Disclaimer: This article will deal largely with Steven Universe as a subject of controversy, so if you haven't seen the show most of this will be meaningless to you.
I'll be the first one to sing praises of Steven Universe, but I'll also be the one to step back and look at it critically, as it uses diversity as a selling point to the masses. The problem with this claim and idea is that diversity shouldn't be marketed as a selling point; Steven Universe has somewhat become the metaphorical angler fish in that it lures it's audience in with the hopes of decent representation- then once it has us it crams the same sameness down our throat; the white-loving, story-crushing sameness, and it all has to do with a character called Pearl.
Pearl is one of the trio of gems that protects Steven, the other two being Garnet and Amethyst. Since they're sentient rock-aliens with supernatural powers, they have no sex, age or race. However, what the show and it's creators have told us is that they're all supposed to be females, with certian gems that are supposed to be certian races. Garnet (voiced by Estelle) is clearly black/African-American, Amethyst is purple but is often seen as Latina due to her voice actor being Michaela Dietz.
Pearl is the last and is the most difficult to categroize due to her having a Filipina-American voice actor (Deedee Magno-Hall), but having the fanbase and the show itself coding her as White. This is a problem, as Pearl herself (and I did the math on this) is featured in 83 episodes out of a 110 episode lineup, with Garnet featured in 82, and Amethyst in a lowly 80. Excluding flashbacks, mentions and non-speaking parts, and episodes that don't feature the gems at all, this is clearly showing favoritisim to a white-coded charachter. Not only is this detrimental to representaion in the show, it's also crippling it's narrative. When one story overcrowds and is focused on more than any others that an audience is presented, the story becomes uninteresting, and the attention is lost over time.
Pearl's actions in the story and the way she acts is also unacceptable. When she deeply hurts Garnet to the point where she un-fuses, her and Pearl are forced into a life-or-death situation where Garnet must accept Pearl's half-assed apology, as she somehow couldn't make up for her implausible actions earlier in the narrative. Pearl also nearly kills Steven (the child of her dead lover) not once but twice, and the show had the audacity to make a joke out of it. in a later episode. She's an irresponsible mess who's somehow excused every time and is cast in a positive light by the show and the fanbase.
The last and final reason why I hate Pearl is that she embodies the "Anorexic Ballerina" trope- the idea that Ballerinas must be anorexic or close to it to be an acceptable performer. She's got the look; the pointe shoes and dress in her design, the way she moves and fights, her color, everything screams "dancer". Here's the thing; She's seriously adverse to human food, to the point where she unfuses with Garnet and Amethyst to tell Steven about how much she hates it.
The list goes on, but sadly I'm too tired to keep ranting about how much I hate her and why she's an overrated character. You, as an individual, can enjoy her and the story of Steven Universe, but ask yourself: who's getting the most attention? The most development out of a trio that's supposed to be balanced in the story? Be mindful of the media you consume.
