Adaption from Grachi to Every Witch Way

Every Witch Way is based on Grachi, a magical telenovela for Nick Latino. The same creators did Every Witch Way. Here I compare the two series. Grachi had 3 seasons and EWW had 4. But Grachi had more castmembers and more witches. Grachi and EWW both had the bad boy warlocks, kanays, evil principal, and rival witch but not the female kanay, time contimium break and zombie boyfriend of EWW. Grachi also had other differences that were not in EWW like more Panthers, more Gossips and more Sharks. Also there are more guys who rival for Grachi's love like Leo and Tony.

Graciela "Grachi"/Emma

Both mothers were dead and witches, both had a father who became a principal. Except Grachi's Dad married her rival Matilda's mom, in EWW Emma's dad just kissed Maddie's mom. I am not sure if she was a 'chosen one' like Emma. I am not sure about the evil clone either. Both fathers were named Francisco. 

Daniel

Same name, similar, the heartthrob swimming athlete leader of the Sharks. Both had 3 siblings (2 guys, 1 girl in both versions). Grachi and Daniel were on and off. Daniel was with Matilda/Maddie in season 1 both versions. In Grachi, Daniel has a handsome cousin named Chema, he doesn't exist in EWW.

Matilda/Maddie

Both are the rival witches of the protagonist. Both dated Daniel and then dated Diego. Both had powerless witch mothers named Ursula. But Ursula married Francisco in Grachi, in EWW they ust kissed. Both mothers named Ursula. 

Mercedes "Mecha"/Andi

Both best friends of the protagonist. Both wanted to be guardians. In Grachi, we met Mecha's mom and they lived with Ursula and Matilda but not the case in EWW. Mecha dated Daniel's cousin Chema, but Andi dated the zombie Phillip, which that wasn't in the original.

Diego

Both Kanays and both named Diego. Diego dates Matilda in season 2 of Grachi and then Amaya in season 3. Diego dates Maddie through seasons 2-4 of EWW. Rafael De La Fuente who played Diego in Grachi and later played the principal's frog son in EWW.

Rosa/Gigi

Diego's gossip sister Rosa had more friends called the Pink Gossip, she wasn't solo like Gigi in EWW who was just on her own and named Miss Information. In Grachi, Diego and Rosa have a coach sister too.

Axel/Jax

Axel appears in Season 2 and 3, Jax in seasons 2-4 of EWW. Both are bad boy warlocks. Axel is the villain in Season 3 of Grachi and has a sister named Amaya who becomes Diego's girlfriend in season 3. In EWW, Jax's sister is ten and named Jessie. Jax had no best friend but Axel had one named Manu.

Mia

Evil witch Mia appears in season 2 and 3 of Grachi. Her last name in Grachi is Novoa, the last name is used for Jax in EWW. Mia is a kanay who wants to take down the Chosen One in Season 3 of EWW. She has a reduced role in Season 4 of EWW. In EWW, Mia was an only child while Mia in Grachi had a brother.

Cussy/Lily

Cussy is the principal's assistant and Grachi's magic tutor in Grachi. She dates Julio, the principal's son and Sharks coach. In EWW, Nurse Lily never dates anyone but she is Emma's guardian and later a Witches' council member. 

Every Witch Way Season 4 Finale

 Season 4 is over and it messed things up and some of the writers tried to make it make sense but there were errors here and there and paid homage to past seasons like evil E from season 2 and the principal from season 1. When Emma chose Jax over Danny, she someone erased him with the continuum break and sent him to the Everglades. Only Emma remembered Daniel. She had to make her friends and Daniel remember. Mia, the Kanay from last year was brought to Daniel's new life as his girlfriend and somehow the events of last season where shady as no one remembered Mia either. Erasing Daniel from the history, Maddie never dated him, Andi and Diego growing up with Daniel, etc. In trying to make Daniel remember, they crossed over to the new show "Talia in the Kitchen" and took over a whole episode. Talia made some of Danny's memory return and in that episode somehow Andi and Diego remember Danny again and then forget him in the next ep of Every Witch Way.

Then once the continuum break is over, everyone remembers Daniel again and you have to remember the past again. Then in the finale, Emma gives Daniel his wish and sends him back to the Everglades, only Andi and her remember him and no one else, neither does he remember. Also different in this season is the exclusion of T3, it looks like they couldn't get the girl that played Daniel's sister back because only the boys appeared in two episodes. Now on to the Novoa family, in season 2 we find out Jax's mom died when he was young and he has some sisters. The continuum break or the writers some how erased the sisters and he now has one sister he never knew about. We get Novoa mansion which looks like a mansion in Doral, FL where the show was filmed. Jax's sister Jessie escaped from their mother who happens to be alive and happens to be friends with Ursula, Maddie's mom.

