References in Steven Universe

Steven Universe contains a wide variety of cultural references. This is an incomplete list of references.

Anime/Manga

 * Steven's transformation in "Cat Fingers" is similar to that of Tetsuo from the movie, Akira.
 * Pearl's battle with Holo-Pearl has multiple fight sequences identical to ones from the anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena.
 * Steven's wrestling identity could be a reference to Tiger Mask, a Japanese masked wrestler from the self titled manga/anime Tiger Mask. Steven and the main character, Tiger, are both wrestling characters whose stage identities are bad guys and later become heroes.
 * The attempted suffocation of Steven Universe and Connie by Lapis Lazuli's water-clone replica bears resemblance Sloth's move from Fullmetal Alchemist (1st series).
 * At the end of "House Guest" there is a Sailor Moon volume in Steven's drawer.
 * The scene where Garnet stops a bomb with her hand resembles a scene in Akira, in which Tetsuo stops a missile.
 * According to Jeff Liu, storyboard artist on Steven Universe who created some animated sequences of "Garnet's Universe", Garnet’s final move was inspired by Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.
 * Garnet's final move also bears a resemblance to Mazinger's Rocket-Punch.
 * Ringo's transformation also shares the same colors and characteristics of the Sailor Scouts from Sailor Moon.
 * While debatable, Garnet removing her weighted hair could also be a reference to Rock Lee's battle with Gaara from Naruto, where Lee removed the weights from under his legwarmers in order to increase his speed.
 * Garnet's meditation scene under the waterfall is similar Libra's meditation scenes in Saint Seiya.
 * Hoppy's attack is similar to Haruko's in Fooly Cooly (episode six.)
 * Near the end of "The Test", the Crystal Gems congratulate Steven while a piano cover of the opening theme plays, almost exactly like the final scene of the show Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 * The Kindergarten's cliffs are full of holes that match their Gems' exact size and shape, a reference to Junji Ito's one-shot horror manga, The Enigma of Amigara Fault.
 * The corruption of Gems is a reference to the kishin, Gems summoning weapons is a reference to the meister and weapon, and when Gem Monsters are killed they are transformed into a soul. These are all references to the manga and anime, Soul Eater.
 * In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", the video tape Steven and Sadie watched resembles what Spike and Jet received in Cowboy Bebop.
 * The show has many parallels with the anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Both shows feature a species of magical female (or female-presenting) characters whose souls are tied to a gem. In both shows, the protagonists fight against monsters who are later revealed to be corrupted versions of the protagonists' species (witches/corrupted Gems). Furthermore, both series has a young, main protagonist who is very new to this lifestyle, has a lot to learn about the dark side of it, and both have a pink color scheme (Kaname Madoka/Steven Universe).
 * In the episode Island Adventure, when the Crystal Gems teleport back home, Amethyst shifts her head into a fly's head, a reference to The Fly.

Dragon Ball

 * The device Hopper uses to measure power levels is similar to a scouter.
 * The explosion of the device after someone exceeds their power levels is similar.
 * The power level reader skipped the number "9,000" during its rise even in increments of thousands, possibly to avoid reference to the "Over 9,000" meme.
 * During Garnet's training, she increases her power while holding a pose similar to the most common pose in Dragon Ball.
 * She takes off her hair (weight), similar to how Piccolo takes off his cape.
 * Her hair's increase in size with increases in power level resembles the transformation of a Super Saiyan.
 * The dance that Gems use to form Fusion Gems is inspired by the fusion dance from the manga and anime, Dragon Ball Z.
 * In Steven the Sword Fighter, Amethyst is flying on a cloud, that could be a reference to Flying Nimbus, a cloud used as a mode of transportation from Dragon Ball Z.

Video Games

 * Sugilite bears a striking resemblance to Roy Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. series.
 * A Super Mushroom from the Super Mario Bros. franchise can be seen in Greg's storage unit in "Laser Light Cannon".
 * Steven owns toys that resemble Pikachu from the Pokémon series, Moogles from the Final Fantasy series, U-1 from Gitaroo Man, Hero, the main character from Ian Jones-Quartey's concluded webcomic "RPG World", and Sanic (Gotta Go Fast), an internet meme based off of Sonic fanart.
 * Golf Quest Mini parodies common Eastern RPG tropes in gameplay, character design, and dialogue.
 * When Holographic Pearl attacks Steven from above, she appears to be using Sephiroth's Hell's Gate move.
 * The Red Eye possesses a Rupee pattern from The Legend of Zelda games.
 * Also, the Red Eye may be a reference to the Moon from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
 * Teens of Rage is a tribute to an old Sega Genesis Game called Streets of Rage. Note that they have a slight reference to the character Skate (fights with rollerblades) as a Head with a cap on a skateboard. The game was made by a company called Carpcom, a parody of game developer Capcom.
 * The scene in "Onion Trade" where Steven lists off the various "G.U.Y.S" looks like a Mega Man stage select, specifically, Mega Man 3 's, considering Steven's head in the center. Also the character on the bottom left looks similar to an Animal Crossing New Leaf Villager.
 * In "Garnet's Universe", Hopper resembles Frog from Chrono Trigger. She wears an attire similar to Frog's armor, along with a broadsword.
 * The background on this episode (including the mountain Garnet breaks in half with a punch) is very similar to the one used in Super Mario Bros 3.
 * Garnet's "super fast punching" during her training resembles Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken technique from the Fist of the North Star series. The attack is a very iconic rapid punching move which has been paid homage in many other popular series.
 * Ronaldo is using a streaming website called Weirdstar. This may be a reference to Worldstarhiphop, a site infamous for violent fight videos.
 * Amethyst's attack on the Watermelon Stevens highly resembles the Spin Dash from Sonic the Hedgehog.
 * Steven appears to have a game cube and two blue controllers in his room. Looking closely, you can see the cases for Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
 * Meat Beat Mania is a parody of SEGA's classic arcade game, Samba de Amigo.
 * The game console Steven is playing in "Rose's Room" resembles a Nintendo 64.
 * There is a Game Boy Color and a Sega Genesis in the Heaven Beetle's room.
 * Garnet being composed of Ruby and Sapphire may be a reference to Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the original Pokemon games in Generation 3.
 * The professor in Golf Quest Mini resembles Dr. Eggman from the Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Movies

