Steven Universe America’s Magical Boy

Steven Universe: America’s Magical Boy We often hear the common adage: “Art imitates life, life imitates art.” Although, it is also often the case that art will imitate other art. This reigns especially true for media entertainment, like video games, cartoons, and comic books. For instance, anime (Japanese animation)’s increasing popularity in the US (over the last 20 years) has inspired critically acclaimed cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Samurai Jack. At first glance, one can tell what makes these shows “American anime” (as they are often called due to the visual similarities they share with Japanese anime). However, there’s a ton of seemingly unassociated cartoons that have cited anime as an inspiration (We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Adventure Time, to name a few). Among these, I’ll be explicitly discussing and analyzing Steven Universe. Steven Universe is a cartoon developed by Cartoon Network and created by Rebecca Sugar. Sugar pitched the story at the request of Cartoon Network’s VP of animation at the time, who was looking for new shows for the network. When asked about her expectations for the show, Sugar said she wanted to create a show aimed at kids that was open and inclusive. The story is set in a beach town called Beach City, where The Crystal Gems protect humanity and the Earth from their own native world and similar dangers. The Crystal Gems are comprised of the following individuals: Pearl (who is precise and elegant, yet strict and high-strung), Garnet (who is motherly, tender, and succinct, yet shrouded in mystery), and Amethyst (who is cool and laidback, yet rambunctious and messy). The Crystal Gems are, as Mcdonell suggests in Steven Universe: Art and Origins, “ageless alien warriors who project female humanoid forms from magical gemstones at the core of their being”. Each of the Crystal Gems are thus named after their gemstones. This brings us to Steven, our titular character, who is half-Gem and half-human. He inherits his Gem from his mother (Rose Quartz), the former leader of the Crystal Gems, who dies to give her Gem to her son. Steven Universe is written and storyboarded in the United States, with animation mainly outsourced to companies in Korea. While creators of the show have never cited anime as the main inspiration for the work, its influence is reflected in the visuals and its subject matter. Thus, in this paper, I will be comparing the similarities and differences between shojo anime and Steven Universe, particularly the maho shojo (magical girl) subgenre, in order to determine if Steven Universe qualifies as an anime. In order to properly define Steven Universe within shojo anime, we must first define what a shojo anime is. Shojo is a genre of anime that is often aimed at young girls, with romantic themes and girly characters. “In Japanese pop culture, it carries the images of ‘female pureness, virginity, vulnerability, romanticism, and nostalgia’” (Sugawa-Shimada, 2019). Shojo anime can range from the journey of an aspiring actress as she chases romance and success (as in Skip Beat!) to the life of a young girl who becomes a god and must learn to fulfill her new duties (as in Kamisama Kiss). What makes such different stories both part of the shojo genre is not only their target audience and that the protagonists are women, but also that they are both strongwilled yet kind, and their journeys involve some element of romance (usually by way of a beautiful male character). In the case of Steven Universe, Steven is much like a shojo protagonist because he is expected to fill his mother’s shoes (a huge responsibility that weighs on him), yet this does not stop him from maintaining a cheerful and inviting disposition. He is often sympathetic with his enemies, much to the point where he inadvertently entices them to join his side. This was the case in Season 3, where Steven befriends an enemy gem named Peridot after she is captured by The Crystal Gems. Steven Universe is also similar to shojo anime in that it often balances lighthearted comedy with the protagonist’s main struggles. In the case of shojo, anime like Skip Beat! and Kamisama Kiss often have their main characters bickering for comedic relief, or in other quirky scenarios. In Steven’s case, his refreshing innocence and optimism see him doing all sorts of things, from acting like a fortune telling machine (“Future Boy Zoltron”) to defeating enemies in funny ways (In “Cookie Cat”, he throws a mini fridge at a Centipeedle monster). The show also showcases familial and romantic love in equal parts, which is not common to see in shojo anime. To elaborate, rather than watching Steven fall in love with another main character (like in the aforementioned anime), we are shown a diverse range of relationships. For instance, (1) Garnet is a fused embodiment of two Gems who are in love with each other, (2) Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst dote on Steven like older sisters, and (3) Pearl struggles with her romantic love for