Kanu Priya
‘Steven Universe’ is an animated series that first premiered on May 13, 2013, on Cartoon Network. The show is created by Rebecca Sugar and marks the first animated series created solely by a woman. The show is about Steven, his father and his ancestors, the Crystal Gems, who live in Beach City.
The Crystal Gems are aliens from a different planet. Steven’s mother, Rose Quartz, Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst together formed an alliance and fought their own kind to protect Earth from destruction. Steven has gained his powers from his mother and is now learning to use them for good to carry on the fight against evil. The story follows the character development of Steven, who as a young boy is now growing into a responsible superhero. Over the seasons, he also unearths different facts and secrets related to his ancestors and mother.
Season 6 of the show is currently underway. Meanwhile, if you are wondering what to watch now, here are some shows that you are certainly going to like if you love ‘Steven Universe’.
7. Adventure Time (2010-2018)
‘Adventure Time’ is an animated series that first premiered on April 5, 2010, on Cartoon Network. The show follows, just like ‘Steven Universe’, the adventures of a young boy named Finn. Finn and his magical dog Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. Throughout the seasons, the main leads interact with Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch), Ice King (Tom Kenny), Marceline the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olson), Lumpy Space Princess (Pendleton Ward), BMO (Niki Yang), Flame Princess (Jessica DiCicco).
Before creating ‘Steven Universe’, Rebecca Sugar was associated with ‘Adventure Time’. Both the shows have a few common grounds. Finn and Steven both are young boys who instead of focusing on ice-creams and bicycles, focus on different planets and beings. Both stories have many layers as well. Different characters display different backgrounds and rich ancestral history. This is probably one of the major reasons that both the shows’ audiences are not just limited to kids but involve adults as well.
6. OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes (2017-2019)
‘Ok K.O.’ first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 1, 2017. The show is about a young kid living in the future, who aspires to be a dynamic superhero in a video-game inspired world. He works at Gar Bodega, a go-to shop for all the hero supplies. He and his friends, Enid and Radicles, go on different adventures that sometimes involve saving the world and sometimes, fighting evil.
According to Jones Quartey, the show’s creator and former supervising director of ‘Steven Universe’, both the shows have a lot in common. “It’s about a bunch of weird different guys that all fight together and stuff,” Jones also compared Steven and K.O. by mentioning “K.O.’s a loveable main character just trying to do the right thing. He really just wants to be a person who helps people. He’s a very empathetic and caring kid. He really just wants to find his place in the world just like we all do.”
According to him, if Steven had a favorite video game or series, it would definitely be ‘OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes’, and we couldn’t agree more.
5. Ben 10 (2005-2008)
Ben Tennyson is a 10-year-old boy who finds a mysterious device named Omnitrix during a family vacation. The device has magical powers in it that help Ben to transform into 10 different alien creatures and fight evil to save the world. The series is created by Man of Action and has won 3 Emmys over the years. The show first premiered in 2005 and since then has gained wide popularity and fan-base among kids and teenagers.
‘Steven Universe’ and ‘Ben 10‘ have had crossovers in the past when Garnet from Steven Universe fought alongside Ben. Both the shows are familiar with the concept of aliens and unlike other shows, show their positive sides as well. Ben and Steven both are young kids, scared about their future and learning to handle enormous power and responsibilities.
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4. Over The Garden Wall (2014)
‘Over The Garden Wall’ is an animated miniseries that first premiered on November 3, 2014, on Cartoon Network. The show is created by Patric McHale, who envisioned the show while working on ‘The Adventure Time’. The show follows two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, who are lost in a mysterious forest. During their journey, they meet Woodsman and Beatrice, an irritable bluebird.
In the penultimate episode, it is revealed that Wirt and Greg actually are from the normal modern-day world. While attending a Halloween party, Greg and Wirt jump over a cemetery wall and accidentally fall into a lake. There, they enter the Unknown.
While the show might not have superheroes who save the world, the characters in both ‘Steven Universe’ and ‘Over The Garden Wall’ have emotional sides that are generally not shown in such animated series. The show has received great reviews from the audience and critics and, I would personally suggest you watch this show if you like ‘Steven Universe’.
3. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender‘ is an animated series that first aired on Nickelodeon on February 21, 2005. The show aired its last season in 2008. Although the show has been over for more than a decade now, it still remains one of the favorites of many. A 12-year-old Aang and his friends are on a mission to protect the world from Fire Lord and his quest to destroy the world and expand his own mission. In order to do so, Aang learns the difficult form of a special martial art called ‘bending’.
The show is a mix of American cartoons and anime. The connection between ‘Steven Universe’ and ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ can be seen in their strong protagonists, giving their best to save the world, the rich cultural history, and lore, the progressive and advanced thinking along with the sense of equality for all. Though a lot of you might think the show is quite old, I suggest you watch it for yourself before coming to any conclusion.
2. Star vs. The Forces Of Evil (2015-2019)
The animated series is created by Daron Nefcy and first premiered on January 18, 2015, on Disney. The show is the first Disney XD series to be created by a woman completely. The show follows Star Butterfly, the royal heir to the throne in the dimension of Menwi. Star is sent on Earth in order to learn patience and tone down her reckless behavior. She starts living as a normal human on Earth while time to time, visits different dimensions and saves Star’s wand from falling into the hands of evil.
There have been many comparisons between ‘Star vs. The Forces of Evil’ and ‘Steven Universe’. The shows undoubtedly have similarities like alien protagonists and antagonists, adventures on different dimensions, and more. But, both the shows have their individual elements to offer as well. Watch the show without the intention of comparison, and you will end up loving it.
1. The Legend Of Korra (2012-2014)
‘The Legend of Korra’ is an animated Nickelodeon series, created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. The show first premiered on April 14, 2012. The show is a spin-off of the creators’ previous series ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’. Though, unlike the original series, ‘The Legend Of Korra’ is highly influenced by anime.
The show follows Avatar Korra, who has been handed over the responsibility to protect Republic City from dark forces. She uses her special power of manipulating different elements of nature in order to do so. The show has received great reviews from the audience and is one of the best matches for ‘Steven Universe’.
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