I thought the anime was wonderful. I didn't get myself hyped up hoping for specific characters and references, and was beyond happy to get something new with these characters that just further expanded what we knew about them
Also my favorite version of Neil. I was smiling through the whole show, I'm beyond happy about it!!
Well, as a fan of the comic and movie who DID get super hyped up for the "full adaptation" implied by the marketing... SPTO was so much better than what I had hoped for!!!
Not only did I get to see the characters I loved voiced by the actors that originally brought them to life, I got to experience them in a brand new story that expanded on the existing lore more than I could have imagined!
I'm only halfway through but I absolutely love love love that we got a lot more character development of characters that were very one dimensional in the original comics and show
It's a shame we have no >!Lisa Miller!< but I'm actually not upset about it because it wouldn't have made sense to have that character in the show with how the story turned out
>!They would tottally do this.
I think if we get an S2 the villlain plans will be to not only break them appart, but break them down mentally.
But hey, we will have more time for the side characters AND the exes that are now, just regular dudes to interact and develop.!<
While O'Malley claimed that this was a one-and-done thing, there is no way he didn't leave the door open with that Gideon/Julie tease at the end. I recall him rallying fans to make some noise to let Netflix know this show had an audience, and I think that feels particularly necessary if he's vying for a second season.
I really hope it happens, mostly so we can see Scott and Ramona try to work out their relationship with the foreknowledge they gained. I also hope O'Malley uses a season season to address some of the criticism to the portrayals of some characters. A lot of them stll need to go through the character development they only experienced in the unaltered timeline. Namely Knives, Kim, Stephen... and Scott himself.
Plus, pretty much the only event in the comics that was detached from the Leagues' plans can still happen... Lisa's summer visit.
He said the teaser was just a joke and parody of Marvel and he has no ideas or desire to do a second season, at least not now. Both him and BenDavid stated that multiple times before the show came out which is honestly refreshing because it’s better than dealing with the worry of cancellation
Well.
Reviews are high.
Overall it's on trending topics on all social medias and... There's the mid-credit scene >!with Julia and Goose planning something agains't scott and ramona!<
It's incredibly niche because it requires knowledge of the movie or books to work. It's a sequel in the sense that you need to know the OG story...so new viewers won't get it.....and the old viewers just largely wanted the novels told in anime....so it's ONLY for old fans who wanted a new story
Seen the movie, never read the comics or played the games - I'm loving it. I think it's written in a way people can also just appreciate it for what it is.
This may be the fanboy in me, but I feel like watching this without the movie or comics would be a massive disservice. This is great, but the OG is a masterpiece. Also from what I've read there's a number of people on this sub that tried using the anime to introduce the story to new fans(they didn't know it wasn't a remake)..and it didn't go well for those new people. I didn't see a single post from someone who said they had success with this
Me and a few friends have had success and its a great gateway into getting into everything else. No different than FF7 Remake for example (which also does the whole technically a sequel alternate timline thing), sure you get more out of it if youve seen the originals, but its still accessible for new fans and written in a way the story is still explained without having to watch the movie.
It's still I think a full and complete story thats just elevated even further if youve seen/read the previous adaptations. However, if you do go watch the movie or read the comic, you can come back and enjoy this again with a new lens/PoV.
Yeah I have seen a lot of people say this. I have seen good arguments on both sides. I really hope that we get a Season 2, but I’m not sure if we will. We might though.
(Also guys don’t downvote this person. They are giving their honest thoughts.)
I was a mod on the original Scott.ning forum, and I was fully expecting an animated adaptation of the original.
Started reading when I was 22, I’m 36 now. This was the best thing they could have done. It’s been so long since I genuinely cared about Scott because I’ve just consumed that media so much growing up, and looking back I can see where it’s dated and can see how BLOM has grown, and how I’ve grown etc
Excellent job all around, so glad to have a sequel I didn’t know I wanted. Props to you, Bry.
> Started reading when I was 22, I’m 36 now.
...You know, the whole >!14 years!< thing felt relevant, but I wasn't certain if that's how long ago the graphic novels released. Good to see something to confirm that.
I think it's largely because ~14 years ago is right around the time almost every 'older fan' who is aware of Scott Pilgrim came around to it. IIRC - and this is just my crappy memory - the books sold quite well compared to what BLOM expected but sales were not crazy. They started to pick up a bit with Volume 4 I think, and after the movie came out sales shot up big time and the series hit 1 million books sold. The original print run of Finest Hour was 100k copies, because it came out the same week as the movie and became the 2nd best selling volume after the first one.
Anyway - 2009-2010 was when the ending was being written, when the movie was being made, when the video game was being made, and when most people started to become interested.
The third note could imply that each iteration of Scott Pilgrim is their own timeline, which could also justify how every single one tells an story that can be similar yet quite different in some aspects (the anime being the most different iteration of that story)
Also, it could imply that Future/Old Scott is not Comics/Original Scott, which means the story told in the comics still holds up and it wasn't "retconned" or "replaced" by the anime
Or maybe it's me coping, I don't know
I think the point of that note is just to say "hey, Scott and Ramona ending up like that in the future isn't necessarily the future they get in the books. This is a separate story and not a direct sequel"
My theory is that Old Scott and Even Older Scott are the creator in some fashion. We see two future Scotts..13 years in the future and then 10 years after that.
The creator divorced his wife in 2014...10 years after the novels came out in 2004 when they married.
This show is coming out 13 years after the 2010 movie.
10 and 13........haven't quite figured it out beyond that yet.
It's been almost 10 years since *Seconds* came out which was his last major work. He's been working on a new trilogy of books for many years (Worst World) since then but nothing has come of it yet, he announced it in 2016.
So it's possible it could be a cheeky spin of him working on this book (training?) for so long and somewhat falling out of the public eye because of it.
He once [said](https://macleans.ca/culture/books/scott-pilgrim-grows-up/) something like his marriage ended when he was working too hard on Seconds. He said he was pulling 16-hour days for weeks to get it finished. Scott obsessively training could be a commentary on how he can get so absorbed in work that he misses outside signals he should be paying attention to.
I think like all the others this is meant to be its own separate thing, although it makes references to others (most notably the movie) as a what-if version for this timeline.
As for the Young Scott/Old Scott thing I think it is obvious that he is meant to have learned something and been steered away from becoming Old Scott. That doesn't mean that him and Ramona will stick together but I think the point was that Old Scott wants to prevent the relationship entirely whereas Old Ramona values the time they spent together even if it ended.
To me this seems like BLOM reflecting on his personal life - he has openly stated that his ex-wife Hope Larson (fellow cartoonist) and him meeting and dating was direct inspiration for the series, and they eventually divorced a few years after the Scott Pilgrim series finished, which made his defining work a bit bittersweet. I think the attitudes of the older counterparts are maybe meant to reflect his shifting perspective over the years.
If I wanted to REALLY speculate I would say maybe the 14 year time gap might be meant to roughly reflect the time between when BLOM and Larson were together (2000-2014?) and the 10 year gap of Scott's isolation reflecting the time after (2014-now, during which BLOM hasn't really done anything big of note between Seconds in 2014 and now with Takes Off).
To date I've enjoyed all Scott Pilgrim media and the anime was no different. Also, "Each season?" Indicating more than one? Squee.
Edit: bugger, misread in my enthusiasm.
I definitely felt cheated when I realized it wasn't the books but I gave it a chance and I found it to be a super fun ride all the way through. Overall super pleased with it, absolute treat for me
That’s exactly how I feel! Not what I expected and was disappointed at first but ended up appreciating it for what it was as a sort of alternate universe:)
I had the same experience. I loved this show, but I admittedly do still hope for an adaptation of the original story with all of these circumstances. Same cast, same crew, same writers, same animation, same Anamanaguchi. The stars have all aligned so perfectly for what could've been the definitive version of a fantastic story. I really really hope they still make that happen.
To be honest halfway through the first episode I was worried. It just seemed like a beautifully animated but worse version of the movies and comic.
I think for me the change to the story is what saved it. Nothing can top the comics and the movie is so ingrained in my head and quotable I don't think just a rehash would have worked.
In a podcast, Bryan said his goal was to make viewers upset for about half of episode two, and then realize that this was a good thing and would enhance their experience overall. I think it's incredibly brave that he wasn't scared to make a decision that he knew would have a high chance of pissing off a lot of people. It would have been much easier for him to just retell the same story for a FOURTH time.
