10 Lessons About Mental Health From Bojack Horseman And Steven Universe
It isn't always about living happily ever after...
An end of an era for some of animation's biggest titles of the last few years, it's amazing to think about how two shows - so different in their style, storytelling and target demographic - have somehow become sources of mental and emotional guidance for their audiences with honest and heartfelt lessons by and for people struggling with issues of mental health.
Bojack Horseman was a dark horse (pun intended) of adult cartoon programming, starting with seemingly low-stakes jabs at Hollywood with silly animal puns mixed in, but near the end of its first season hitting deeply uncomfortable yet real and enormously mature themes with lessons not often taught by other adult cartoons.
Steven Universe was much the same in its low stakes beginnings, with your run of the mill kids show with an episodic adventure format that never got too dark until the origins and pasts of its nonhuman characters started coming to light, and it began tackling issues of emotional and mental health while also pioneering a lot of LGBTQ+ representation in kids programming.
Both shows have left an impact, and lessons for people to remember, some of which will be included in this list. Warning for some fairly heavy content pertaining to mental health as portrayed by animated TV shows.
10. As Long As You're Alive, You Can Be Better - As Long As You Put In The Work
This lesson from both shows align surprisingly well, though Steven Universe will, for the most part, be much more optimistic about it than Bojack, with a song stuck in there for good measure.
In Bojack Horseman, this concept is presented both during Bojack's period of sobriety and self-improvement, as well as in the finale, when he fears an eventual relapse. Todd gives him sage advice, telling him that even if he falls off the wagon, he'll get sober again; he has as much chance of getting better as he does getting worse.
In Steven Universe The Movie, the lesson is both sung in Steven's song "Change" as well as reiterated near the end: "There's no such thing as happily ever after. I'll always have more work to do." Though surprisingly sober, the underlying idea is still remarkably optimistic.
Both present the same lesson: You need to put in work to get to a good place, and good things don't just fall into your lap because you feel like you deserve a happy ending. And as long as you're alive, you always have a chance at happiness. As Steven put it:
"Happily ever after never ends."