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A Scott Pilgrim anime makes perfect sense on paper. After all, Bryan Lee O'Malley's original story began as a graphic novel series. After Edgar Wright's film adaptation that became a cult classic, Netflix has made it an anime, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
The results are mixed. It's clear that O'Malley and BenDavid Grabinski, who co-wrote the anime and created it, want to differentiate from the source material and previous film adaptation. To that end, it's mostly successful but also stumbles due to some big swings they take with the story.
But it's also hard to be mad. An admirable effort was made to reassemble the cast, and that is arguably Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's biggest draw.
It's also the show's biggest weakness at times, as it sometimes feels like there were scheduling conflicts that resulted in new subplots (which would be fair given the A-list status of practically the entire ensemble). This gives some characters more of a spotlight than O'Malley ever likely envisioned giving them, and there's a reason they were originally supporting players.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off review
To be fair, the anime does begin very akin to Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The first episode is nearly a carbon copy adaptation of the film until the inaugural battle against Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha).
We are quickly introduced to Scott (Michael Cera), his roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin), and the Sex Bob-Omb crew, Stephen (Mark Webber), Roxie (Mae Whitman), and Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). Also introduced are Scott's high school “girlfriend,” Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) — who does the best job at re-channeling her 2010 voice — and the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
After falling hard for the rollerblading Ramona, Scott invites her to a battle of the bands. Sex Bob-Omb is ready to take the stage when Patel shows up.
This is where the story takes a wild turn. No spoilers will be found here, but it's almost more of a Rick and Morty adventure than a Scott Pilgrim one.
Tempering expectations
So with that said, it's important to remember that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off isn't simply a rehash of the 2010 film. Maybe you expected that, but it was smart of Netflix to advertise the series around scenes that adapt the 2010 film.
Take the clip released, for example, when Scott orders a DVD for delivery. Aside from a few meta changes, like name-dropping Netflix instead of their competitor Amazon, and it being a DVD he's ordering, the scene is familiar to fans of the movies.
But animation allows for endless possibilities. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off dips into the weird that very few films can — especially when they attempt to maintain some mainstream relevance as Wright's film did. Throughout the eight-episode series, O'Malley and Grabinski pay homage to the likes of The Office, Avengers: Endgame, Back to the Future, and more.
Where the second episode takes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is unpredictable. From there, certain characters disappear that you wouldn't expect to be secondary characters in this series. In many ways, it's Ramona's show, which is nothing to complain about. But it also means characters like Young Neil and Julie Powers (Aubrey Plaza) get increased roles. Plaza is a standout in virtually anything she does, but her character wasn't given much to do in the 2010 film.
Cast limitations?
But what caused these changes? Was it O'Malley and Grabinski wanting to set their anime apart? That's possible, but it's hard to ignore that the ensemble of A-listers may also have had limited availability. Again, names won't be specified, but certain key characters disappear for episodes at a time.
That's bound to happen. When Scott Pilgrim vs. the World came out, the cast was a bunch of budding stars. Sure, Jason Schwartzman had starred in numerous Wes Anderson films and Anna Kendrick was a part of the Twilight series, but Chris Evans wasn't Captain America, and Brie Larson wasn't Captain Marvel.
There are valid reasons that it was difficult to get some of the actors back for extended roles. But it still makes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off feel a bit empty at times. Don't get me wrong, the cast is great — most of them have somehow yet to outgrow their character's ages (ironically, Cera is one of the few cast members who sound older than their 2010 portrayal) — but random disappearances of your favorite characters hurt the series.
And to be completely fair, there's also a lot more time to fill. The Scott Pilgrim vs. the World movie was under two hours. This anime series is eight episodes that run nearly 30 minutes each — so that's nearly two more hours of story to tell. That could also be a reason why certain characters get more shine.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Diluting the Scott Pilgrim anime of some key moments hinders the series as well. Again, the crew likely wanted to add in sequences that were unique to this series, but this causes some hiccups.
The story of Scott Pilgrim is nearly flawless. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off smartly addresses the story's only elephant in the room, Scott dating a high schooler, relatively early on. Otherwise, the story works. To its credit, the first episode is very similar to what has been done before — even the music during Scott and Ramona's park date is similar whilst putting a unique twist on the original.
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Now, returning to the source material years after it was written with some age and wisdom, there's a new twist put on the story (with lots of nods and references to the 2010 film). It's far more introspective than the previous adaptation, which results in a unique ending that serves this story well. It's just a very overbooked way of getting to this ending that results in the anime slightly tailing off towards the end.
Perhaps there is just too much fat — which is what Ramona taught us too much bread does. One or two less episodes would've made the story more cohesive.
Beautiful animation
It nearly goes without saying that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is gorgeous to look at. The source material lends itself well to an anime animated style, and that's proven from the very first frame. The live-action film did a good job of bringing the graphic novels to life, but this series takes it to a whole new level aesthetically. There are just things that translate a lot better in animated form.
In turn, you lose some emotion. Mary Elizabeth Winstead's performance as Ramona in Wright's film can't quite be replicated in the film. The uncertainty she wears on her face throughout is better communicated in live-action. Knives, on the other hand, and her expressive emotes are well-suited for anime.
Just the beginning?
No spoilers, but it also doesn't appear that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's story is meant to be a one-off. It ends with a new twist on a familiar villain that could indicate that more is yet to come.
And I hope that's the case. While Scott Pilgrim Takes Off didn't always land, there is more good than bad. Plus, this is a world anyone that loves the films would want to keep living in. While we know the end of the traditional story, there is now an open canvas for O'Malley and Grabinski should they choose to continue.
Should you watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off?
With the right expectations, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is good extension of the universe. It's a worthy successor that takes a few too many swings that don't quite land. This Scott Pilgrim anime series works better as a beginning of a new era for the franchise than anything.
But that beloved voice cast also presents the show's biggest flaw. They are all big stars now — will it even be possible to reassemble them? I hope so, as another season would be welcomed with a blank canvas to tell completely new, unfamiliar stories.
Let's just hope that a follow up doesn't take another 13 years.
Grade: B-
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be released on November 17 on Netflix.