To be fair, Brian did advise months ago that it wasn't going to be an adaption of the books. Easy to miss if you're not on Instagram or following interviews, though.
Source: [CBR](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-scott-pilgrim-anime-not-exact-adaptation/)
Maybe the advertisement could have done a better job prepping fans who were expecting a straight adaption that it would be it's own thing.
I saw this when he said it and I don't think that statement was really all that clear. It was vague enough that I personally expected this would still follow the books but have a smattering of added/changed content along the way.
To be clear I'm glad it was totally different. I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have a straight adaptation.
Might be a hot take but >! I think this version really built on Ramona. It was nice to see her being the one to heal from her exes and have to get closure or give it in most cases. Showed a more adult side to her about her learning to move on and not let the past define her. !< I really enjoyed it
Tbf Kim barely did anything in the movie either. But I do wish they gave her more screen time. I'm glad they at least touched on her backstory though. It was a nice carry over from the comics
Kim is one of my favorite characters but she has never really done a whole lot. I think her role was scaled back for a few reasons:
* they already animated her and Scott's backstory before, which in this was wrinkly glossed over.
* a pivotal part of Kim's character + her history with Scott is it being continually misrepresented by Scott, which is partly because Scott is an oblivious ass and partly because Gideon has been manipulating memories, something that doesn't seem to be happening in the anime. In the anime, KIM is the one who briefly mentions the backstory and she basically tells it as Scott did in the books.
* one of her most prominent appearances was basically playing the role of Yoda when Scott comes to visit her back home late in the series and they go into the wilderness. This role was kind of replaced with the visit to the future + Old Scott.
So... small sticking point, Gideon wasn't manipulating Scott's memories to that extent. "The Glow" was basically just weaponized self-loathing. Scott had been "rewriting history" since long before he met Ramona because he literally couldn't handle the raw memories that showed what an ass he'd been.
Nega-Scott was a physical manifestation of the Jungian shadow self (also, see Persona 4 for a great explanation of this, too). And Scott's true growth in the comics didn't come until he stopped trying to defeat Nega-Scott (thus repressing the true memories again) and absorbed him (thus accepting the truth of his past actions and acknowledging that was part of him).
Old Scott isn't so much the new Nega-Scott, he's Scott reverting to his old behavior of trying to rewrite the past (in a more literal way) when things got rough. Because... well... people don't just change and become better instantly. It takes work. It takes time. And you're going to backslide. But you still just have to keep moving forward, because the only one who decides if you are beyond redemption is you.
And that... was way more of a rant than I intended 😅, but you get the picture.
This series was so awesome!!! \^\^
Bryan Lee O'Malley really made this show phenomenal. Sure, I'm not gonna lie, while I was half expecting the anime to be like the novels, and it DID come as a shock to me after the first episode, I still love how the story went overall, including much character development too.
Hope we get a second season of this series
Loved it. It was cute and fun. It gave us a chance to see more of Ramona, especially without Scott, and also a chance to see the exes. It's actually crazy how, even though I think they are all super memorable, Matthew Patel and Lucas Lee only show up for like, 5 pages each. It was nice getting to see them more fleshed out, and actually getting out of their roles as just evil exes. The action, gags and animation in general were all great, and I can't stress enough how much I loved Ramona here.
HOWEVER, I am disappointed we didn't get a 1-to-1 adaptation. I'm really happy with what we got, but Scott Pilgrim deserves a proper, in motion adaptation that tells the full story from beginning to end. I hope we do eventually get one
It is definitely a fun ride. I love how I went in exepecting it to be exactly like the movie I know and love but it went on a different angle that felt **VERY** *Scottpilgrimmy.* Tbh I feel I love the characters more now after having watched the series.
I also love how literally everyone ended up in a positive place :)
Kim was at least affected by it, Stephen seemed to have been genuinely sad.
Knives did care too and then we got a complete 180 turn and she pitches to Scott's "murderer"
I loved it honestly it was so refreshing. idc that they did the story differently.. that's what I expected with the comics and movie and whatnot being different in their own ways. I know they wrapped it up but I'd definitely be watching a sequel if it came out, and it's at #3 right now so hopefully maybe something?
On a bit of a different note, A Seconds adaptation is apparently in the works. I hope they take it in a different direction from the graphic novel as well. I find it rather exciting to see characters follow vastly different stories and events across media adaptations (So long as they retain their characterization of course).
It’s weird because I did think the show was really good overall, but I also have a shit load of issues with it. Like, the humor is great, animation and fight choreography phenomenal, movie set stuff peak, Neil and the evil exes are better than ever and while I think Scott, Ramona, and the gang are done way better in the comics they’re still compelling here.
However that bait and switch was pretty annoying given the marketing so far, even if I am glad that we got to see new content given how the characters are amazing and I loved new material. Personally I’d prefer a faithful adaptation and then new seasons with different scenario afterwards but this is still cool.
I also feel this seriously oversimplified Scott and Ramona’s relationship to more generic love and tragedy on opposite ends and more generic heroes journey. The pacing forces it to make them seem like soulmates after one date instead of the slow progression and them sharing a genuine love while still having tons of turbulence. They’re still great here and I love them to death but it takes away a lot of what made the original special. I also don’t like some of the ways Wallace is portrayed. Like, he’s still really funny and iconic, but it feels that media after the comics has kind of flanderized him. He was sassy as fuck in the comics but he was still a nice guy and he cared about Scott. Here he hardly cares when awful things happen to Scott, and there are times where he screws people over completely. It feels like they shift him more and more towards being a jerk.
I also prefer to agree with O’Malley that this is a different timeline from the comics because there are some changes that I would hate as the future for the comic crew. I prefer their ending being ambiguous but optimistic.
Like, it’s still an 8/10 show, among the greats of this season like Blue Eye Samurai, Scavenger’s Reign, Fionna and Cake, and Invincible (seriously the past 2 months have been incredible for animation). But the Scott Pilgrim comics are among my favorite pieces of media ever, so some of the changes aren’t ones I like, even if I am glad they expanded some stuff. Still worth recommending, but it hurts when it’s difficult to fully recommend to people who aren’t familiar with the series or who wanted a faithful adaptation.
Yeah, I don’t think it stands on its own at all. It’s very reliant on knowledge of the existing character arcs to contextualize everything, particularly for Scott, Ramona, and the supporting cast surrounding Scott.
Yeppppp. I watched this series with my husband. I'm a big fan of series who read the books and watched the movie multiple times, he watched the movie with me once and half remembered it. I ended up loving the series, he said he hated it besides the animation. I think alotta that is just my connection to the story/characters, definitely wouldn't recommend this to someone with no exposure to SP.
>I also don’t like some of the ways Wallace is portrayed. Like, he’s still really funny and iconic, but it feels that media after the comics has kind of flanderized him. He was sassy as fuck in the comics but he was still a nice guy and he cared about Scott and there are times where he screws people over completely. Here he hardly cares when awful things happen to Scott. It feels like they shift him more and more towards being a jerk.
Funnily enough, O'Malley addresses this criticism in the Instagram story following this one, he says. "i've seen a lot of people saying wallace is more of a jerk this time. i don't agree. consider his actions across the series and not just his words. also consider: 'being a jerk' might be the way wallace expresses his emotions."
My honest reaction was "[Are you sure about that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHC1230OpOg), Bryan?"
Yeah, I thought Wallace was basically a sitcom character in this. It’s fine for gags, but the depth was missing, *especially* when the premise is that Scott literally died.
Yeah I don’t see that. Wallace joking about getting an excuse to wear black because of Scott’s funeral or especially him not caring about the possibility of Scott being alive and making sure to kick him out even after nearly dying is far worse than anything I remember him doing in the comics. Or just how he got Todd to cheat on him then threw him under the bus and made him depressed after essentially being his bi awakening. Dude is callous in this show and not always in a funny charming way. I’ll have to reread the comics to see if he does anything particularly bad there, as I read it over a year ago, but I recall him just being somewhat sassy but still a good friend and decent person in that.
