Steven Universe is often given as an example of a cartoon that is intended for children but mostly watched by teenagers or adults. At the Ottawa International Animation Festival in late September, anecdotally this wasn’t quite true — the festival’s Steven Universe events were dominated by fans of all ages. Rebecca Sugar, the show’s creator, reminded Teen Vogue that her approach to cartooning leaves questions of audience demographics aside. “I really wanted to have my work say: this is what I love and I really want to share it with you, these are stories about my childhood that I really hope you’ll understand and relate to, regardless of whether or not the person is a child or an adult,” she says.

Some of the young fans I spoke to, though, do feel as though the show is addressing them directly. Jake Sloan, a 19-year-old fan who was 16 when he started watching the series, explains, “the show talks a lot about self-actualization and being in control of your own identity. There’s a lot of things Steven deals with that a lot of teens have probably encountered, too.” Shane Verkest, 18, says, “The show is incredible at taking on mature and complex concepts and handling them in ways that most adult shows can’t even figure out, so it totally appeals to the teenage demographic. All my teen friends watch it.”

Emma, 13, was standing anxiously in line to see Rebecca (and team members Kat Morris and Joe Johnston) give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. She was dressed in simple but effective cosplay as Spinel, the new villainous character in the film, with dramatic tear-esque makeup down her cheeks. Later, she rushed the stage to speak with Rebecca, but she was too late. She was one of the most excited people in the long line, and she could barely contain herself while talking about how the show has inspired her to become an animator. “I think the design of the characters is great, it’s frickin’ awesome, and has inspired me to try animation, but I’m not very good at it,” she says, letting a hint of shyness creep in. “I want to try to animate in Rebecca’s style.”

Jake, likewise, responded to the music on Steven Universe, leading him into new forms of creative expression. “Learning how those songs ticked helped a lot with learning how to compose music and sound design,” he says. “I’m pretty sure I’ve made content in almost every visual and audio medium based on Steven Universe because it’s such a huge inspiration.”

McKenzie Atwood, host of Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe podcast, suggested that the show presents a toolkit for teens and young people to deal with a variety of difficult situations. “How do you deal with finding your own identity? You learn how to handle these things by watching Steven and the other characters, and it’s not condescending, it’s all integral to the story and you’re learning through their successes and failures,” she says.

Shane, meanwhile, honed in on the show’s lasting impact. “Seeing characters you look up to be flawed individuals and love each other despite that is refreshing, and as a young viewer — I started in middle school — those lessons stick with you,” he says.

When Teen Vogue spoke with Rebecca Sugar, it was still about a week before Cartoon Network would announce that Steven Universe’s final season, subtitled Future, will be an epilogue of sorts, tying up loose ends, with no release date yet attached. The TV series that won a Peabody award in 2018 has been running for upwards of eight years is soon coming to an end, and Rebecca seems even more thoughtful than usual. This show has become something much larger than she ever imagined – and it was clear that she was in a state of both exhaustion and elation with hordes of fans awaiting her arrival.