Rose Quartz and her familial love for Steven, Rose’s son. Is Steven a magical girl? To quote Kumiko Saito, “maho shojo as a genre signifies […] anime programs in which a nine- to fourteen-year-old ordinary girl accidentally acquires supernatural power; majokko suggests the alternative setting that the female protagonist’s superhuman power derives from her pedigree as a princess of a magical kingdom or a similar scenario.” In other words, the maho shojo (magical girl) genre of shojo anime is characterized by a teen girl who has or is granted powers and is tasked with either helping her community or protecting it from the threat of otherworldly enemies. The show is much like majokko anime in that Steven is born into his powers and he sometimes uses them to help others. However, magical girl anime also involves flashy transformation sequences in which the protagonists don elaborate costumes and thus become more powerful. Steven goes through no such transformation and instead just uses his power whenever he needs to, no wardrobe change involved. The art of Steven Universe is mainly characterized by its soft, pastel colors and clean lines. Unlike in shojo anime, where girls have large doll eyes and slender bodies, the characters in Steven Universe have forms dictated by basic shapes, and range in diversity. For instance, as the artbook suggests (McDonell, 2017), Pearl’s character design is dictated mainly by ovals, Garnet’s by squares, and so on. However, the color palette within the show is much like that of shojo anime: bright and pastel colors like ballerina pink, sky blue, mint green and persimmon red. In direct reference to anime, the Steven U. characters also have chibi versions (an anime trope in which characters are drawn cuter and more simplified) that are used in promotional content and shorts. The show also references anime through episode titles, easter eggs (visual references), and the like. For instance, one episode titled “Kiki’s Pizza Delivery” is a direct reference to the Ghibli (anime) film Kiki’s Delivery Service. Also, in “Future Vision”, Steven is seen being attacked by two Beedril, characters from the Pokémon anime and video games. There is also Sailor Moon manga in some stills of Steven’s bedroom in “House Guest”. More importantly, an eye catcher sequence (that signals the return of the show from commercial break) like those used in Sailor Moon and Precure is used in the 22-minute special “Bismouth”. Thus, Steven Universe makes direct and indirect references to anime but does not make an obvious attempt at trying to pass as anime visually. The parameters that define a piece of animation as anime depends on who you ask. Some believe that anime must be completely produced and animated in Japan in order to be considered so. Others argue that such an outline is too strict, as animation for such anime is sometimes outsourced to other countries like Korea and China. I take the case that anime is defined by the intentions of those who create it and its artistic direction, rather than by where it is produced. For instance, The Powerpuff Girls is a clear attempt at bringing the magical girl and sentai (task force) genres to American audiences. However, it is still categorized as an American cartoon. Although, a spin-off titled Powerpuff Girls Z is considered an anime because it was developed as an anime for Japanese audiences (similar shojo art style, new tropes and plot lines common in anime). Thus, by these standards, Stephen Universe cannot be considered an anime. Had the show been an attempt to create an anime by American artists, the argument would be entirely different. However, it was created as an American cartoon for American audiences, and cites heavy influence from both Warner Bros. cartoons (like The Looney Tunes) as well as several anime (Ghibli’s anime films and shonen (action-paced) anime, for instance). Thus, while Steven Universe is similar to anime in many respects, this is simply a case of inspiration, rather than an obvious attempt at being an anime. To recap, we can first say that Steven is much like shojo protagonists in that he is kind and inviting despite facing hardships. Steven also inherits great power like majokko protagonists in magical girl anime. However, he does not undergo any sort of transformation sequence, and uses his power at will without changing clothes. Steven Universe makes a lot of anime references within the show, often as nods to the audience watching, though no attempt is made to market the show as an anime. It’s important to note too that Steven Universe has an opening and closing credit sequence in every episode, which is uncommon in kid’s American cartoons, yet a staple of anime. However, none of its characters are inherently Japanese, and the story is very clearly set in the United States, around American beach culture and lifestyle. Thus, we can concede that while Steven Universe was obviously inspired by anime, and while it is a groundbreaking animation that tackles complex themes and arc-driven plots, it is an American cartoon through and through.