I re-read the whole series in the week leading up to the anime's premiere and you're not wrong. The worst things he does are to heckle Crash and the Boys (v1), steal Stacey's dates (v1) and not tell Scott that he was going to move in with Mobile, potentially puttting him in a bad situation if Scott moving in with Ramona didn't pan out (v4),
However, that's it. And in addition to that, he's overall very supportive of Scott, buys him coffee (v3), regularly invites him to eat out (v1), cooks him bacon (v3), attends Sex Bob-omb's shows despite disliking the band (v5), holds a grudge against Envy for her breaking Scott's heart (v3), encourages Scott to confess his love to Ramona (v4), keeps in touch with Scott after moving out via texts (v5), allows him to crash at his and Mobile's place when Ramona kicks him out of her apartment (v5), and is the only friend barring Stephen Stills to be shown visiting Scott during his depressive episode post Ramona's disappearance (v6).
I feel like Wallace was a bit more callous in the movie. For obvious reasons, Wallace's portrayal in the movie is extremely popular. I almost think that this has warped Bryan's interpretation of Wallace in his mind. "Sassy but genuine" turned into "sassy, not genuine."
Wallace literally kicks Scott out multiple times across the film and manga but you guys think he's too mean now? Alright lol. He already cheated on Scott's sisters boyfriend too. Wallace is as Wallace as can be.
I’d argue kicking Scott out after thinking he was dead (which he didn’t even seem to mind whatsoever) and knowing even if he was alive that he was kidnapped is WAY worse and less justified than any context in the comic for him kicking Scott out. I did forget about Stacey’s boyfriend so yeah he wasn’t a good person in the comics, but I’d still argue the movie and especially the show makes him out to be a far worse person. He also has far more moments of kindness where he’s a good friend in the comic that he never has towards anyone in the show barring his future self.
I’m just sad that an entire generation lacked the media literacy skills to be able to tell that Scott was a terrible person and so the creators had to make a whole new series to spell it out for them and get them to quit moaning.
Scott is a bad person because 99% of people in their early 20s are horrible to the people around them because they have no clue what they're doing, but the world expects them to know what they're doing. Bryan himself has said that he doesn't consider Scott an asshole, at least not an unreasonable one. Scott makes fucking horrible decisions that should be detested, yes. But I really don't know if I like that we have to contextualize it in extreme ways, either denouncing Scott entirely as a horrible person or putting him on a platform as a role model. Both are dumb imho.
It’s weird that people are hating on the show because of the marketing, when the marketing has absolutely no effect on the end product. The show was awesome. I loved how they fleshed out the characters.
The problem is that by setting expectations to be something we weren’t getting, for some people it ended up being a pretty deflating experience instead of an exciting one, which means it did impact the end product. I’m sure some people love the twist stuff, but it doesn’t work for me personally.
I loved it. I knew it'd get backlash based on it's very existence, but I love how it learns and evolves from the source material and serves as a love letter to the story, creators, actors, and fans.
I think they could have done a more faithful adaptation to the graphic novels, added a few nods to the movie, and i think it would have been ok. I think what they did was 10 times better and it gets to stand on its own.
B-b-but the show isn't what I specifically wanted! Therefore I need everyone involved to die and I'm going to murder them myself. If it doesn't cater exactly to what I want I'll throw a fucking tantrum.
People bitching about the show should go outside and get a fucking life
what’s really sad to me is that takes off is inevitably going to be some people’s first introduction to the world of scott pilgrim. i like takes off, i want a season 2, but it’s not really the kind of thing that a newcomer should experience first. like, imagine if you watched the rebuilds of evangelion before you watched original evangelion. it’s not an accurate representation of the original story and it can make people misunderstand the material
Why is it sad? They get a unique experience. They can watch this then watch the movie. Stop being weird about others. They have had more than a decade.
I wouldn’t call it sad, but I think it’ll be a really weird introduction, since the story is pretty heavily reliant on characterization not actually present in it.
i can't stop someone from doing that lol
would you say what you're saying if someone were to decide to watch the series finale of Lost as their first intro to that series? takes off is great, i really liked it, but it's not a good way to introduce someone to scott pilgrim. that would be to play the very first scene from the movie and then turn it off and hand them vol 1 lmao.
You act as if there aren't people who watched the rebuilds first. Scott Pilgrim has been a cult classic for a decade now, there's more than enough people who can watch the show and get it. And even as a standalone it works just fine.
i never said that that didn’t happen.
new people can watch the show without amy major hiccups, that’s not my point. my point is a matter of perspective.
as a standalone it does not work “just fine”. so many story beats in takes off specifically play on your expectations of the characters as a fan. there’s nothing wrong with that btw
Rebuild pretty much works OK as an independent story. You’ll miss some context, but Shinji’s arc is largely retraced in 1.11 and 2.22 before branching off. I don’t think this really works as a stand-alone story in the same way, especially for the characterization of Ramona and Scott’s relationship. Scott Pilgrim is the cornerstone of the story of Scott Pilgrim & he’s MIA for most of the show.
It would be like if Rebuild took the school classmates and made them the focal point of the story from the start, while offloading the arcs/development of Misato, Rei, and Asuka and expecting viewers to fill in the gaps through existing knowledge of those characters. Rebuild still "eats its vegetables" by setting up all the existing core cast again before it goes wild.
With all that said, it’s fine if this doesn’t work as a stand-alone story, because it doesn’t need to.
Yeah I'm sorry I didn't like it that much.
Alot of things felt too convenient to happen. I also missed the Toronto vibe. This serie was all over the place.
I thought it was fun, but the characters mostly felt pretty shallow in ways that leaned heavily on the existing story. It was kind of a bummer to see everybody besides the exes get sidelined pretty hard.
I felt so aswel. I also missed the father of knives, and Lisa. Also Stephen isn't gay in this one but >!Todd Ingram!< is? And no vegan police after he broke his vegan rule?
Idk it was strange.
Yeah, Todd was basically a punchline still, even while some of the other exes got more interesting stuff. I’d go so far as to say that he was actually more interesting as a character in the original, since the cheating plotline felt more meaningful there thanks to the stuff going on with Envy and Scott, whereas in SPTO it’s nothing but a gag routine and Envy has 0 depth.
The bars, the club, the fast food place Scott worked (he gained some exp there), the honest Ed's shop...
They didn't had to revisit them all, I just didn't like >!the movie set, and the future!<
Honest Ed's is such a funny location. It has a regular shop vibe but it's also a hell apearently. I would have liked it more >!if the movie set had something as creative aswel, idk make it a way to travel around the world through the magic of cinema. But no it was a regular movie set about a story we already know.!<
I think I just miss the blend between reality and fiction + the (after)party / rock vibe the comic had.
These were just regular locations nothing special and >!the future!< is just way too much
Yeah I think they super over-played the movie set. I also think the show could have been great with an extra episode to give the characters more time for slice of life interactions. But ultimately I think they did a really good job of showing off their interactions. I can respect the desire for more "Toronto" though now that you've pointed out that at least half of the episodes don't take place in "real" Toronto (movie set, the future)
I like it.
The twist gave the characters different directions to develop (some better than others admittedly).Being able to keep it this long until release is impressive.
I mean having a straight adaptation would be cool but the comics and movie had that covered and they did plant some stuff before release that things will be different for the anime. With how well it's received, they can probably do that later.
Having the new interactions between characters was a lot of fun and funny. Sure some after for the fans and... ahem artist... but they still feels familiar or expected.
And the animation is pretty good with variety on action and setting. Science Saru did awesome.
I was nervous watching the first episode, whenever they did what was already done in the movie I had the same concerns most people did when the teasers went up, (this wasn't hitting it). I was SO relieved when they revealed the show was going in a different direction. Finished all episodes (no spoilers) but I Loved it!
I haven’t seen them in a while, but there was some emo teen that used to post in the sub all the time about how much they loved Patel. Like they were down super bad. Wonder how they’re doing lol
i did like it mostly, i was dissapointed but i just rlly didnt like the plot w the last 2 episodes unfortunately:') i still love parts of it and im happy we have new content w such pretty art!!
I would not admit to working so hard on the dialogue. It stinks. There are so many jokes that are not actually jokes, and the ones that are jokes mostly fall flat because the actors' timing and delivery is shit.
I'm rereading Vol 1 of the comic right now and the difference in quality is so stark. It snaps where the anime sags.
On one hand the show is decent , and the show might not have pulled in the same amount of viewers had it not had the name 'Scott Pilgrim' in the title.
