spoilers for episode one below https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231603866353754/scottpilgrimtakesoffanime2428998880.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=fab3634caba4d7bddab437b657cd12883a6c97fda3a70c3a03646c75165311c4 SCOTT PILGRIM IS DEAD. Thats the endofepisode twist for the pilot our eponymous protagonist LOSES a fight we as fans of the franchise know hes supposed to win. What turned into a potential animated recap of the story we know and love got turned on its head. Now anything goes. Throughout Scott Pilgrim Takes Off we bear witness to narrative upheavals that we couldve only dreamt of and all the while delve into each of Scott Pilgrims myriad of characters revealing the hidden depth of each of them. But as per the ush Im getting ahead of myself. Hi Im Javier and Im a BIG fan of Scott Pilgrim. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231604147359814/scottpilgrimtakesofftop141293534.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=399bf32d8777eb836c4a66bdc07868b778cc7774a2f995ab538793075bff3194 Its this quirky little Canadian comic that follows a loser dipshit named well Scott Pilgrim a twentythreeyearold directionless flunkie whos currently dating a highschooler. We see that his life is pretty uneventful living day by day until he comes face to face with the girl of his dreams both literally and metaphorically. And in order to get with her Scott has to defeat each of her Evil Exes a Megamanesque congregation of comically cocky douchebags all with their strengths weaknesses which Scott exploits in gamerthemed battles. To win the girl you beat the bad its a tale as old as time. So when Scott Pilgrim Takes Off got announced it was collectively assumed it would be another readaptation of this same material a fun schlocky romp with sharp dialogue and nerdy humor extended to the length of six twentyfive minute episodes. There was always something missing with Wrights 2010 movie adaptation of Scott Pilgrim In spite of all its technical ingenuity it lacked the visual cohesion with its comic book counterpart. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off would remedy that gap. And it didwhile bridging many other gaps in the process. See Scott Pilgrim isnt what you would call PC. The age gap between Scott Pilgrim and his girlfriend Knives Chau is suspect as well as many of the offcolor jokes sandwiched between battles or the implementation of the manic pixie dream girl or the haremesque tropes the author employed thanks to his being a fan of Ranma 1/2 No Im serious but its the outandout selfcritique of these problematic traits that makes Scott Pilgrim such a force to be reckoned with. No one is necessarily a good person in Scott Pilgrim mirroring real life we all bash heads with each other crack snide remarks at inopportune moments or forego communication in lieu of confrontational fear. Its what makes us human. This was a huge huge huge part of the comics and while it was touched upon in the movie it was always a part that felt a little more light in its weight the movie changed Scott Pilgrim from a fun story with emotional breadth to just a fun movie. Theres nothing inherently WRONG with that Fun for funs sake is one of my favorite traits of anything ever but when you transform a story like that its going to feel like that part is missing. Again another gap that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off bridges. Lets get back into that. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231604436779088/intro1700100724628946597.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=c58f46fe91c80942585bbc218f9251643ebdce6baa80a8d3a017efb1a6a0c2b7 By killing Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has the opportunity to delve into unbridled territory handing off the reins to the Damsel instead of the Knight allowing Ramonas devilmaycare attitude to skate through the colorful world of Pilgrim and find the culprit who killnapped her boyfriendtobe. See in this world the characters arent so moustachetwirling. Instead theyre characters with their own lives. Lucas Lee the movie star struggles to keep contracts afloat because he doesnt read scriptsBut insists on crashing and burning to the tune of United States of Whatever. Matthew Pattel a Dlist theater kid topples another exs empire in a fight we didnt expect him to win either. That same ex Gideon Graves must find his selfimage outside of finances or power. Its equal parts goofy and grounded PERFECT for a cartoon like this one and its crazy just how many characters this story juggles without ever feeling crammed or heavyhanded. There are seven evil exes six important side characters a few background ones two main leads and a partridge in a friggin pear tree. Im no good at math but Im good enough to realize thats a LOT. