Scott Pilgrim Takes Off spoilers follow.
At a time when remakes and reboots and prequels and schmequels abound, the news that Scott Pilgrim would be returning in a new animated show didn't exactly blow us away, Shōnen-style. After all, how many times can Scott fight the same seven exes who still have a thing for his crush, Ramona Flowers? Like, she's cool and all, but get over it already.
It hasn't been that long since Edgar Wright's movie adaptation became a cult classic for good reason, and the Ubisoft game that followed also mined a lot of enjoyment out of Bryan Lee O'Malley's original comics too. So what else is there to say when it comes to Scott's story? Isn't it time to let that poor Pilgrim rest his weary feet?
What to Read Next
Actually, no, it turns out. Because yes, the show is animated in O'Malley's signature style and sure, the original movie cast are all reprising their roles, including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and megastars like Chris Evans and Brie Larson. But make no mistake. Takes Off is not just a rerun. Not by any means.
In fact, Scott Pilgrim's return is so different to what fans might expect that everyone involved wasn't even allowed to talk about the show's biggest narrative swings until post-release. So don't let Netflix's basic synopsis fool you. It's wildly misleading in the best way possible.
You wouldn't necessarily realise that at first though, and that's because the premiere initially plays out just like the comics, regurgitating almost the exact same story, frame by frame. So that means Scott, a loveable bass-playing slacker, meets the girl of his literal dreams, Ramona Flowers, yet again at a party in Toronto and the pair end up spending the night together.
But when Ramona shows up at Scott's battle of the bands competition, the first of seven evil exes shows up to claim Ramona as his own.
Now, that's when things get really interesting.
Major spoilers follow.
Up until this point, the cast reunion and gorgeous animation make this a fun, if somewhat pointless return to a story fans are already very familiar with. But then, Scott doesn't win the fight like he's supposed to, like we've seen before in other versions of this story. In fact, he loses. Badly.
To say more would spoil the surprise, but just know that from this point on, this is no longer Scott's story at all. Instead, Ramona finally gets her flowers and takes centre stage, as she so richly deserves.
For some longtime Pilgrim fans, this might feel like a Bob-omb has gone off in the world they love so dearly, but O'Malley himself is the one who came up with this new take on his magnum opus, so the show can hardly be criticised for being unfaithful to his vision.
"Each adaptation has been unique and kind of perfect in its own way," O'Malley told TechRadar ahead of the launch.
"When Netflix asked me to revisit it, I didn't know what to do. So, one night off the record, I sat down with my good friend [and co-creator] BenDavid Grabinski, and he came up with some really wild card ideas that sparked new storylines and character arcs in me."
Those "wild card ideas" don't just rejuvenate the franchise for fans who already know every frame of the original story, inside out. They also update Scott Pilgrim for 2023, giving O'Malley a chance to rectify some problems from the source material (and the film) that are more evident than ever almost twenty years on.
First and foremost, centring Ramona Flowers as the new protagonist does a lot to dispel the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope she embodied back in the day. Yes, she's still a Dream Girl in a very literal sense, first appearing to Scott in his sleep, but with Scott now gone, Ramona's personality isn't defined by him.
Flowers is no longer a mere object to be fought over, and all her quirky tics that once reinforced the Manic Pixie trope just make Flowers a more interesting protagonist now, one who is arguably far better than Scott ever was.
It's not just Ramona who's more developed this time around. Plenty of screen time is now devoted to the evil exes who prove themselves to be much more than just a cool gimmick or superpower. With their backstories fleshed out and real character motivation developed beyond their obsession with Ramona, this story is now just as much theirs as it is hers.
That's particularly important when it comes to Roxie Richter, Ramona's only female ex in the lineup. The original story, and subsequent film often brushed her off as a psychotic lesbian, which feeds into a whole host of dangerous tropes, and Ramona's interest in her was just described "as a phase," which is about as biphobic as you can get without slinging slurs.
The new version of Roxie is still intense, of course. She's not a completely different character, after all. But Takes Off adds a lot more substance to Richter, just as it does the rest of the supporting cast, and any biphobic allusions have been removed completely. The same is also true when it comes to Wallace, who gets a much bigger chance to shine this time beyond just being Scott's "gay best friend".
Another issue that Scott Pilgrim's often been criticised for revolves around Knives Chau, the Chinese-Canadian high-school girl who Scott sort-of dated before Ramona. The new series doesn't overlook her age, although it does downplay the nature of their relationship, presenting it as an empty fling where nothing even really happened between the pair.
In the five episodes that were made available for review, Takes Off also seems to avoid some of the worst stereotyping Knives received before in terms of her ethnicity, although we'll reserve judgment on how that fully plays out until we have a chance to watch the second half of the series.
Aside from all these narrative adjustments, the new Scott Pilgrim is new and improved in every other way, too.
The visuals feel like they've been lifted straight from the very best anime shows that inspired O'Malley in the first place, yet his signature style still remains intact throughout. The original cast from Edgar Wright's adaptation all sound just as excited and invested in this world as they did back in 2010, and the fights, although less frequent now, are just as kinetic and thrilling as you'd expect from legendary Japanese studio Science Saru.
Oh, and did we mention how the soundtrack – co-composed by Joseph Trapanese and the band Anamanaguchi – is exactly the kind of addictive soundscape Scott Pilgrim himself would be obsessed with?
In short, everything about this new version of Scott Pilgrim is better than ever before. That's not to say the original comics or film aren't good. They're great, in fact. But in a world where nostalgia is endlessly pillaged by studios in increasingly soulless fashion, there's something incredible about seeing creators take such bold chances and experiment with what could have been a very safe, easy retread.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now the benchmark that other projects like this must follow, which is kind of fitting given how much the original story relies on retro 8-bit nostalgia in the first place.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now available to stream on Netflix.
You Might Like...
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