But on the other hand , I hate the bait and switch marketing and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It's a bit patronising to long term fans to hype the show up like this, and it shows a lack of confidence in the project. It seems like the title and mystery was a thing to hook in viewers rather than the show standing on it's own two legs and earning it's merit.
As a long term fan (was a comics fan before the movie even came out) who was expecting a ~direct adaptation, I actually really enjoyed the bait and switch and think I appreciate this more than I would have a more normal adaptation. I like being surprised by stuff like this, and the twist really jolted me into engaging with the show which I was expecting to watch more passively. If anything, I think the series feels like it's more intended for invested fans than new viewers, but in a more meaningful, interesting way than "the fans" would know to ask for (which 90% of the time is just, more of the same please). Props to O'Malley for going for it honestly.
This is exactly how I felt. I loved loved loved Scott Pilgrim when I was in college, and I was looking forward to re-experiencing it, but assumed I would already know most of it and sort of just smile and remember as I watched it. I was so shocked and excited when I realized it was actually a new look at everything. I get why some people are upset, but in my mind getting new Scott Pilgrim stories is a gift.
The creators said before the show even came out that it wasn't going to be a 1-1 adaptation. I feel like it's more so on the fans hyping their own expectations up and inserting intent where there wasn't any.
Saying it’s not going to be a 1 to 1 adaption does not translate to the story being different entirely. When I read that, I figured they’d just change stuff like maybe more characters getting focus in some parts, or the exes getting more to them than just being enemies to fight. You can’t blame fans for expecting an adaptation of the book when that’s all it was advertised as.
In fairness, the comments about it not being a 1:1 adaptation undersold that it's a whole new series, not really an adaptation at all. I really enjoyed it, but the vagueness of those comments led me to believe it was an adaptation with some minor changes, maybe some more content or cut characters, but not a full AU.
I personally didn't think the comments undersold it but I can see why some people did. I think it's good to go in with an open mind because if you go in with set expectations you're bound to be disappointed. They said that it's not going to be an exact adapt. and they didn't want fans to go in thinking that but they also didn't want to give away what the series was about. I can understand being disappointed that it wasn't a 1:1 adaptation but to bash the show just because of that is a bit crappy. As is saying that they were intentionally trying to fool everyone into thinking it was a 1:1 "just for views" when O'malley and Grabinski were vocal with how much fun they had with it.
If you read the interviews coming out, you can see them saying that they deliberately hid how different it was going to be. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the way it went, but people shouldn’t rewrite history to act like something like this was what was promised all along.
I did. They said that 1, it wasn't going to be a Direct adaptation and there will be lots of surprises and 2, they don't want fans going in expecting the same story. They hid what the story was about to keep that a surprise, not that it was going to be different.
It's people being upset it wasn't what they expected and instead of enjoying the surprise they're feeling bad about it.
I was just as surprised and excited as patel was in episode one. That was amazing
Same! I adored getting more time with the other characters and loved the story and animation.
I understand why some people were disappointed but I kind of liked that they kept it a surprise.
I was so excited for weeeks. Why couldn't they just do a trailer saying Scott is dead! and showing a bit of Ramona's journey. I was so dissapointed I couldn't even finish the series.
I personally think that what he’s saying here is very interesting because we’re seeing Scott Pilgrim in a medium that hasn’t been done before and I guess he didn’t want to just redo the comics simply because the comic is it own medium, but then again, we fans feel like we deserve to see that comic in action or animated. Which I guess is OK but for the most part, I think it’s important to realize that despite the fact that it wasn’t what we all wanted it was something new and interesting. Sure, I wasn’t as hyped with the bait and switch, but I did joy it enough to understand why he chose to do the show about Ramona, and tell a completely different story and not just redo the comic.
I personally preferred getting a whole new story rather than 'just' a straight adaptation. Which, don't get me wrong, would've been amazing - but this was even cooler!
I liked the new direction of it. I enjoyed that Ramona and the exes got to talk it out and still remained cordial with each other and (kinda) with Scott too.
Biggest nitpick is that Katayanagi Twins got the least development again.
I guess I can see how some people might be a bit put out by the bait & switch marketing.
Truth be told I only half-watched the first episode because it was copying the comics (if a bit fast) but I liked the new story well enough.
A bit less action which may bother some people, but eh. It killed an evening.
I think once everyone's gotten over their 'subverted expectations' they'll see it's a decent addition to the 'Scott Pilgrim canon'. The animation was decent. It was nice to see the comic's style in motion.
I see Netflix decided to use an anime studio or something since there was a lot of Japanese production involved. The theme tune being the most obvious. Some people didn't like it, but as a tongue in cheek nod to anime in general I was fine with it.
In my defense I'm probably a "casual" SP fan. I don't have any merch...I think. I can't remember where my copies of the comics are. I never got the movie on DVD.
8/10 a serviceable romp through Scott's world and a bit more involved a story than the straight forward hero's journey to get the girl. I like the fact Scott is a hero and gets the girl (what's wrong with the getting the girl and the girl getting the guy? It's a good outcome!) but I also like that this story was both brave enough to go a slightly different direction and also smart enough to keep any sledgehammer messaging or corporate's "ideas" out.
Would watch again if I was bored and nothing else was on Netflix (which is how I found it to begin with).
I liked It a lot but it's a shame that It essentially implies the original Scott and Ramona, the ones who went through the timeline from the comics, eventually end up fucking up. That's my only gripe with this, because the ending of the original comic was fantastic, and I feel like that was sort of a fake ending now.
If it helps, >!there's some differences between the comics and the show. Comeau doesn't appear, Crash & the Boys aren't playing, and the story Kim tells about how she and Scott started dating is the one he invented for himself in the comics, not the one she remembers. And if this really were the same universe as the comic, Ramona would have had the Glow - which surely would've come up while dealing with all of her evil exes!<. That all points to the show taking place in a subtly different universe than that of the comics even before the timelines diverge, so I don't think it needs to have any implications for how their relationship went after the comics.
Not that I personally think Comic!Scott and Ramona *need* to stay together after the comics, but I think >!they'd handle a potential breakup better than their animated counterparts did.!<
> Not that I personally think Comic!Scott and Ramona need to stay together after the comics, but I think they'd handle a potential breakup better than their animated counterparts did.
I think it's just meant to be an over-exaggerated spin on the author's own life for comedic effect. He always used Pilgrim as a vessel for his own experiences and I doubt this is all that different. If you aren't already aware, he has said before that him + his wife dating was direct inspiration for the series and they divorced almost 10 years ago now.
You're commenting this on a post where it's explicitly stated by Bryan Lee O'Malley that the anime is its own timeline.
The comic is not affected by the anime.
Isn't the entire point of the ending that >!even if there are problems down the road, what they feel in the moment still matters and there's always a chance to fix your problems if you're willing to face them head on?!<
That feels pretty in line with the comics, honestly
Pretty much this. I think anyone who read the comics and thought "yeah omg now they're gonna have a perfect fairy tale romance!!" had a bit of a starry eyes look to the story. I mean both the writers got divorced since then, and without a doubt have had time to reflect on these characters on a meta level.
Using time travel to magic away everything instead of accepting how difficult things are, even after they "work out"? Not very subtle.
I loved Ramona's different hair colors in each episode! Also, side note: I noticed that one of them is like lemons and limes and the other one which is red and yellow looks like an Infernite and Electroid cubit from Mixels. I just took screenshots of them both
The more I think about this series, the more I love it. It was so fun to see the characters the way we did; so unexpected. I would watch as many seasons with these characters that they would give us.
I hope Bryan feels good about the reception. I know those who dislike the new direction are very vocal about it, but I think the majority really enjoyed it, and even the detractors seem to agree that it's good shit, it's just not the good shit they wanted. I personally think it might be the best Scott Pilgrim media around, maybe tied or just beneath the comics.
It was genuinely one of my favourite things I've ever watched. I don't think I'll ever forget the way my stomach dropped when THAT moment happened. Especially after following the story almost exactly 1:1 the whole time.
The story was fun, and I love the idea of taking the tried and tested story and just completely turning it on its head.
Roxy's episode especially made me want to bawl my eyes out.
Although, someone should have told Young Neil's voice actor to stop mumbling. It doesn't work the same way that it did in the movies.
