Scott Pilgrim is a franchise that borders Japanese anime and manga despite being a Western comic. That gives it appeal to most western otaku. Scott Pilgrim — a 23-year-old lonely, jobless loser — experiences strange dreams about a girl with multi-colored hair. Then, at a party, he meets Ramona Flowers in person. After awkwardly flirting with her, they start dating. Scott Pilgrim then has to take on all of Romana’s evil ex-lovers in a series of fistfights for her heart. I said, “ex-lovers.” Besides that, he has to break up with the 17-year-old he started dating out of desperation before meeting Ramona.
Scott Pilgrim has it all. A wacky cast of characters, comedic drama, fun fight scenes, unapologetically queer subplots, and every cliche trope imaginable. It’s a fun series following the romantic history of two people seeking redemption. The comic series ended after six volumes with — spoiler alert — a melancholy ending. Still, Scott and Ramona decide they love each other and want to try dating without all the drama. Together, they disappear into Ramona’s subspace highway, and the comic concludes.
The 2010 live-action film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World roughly covered all the events of the comic.
But Wait. There’s More!
When a new animated series was announced for Netflix, I was ecstatic. As great as the film was, there were many key events omitted due to time and budget constraints. It felt like we would get a faithful, unabridged adaptation of Scott Pilgrim. The series creator, Bryan Lee O’Malley, returned as a writer for the animated series. My expectations and anticipation were high. Then a few months before the airdate, O’Malley revealed on his Instagram that the series would be very different.
“It’s not the books. I already wrote those and you can read them anytime. The show is its own new thing in many ways. Do NOT expect a word-for-word remake. Many fun surprises to come.”
Via O’Malley’s Instagram Story
I don’t use Instagram, so I never saw O’Malley’s warning. My expectations were based solely on a few trailers. I expected a faithful anime adaptation. This was true up until the very end of episode one, but by the end of episode two, my expectations had been torn to shreds. With that said… I loved every moment of the series.
It is impossible to talk any further without major spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk.
A Completely Different Timeline?
Instead of defeating Matthew Patel, Scott is completely annihilated and the next episode starts with his funeral. Unable to accept that Scott is truly dead, Ramona looks at the security footage of the nightclub one last time. To her shock, she discovers someone pulled Scott through a portal on the floor. Someone faked his death. But why and by whom? She doesn’t know where to begin, but Ramona decides to hunt down and take on her evil exes on her own to save Scott.
Despite such drastic changes to the story, it still has everything that made the original comic and movie so charming. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off remains a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is unapologetic with every single twist and turn it takes. Bryan Lee O’Malley’s fingerprints are all over it.
Ramona Flowers took a passive role in the original story, leaving her with little character growth. This time, she’s the main character. She has to confront her past mistakes head-on. In doing so, Ramona has to own up to how she’s the evil ex in so many people’s lives. Furthermore, not every past mistake is solved with a fistfight. Sometimes, it’s solved with conversation. Other times, it’s solved with her exes finding new companionship. Some just needed to rehearse their lines in their trailer.
Meanwhile, every other character is exploring their own lives, creative passions, and newfound freedoms. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gives everyone the chance they didn’t have in the original comic/movie. Knives Chau discovers her passion for music. Kim Pine and Stephen Stills try to continue Sex Bob-omb with her as their new bass player. Young Neil is directing a Hollywood movie, telling the events of the original Scott Pilgrim comic. Walis Wells goes from being a fun-loving drunk homosexual whore to being a massive whore. Matthew Patel overthrows Gideon Graves and takes over his company and the League of Evil Exes.
It’s Not About Scott?
So what about Scott? Well, Scott returns for the final two episodes and reveals he was abducted into the future. In meeting his future self, he learns that his Finest Hour (title of the final comic volume) isn’t the end of his development. There is far more to his relationship with Ramona than he could have ever thought. The sad truth is, happily ever after…isn’t so happy or forever.
Despite the warnings, Scott returns to his own time to pursue a relationship with Ramona, creating a paradox and further conflict. This leads up to a grand finale cleverly titled The World vs. Scott Pilgrim. In the end, everyone gets their happy ending. Scott. Ramona. Sex Bob-omb. And all of Ramona’s evil exes. Some might say it’s a bit cheesy, but compared to the melancholy ending of the original comic, I preferred this. An ongoing theme is that although they’ve all been evil to each other, they are still people with decent intentions who want the best for their own lives. Seeing everyone get what they need to grow into better versions of themselves makes for an endearing conclusion.
I can’t help but think back to Scott’s rambling in episode one. In the ’90s, there were two Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons. One was lighthearted and showed Sonic as a chili-dog-loving little scamp who beat up robots. The other was more serious and portrayed Sonic as a freedom fighter for an underground resistance. Yet both versions of Sonic had the same voice actor. Neither story was connected. They coexisted peacefully. Today, in an age where multi-universe seems to be the default, Bryan O’Malley does what most writers refuse to do. He lets a story change yet still coexist with its counterparts without the need for a cohesive explanation. I’m sure drawing a parallel to the ’90s Sonic cartoons was O’Malley’s intention all along.
Overall, the only way this could have been better was if they ran more lines in their trailers.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.
Sex Bob-omb might be a dead-beat garage band, and Envy Adams is still a global rockstar sensation. But neither can compete against the award-winning soundtracks from The Legend of Zelda and NieR:Automata! We’ve got plenty of collectible soundtracks on JBOX, and they’re currently on sale.
