Species Gem | First appearance "Gem Glow" (2013) | |
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Gender N/A (female pronouns used) Similar | ||
Garnet is a fictional character from the animated series Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar. She is a "Gem," a fictional alien being that exists as a magical gemstone projecting a holographic body. Garnet is a "fusion" formed by two Gems, Ruby and Sapphire; the two gemstones choose to live as one shared holographic body.
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Garnet is voiced by Estelle, a performance that has seen a positive reception. Furthermore, Garnet is frequently praised for a being a depiction of a positive queer relationship.
Character
Leader of the Crystal Gems, the group of Gems that protect humanity and the Earth from danger, in light of the absence of protagonist Steven's mother Rose Quartz, Garnet is initially presented as stoic and unfeeling but pragmatic and capable. The show's writers have described Garnet as characterized by great self-confidence; they represent this in their writing of the character through the fact that she never asks questions. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club described Garnet as "initially the most reticent, distant, and simply alien" of the Crystal Gems. Garnet took on the role of this group's de facto leader, appearing relatively distant as she rarely speaks out. As the story of Steven Universe progresses, however, she becomes more relatable. Writing for Minnesota Daily, Cecilia Mazumdar Stanger pointed out that Garnet is far from a perfect leader and can make mistakes.
Garnet is capable of using a skill known as "future vision", which allows her to predict future events accurately. Eric Thurm noted that scenes in which Garnet uses her future vision are among the show's best visual accomplishments.
Ruby and Sapphire
The first time viewers see Garnet's "fusion" become undone is in the episode "The Return", the succeeding episode "Jail Break" marking the first appearance of the two Gems that make up Garnet: Ruby and Sapphire. Her design also changed in that episode. According to Sugar, Garnet was intended to be a fusion since the pilot episode, though the characters of Ruby and Sapphire came into focus while Sugar was writing for Garnet. Sugar described the process as "reverse engineering" the two personalities based on what the production team brought to the show. Garnet being a fusion of two Gems was a popular fan theory before it was revealed to be true in "Jail Break", as the writers included minor hints in various episodes. Neither character was given real depth in "Jail Break", but their presence explain how Garnet's two parts blend into one character. Ruby is characterized as feisty and aggressive, while Sapphire is stoic and contemplative, resulting in a complex dynamic when Garnet is fused together. Garnet's stable relationship while fused is used as a metaphor in the series, as Ruby and Sapphire together are stronger than any one Gem on their own.
A later episode, titled "The Answer", features a flashback of how Ruby and Sapphire met and later joined the Crystal Gems. At the end of the episode, when Steven asks what "the answer" is, Garnet says "love". Garnet is described as being made of "literal love, the romantic love of two queer individuals," as all Gems, including Ruby and Sapphire, present in a feminine manner despite having no gender. Writing for The Lawrentian, Bridget Keenan described Garnet as "first canon lesbian couple on Cartoon Network". However, Keenan also noted that the relationship would realistically be "unhealthy, unstable and controlling," as Ruby and Sapphire seem completely controlled by the relationship.
Reception
Garnet is voiced by Estelle in the original dub of Steven Universe. Estelle's vocal performance is commonly praised by critics: Vrai Kaiser of The Mary Sue commended Estelle's voice work in "Jail Break" by stating that "the amount of love, layers, and history she packs into so few words goes right to the heart no matter how many times you watch it." Garnet's narration in "The Answer" was praised by Eric Thurn because Estelle got the opportunity to do voice work that was more fun and "soft". AJ Adejare of The Fandom Post criticized the voice director of Steven Universe for under-utilizing Estelle's talents, as Garnet is mostly silent in the show. Garnet is Estelle's first voice-over role, and the character was designed by Rebecca Sugar while she was listening to Estelle's music.
Garnet has commonly been praised as a depiction of a romantic lesbian relationship in children's television. Since 2010, animated television series such as Adventure Time and The Legend of Korra have shown a larger amount of LGBT representation. Steven Universe makes frequent use of LGBT-related themes: Pearl has strong romantic feelings to Rose Quartz, and Stevonnie is a genderqueer character.
Censorship
Some of the romantic interactions between Ruby and Sapphire have been censored during localization to other countries. In the Swedish translation of Steven Universe episode "Hit the Diamond", flirting between the two Gem characters was replaced with more neutral dialogue, causing Swedish fans of the series to demand that Cartoon Network Sweden not censor Ruby and Sapphire's relationship again.