This Week in Anime

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off in a New Direction

Nick
Knock Knock Knock
Hello, special delivery from Netflix. Are you uh...."TWIT?"

I have no idea what goes on in the frigid, barren wasteland of Canada and its godforsaken populace, but I can vouch for that second part! That's right everyone, it's time to get into the unlikely new production from Science SARU: a goddamn Scott Pilgrim anime in 2023.

I don't know why we're covering this when y'all already talked about anime based on Western properties, but we can wax nostalgic about growing up in the Bush Administration. Maybe joke about the size of Hummer SUVs or all-denim fashion-

...when people said Scott Pilgrim couldn't survive in this day and age, I didn't realize they were that literal.

I think the binge model suits this pretty well, if only because it allows for that initial shock to settle and then immediately see what this new take is all about. What we got is pretty: the creative staff is turning the original premise on its head and seriously re-evaluating what kind of story they want to tell in a new time and place.

From what I've seen, it's a bold move that has mostly gone over pretty well. Some fans are upset that it wasn't just a faithful recreation of the original comic. Still, it seems like most people who were into Scott Pilgrim back in the day are responding with a lot of enthusiasm for it getting the Rebuild of Evangelion treatment.

It works because it recognizes that while Scott Pilgrim's main emotional thrust was fairly novel in nerd media when it first came out, that's not the case now. We've had decades of nerd-centric media about flawed male leads in their teens and twenties, slowly learning to improve. I think that 15 years later, O'Malley felt it was better to spotlight other characters' stories and perspectives.

Plus, if you wanted a story about a 20-something screwup slowly trying to grow out of their worst habits and making up for the people they've hurt, I have good news: Being a dirtbag in your early adulthood is not exclusive to guys.

It's wild how much Scott's absence opens room for everyone else. Episode three offers some genuine closure for Ramona and Roxie and gives side characters like Kim a chance to develop a bit. It also allows them to make "Scott Pilgrim Yuri" a phrase I have to say.

Also, I know most people were excited to have the movie's cast return to voice everybody, but I went with the JP audio because I would not pass up hearing Yū Kobayashi swear like a sailor.

I didn't know I needed Aoi Koga as Knives Chau until I heard it, but now I can't imagine life without it.

That is the least interesting thing to argue about this show. If somebody walked up to me and started trying to debate the exact definition of anime, I'd be like, "Whatever!"

Nobody complained when Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had Let's Eat Grandma or The Armed, so they don't get to be picky when this show throws in Sarah McLachlin covers

Sidenote: I compiled all the needle drops and ED songs and dare anyone to send this as a mixtape playlist to their crush.

It's still thematically and tonally in line with the original version. It's a story about a collection of 20-something screwups being toxic and flaky while trying to navigate their messed-up relationships. It's still got the snappy and metatextual sense of humor. It's still got Scott Pilgrim dating a teenager. But now, with a modern perspective on its legacy, it can also respond to its audience cleverly.

That's part of Scott's whole deal. He's an immature dirtbag who's more comfortable dating an inexperienced high schooler who's easily impressed by his incredibly mid attributes. At the same time, we've seen enough media about "problematic" guys who date minors and get zero pushback, so I appreciate the show making it abundantly clear that he's a douchebag and Knives is better off finding her drive. I wish we got more of her. That one scene of her and Kim jamming was fantastic.

I know we keep bringing up those EVA movies, but that's because this feels in line with them. The Rebuild quadrology was a decade-long opportunity for Anno to re-examine his most famous story and reconsider how he told it and what he wanted to express as a creator. The result ended up being divisive and taking years to be completed, but it was ultimately richer for being so willing to dissect its origin. Takes Off never gets quite as reflective, but it makes up for it by being cheeky as hell with its status within a larger franchise.

That's fair. Even ignoring reflexive disappointment, I can understand why folks might bristle at the general idea of this. I certainly get tired whenever a legacy reboot or remake makes itself a half-baked metaphor about the nature of reboots. Here, that's mostly an added layer that rests on top of the genuinely engaging character drama, humor, and fantastic action setpieces.

I'm not interested in telling people how to feel about that, or if hiding stuff for the sake of surprising the audience deserves to be called lying or whatever. If your initial disappointment is that this isn't a straightforward adaptation, it may be worth pushing past that first reaction and approaching the show on its terms. This isn't changing stuff just to be different - it's very much in dialogue with the original story and its audience, and being open to that conversation may be pretty rewarding.

Well, in Fuuka's case, it took ten episodes to reveal they had cut out the funniest part of that whole stupid story. So, of course, nobody would react well to them retconning Truck-kun out of existence.

I firmly believe Fuuka is why we've been cursed with so many isekai anime. Truck-kun was robbed of his promised sacrifice and is now painting the roads red with blood until he is sated.

My favorite version of this movie is in Macross: Do You Remember Love? Much as I like the original TV series, its plot was messy, and the final third was a hastily assembled, extended epilogue that didn't serve the story or characters well. So, the movie revamping the plot and central love triangle is a significant improvement. And much like how Takes Off manages to flesh out the supporting cast, DYRL turned Lynn Minmay, a pretty underwritten side character for most of the series, into the foundational lynchpin for the entire franchise. There is an excellent reason why every subsequent entry treats the movie version as canon.

Meanwhile, suppose it's not well-considered, or you don't properly communicate its motivation. In that case, you get stuff like the infamous 2nd season of The Promise Neverland, a bag so fumbled that people don't even talk about the manga anymore because they're too busy being angry at the anime.

I'd like a timeline where the discussion could progress beyond the adaptation's failings, as eye-catching as they were. It's not like the anime erased the manga from existence any more than Takes Off got rid of the comic or movie. And I think we, as an audience, would be a lot better served if we could learn to live with imperfect - or even bad - adaptations rather than letting them dominate the discourse.

I certainly hope it can do the same for other folks. We're living in a media environment where it feels like any deviation from what's expected, or anything that takes a big swing at new ideas, gets taken as hostility towards the fanbase. However one feels about Takes Off and its approach to its source material, I think it's worth approaching with as open a mind as possible. It might not be exactly what you expected, but that may be why it's worth your time.

I guess we'll need to find a side gig to help with those debts. That's one thing from my twenties that hasn't changed.