When Huntr/x took to the stage to protect the world from some (really hot) demons, they did so with the power of song – and broke both Netflix and Billboard records in the process. If the stats are any indication, KPop Demon Hunters’ formula of music and animation has proven too powerful to ignore.
That fusion is not new: just ask Elsa. But none do it with as much creativity as Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe, the brainchild of animator and musician Rebecca Sugar.
Like KPop Demon Hunters, Steven Universe excels at delivering its most powerful, complex moments in the only appropriate medium: music. On the surface, the series tells the story of the Crystal Gems, a ragtag group of mineral-based aliens (think names like Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst) hiding out on Earth with their surrogate half-human son, the titular Steven Universe. Under its episodic problem-a-day story format, though, is a nuanced coming-of-age saga that doesn’t hold back when it comes to its exploration of grief, trauma, consent: the experience of being a flawed human. And like any good musical, its most important plot developments and pointiest emotional climaxes are always delivered via song.
“If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hotdogs,” goes one of the first nuggets of wisdom in the show. It’s advice sure to resonate with a viewership of teen outsiders – like myself, once upon a time.
Over its five seasons – which ran from 2013 to 2019 – Steven Universe takes a fantastical premise and makes its profoundly relatable. In the episode Mindful Education, the show asks: what do you do when you hurt other people? When we suffer or feel anxious, how do we deal with that in a productive way?
Throughout the show, characters are able to fuse to create new characters, combining their strengths and personalities. Usually, they gain new, flashy weapons and powers that they employ to battle monsters – but the fusion also depends on the stability of their relationships. In Mindful Education, we see what happens when these relationships break down and, through song, we learn the practical steps the characters take to process their emotions and move forward.
The number is sung by Estelle (yes, of American Boy fame), whose character Garnet instructs us to slow down. “Take a moment, remind yourself,” she croons in the refrain, “to take a moment and find yourself.”
Mindful Education is just one example of Steven Universe’s life lessons. Another spoiler alert here: it’s established fairly early on that the Crystal Gems – being aliens – aren’t able to fully comprehend the human experience, and when Steven is born, his alien mother gives up her existence to allow for his birth. Steven spends almost the entire run of the series trying to understand his mother and her legacy. And so in a recorded message to Steven she tells him:
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Steven, we can’t both exist. I’m going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself, that’s me, loving you and loving being you. Because you’re going to be something extraordinary. You’re going to be a human being.
Its alien conceit also allows Steven Universe to explore a wide range of LGBTQ+ representation. These extraterrestrials have no inherent understanding of human gender or sexuality; what follows is some of the most genuine expression of queer love ever shown on TV. In fact, Steven Universe culminates with the first lesbian wedding on a kids’ show – between two of its main characters.
When it comes to juggling childlike wonder and hefty emotional payoffs, there are a handful of animations that spring to mind: KPop Demon Hunters, Bluey and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Steven Universe takes all that and delivers it with heart, making it very hard not to sing along, laugh and shed a tear.
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Steven Universe is available to stream on Stan and HBO Max in Australia and Hulu in the US. In the UK, two seasons are streaming on Netflix and the whole series is available for purchase digitally. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here