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231605091090603/scottpilgrimtakesoffus1e600103322b1780x4703247089685.png?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=f6aebf38bf623fdf60fbb6e1b686f8a9f84b4763abf8d78e7c2d3a41955dbe56 ADDENDUM: Solid nod to the myriad of LGBTQ+ rep in this one it all felt so goddamn natural and was so wellimplemented without pointing fingers at itself saying were doing the thing guys be proud of us Queer culture has always been a little slice of Scott Pilgrims charm so it was great not only seeing it represented but represented frontandcenter without an ounce of pretense. Good stuff. Wallace BEST CHARACTER. A while ago I read some text on the back of an ACCA:13 Box: SAVING THE WORLD. IN THEIR OWN TIME. and I dont think it could suit Takes Off any better. It takes all the time it needs to while having a consistent sense of stakes ramping up as each episode comes to a close. The plot follows the boss battle structure of the original but instead of defeating them Ramona takes the time to confront each of them on their personal issues determining which ex could killnap Scott and upon realizing each of them couldntve resolves her past with each individualTo varying results. Throughout Takes Off Ramona makes many offhanded remarks about Colombo and the comparison is apt a Colombo in a world of wackiness suitors and unresolved pasts opposed to an outandout murder. Though there is that too in a way. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231605409841242/ScottPilgrimTakesOffEvilExes1024x5733577791950.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=3c39bbc85aa1b658dd9bc88fea2d5417f0eac787045bc8c895af73fc8d9b0e6a Animation studio Science SARU as expected knocked it out of the park This looks like the colorful spreads of the original comic given animated life with extra expressiveness rendering and a heaping of visual gags so full that it bursts at the seams. Even from the production standpoint alone Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is an essential work You can go from a rollerblading scene to a character acting gag within split seconds of each other and it never once feels unnatural. Even the video game transitions parodying Super Mario Bros. and PacMan as the titles roll fit perfectly within this precious little world. Keeping with that the sound design helps accentuate the video game feel of it all the pacing the boss battles the side conversations and the little coin icons above characters heads recalls classic arcade titles of days old mirroring Wrights adaptation in the smashes and bursts of true blast processing. But in some of the dubbing you can tell things got lost in visual translation. However a solid 95 of the time its pretty damn seamless. You can tell some actors have more experience with voice acting than others but the fact that each every one came back to assume their original roles is nothing short of a miracle let alone giving such passionate performances https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231605716029480/scottpilgrimtakesoffus1e100063203655655adddf79933915211.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=8e3c039dbdfd2d4f3840a976e70b5de2709e0d5ba6ed9fdc37cc6a232babd8d2 God what else to sayI think Im gonna wrap up here. This shit is just everything I wanted it to be and more. I was doubtful I was DAMN doubtful This is coming from the kid who bought Scotts shirts and wore them who bought an XMen First Class hoodie so I can pull the line on girls Clearly one of us went to Xaviers School For Gifted Youngsters who blasted the soundtrack on repeat who carried around the hardcover in my bag for all of senior year who arrogantly surmised all girls I interacted with were somehow into me Good news They werent. Oh yeah Scott Pilgrim ruined my life. But it also made it. I can look back on those times and laugh man laugh at how much of a nerd I was but also realize Im just like these dudes now. A twentysomethingyearold loser with a dream a handful of friends and a bone to pick with a world. A dude with a relationship a complicated relationship with a girl Ill fight for the death for. In Scott Pilgrim I can smell the stench of Mary Jane stems and hear Fugazi blaring in the background I can see my friends and I shooting the shit I can see my rampant brain pinballing these scenarios of whatifs of WISHING that I could ride my longboard on walls like Lucas Lee. For better or for worse Scott Pilgrim is my life man my precious little loser life. And I fucking love it https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/839734152470724661/1175231606076751962/ScottPilgrimTakesOffuS1E1000351101130309622.jpg?ex=656a7ab9is=655805b9hm=5a14bfedb4ea6844567caf82c7a70154f06215c1896af78cc4c7ffe59ecab8dd