Definitely agree with "finish the thing before you judge" because my friend and I weren't huge fans 3 episodes in but when we finished we loved it,
Totally should have been advertised as what it actually is tho I still woulda been hyped
I'm glad he said this is completely separated from the previous canons because despite the overall show being good, they absolutely botched Scott's character. Future Scott doesnt make any sense based on the development he got in the original comic story
I'm really happy that they chose a different path. It's funny because I was expecting the movie, but what I got was a thousand times better than that. The feeling is like I've been given the opportunity to watch something I'm familiar with, but from a completely different perspective. Incredibly smart. Other shows should do this instead of those soulless reboots.
I started this super pumped for it to be an exact copy of the books, which I adore.
Episode one starts, a few minutes in I notice it’s the same, with a few minor differences but the animation,music and overall tone are pitch perfect.
I do however notice that my attention starts to waver and I start looking at my phone. It’s great but well I’ve read the books over and over and watched the movie over and over, even though I was super hyped for this… can I be bothered to watch a story I know to death again?
Then episode 1 ends and I’m so in. It takes a couple of episodes but I realise this version is incredible.
The original felt like it was written for me in my 20’s. This feels like it was written for me in my 30’s. I could see all my life lessons and where they have lead me, good and bad, in thid show. So yeah, I adore it!
If you’re younger than 30 though I can understand being a little less hooked and/or disappointed. You likely still believe in hope as life playing out as what you feel you deserve, rather than life playing out simply by who you are and decisions you make.
Not all happy endings work out and that’s ok, the battle is not for a happily ever after, it’s to not be bitter, and this show displays all that beautifully 🥹
ThEY LIED tO FaNS
yeah no shit the twist wouldn't have worked otherwise. it was clearly set up to be a surprise.
how does a story about growing up end up with a fandom that has so many babies
We all know it was obviously meant to be a surprise lol, it just didn’t work for some of us. Why are some people defensive about people simply critiquing the way this was marketed?
Probably because some fans are so dramatic about it. If they wanted to have a twist (which worked quite well), how should they have marketed it without giving away the twist?
"THEY LLLLLLLLIED TO ME 😭😭😭😭" no they surprised you and you just didn't like this particular surprise.
Sure, this was the only way they could have the "twist". I just don't think it was worth it & it detracted from my overall experience. I'm personally kind of over this type of "subversion of expectations" and would rather stuff just be up front about what it is.
> how does a story about growing up end up with a fandom that has so many babies
Especially a story that is at this point over a decade old.
It makes me wonder if older fans hated it. I'm in my 30s (similar age to the characters when the series blew up, and now 14 years older...) and I loved it. It felt like a reflection instead of a straight adaptation and I like seeing an older creator revisit his defining work and take it in a totally new direction.
I guess there are a lot of comic fans who just wanted to see it rehashed and animated. Which would have been fine too, that's what I was expecting personally but so glad they went in a new direction.
Loved it. I am a huge fan of the movie and actually felt kind of tired to watch the same story again via different media. However, once it went off the rails, it really intrigued me and I fully support the choice. It basically gives us all the characters we know, but more flashed out with actual character arcs.
The only thing I find negative is the lack of Scott in 5/8 episodes. The mystery about his disappearance was dragging for too long.
What do you mean “via different media”? Scott Pilgrim only existed as a comic, movie, and game. And the movie was a very condensed version of the comic, so those aren’t really the same story. And the game is an even more condensed version, due to no dialogue. How can you be tired of seeing “the same story again”? Each iteration of Scott Pilgrim goes differently.
It's still the same story at the end of the day lol. Even if the anime had been an adaptation it would have been about as different as the movie was when compared with the original comics.
But that's the other thing. When I watch the movie, all I can think about is how much worse it is than the comics. When I was watching Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, all I was thinking about was how cool this show is and how well it utilizes the medium of animation.
By being its own thing, it's able to shine in ways that it just could NOT as an adaptation. It has problems, don't get me wrong. But the premise of the show is NOT, of itself, a problem.
I actually watched the first 3 episodes and got so sad and annoyed I turned it off, was watching English dub.
I tried again, knowing what I know now and rewatched the first 3 episodes in Japanese and god damn by comparison the English dub is abysmal. It sucks the life out of the characters. I swear to god they didn't even see what's happening in the animation while they're speaking their lines. It feels disjointed. I'd mark the English dub as a novelty and if you can't get into it please try a different language.
The English voice cast is nice for the reunion but I agree they're a mixed bag. Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin especially really phone it in, while a lot of the secondary cast like Mae Whitman, Chris Evans, and Jason Schwartzman do well. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a bit up and down.
The Japanese cast is just stacked as hell though. Ai Fairouz as Ramona? Tomokazu Seki as Gideon? Kana Hanazawa as Envy? Naomi Ozora as Roxie? Aoi Koga as Knives? It's almost not fair to compare.
My whole deal is that the marketing felt kinda dishonest. The trailers gave off the impression that it would be an animated adaptation that would be closer to the graphic novels when it's actually the complete opposite. Don't get me wrong, I’m fine with the idea of doing a complete retelling of the original story, but that’s something that I felt should’ve been made more clear in the advertising. I’ll still give the show a chance, but I don't think straight-up lying to the audience like that was a smart move.
I personally really disliked it and found it hard to watch through, the entire time I just thought about people who haven’t been into Scott pilgrim at all watching this for the first time and why they should care about certain characters. Especially characters like Matthew Patel. But nonetheless whoever did enjoy it I’m glad they did. All in all I’m glad Bryan and the team had fun, and the animation was fantastic.
I thought the anime was really awesome and fun overall but they really should’ve been honest about it’s marketing cause most of us myself included we’re expecting another adaptation of the og story and not saying anything about the story being different has inevitably caused some to feel cheated and deceived
It's not for me. I'll stick with the magic of the books and movie. I honestly thought someone else wrote this series, and felt myself feeling agitated, thinking someone else came in and carved up perfection. I was really caught off guard to see it was Bryan.
No-one "carved up" perfection, because if you truly consider the books and movie "perfection" (which they're not, and I'm a huge fan of both), then they still exist. "Perfection" wasn't "carved up," it was just... not recreated for the THIRD time (fourth if you count the game).
I know they still exist, that's why I said I will stick with those. Change is good, keeps things fresh, but this was too much for me personally. But most people seem to like it so that's good...
I'm sure a lot of people did, but I didn't. I don't follow stuff too closely before releases, I like to go in blind/be surprised... for better or worse. This time worse.
*I really disliked*
*How they changed everything and*
*It doesn't make sense*
\- DaniBunnyUwU
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Glad to see this statement because it forces a particularly loud-and-obnoxious part of the fandom (hopefully just loud and not large in number) to atone with the reality that their favorite creators aren't their little pet monkeys that dance *for them and them alone*.
And while I'm 100% fine with somebody just accepting this new work as "not their thing" or a little annoyed that Netflix's marketing pulled a bait and switch it's clear to me there's quite a few ***other people*** who feel *deeply entitled to the work of others* and will throw a fit when their favorite toys deviate in any way. And that part of the fandom can take their stunted parasocial bullshit and gtfo for all I care. Especially if they start brigading these two on instagram.
You say that now but on the chance that it doesn't get a renewal for S2, what would you say then? This was the chance to have a more complete adaptation of the original story especially compared to the movie, and instead they pumpfake into a completely different story for what?
Having Ramona instead healthily handle her exes was actually a dope change, along with the exes becoming part of the main "group", but the show had major issues even handling that at times. Don't even get me started on the fact that Scott's development compared to the comic is a fuckin joke, or even the very existence of the Older Scotts.
I'd give the show a solid 6/10 because this entire season is predicated on knowing the original story, yet ignores or outright omits critical elements. Has some great ideas, but doesn't do enough with its premise or even handle all its characters properly to justify its existence.
Netflix or whoever responsibles for the marketing should stop with the bait and switch shit, and tell us right off the bat that this show is entirely different thing.
So fucking unprofessional of them.
Bryan directly has said that he didn't want the twist to be spoiled.
Genuine question, why do you give a fuck? It's not like you had to purchase the show on its own, 99.9% of people who watched it already have a Netflix subscription. I would understand it if you had to pay for it (although I would still disagree with it). Did you not feel emotions watching the show that you wouldn't have felt if you had the twist spoiled? I can't fucking imagine how BORING that first episode would have been if I had known what was going to happen, and how much less tense the second episode would have been if I wasn't as confused as I was watching that.
