2013 seems a lifetime ago now, doesn’t it? Steven Universe was created in a whole different era, practically. The series’ message of hope and growth and love has resonated widely…possibly even more so, as our future turned less hopeful and more dystopic. I’ve reviewed all of the “seasons” as they came out on Amazon Prime, so the numbering is vastly different than the seasons on disk or by CN’s reckoning.

If you aren’t familiar with the show or why I think it’s worth watching, here are my previous reviews:
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7

Steven Universe is ultimately a story about personal growth, and it includes arcs about love and acceptance, about parenting, about working through dysfunctional family dynamic and toxic and abusive relationships. It includes a queer wedding and some very catchy music.

In a year, we went from a government that finally accepted our relationship, and was working towards broader inclusivity, to a nightmare dystopia. In 2016, my wife and I started to watch an episode or two every night before bed, as a kind of anti-anxiety medicine. Not gonna lie…it worked. We still do “take” two episodes most nights. We reach the end, then start over.

Mild spoilers and major links to music videos to follow. ^_^

In Steven Universe the Movie, Steven and the Gems have a similar experience. The future looks very bright for them and the possibilities are endless…until yet another relic from Pink Diamond’s past pops up and takes revenge for how she was treated. It is, maybe, a little too on the money for those of us in 2020, thinking back with nostalgia, but it’s not nostalgia that saves them, it’s acknowledging the sins of the past, and repairing the hurt, so everyone can grow. Still, way too close for comfort, but critically important to remember.

The music in this movie is both incredibly catchy, ridiculously sticky and in several cases, deeply painful. What made this movie worth watching is that once again, we are reminded that Steven Universe was never a story about a magical boy fighting monsters, it was always a story about personal growth. Watching the Gems recalling who they had been and how they became who they are, was masterfully done. With a musical bonus. The fusion Opal was voiced by Aimee Mann (whose hit song as ‘Til Tuesday, Voices Carry I remember playing – and watching on MTV – on a loop as a teen). I was delighted that she and her musical partner, Ted Leo, get a powerful song during a climactic scene here.

One of the overall themes of Steven Universe as a series has been that choices have consequences…and if you’re not dealing with the consequences of your choices…then someone else is.

The end of the movie is the most spectacular Takarazuka reference. We literally screamed our lungs out when we saw it the first time. Just…..wowowowow, holy crow wow.

Steven Universe Future is about what happens when you keep pushing off the consequences of your decisions.

The entire season is focused on Steven coming to grips with a future that he helped build, but which may not actually include him. Like every hero returning from their journey to the underworld, he’s paid a price and like all the heroes before him, that price is normality. Or…is it? Sure Frodo couldn’t stay in Hobbiton, but…he was oozing out of that place long before he left. We all do. I liked the community I grew up in, but I’ve never wanted to return. Part of growing up in the USA has traditionally been leaving your home behind. And just because you’ve returned from the heroes journey doesn’t have to mean you’re done.  Maybe journeying is what you’ll always be doing, and maybe a hero could make an amazing psychopomp because they’ve been there and done that.

Future has one last Utena reference for us and it’s a doozy, so get your roses out and get ready to duel. ^_^ (Also a side-eye to Sailor Moon.)

We cannot fix the past by ignoring it. We can only admit the truth, be the best possible people we are now and allow people to find their own way forward. It’s not an idealist vision of the future, it’s a realist’s vision. The future may or may not look bright, but we’ve still got to put the work in, no matter what.

Once more I want to thank Rebecca Sugar and all the folks on the SU team, with my eternal gratitude for the amazing writing, animation, music and voice acting. I am endlessly surprised by this series, no matter how many times I watch it. And I’ve watched it a lot of times.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

Steven Universe has given us a process by which we may move forward towards the future. It’s up to us to build the future we want.