Anime Scott Pilgrim Strikes Back (Spoilers Present!)
In 2010 I was taken to see a movie with friends. Had heard nothing in the way of press for this thing. Never saw a title, a trailer, or anything like it. But Scott Pilgrim vs the World quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time. It was a celebration of nerd culture wrapped in a story I had yet to realize was part of a series of graphic novels.
But I quickly picked up! About three years down the line, I'd partaken of every form of media this thing had. Bought the blu-ray DVD (Which MEANT something to me, because I know how to get my media without paying), video game, the novels and the OST from the movie.
Fast forward ten years and I'm watching Lucas Lee bust out of a trailer on a skateboard to the opening riffs of Dead Kennedys' "Police Truck".
Weird moment to start from, but it's things like that, which give Scott Pilgrim it's identity. The art is not so much in the fact that it's a reference, but how iconic it is to a certain generation. Most anyone who's into this franchise is into video games, the overlap is undeniable. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater's intro started more or less the exact way the scene did, and as a perfect callback it uses nostalgia in a way that elevates the ensuing fight scene.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a 2D animated story in it's own instance of canon that takes elements of all existing material of the franchise, distilled, and trimmed of fat. We lose a few characters like Michael or don't really get to see others like Lynette. Scott himself becomes a non-factor at the end of the first episode, but in exchange? We see Ramona with more agency in the story. Gideon Graves displaced of his company and riches? We get more variance in the roles of the Exes, who can exist without the 'evil' label.
There are so many more things that we can see done with the cast now, thanks to a few choice narrative decisions, ones likely made in the wake of some ah, years of self-reflection (don't look up Scott Pilgrim on twitter, for example) and the story, and the characters are all better for it. Knives calls Scott out on his shit and finds a calling of her own. Roxie and Ramona part on better terms. Hell, all the exes do—save for the twins. They are utilized but ultimately the weakest part of the seven Evil Exes dealie. Young Neil is pulled into the main part of the plot.
The art style is crisp and clean off the pages of the novels, and Bryan O'Malley's influences are still felt in all sorts of fun little background bits. No better can this be found than the episode where Ramona travels to the set of a fictional film about Scott, detailing the alternate (yet very real) reality of him defeating Matthew Patel in the first episode.
The cast, the directing, it all feels like it's 2010 again (shoutout Edgar Wright and Anamaguchi alike returning from the film and video game's music respectively). Not because of what's topical, but because of the quality control present. Scott Pilgrim rarely disappoints in terms of material. It's all engaging no matter how much moralizing and issues of ethics people can draft up seventy twitter posts a day about.
I don't want to drop too much about this particular topic, but Scott and Ramona, as people, are allowed to grow some. They never quite pull some brilliant overnight metamorphosis people would like them to go through after rooting for them in their high school years—but it really does all leave you thinking at the end: "Yeah, they're gonna be alright."
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a presence not felt in years. It's your friend coming home and you picking right back up where you left off—but you're both old enough to drink and shoot the shit.
And you realize that growing up isn't such a bad thing after all.
Anime A brilliant return
A brilliant portal back into the Scott Pilgrim universe after so many years away. It’s nothing like we expected while still complimenting the comics and original movie. Absolutely a must see.
Anime A Winner is You
I haven't reviewed a Scott Pilgrim property in 13 years. I wasn't a huge fan of the 2010 movie at the time, though these days I probably would be kinder to it in hindsight. Then again, I would also direct people to Scott Pilgrim Takes Off instead, an eight episode Netflix cartoon which serves as a best version of the core concept.
Pilgrim Takes Off starts out the same as the movie and comic; Scott, a NEET slacker who lives in a World that operates on the logic of geek pop culture references, falls in love with a delivery girl called Ramona, and must battle her seven evil exes to win her heart. It is towards the end of the first episode - by which point you are wondering if there is going to be anything new this time around - that the story takes a surprise diversion and starts telling a completely new story. A better one, in fact.
That was the first of a lot of good ideas the show puts into place, giving fans of the originals something new to experience. The second good idea was to bring back every actor they could from the 2010 movie. If the energy of their performances are anything to go by, they are enjoying the nostalgia trip as much as we do. The cartoon format gets us around the fact that these middle aged actors are pretending to be 20 year old geeks. It also fixes one of the issues I had with the old movie, which is that Michael Cera felt utterly implausible as a lady killer attractive enough to leave a string of broken hearted lovers in his wake. Putting his voice to a cuter cartoon character gets around that.
Another good thing about the episodic format is that it has the time to fully explore each of the many characters of Scott Pilgrim's world. The movie meanwhile had to rush through the material, devoting only a few minutes to new characters whilst rapidly switching between comedy, romance, songs and martial arts; it was like watching a three hour Tamil movie crammed into a sub two hour time frame.
The cartoon is vibrant, imaginative, and silly in a way that matches the tone and liveliness of an Edgar Wright movie, whilst also able to take full advantage of the animation format to pull off some particularly elaborate fight choreography.
All in all, there is a lot to enjoy with Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, whether you are a fan of the franchise or someone new.