References in Steven Universe

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

Anime and Manga

• Steven's transformation in the episode "Cat Fingers" is similar to that of Tetsuo from the movie, Akira.
• 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.
• Sugilite bears a striking resemblance to Roy Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. series.
• 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.
• In some shots, there is an arcade game named "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", the title of Ian Jones-Quartey's failed pilot for Cartoon Network.
•  Meat Beat Mania is a parody of SEGA's classic arcade game, Samba de Amigo.
• The attempted suffocation of Steven Universe and Connie by Lapis Lazuli's watery Steven 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.
• Hoppy's introduction (with the triple screen split) in "Garnet's Universe" may be a reference to Samurai Jack.
• The scene where Garnet stops a bomb with her hand resembles a scene in Akira, in which Tetsuo stops a missile.
• The magic power amulet that Hopper mentions in "Garnet's Universe" resembles the Demonic Wishing Eye from the series Adventure Time.
• According to Jeff Liu, storyboard artist on Steven Universe who created some animated sequences in this episode, Garnet’s final move was inspired by Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.
• Ringo's transformation shares the same colors and characteristics of the Sailor Scouts from Sailor Moon.
• While debatable, Garnet removing her weighted hair in "Garnet's Universe" 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.
• Garnet's last attack in the episode bears a resemblance to Mazinger's Rocket Punch.
• 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

Dragon Ball references:

• 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 fusion 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 Swordfighter 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

• A red, powerup mushroom from the Mario Bros. franchise can be seen in Greg's storage unit in the episode "Laser Light Cannon."
• Steven owns toys that resemble Pikachu from the Pokémon series, Moogles from the Final Fantasy series, and Hero, the main character from Ian Jones-Quartey's concluded webcomic "RPG World".
• Steven has a toy shaped like the internet meme Sanic (Gotta Go Fast) in the episode "Steven the Sword Fighter."
• The video game 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 charater on the bottom left looks similar to an Animal Crossing New Leaf Villager.
• In the episode "Garnet's Universe", Hopper resembles Frog from Chrono Trigger. She wears an attire similar to Frog's armor, along with a broadsword.
• Hopper resembles Usagi from Usagi Yojimbo.

• 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.

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.
• 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.

Shows

• When Amethyst said "Chill it dude" after she turned into a blue jay, it might be a reference to Mordecai from Regular Show.
• The character "Hoppy" seems to be a huge references to the character Usagi Yojimbo.
• Hoppy is a reference to the character Usagi Yojimbo, a rabbit ronin from a comic series of the same name. The character of Usagi Yojimbo also made appearances in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

Culture

Rose & the other gems.

"Watson and the Shark."

• 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 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.
• A Gamecube can be seen in Steven's room in "House Guest"
• 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.

  

• 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.

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 pictured on a scooter in Uncle Grandpa Haunted RV.

The show is once again referenced alongside Adventure Time during an episode of Mad.