MovieChat Forums > Steven Universe (2013) Discussion > I love this show. Best cartoon of the er...

I love this show. Best cartoon of the era, hands down.

posted 8 years ago by giygas-12533
1 reply | jump to latest

I understand that Adventure Time is the most acclaimed series of the current era, but to be honest, I have never seen much of it. I'm a 90's kid. I grew up on Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, Animaniacs, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Ed, Edd & Eddy, etc. etc. and anime that aired on the Toonami block, Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon being my favorites.

For many years it seemed to me that truly creative/groundbreaking animated shows were dead. I tried watching animation again from time to time, but found it all to be trite, over-commercialized garbage.

Then I discovered Steven Universe. This is a show that takes that brilliant creative streak of the 90's animation renaissance and brings it back-- and not only does it bring it back, it pushes it forward in new ways and I am so overjoyed that an actual artist ( Miss Rebecca Sugar) has returned to put American cartoons back where they should be.

It's so emotional. Subtly sexual. Multi-layered. There are moments of intensity that actually excite you. The characters are awesome.
Not to mention, it's difficult for me not to love this as Rebecca Sugar is clearly a 90's kid herself. The gems and Steven are similar to the Espers and Terra from Final Fantasy VI. The musical and visual artistic homages to The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy series, and nods to consoles like the Game Boy Advance, NES and Super NES and use of VHS tapes throughout the show give me a warm fuzzy feeling of beloved familiarity and comfort. The only other thing so tailor made for 90's kids that I've seen/read is Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. It makes me really happy to be able to see how those creative influences have shaped my generation and how my generation is finally revealing it through art of their own today.

And geez, there's more to it than even just that. I could go on about this show all day and I recommend it to everyone I talk to who may have even the slightest passing interest.
Sometime in the future I may check out more of Adventure Time. I know Sugar started out as a writer/artist for that show and the very few people I know who are actually into animation always tell me to check it out.

Who feels the same way I do about Steven Universe? And how does everyone feel it compares to Adventure Time? Thoughts? Feelings?

[–] Listenupfives 8 years ago

I think there's a lot Steven Universe does better than Adventure Time, the largest thing being it devotes itself to telling a cohesive story. To be fair, Adventure Time never thought to serialise itself until Season 2, and it was bound by more executive pressure in telling it's story than Steven Universe was, so the latter can only really be the great show that it is thanks to the momentum and pathways paved by the former.

Adventure Time has also evolved over time to become almost a different show entirely, and while some fans disagree with those changes, I'd say the production has only become better with age.

Back to SU, I would have to say it's my favorite show airing atm. I love everything about it; the writing, the symbolism, the themes and messages and especially the uniquely 90s touches in the music, design, story and easter eggs (like did you see Steven actually has a copy of the Sailor Moon manga in his room?).