So Jax's mom is reunited with Jax and Jessie and they turn against their dad Jake but then Jake takes Jessie and Jax gets Jessie back. Jake tricks Jax to speak to him and find out his mother is indeed an evil witch. It was an interesting mystery to find out which parent was lying but it all ended up all too similar to season 2 finale in the school with the mom being banished and I would've like to see the father involved. I would had liked to see Jake versus his wife. The finale ends with Jessie going to W.I.T. Academy and Emma sending Andi as a guardian in training to the Witches in Training academy, the new spin-off. I am excited about the spin-off, I actually like the actress of Andi a more compelling actress than Emma's. I don't like that the finale ends in a cliffhanger but I guess we don't have to wait long for the spin-off. 

Marveling at the fantastic Voice Cast of Steven Universe

The main cast are four that are not so well-known but there is so many well-known actors that provide voices like Nicki Minaj, Aimee Mann, Sinbad, Brian Posehn, Kate Micucci, Charlene Yi, Joel Hodgson and various others.

Zach Callison as Steven

He voices Steven Universe, he was about 14 or 15 when he started. He was born in 1997. 

Deedee Magno as Pearl

40-year-old Deedee voices Pearl, the smart and tactical one. She gives her a motherly tone but also a very strong and brave voice. She has done some great acting in the episode "Rose's Scabbard." She also appears as Jasmine on the Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular soundtrack. She later played the role of Nessarose on the first national tour of Wicked, from December 12, 2006 until November 16, 2008. She most recently reprised the role in the San Francisco sit-down production at the Orpheum Theatre. The child of immigrants from the Philippines, who were a sailor in the United States Navy and a Nurse, growing up in San Diego and Orlando.

Estelle as Garnet

30-something Estelle Fanta Swaray is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and producer from West London, England. Estelle is known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop and dance. She has experienced mainstream success with the single "American Boy" featuring Kanye West, reaching number 1 in the United Kingdom and her collaboration with David Guetta in "One Love". She voices Garnet, the strong silent type. She has sung one song in "Jailbreak." 

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Michaela Dietz is an Asian-American actress. She provided the role of Riff on Barney and the voice of Amethyst. Dietz was hired for the role of Riff after she was hired to use her voice in a video game.

Tom Scharpling as Greg Universe

Tom Scharpling is an American radio host, comedian, television writer, producer and music video director. He is best known for hosting the weekly radio call-in comedy program The Best Show and for acting as a writer/executive producer for the TV show Monk. He voices Greg Universe and Yellowtail for the series Steven Universe. 

Susan Egan as Rose Quartz

 Susan Egan is an American voice actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She is best known for originating the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of the Disney animated feature Beauty and the Beast as well as for providing the voice of Megara in the Disney animated feature Hercules. She voices Rose Quartz, the Lady from Under the Knife on Fusion Cuisine, and the Tiny Floating Whale for the series Steven Universe. 

Grace Rolek as Connie

She is a young girl who voices Connie. She often provides additional/background voices for characters in many movies, including Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and Kung Fu Panda.

  Reagan Gomez-Preston as Jenny and Kiki

Reagan Gomez-Preston" is an actress and writer who voices the characters Jenny and Kiki Pizza in Steven Universe. She played Zaria in Parent Trap, a WB sitcom in 1995.

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Giant comedian Brian Posehn who has been on many sitcoms and shows and movies voices the DJ Sour Cream, son of Videlia and brother of Onion.

Sinbad as Mr. Smiley

The arcade owner and sometimes carnival owner Mr. Smiley is voiced by 90's popular comedian Sinbad.

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Kate Micucci who is part of a msucial comedy duo and has been on The Big Bang Theory as Lucy, voices the sweet Sadie from the Donut shop.

Joel Hodgson as Mayor Dewey

 Joel Hodgson the creator of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” voices Mayor Dewey.

Guests:

Nicki Minaj as Sugilite
Nicki Minaj is a famous singer for songs like "Superbass," "Anaconda," "The Night is still Young," and "Starships." She voiced the combination of Amethyst and Garnet.

Alexia Khadime as Sardonyx

Alexia Khadime is an English actress, voice actress, and mezzo-soprano. A veteran of London's West End, Khadime has played several iconic roles, including Elphaba in Wicked, Eponine in Les Miserables, Nabulungi in The Book of Mormon, and Nala in The Lion King. She voiced Sardonyx in one episode, the combo of Pearl and Garnet.

Aimee Mann as Opal
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer, singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist. She was the bassist and a vocalist for the band 'Til Tuesday during the 1980s and since then she has primarily released albums and performed as a solo musician. She played the combo of Amethyst and Pearl.

 Charlene Yi as Ruby

She was in the film Knocked Up. She is a comedianne and writer, she voices Ruby, one half of Garnet.

 Erica Luttrell as Saphire 

She was in Honey, I shrunk Ourselves, she voiced one half of Garnet. 

