and how is this the only show for kids I’ve ever seen that Addresses Issues without being preachy, tone-deaf, cringe-making, or instantly dated

All the classic cartoon shows I grew up with had at least one Very Special Episode wherein the characters deal with An Issue like drugs, bullying, taking credit for someone else’s achievements, shoplifting, your parents getting divorced, etc, etc, etc. And all of them were, if well-meaning, heavier-handed than a golem running a goddamn triphammer.

What SU does is it presents a storyline in which The Issue is so insidious a part of the plot that the characters don’t even realize it’s a thing at first, and the audience watching has been going “wow this sucks” before the identification of The Issue itself: it’s the most gentle, deft, intelligent and fucking merciless treatment I’ve ever seen. You don’t get the rainbow-star The More You Know reveal after a character has summed up why The Issue is important at the very end: SU makes that rainbow-star light up inside your own head.

This show is funny because it’s smart–and kind because it’s smart, and affirming because it’s smart. It doesn’t strive to be any of those things for their own merit. They happen because the storytelling and the worldbuilding are done in such a way as to make them a natural and integral part of the viewer’s experience.

It reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes, tbh, and that’s one of the highest accolades I can give.