“Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” Is a Hit

By PATTY YAN and NICOLE BARNES

In November of 2023, Netflix released a new animated series, “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.” The TV series is based on the early 2000s comic series “Scott Pilgrim” by Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley. “Scott Pilgrim” has also been adapted to other works such as a live action film “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (2010) directed by English filmmaker Edgar Wright.

This new series provides a fresh and exhilarating take on the quirky world of Scott Pilgrim—with some changes in the plot. The storyline of the series follows Scott Pilgrim who is a young adult who has fallen in love with the girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers. However, in order to date Ramona, Scott needs to defeat her 7 evil exes. 

The show’s creators successfully capture the essence of the story, combining witty dialogue, video game style fighting sequences and a good amount of humor to create a nostalgic yet refreshing retelling of the series. The themes of loyalty and support continue throughout the series highlighting the importance of personal growth, relationships, and navigating life’s challenges.

As anime, the series is a visually engaging experience. The fight scenes, arranged with flair and precision, ultimately contribute to the show’s comic book aesthetic.

Even though the comics and live-action focus on Scott Pilgrim, this new animated series shifted its focus to Ramona Flowers and her exes. There were mixed feelings over this change considering the fact that the title of the series quite literally contains Scott Pilgrim’s name.  Sophomore Aaron C. said, “When I watched the show, I almost turned it off with the change of plot. But I kept watching. It was just as good. I don’t think the writers taking a different turn was a bad idea.”

Junior Patrick X. enjoyed this change in focus. He said, “The movie was more focused on Scott as a main character being the guy to defeat Ramona’s evil exes to date her, but the show reimagined the series in the point of view of Ramona who now has to defeat her own exes and shows her own character development.”

While staying true to the spirit of the comics and film, this series is able to expand the story and the world of Scott Pilgrim in meaningful ways with the additional depth of characters. Fans of this series find this retelling to be enjoyable. Junior Sasha L. mentioned that if the creators keep coming up with something unique and exciting for the series in the future, then he will be excited. 

“Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” is a delight that well preserves the charm and creativity of the original comics.