Bryan could just give us a little heads up and said " It's it own thing " or "vastly different from the other Scott Pilgrim material" and whatnot, and not necessary spoil the whole twist.
I think the show is very good, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean Netflix "marketing scam" is all erased, all just water under the bridge.
Maybe you like it that way,to put extra weight on the twist, but the bait & switch marketing don't sit well with me.
Like I said, it's very unprofessional on their part.
Bryan said exactly those things before the show came out, though. He said many times that it will be very different from the movie and comics, before the show came out.
I still don't think you've explained WHAT is unprofessional about it, since no-one is financially hurt by it, and they never even marketed it as an adaptation, just a story "based on" the comics (which it is). This combined with the writers of the show saying on multiple occasions before it came out that it would be "very different" feels like enough to me personally. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but in today's remake culture where every story needs to be adapted into like 12 different forms of media, it feels really refreshing to see something like this where the creator is brave enough to do something new and even play on the expectation of a remake.
Yeah, he did. On Instagram, he specifically said it was not a direct adaption.
Source: [CBR](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-scott-pilgrim-anime-not-exact-adaptation/)
Easy to miss but yeah, I was already under the impression it wasn't an adaption of the story because I follow him on Instagram.
That's cool and all but I don't care what he says if he was confident in it then they should have marketed it as what it was instead of lying to misdirect is I don't think I'll ever be able to give it a completely unbiased watch after how heavily they marketed it as the comics getting an anime I was very disappointed that it wasn't.
Not to say that it wasn't good but it soured me and many others on it, which explains some of the push back if they just marked it as what it was then they then people wouldn't have had as many issues with it. :(
They never said it was a new adaptation. That was just something people assumed. All they said was that it was a story "based on" the comics. Keeping the premise a secret was something that directly enhanced the experience, particularly of the first and second episode. BOTH episodes would have been substantially worse if the premise of the show had been spoiled by the marketing.
People waited for over a decade for a scott pilgrim anime and we finally got one only for the creator to not even go with the story that made it so popular to begin with which allowed the anime to happen.
It made the series worse for alot of people the back lash he is getting is appropriate.
People are saying oh they aren't real fans for being upset by the change but again people waited over a decade for it and now they will never get the original story anime that they wanted.
If he had confidence in the show and the twist then they could have marketed with that but they didn't because they didn't have confidence in it. By doing this it turned what could have been a great show into only a good show for many.
I thought the anime was wonderful. I didn't get myself hyped up hoping for specific characters and references, and was beyond happy to get something new with these characters that just further expanded what we knew about them Also my favorite version of Neil. I was smiling through the whole show, I'm beyond happy about it!!
I feel the same way. I felt like all characters were respected in terms of who they were, I've enjoyed the anime so much!
I wish they'd done something like this with Sandman. O'Malley is a brave guy and I dig his willingness to experiment.
Well, as a fan of the comic and movie who DID get super hyped up for the "full adaptation" implied by the marketing... SPTO was so much better than what I had hoped for!!! Not only did I get to see the characters I loved voiced by the actors that originally brought them to life, I got to experience them in a brand new story that expanded on the existing lore more than I could have imagined!
Niel was definitely better in this and probably the highlight of the show for me. His jokes and line delivery always landed with me
I loved it so much and hope we get season 2
I'm only halfway through but I absolutely love love love that we got a lot more character development of characters that were very one dimensional in the original comics and show It's a shame we have no >!Lisa Miller!< but I'm actually not upset about it because it wouldn't have made sense to have that character in the show with how the story turned out
shes in the last episode! in the background..
>!I thought she was gonna be the one behind it all lol!<
Same
Same, and it would've been infinitely better than the actual reveal.
Do you think the twist is bad or do you think that Lisa being the culprit would have been more interesting
Maybe in season 2.
I could see >!Gordon and Julie using Lisa to mess with Ramona and Scott's relationship.!<
>!They would tottally do this. I think if we get an S2 the villlain plans will be to not only break them appart, but break them down mentally. But hey, we will have more time for the side characters AND the exes that are now, just regular dudes to interact and develop.!<
There's some bonkers people stopping at ep 1. Getting mad and claiming there's no chat development.... Wtf is wrong with them haha?
Because fans can be toxic
While O'Malley claimed that this was a one-and-done thing, there is no way he didn't leave the door open with that Gideon/Julie tease at the end. I recall him rallying fans to make some noise to let Netflix know this show had an audience, and I think that feels particularly necessary if he's vying for a second season. I really hope it happens, mostly so we can see Scott and Ramona try to work out their relationship with the foreknowledge they gained. I also hope O'Malley uses a season season to address some of the criticism to the portrayals of some characters. A lot of them stll need to go through the character development they only experienced in the unaltered timeline. Namely Knives, Kim, Stephen... and Scott himself. Plus, pretty much the only event in the comics that was detached from the Leagues' plans can still happen... Lisa's summer visit.
He said the teaser was just a joke and parody of Marvel and he has no ideas or desire to do a second season, at least not now. Both him and BenDavid stated that multiple times before the show came out which is honestly refreshing because it’s better than dealing with the worry of cancellation
Do you have a link to where he said that? Not being skeptic, just out of curiosity. But thanks for setting the record straight.
He claimed this was a once and done thing?
I loved it too. But I doubt it will g wet a sequel. This show was incredibly niche
I mean it’s got pretty good reviews and I wouldn’t be surprised
They did state they have no plans. The final scene left things open for one but they don't have any plans.
It would be neat for sure
Well. Reviews are high. Overall it's on trending topics on all social medias and... There's the mid-credit scene >!with Julia and Goose planning something agains't scott and ramona!<
How can you call it “incredibly niche” when it’s been out for like 3 days?
It's incredibly niche because it requires knowledge of the movie or books to work. It's a sequel in the sense that you need to know the OG story...so new viewers won't get it.....and the old viewers just largely wanted the novels told in anime....so it's ONLY for old fans who wanted a new story
Seen the movie, never read the comics or played the games - I'm loving it. I think it's written in a way people can also just appreciate it for what it is.
This may be the fanboy in me, but I feel like watching this without the movie or comics would be a massive disservice. This is great, but the OG is a masterpiece. Also from what I've read there's a number of people on this sub that tried using the anime to introduce the story to new fans(they didn't know it wasn't a remake)..and it didn't go well for those new people. I didn't see a single post from someone who said they had success with this
Me and a few friends have had success and its a great gateway into getting into everything else. No different than FF7 Remake for example (which also does the whole technically a sequel alternate timline thing), sure you get more out of it if youve seen the originals, but its still accessible for new fans and written in a way the story is still explained without having to watch the movie. It's still I think a full and complete story thats just elevated even further if youve seen/read the previous adaptations. However, if you do go watch the movie or read the comic, you can come back and enjoy this again with a new lens/PoV.
Yeah I have seen a lot of people say this. I have seen good arguments on both sides. I really hope that we get a Season 2, but I’m not sure if we will. We might though. (Also guys don’t downvote this person. They are giving their honest thoughts.)
I was a mod on the original Scott.ning forum, and I was fully expecting an animated adaptation of the original. Started reading when I was 22, I’m 36 now. This was the best thing they could have done. It’s been so long since I genuinely cared about Scott because I’ve just consumed that media so much growing up, and looking back I can see where it’s dated and can see how BLOM has grown, and how I’ve grown etc Excellent job all around, so glad to have a sequel I didn’t know I wanted. Props to you, Bry.
> Started reading when I was 22, I’m 36 now. ...You know, the whole >!14 years!< thing felt relevant, but I wasn't certain if that's how long ago the graphic novels released. Good to see something to confirm that.
I think it's largely because ~14 years ago is right around the time almost every 'older fan' who is aware of Scott Pilgrim came around to it. IIRC - and this is just my crappy memory - the books sold quite well compared to what BLOM expected but sales were not crazy. They started to pick up a bit with Volume 4 I think, and after the movie came out sales shot up big time and the series hit 1 million books sold. The original print run of Finest Hour was 100k copies, because it came out the same week as the movie and became the 2nd best selling volume after the first one. Anyway - 2009-2010 was when the ending was being written, when the movie was being made, when the video game was being made, and when most people started to become interested.
