs. the Forces of Evil. The Disney series that ran from 2015 to 2019, which in my perception combines all the recognition patterns of a 'classic cartoon' in it - when I hear the word cartoon, I think of something like Star vs the Forces of Evil. Many western animation series have freed themselves of this by now: Avatar has been established as a western anime almost since its creation, the french Wakfu has done just that even more, Miraculous Ladybug is a self-confident luxury trash, My little pony is an adult phenomenon , RWBY a series aimed more at an older audience... but Star vs. the Forces of Evil? This one is core cartoon. Main target group children and adolescents. A very typical cartoon series, which you might discover while skipping through TV. 

Now that that is said, one should of course not forget that Star was designed and works as a mass-compatible feel-good cartoon, but it goes well beyond that and is not a pure 'children's cartoon' like one would say about clearly defined series like PAWPatrol, Phineas and Ferb, Teen Titans GO or Ninjago for example - the quality of all these shows is also much lower. No, Star vs. the Forces of Evil may appear undemanding, colorful and childish at first glance, but in the course of its seasons it does have the potential to entertain older and adult viewers and captivate them with its surprisingly well-designed world and lore. Facts that I would never have known if my enthusiastic friend hadn't brought me to this show. It is all the more sad that the show only partially exploits this potential, in my opinion. Now that I have finished three of four seasons it is time to draw an interim conclusion. I have to and will explicitly say that this review is not always written in the subjunctive, but is still completely subjective - I know that the friend mentioned thinks different about many points mentioned here, as certainly do many other fans. Keep that in mind. Largely spoiler-free. 

Entertainment Only

I already knew in season 1 that this show will probably never be more than short-lived entertainment for me - and I should be right. Star is a hyperactive, adrenaline-infused, brightly colored, lively and much, much too fast candy box, in which something explodes every two seconds, all people speak 20% faster than they have to and gags are fired constantly. Humor is the main focus here during the first season. This is meant less judging than it sounds: A pure entertainment show to relax and enjoy is a nice change and probably exactly what the target group needs. But, of course, there are other reasons that I think Star has missed the big spotlight than the extremely high speed and the sugar layer above everything that you really have to get used to.

In order to understand what I mean by 'entertainment only’, I have to list counterexamples: I think most likely comparable to star would be Steven Universe, because there are obviously a lot of parallels between the two shows, but Steven Universe is the superior cartoon in every respect. In the four seasons of Steven Universe, I warmed up and grew together with characters that I initially thought were silly. I was interested in their feelings, fates and problems. Season 1 already featured dramatic highlights, exciting moments, incredibly funny gags and great story developments. In the course of the completed show, it is primarily the characters and the world of this cartoon that captivate me. Avatar, Wakfu, RWBY or the Tangled series are similar cases. Unfortunately, I can't say any of this about Star: The show simply lacks all of that, at least that's my perception. In season 1, Star suffers from the same problem that is Steven Universe's biggest weakness: earthling episodes. Episodes which do not deal with the fantasy aspects or the overall plot of both shows, but with human secondary characters of the neighborhood. Indeed, those episodes serve to develop the main characters further and make the world more lively, but honestly: Nobody cares. When I see a show for its fantasy aspects, follow the main characters and am interested in the story, I'm not very open to watch three episodes of Star chasing her alibi crush at school, helping other students with their beauty problems, or lead the monstrous class teacher / discount Miss Finster to her true love. Such banalities simply don't interest anyone and are not even very entertaining, neither in Steven Universe nor here. But while I simply skipped the earthling episodes there, I saw every one of them here and mostly regretted it accordingly.

In later seasons the show goes - this is a positive point and therefore a big compliment - away from this setting, changes the main location and from then on becomes more 'Magical Fantasy' - a pleasant development, but nothing that can make you forget about the shallowness of the story. In the entire character cast of Star vs. the Forces of Evil was nobody in three seasons I found particularly likeable, with whom I could sympathize or who I even loved. In Steven Universe, every second character met those standards. Protagonist Star, who appears in the first episodes as a hardly tolerable bunch of energy which probably begins every day with a nice cocaine-sugar milkshake, later becomes calmer, slightly more mature and less annoying. It's a subtle but cool development. Her sidekick Marco on the other hand, does not go through any noticeable development or change in his character, at least not one that would change him sustainably or would be reflected in his actions. What struck me very, very angrily is a certain development between the two main characters, because for me this represents the most expectable, boring and forced twist in a cartoon with a boy and a girl in the main roles. There were really, really much better alternatives before too, which were developed. Every time the show focuses on this chemistry between Star and Marco, some vegan donuts begin to turn my stomach. Ugh.The rest of the cast is hardly worth mentioning in terms of development. The first, great antagonist Ludo, a little monster bird man who bears Donald Duck's clumsiness, changes quite a few times over the course of the series and becomes different extremes - too bad that this character, from his first to last appearance, was so irrelevant to me that I hardly cared. He didn't really annoy me, no - I just didn't care. As soon as the setting is closer to fantasy, there are actually secondary characters that you like to see every time. I’ll mention names like Hekapoo, Eclipsa or ... I thought about it and did some research, but I can't think of a third name. Darn. Some characters, on the other hand, are from beginning to end unbearable nukenags who put the viewer's retina through a tough tension test with every appearance. Lookin’ at you, Pony head, Glossaryck. But that's also something that is completely subjective - I can only say that the character cast of Star vs. the Forces of Evil appears to be largely uninspired, stereotypical and shallow. Already seen all of that. It's just nonsense.

