#generous with his hairline here compared to what its like in the episode

[slavhew]

i have no witty caption i love ths show

[biscaani]

Pink Diamond; Animation Errors or Costume Switch ?

Okay so, coming from Volleyball from Steven Universe Future, there’s a line from Mega Pearl that maybe (If I’m not reading too much into this haha) was more literal than let on. 

On the beach, Mega Pearl states that (and I’m paraphrasing) “one Pearl knew [Pink] was trying to change, but didn’t know why, and the other knew a Pink that [she thought?] could never change.” Pearl didn’t recognize the Pink Diamond from Pink Pearls stories at all. 

Looking at the animation evolution Pink Diamond has gone through since her first appearance in Jungle Moon, it’s obvious she looks very different. At first, I personally chalked it up to animation inconsistencies; after all, Steven Universe as a show has had its fair share of color shade mishaps, size mishaps, shape mishaps, etc. But with the line from Mega Pearl, and the very specific differences seen in Pink through seasons 4 and 5, (+ the movie & Future) I’m thinking it could be a little more than just different animators getting used to a new character. 

Here is Pink in her debut; Jungle Moon: 

Very different from the Pink we see later, right? For starters, her hair is much less voluminous and flatter, and physically, she generally looks more like a child. Her face is a little shorter and rounder, her lips less full, and her nose less pointy. She looks like a little girl in a tutu about to go on stage for the sugar plum fairy dance; that is, if a little girl wanted to live up to her dictator moms’ genocidal expectations, anyway. 

Now to compare, here Pink is in her next chronological appearance (in regards to the timeline of the show, as opposed to episode airing.) 

The Garden. Chronologically, we next see Pink in the garden with Spinel. She very obviously looks different. Her hair is it’s signature poof and her nose is more pointy, but she still has a more rounded, softer face. Well, whats the difference event wise between these two photos? Well I think, in Jungle Moon, Pink has yet to hurt Pink Peal. 

We can guess at this because of how Pink reacts to Yellow and Blue when Spinel tries to act silly on a call. She gets agitated; worried. She tries to excuse Spinel’s actions and remain ‘serious,’ whereas in Steven’s dream in Pinks’ old room, when Yellow came to make sure no funny business was happening, Pink and Pink Pearl simply composed themselves and laughed once she’d left. Pink is significantly more down, more jaded in the movie. 

Finally, the last of Pink we see in the show (so far). 

Now We’re Only Falling Apart. (If we ignore good ole counterfeit over there. is rose technically art theft?) 

The differences between the first two and these are very obvious; Pink’s hair is poofier, more defined into it’s shape; she has a longer neck (neck steeb callout), her shoulders are wider, and clearly her face is more defined. It’s longer, and almost sharp. She has blatant cheekbones; her face has lost it’s roundness. She looks like an adult. 

Now, taking all of this in, this isn’t new; we’ve actually seen this within the show before. Just look at Pearl. This is her before Rose’s death. 

And this is her after: 

Her hair and hairline is shorter, which, as an embodiment of light, makes sense that it’s really the only indicator as to a shift in her personality/mental state. There’s not much else on Pearl to change, really.  

And Amethyst- 

Before:

After:

Big difference. Either way, this brings me to my point. Like that one tumblr post that is sadly lost in the void stated, I think gems age with their mental states. And finally, I think that after the loss of Pink Pearl, and the gaining of her colony, Pink Diamond didn’t just try to change; I think that she really did become a whole new person. 

She aged. She grew out of the rageful, beaten and broken down fury she’d been raised to be, and became someone who grew from it. Her mental state became something different; she recognized a lot of her flaws (the anger, the spoiltness, the insignificance she felt at being swept aside that manifested as rage) and actively worked to change them. Again, as said by Pink Pearl, Pink Diamond used to have enormous powers; powers that would get out of hand in tantrums. Our Pearl didn’t know about these powers at all, and with the new parallels between Steven and his mom in Future, it’s an easy assumption to make that she bottled everything up, just like him. Everything, including her powers. Our Pearl only knew Pink Diamond as a healer; Pink Pearl knew Pink Diamond as destruction.  

Furthermore, as we get farther and farther into the series, Steven and Pink become more of a parallel story line to each other; however, instead of being side by side, they’re reversed. As Steven continues to grow forwards, we watched Pink Diamond grow in reverse. She slowly topples from a perfect leader, into an abused, entitled child. This is important, because as a finale, Steven reunites with his gem half and becomes aware he’s a fusion; which, essentially, unblocks the barrier between him and his powers. It’s the reverse to Pink, who as she came to realize the damage her powers could bring, locked them away. 

To surmise, I think that whatever animation inconstancy Pink Diamond’s had in the show has only been partly inconsistency; the rest I believe is wholly intentional. I think, that as Pink saw more, did more, experienced more, and caused more, she began to grow, and that change became an outward extension of herself. As showcased by the show and future, Pink didn’t quite grow out of everything, but in the end, I think she did change. 

And as said before, that’s the most powerful thing of all. The power to change.