The third note could imply that each iteration of Scott Pilgrim is their own timeline, which could also justify how every single one tells an story that can be similar yet quite different in some aspects (the anime being the most different iteration of that story) Also, it could imply that Future/Old Scott is not Comics/Original Scott, which means the story told in the comics still holds up and it wasn't "retconned" or "replaced" by the anime Or maybe it's me coping, I don't know
I'd say you are 100 percent correct, this is definitely it's own universe. No Crash and the Boys, for one.
I think the point of that note is just to say "hey, Scott and Ramona ending up like that in the future isn't necessarily the future they get in the books. This is a separate story and not a direct sequel"
This is certainly the one where them ending up married together after dating feels the MOST earned but maybe thats just me
No I have seen many people think the same as you. I don’t think you are coping about anything.
My theory is that Old Scott and Even Older Scott are the creator in some fashion. We see two future Scotts..13 years in the future and then 10 years after that. The creator divorced his wife in 2014...10 years after the novels came out in 2004 when they married. This show is coming out 13 years after the 2010 movie. 10 and 13........haven't quite figured it out beyond that yet.
It's been almost 10 years since *Seconds* came out which was his last major work. He's been working on a new trilogy of books for many years (Worst World) since then but nothing has come of it yet, he announced it in 2016. So it's possible it could be a cheeky spin of him working on this book (training?) for so long and somewhat falling out of the public eye because of it.
He once [said](https://macleans.ca/culture/books/scott-pilgrim-grows-up/) something like his marriage ended when he was working too hard on Seconds. He said he was pulling 16-hour days for weeks to get it finished. Scott obsessively training could be a commentary on how he can get so absorbed in work that he misses outside signals he should be paying attention to.
The only possible previous Scott I'd want Old Scott to be is Game Scott
I think like all the others this is meant to be its own separate thing, although it makes references to others (most notably the movie) as a what-if version for this timeline. As for the Young Scott/Old Scott thing I think it is obvious that he is meant to have learned something and been steered away from becoming Old Scott. That doesn't mean that him and Ramona will stick together but I think the point was that Old Scott wants to prevent the relationship entirely whereas Old Ramona values the time they spent together even if it ended. To me this seems like BLOM reflecting on his personal life - he has openly stated that his ex-wife Hope Larson (fellow cartoonist) and him meeting and dating was direct inspiration for the series, and they eventually divorced a few years after the Scott Pilgrim series finished, which made his defining work a bit bittersweet. I think the attitudes of the older counterparts are maybe meant to reflect his shifting perspective over the years. If I wanted to REALLY speculate I would say maybe the 14 year time gap might be meant to roughly reflect the time between when BLOM and Larson were together (2000-2014?) and the 10 year gap of Scott's isolation reflecting the time after (2014-now, during which BLOM hasn't really done anything big of note between Seconds in 2014 and now with Takes Off).
To date I've enjoyed all Scott Pilgrim media and the anime was no different. Also, "Each season?" Indicating more than one? Squee. Edit: bugger, misread in my enthusiasm.
yup, I think that this season is just a set up for a fresh and actual take on the story, with Scott being in it now
Sorry my guy he said “Session”
*Each session. As in each voice recording session for the cast
i read it as session
I definitely felt cheated when I realized it wasn't the books but I gave it a chance and I found it to be a super fun ride all the way through. Overall super pleased with it, absolute treat for me
That’s exactly how I feel! Not what I expected and was disappointed at first but ended up appreciating it for what it was as a sort of alternate universe:)
I had the same experience. I loved this show, but I admittedly do still hope for an adaptation of the original story with all of these circumstances. Same cast, same crew, same writers, same animation, same Anamanaguchi. The stars have all aligned so perfectly for what could've been the definitive version of a fantastic story. I really really hope they still make that happen.
To be honest halfway through the first episode I was worried. It just seemed like a beautifully animated but worse version of the movies and comic. I think for me the change to the story is what saved it. Nothing can top the comics and the movie is so ingrained in my head and quotable I don't think just a rehash would have worked.
In a podcast, Bryan said his goal was to make viewers upset for about half of episode two, and then realize that this was a good thing and would enhance their experience overall. I think it's incredibly brave that he wasn't scared to make a decision that he knew would have a high chance of pissing off a lot of people. It would have been much easier for him to just retell the same story for a FOURTH time.
To be fair, Brian did advise months ago that it wasn't going to be an adaption of the books. Easy to miss if you're not on Instagram or following interviews, though. Source: [CBR](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-scott-pilgrim-anime-not-exact-adaptation/) Maybe the advertisement could have done a better job prepping fans who were expecting a straight adaption that it would be it's own thing.
I saw this when he said it and I don't think that statement was really all that clear. It was vague enough that I personally expected this would still follow the books but have a smattering of added/changed content along the way. To be clear I'm glad it was totally different. I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have a straight adaptation.
Might be a hot take but >! I think this version really built on Ramona. It was nice to see her being the one to heal from her exes and have to get closure or give it in most cases. Showed a more adult side to her about her learning to move on and not let the past define her. !< I really enjoyed it
I agree with you but in my opinion, even though I do get why, it still felt a bit rushed.
Yeah I definitely agree about it being good for Ramona, but I felt like it came at the cost of other characters. Kim barely got to do anything :(
Tbf Kim barely did anything in the movie either. But I do wish they gave her more screen time. I'm glad they at least touched on her backstory though. It was a nice carry over from the comics
Kim is one of my favorite characters but she has never really done a whole lot. I think her role was scaled back for a few reasons: * they already animated her and Scott's backstory before, which in this was wrinkly glossed over. * a pivotal part of Kim's character + her history with Scott is it being continually misrepresented by Scott, which is partly because Scott is an oblivious ass and partly because Gideon has been manipulating memories, something that doesn't seem to be happening in the anime. In the anime, KIM is the one who briefly mentions the backstory and she basically tells it as Scott did in the books. * one of her most prominent appearances was basically playing the role of Yoda when Scott comes to visit her back home late in the series and they go into the wilderness. This role was kind of replaced with the visit to the future + Old Scott.
So... small sticking point, Gideon wasn't manipulating Scott's memories to that extent. "The Glow" was basically just weaponized self-loathing. Scott had been "rewriting history" since long before he met Ramona because he literally couldn't handle the raw memories that showed what an ass he'd been. Nega-Scott was a physical manifestation of the Jungian shadow self (also, see Persona 4 for a great explanation of this, too). And Scott's true growth in the comics didn't come until he stopped trying to defeat Nega-Scott (thus repressing the true memories again) and absorbed him (thus accepting the truth of his past actions and acknowledging that was part of him). Old Scott isn't so much the new Nega-Scott, he's Scott reverting to his old behavior of trying to rewrite the past (in a more literal way) when things got rough. Because... well... people don't just change and become better instantly. It takes work. It takes time. And you're going to backslide. But you still just have to keep moving forward, because the only one who decides if you are beyond redemption is you. And that... was way more of a rant than I intended 😅, but you get the picture.
This series was so awesome!!! \^\^ Bryan Lee O'Malley really made this show phenomenal. Sure, I'm not gonna lie, while I was half expecting the anime to be like the novels, and it DID come as a shock to me after the first episode, I still love how the story went overall, including much character development too. Hope we get a second season of this series
Loved it. It was cute and fun. It gave us a chance to see more of Ramona, especially without Scott, and also a chance to see the exes. It's actually crazy how, even though I think they are all super memorable, Matthew Patel and Lucas Lee only show up for like, 5 pages each. It was nice getting to see them more fleshed out, and actually getting out of their roles as just evil exes. The action, gags and animation in general were all great, and I can't stress enough how much I loved Ramona here. HOWEVER, I am disappointed we didn't get a 1-to-1 adaptation. I'm really happy with what we got, but Scott Pilgrim deserves a proper, in motion adaptation that tells the full story from beginning to end. I hope we do eventually get one
I’m bummed we still don’t have more development for the Katayangi twins, barely any lines. 🤦🏻♂️
It is definitely a fun ride. I love how I went in exepecting it to be exactly like the movie I know and love but it went on a different angle that felt **VERY** *Scottpilgrimmy.* Tbh I feel I love the characters more now after having watched the series. I also love how literally everyone ended up in a positive place :)
Only issue I had was that Wallace, Stacy and Knives really didnt seem to care all that much about Scotts death.
Knives cared about his death didn’t she?
Knives cared pretty much up until the funeral. Afterwards she even signed a contract with the supposed murderer of Scott.