There are a few positive exceptions that I can write a little more about, but that will be further down in the Pro section.

There is a loose fantasy plot like Steven Universe developing later on, but it never really got to me: The friend who watched Star with me got gray hair more than once when he realized that I now and then completely forgot the events of the very last episode when we saw the next one. Events from the first two seasons had also completely disappeared from my mind when we started the third. In his opinion important plot points, character developments and entanglements just went in and out of me. I kept forgetting what had happened lately. Perhaps that is the reason that the increasing dramatic conflicts, fights and struggles with the ongoing number of episodes could never captivate me - At no time did I feel a sense of tension when the show wanted it from me. That is also fundamentally different in Steven Universe. The actions there go deeper from season to season, are greatly foreshadowed seasons before in some aspects, the series looks and feels very different in S3 than in S1, all of which I recognize: Nevertheless, I still shrug at the action of Star vs. the Forces of Evil and come to the conclusion that one does not follow this show for its consistency - but for the solid entertainment value, which rises continuously with each season and is already sufficient in season 1 when you can get used to the high speed, or maybe even appreciate it.

Is this my fault?

Is it my fault that I constantly forget everything, cannot empathize with any of the characters, and dont give a dusty crap about the tragic fates of different people? Who knows. What is certain is that all of those reactions are not conscious decisions, but reactions to what Star vs. the Forces of Evil triggered in me - or not. If a show does not captivate its viewer, does not get to him, cannot awaken any passion for its individual aspects or even confuses him - then this is actually never really the fault of the viewer, but always that of the show. A student is not responsible for an incompetent teacher as long as he is willing to learn. We're going a bit far here, but I think it's clear where I see Star's direction and how the cartoon feels: entertaining. If you don't need much more, congratulations, this show could be something for you!

Hold on a minute !!

Phew, that all sounds kind of depressing and negative. Nevertheless, I've seen three seasons of Star and think of the show as anything but bad. How come? Star vs. the Forces of Evil may only be entertaining, but it can do that well.

While the storyline and characters take some getting used to at the beginning, you adapt to the pace as the series progresses and, above all, the humor tends to get better. There are already some wonderfully funny punchlines in the first season and in many moments you can analyze how a not entirely successful joke could have been even better. The humor isn't a gut-breaker even now, but if it's one thing it's charming. I personally fell completely in love with the Laser puppies. Damn how I love the Laser Puppies. A simple, silly gag, which appears again and again in the episodes and is parried with a forbidden-good mixture of cuteness. There was also this little masterpiece for the ears in S1.

10/10, in every way. 

COME ON, SING IT WITH ME!!

SPAAACE UNICOOORN

SOARING THROUGH THE STARSSSS

DELIVERING THE RAAAINBOWWWWS

ALL AROUND THE WOOOOOOOOOORLD ~

SO PURE OF HEAAAAART

AND STRONG OF MINDDD

SO TRUE OF AIMM 

AND NOW EVERYBODY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WITH HIS MARSHMALLOW LASER

MARSH

MALLOW

LA

SOOOOOOOOOOOOR

Um exactly. These were two things that I picked: Another viewer may find ten others. Don't worry on this front: Star is funny, charming and rarely, really only very, very rarely boring.

There were also two prominent characters that really have to be emphasized positively: Firstly, that would be the antagonist and lizard human toffee, who is not quite as cute as his name suggests.

The Lex Luther of the cartoon world consistently wears a suit, shows himself to be controlled, calm and cynical and thus represents a complete counter-contrast to everyone and everything else in the show without exception. It was pleasant, made him appear competent and indeed threatening - a character that one can take seriously. So it was almost regrettable that he ended up having a rather rushed and ugly ending, in my opinion, the most disturbing and brutal moment in the series so far, which is so graphical that I wonder how in the world they got that through uncut. Definitely a memorable scene. 