My Top Ten Favorite Steven Universe Season One Episodes

Since we are only 15 episodes into season 2, I will just cover Season 1. There is 49 episodes in all. I wish I could add many more. For those who never seen the show, it is about a young boy named Steven who's father is human but his mother Rose Quartz was a gem that takes a human-like form. He is guided by three other Gems known as the stoic and strong Garnet, the tactical but caring Pearl and the wild child Amethyst. They can form weapons from their gems to fight corrupted or evil gems that have become monsters. Steven lives in a town on the beach and is friends with mostly people who have food service businesses. The main protagonist is male but the other characters are strong females, he has a pink gem and a pink lion, which is considered a female color in western culture. It defies gender norms.

10. "Laser Light Cannon"
The first episode I ever seen and pretty much sums up the premise with Steven looking for the Laser Light Cannon in Greg's storage unit to fight a giant eye.

9. "Indirect Kiss"

I was not sure to put this one or "Bubble Bubbles" where Steven meets Connie or "Fusion Cuisine." They are all great Connie-Steven episodes other than "Alone Together" which is the first in this top ten. This ep is told in a form of a flashback and the real action is in the end. Steven wants to have healing tears like his mom but ends up being healing spit.

8. "Rose's Scabbard"

Pearl gets mad when she finds out there was stuff Rose hid from her, including the Lion, when she shows Steven Rose's secret room when Lion already took him there. This is one of the first inklings in which we discover Pearl had romantic feelings for Rose. It has a touching montage where Pearl is explaining past battles. 

7. "The Return"

Appropriate as a season finale first parter, it is a game changer. Everything we know has been thrown out the window. Where I honestly thought the Gems were inherently good, it looks like the Crystal  Gems are rare instance of goodness. We meet Jasper, who confuses Steven even more to who he is and what he is. Summary: Peridot returns to Earth in a ship with Jasper and fight the Crystal Gems, Garnet is split apart. 

6. "The Message"
Greg proves himself to the Gems by translating a message from Lapis Lazuli through the Wailing Stone. I love when Greg helps the Gems with something and like he said, Video killed the Audio Star. Pearl is concerned his analog systems can translate it. Steven doesn't lose faith in his father. I like his navite comes in he doesn't know the difference between audio and video. I like the accuracy of the art with the analog, video, audio, and equipment.

5. "Jailbreak"

Now seeing old episodes, I now see the clues but I was instantly blown away to the notion that Garnet was a fusion. So what we thought before was a 2-Gem fusion with Sugulite was actually a 3-Gem and Alexandrite is actually a 4-gem. And Garnet's song is just awesome. I actually was fearing our heroes' fate but come on, its in the song. they always save the day. Summary of ep: Steven finds himself in a prison in the Gem ship and finds Ruby and Sapphire, they merge to become Garnet and knock out Jasper and Peridot, and in the end Lapis Lazuli force fuses with Jasper into Malachite and they go into the ocean.

4. "Maximum Capacity"
It might seem like a normal episode of Amethyst and Greg enjoying an old sitcom they love. But it is even more complicated. Even complicated to explain here. Amethyst and Greg seem to get along. In flashbacks in Season 2 "Story for Steven" and "We need to talk" she is like a little friend or pet. In "Laser Light Cannon," she calls him a mess to Steven. But in other episodes, they are buddies. In this episode, she transforms into Greg and Rose. Either she misses Rose, misses her time with Greg and Rose or wishes to be Rose. It could be all that or maybe not, that's what is fun about the show, we might never know. This episode is the first to show the Gems in sweaters.

3. "Lion 3: Straight to Video"

When Steven sleeps, Steven's Lion sleeps on top of him and he discovers a small pocket dimension inside Lion but he can't breathe in it. Inside is her sword, the T-shirt Greg gave her (we see in "Story for Steven) and a VHS tape. The finale is so heartwarming, everyone ends up like Sadie and Steven in the photo above. Rose has a touching speech for Steven in the VHS. We never saw Rose in motion up to this point. 

2. "Steven's Lion"
A beautifully drawn episode, his lion reminds me of Anime infamous Kimba the White Lion. This episode Steven meets a Pink Lion and takes a stone away from a desert that has extreme powers. Amethyst doesn't bubble it and it causes trouble so the Lion comes in to help. Steven wants to keep the Lion but like in the followup "Lion 2" episode, Steven explains that the lion "does his own thing." Pearl wonders about keeping the lion and Garnet jokes that they kept Amethyst. 

1. "Alone Together"
Another beautifully drawn episode and such great work. Connie and Steven fuse together and become Stevonnie. I saw on many blogs where the producers say that it is a bit of a metaphor for growing up, specifically when your body is changing, people notice the puberty but you are the same person inside. Stevonnie is attractive to both boys and girls, even though Stevonnie is voiced by a woman, it is unknown what gender Stevonnie is so I will not use pronouns. This episode sums up the feel of Steven Universe, it raises questions and might make you feel uneasy but in the end, it is all in fun. As Garnet says "It is an experience, make sure it is a good one." This show pushes the envelope and enjoys the experience.