wow i just realized something after looking at this post
The animation in SU (which has declined significantly despite what some fans think) is EXTREMELY static and boring. Just look at how flat (literally) steven and amethyst are. there isn’t any balance or composition to the shot, it’s the most basic static pose that you’d find from any high schooler.
Just look at the difference between these shots:
Granted, it’s not the exact some angle and the first is a wide shot but thats the best I’ve got
Notice how Garnet and Amethyst are in a basic pose, but the shot still holds visual interest because of the difference in height and general colour contrast. In the other screenshot all the characters are the same height, and steven and amethyst’s poses literally look like they were copy pasted and edited slightly. The only colour contrast is Peridot, who honestly doesnt even look like she’s in the same shot as the other two.
This turned into a long ass post so more under the cut!
The recent seasons are also missing a lot of emotion, and I don’t mean storewise or general tones, but the characters themselves have become almost emotionless. Look at these screenshots pre-SE4:
Now compare it to some of the “emotional” scenes from S4
Which of the two conveys the most emotion? In SE4, it almost feels as if the crying is all the same. All the same doe-eyed, ghibli tears and there’s little to no movement outside of “one or both hands near face”. The show doesn’t take risks anymore with facial expression and body movement. The only time they actually go off model isn’t intentional like they did in the first few seasons. Scenes don’t hold weight anymore, and considering we haven’t had any real consequences for any character it makes sense that the audience wouldn’t feel any the emotions the scene is trying to convey. I still cry to this day at bubble buddies and on the run and so others, but not once in season 4 have I cried or felt any real emotional pull towards the show.
TLDR; The animation in SU hasn’t only gone down in quality, but fails to convey the emotions that captured so many audiences back in older seasons. The crewniverse is staying in a very safe bubble animation wise, and thus the recent seasons feel static and boring.
gayfeline 