The second person is Eclipsa, the Queen of Darkness. Yes man, she's definitely one of the good ones, isn't she ?!

Look at those adorable eyes. Can those eyes lie?! I will not spoil this here. Eclipsa is introduced in the show at some point as an ancestor of Star and former princess of her kingdom, who has left many dark traces in history and became known as an exiled prisoner. In this respect, the impression that the series wants to give us at the beginning is that she is evil, that one should not trust her. In the following, however, each individual appearance of her strikes exactly the opposite note: to characterize her as a really likeable, sometimes dreamy and wrongly despised lady of the world. These efforts appear so convulsive and transparent that as an old pop culture veteran and knower of classic narrative structures like me, you can't help but think:

BULL!

SHIT!

For endless weeks, I had maltreated my long-suffering friend at every opportunity with countless variations of the sentence 'Eclipsa is evil, I call it!' and baffled in comatose acceptance, which of course in turn was not allowed to show any visible reaction in order not to spoil me. The good. I was passionate and no doubt convinced of it. The final of the third season supposedly resolved whether I was right. And be that as it is: I enjoyed every performance of Eclipsa. She is strange, morbid, strange and has her heart on her tongue. And still ... ECLIPSA IS EVIL !!!

The season finale of the third season, to comment on that again, was certainly the strongest so far, it emphasized the fantasy aspects of the show, had great animations and moments and really brought a lot of light on the twist and character development side. So it is quite the case that I am looking forward to the final season, on a very, very manageable level.

Technical aspects: animations, design, music

I would also like to briefly go into the specs of the cartoon, because the look alone is undoubtedly an extreme, whether good or bad. Frankly, I'm not even going to try to describe Star's drawing style as good or bad, since this, more than any other aspect, is a matter of personal taste. What I do say, however, is that it was extremely frightening at the beginning and not really my beer - typical cartoon style. When I think of 'cartoon', I think of such a look. Not of the sheer visual power of an avatar or the anime aesthetics of a wakfu, but of ... that. This simple, colorful comic. As I said, my taste, but in fact you get used to almost everything, and so the drawing style didn't bother me so much after a while. The assessment is free of taste that the animations in season 1 are mostly wooden and makeshift, but they continue to increase over the course of the show and move to a really excellent level for this cartoon section in S3. So the whole look really gets better.

The music is hardly worth mentioning - there are no special moments or prominent pieces to be remembered, apart from the Space Unicorn mentioned. On the other hand, there was no unsuitable music or one that would have disturbed the scene: Star is just accompanied by an appropriate cartoon music that is there. OK.

The Opening seems just as over the top and meaningless as the series, but if you don't take it seriously and dance a little self-ironically, you have a lot of fun with it, more in each episode. Already a groovy song, yes. And definitely catchy tune over three seasons. The First ending, as you could easily see at the beginning of this article, is definitely my favorite because its banality and positivity make it so poppy and almost self-ironic. It was a shame that after S1 it changed to a for my taste generic Fantasy ending, which does not trigger anything in me.

The synchronization is particularly positive with Star and Eclipsa, the more absurd, emotional and funny moments are often appropriately and valuablely transported by Star's voice actress, and most of all you can tell what a beautiful voice she actually has when she's not shouting around for once.

In german, the show is once again unacceptable. Don't do this to yourself. The english is easy enough to understand, even as Kevin from Chemnitz. 

Conclusion

After three seasons, Star vs the forces of evil would be rated by me as ‘Okay’ - as an entertaining little cartoon for in between. If I were forced to put this show in relation to giants of the medium such as Avatar, MLP or RWBY, I would give up, shaking my head - such a comparison is not worthwhile for me, there are simply qualitative worlds between those. As a slimmed-down little sister of Steven Universe, however, I can let Star pass. If you don't expect too much from characters, epic action or depth apart from short-lived gags and feelgood moments, you have surely found a colorful surprise bag of innocent fun here. And if you still want the depth and complexity, you can find it, no question: through my enthusiastic friend alone, I know and have noticed how certain story events are foreshadowed, how complexly intertwined some characters are and how much thoughtfulness lies beneath the pink sugar blanket. Only in the actual show, I didn't notice too much of it that would interest me. But everyone can pick what he likes here.

But do you have to watch Star vs. the Forces of Evil as a cartoon fan? No... I don't think so. The above-mentioned reference titles of the past few years are all more important, give you more, and come up with more diverse features. But if you're not into anime, you've already had Steven Universe and are looking for something similar, you can get something here that doesn't hurt anyone. You can watch it. Why not. And how season 4 will be, the following weeks will show me. 

6/10 dimensional scissors for Star vs. the Forces of Evil S1-3

- Yoraiko