 * In the episode"Lion 2: The Movie", the movie Dogcopter 3 is an allusion to two other movies, Bolt and The War of the Worlds.
 * How Steven put his initials at the bottom of Ranger Guy in "Onion Trade" resembles how Andy, from the movie Toy Story, puts his initials at the bottom of his toys.
 * At the end of "Lion 2: The Movie", Lion's head is in a logo with a ribbon around it, similar to the lion that's in the Metro Goldwyn Mayer's logo.
 * The episode "Lars and the Cool Kids" has a title similar to the movie titled Lars and the Real Girl.
 * Greg's statement about the seeds after Steven's Hurricane Spin Spit is a direct reference to a similar quote in Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Oddyssey.
 * The episode "Winter Forecast" shares many parallels to the famous film Groundhog Day.

Shows

 * When Amethyst said "Chill it dude" after she turned into a blue jay, it might be a reference to Mordecai from Regular Show.
 * Hoppy resembles Usagi from Usagi Yojimbo.
 * In some shots, there is an arcade game named "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", the title of Ian Jones-Quartey's failed pilot for Cartoon Network.
 * Hoppy's introduction (with the triple screen split) in "Garnet's Universe" may be a reference to Samurai Jack.
 * The magic power amulet that Hopper mentions in "Garnet's Universe" resembles the Demonic Wishing Eye from the series Adventure Time.
 * In "The Message" When Greg tried to receive the message from the Wailing Stone, it shows a speaker with the "Power Puff Girls" logo, but just the word "Power".
 * In "Lion 2: The Movie", the giant penny from the cave and the cave itself are a reference to Batman's cave in which he has a giant penny. The giant penny was a staple backdrop piece in the Batcave in Batman: The Animated Series. The penny was once a death trap tool utilized by Two-Face.

Culture

 * In the episode So Many Birthdays, a photo is shown of the Crystal Gems in a boat which is an obvious parody of "Watson and the Shark" a 1778 oil painting by John Singleton Copley, depicting the rescue of Brook Watson from a shark attack in Havana, Cuba.
 * A Spartan helmet is seen in Greg's storage unit.
 * A Chinese, waving lucky cat is seen inside the belly of the Big Bird from the episode "Giant Woman."
 * In many cultures, Garnet's third eye represents "sight beyond normal sight" and heightened telekinetic abilities.
 * Tiger Millionaire could be a reference to the professional wrestler, Ted "Million Dollar Man" DiBiase, who was known for flaunting his wealth, being a jerk, and stuffing dollar bills in his opponents' mouths after they lost. Just look at how he spends his Thanksgiving.
 * Additionally, his outfit bears a resemblance to "Irwin R. Schyster" (also known as IRS), who was actually Ted DiBiase's partner in a tag team.
 * The quarters shown have the face of Thomas Jefferson flipped to the right.
 * Foxman is browsing tumblr on his phone. He can be seen looking at cat images. Tumblr_nfdkqkSJ8r1tk8ivso1_1280.png
 * One of the poses Garnet does while fighting the Watermelon Stevens resembles the Frogner Park Babyfighter statue in Oslo, Norway.
 * In Warp Tour, Amethyst says "Don't let the warp monster bite" which is a parody of the saying "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite".
 * In "The Message" Greg tells Steven,"Don't you know video killed the audio star?" A possible reference to the 1979 song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.
 * In Joy Ride, Buck Dewey says to Steven "I only wanted to see you laughing in the pizza rain", a reference to the 1984 song "Purple Rain" by Prince.
 * Sugilite may be based on an Oni, a Japanese demon or ogre, due to the gem being first discovered in Japan by Professor Ken-ichi Sugi.

Steven Universe Referenced in Other Media

 * In the show Uncle Grandpa, a boy on a scooter who looks very similar to Steven can be seen.
 * The show is also referenced alongside Adventure Time during the fake commercial for Uncle Grandpa Babies. Steven_Universe.jpg