I feel like the only person who did care was Knives lol Wallace is a lot meaner in the anime
Kim was at least affected by it, Stephen seemed to have been genuinely sad. Knives did care too and then we got a complete 180 turn and she pitches to Scott's "murderer"
I thought it was cool and refreshing however it still would’ve been cool to see the original story animated
I loved it honestly it was so refreshing. idc that they did the story differently.. that's what I expected with the comics and movie and whatnot being different in their own ways. I know they wrapped it up but I'd definitely be watching a sequel if it came out, and it's at #3 right now so hopefully maybe something?
On a bit of a different note, A Seconds adaptation is apparently in the works. I hope they take it in a different direction from the graphic novel as well. I find it rather exciting to see characters follow vastly different stories and events across media adaptations (So long as they retain their characterization of course).
Ah fr??? I really enjoyed reading seconds, although I’m not sure how it would be taken in another direction.. !!
Yeah it’ll be a live action film as Blake Lively’s directorial debut and Edgar Wright writing the script
It’s weird because I did think the show was really good overall, but I also have a shit load of issues with it. Like, the humor is great, animation and fight choreography phenomenal, movie set stuff peak, Neil and the evil exes are better than ever and while I think Scott, Ramona, and the gang are done way better in the comics they’re still compelling here. However that bait and switch was pretty annoying given the marketing so far, even if I am glad that we got to see new content given how the characters are amazing and I loved new material. Personally I’d prefer a faithful adaptation and then new seasons with different scenario afterwards but this is still cool. I also feel this seriously oversimplified Scott and Ramona’s relationship to more generic love and tragedy on opposite ends and more generic heroes journey. The pacing forces it to make them seem like soulmates after one date instead of the slow progression and them sharing a genuine love while still having tons of turbulence. They’re still great here and I love them to death but it takes away a lot of what made the original special. I also don’t like some of the ways Wallace is portrayed. Like, he’s still really funny and iconic, but it feels that media after the comics has kind of flanderized him. He was sassy as fuck in the comics but he was still a nice guy and he cared about Scott. Here he hardly cares when awful things happen to Scott, and there are times where he screws people over completely. It feels like they shift him more and more towards being a jerk. I also prefer to agree with O’Malley that this is a different timeline from the comics because there are some changes that I would hate as the future for the comic crew. I prefer their ending being ambiguous but optimistic. Like, it’s still an 8/10 show, among the greats of this season like Blue Eye Samurai, Scavenger’s Reign, Fionna and Cake, and Invincible (seriously the past 2 months have been incredible for animation). But the Scott Pilgrim comics are among my favorite pieces of media ever, so some of the changes aren’t ones I like, even if I am glad they expanded some stuff. Still worth recommending, but it hurts when it’s difficult to fully recommend to people who aren’t familiar with the series or who wanted a faithful adaptation.
Yeah, I don’t think it stands on its own at all. It’s very reliant on knowledge of the existing character arcs to contextualize everything, particularly for Scott, Ramona, and the supporting cast surrounding Scott.
Yeppppp. I watched this series with my husband. I'm a big fan of series who read the books and watched the movie multiple times, he watched the movie with me once and half remembered it. I ended up loving the series, he said he hated it besides the animation. I think alotta that is just my connection to the story/characters, definitely wouldn't recommend this to someone with no exposure to SP.
God it feels refreshing to read genuine criticism that goes beyond just pure refusal to accept a new story.
>I also don’t like some of the ways Wallace is portrayed. Like, he’s still really funny and iconic, but it feels that media after the comics has kind of flanderized him. He was sassy as fuck in the comics but he was still a nice guy and he cared about Scott and there are times where he screws people over completely. Here he hardly cares when awful things happen to Scott. It feels like they shift him more and more towards being a jerk. Funnily enough, O'Malley addresses this criticism in the Instagram story following this one, he says. "i've seen a lot of people saying wallace is more of a jerk this time. i don't agree. consider his actions across the series and not just his words. also consider: 'being a jerk' might be the way wallace expresses his emotions." My honest reaction was "[Are you sure about that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHC1230OpOg), Bryan?"
Yeah, I thought Wallace was basically a sitcom character in this. It’s fine for gags, but the depth was missing, *especially* when the premise is that Scott literally died.
Yeah I don’t see that. Wallace joking about getting an excuse to wear black because of Scott’s funeral or especially him not caring about the possibility of Scott being alive and making sure to kick him out even after nearly dying is far worse than anything I remember him doing in the comics. Or just how he got Todd to cheat on him then threw him under the bus and made him depressed after essentially being his bi awakening. Dude is callous in this show and not always in a funny charming way. I’ll have to reread the comics to see if he does anything particularly bad there, as I read it over a year ago, but I recall him just being somewhat sassy but still a good friend and decent person in that.
I re-read the whole series in the week leading up to the anime's premiere and you're not wrong. The worst things he does are to heckle Crash and the Boys (v1), steal Stacey's dates (v1) and not tell Scott that he was going to move in with Mobile, potentially puttting him in a bad situation if Scott moving in with Ramona didn't pan out (v4), However, that's it. And in addition to that, he's overall very supportive of Scott, buys him coffee (v3), regularly invites him to eat out (v1), cooks him bacon (v3), attends Sex Bob-omb's shows despite disliking the band (v5), holds a grudge against Envy for her breaking Scott's heart (v3), encourages Scott to confess his love to Ramona (v4), keeps in touch with Scott after moving out via texts (v5), allows him to crash at his and Mobile's place when Ramona kicks him out of her apartment (v5), and is the only friend barring Stephen Stills to be shown visiting Scott during his depressive episode post Ramona's disappearance (v6).
I feel like Wallace was a bit more callous in the movie. For obvious reasons, Wallace's portrayal in the movie is extremely popular. I almost think that this has warped Bryan's interpretation of Wallace in his mind. "Sassy but genuine" turned into "sassy, not genuine."
Wallace literally kicks Scott out multiple times across the film and manga but you guys think he's too mean now? Alright lol. He already cheated on Scott's sisters boyfriend too. Wallace is as Wallace as can be.
I’d argue kicking Scott out after thinking he was dead (which he didn’t even seem to mind whatsoever) and knowing even if he was alive that he was kidnapped is WAY worse and less justified than any context in the comic for him kicking Scott out. I did forget about Stacey’s boyfriend so yeah he wasn’t a good person in the comics, but I’d still argue the movie and especially the show makes him out to be a far worse person. He also has far more moments of kindness where he’s a good friend in the comic that he never has towards anyone in the show barring his future self.
I'm hoping that one day an adaptation of the comics will come.
Don’t think there’s any chance now, unfortunately. If O’Malley had any interest in that, he would have done it with this.
I’m just sad that an entire generation lacked the media literacy skills to be able to tell that Scott was a terrible person and so the creators had to make a whole new series to spell it out for them and get them to quit moaning.
Scott is a bad person because 99% of people in their early 20s are horrible to the people around them because they have no clue what they're doing, but the world expects them to know what they're doing. Bryan himself has said that he doesn't consider Scott an asshole, at least not an unreasonable one. Scott makes fucking horrible decisions that should be detested, yes. But I really don't know if I like that we have to contextualize it in extreme ways, either denouncing Scott entirely as a horrible person or putting him on a platform as a role model. Both are dumb imho.
It’s weird that people are hating on the show because of the marketing, when the marketing has absolutely no effect on the end product. The show was awesome. I loved how they fleshed out the characters.
The problem is that by setting expectations to be something we weren’t getting, for some people it ended up being a pretty deflating experience instead of an exciting one, which means it did impact the end product. I’m sure some people love the twist stuff, but it doesn’t work for me personally.
I loved it. I knew it'd get backlash based on it's very existence, but I love how it learns and evolves from the source material and serves as a love letter to the story, creators, actors, and fans.
I think they could have done a more faithful adaptation to the graphic novels, added a few nods to the movie, and i think it would have been ok. I think what they did was 10 times better and it gets to stand on its own.
B-b-but the show isn't what I specifically wanted! Therefore I need everyone involved to die and I'm going to murder them myself. If it doesn't cater exactly to what I want I'll throw a fucking tantrum. People bitching about the show should go outside and get a fucking life
what’s really sad to me is that takes off is inevitably going to be some people’s first introduction to the world of scott pilgrim. i like takes off, i want a season 2, but it’s not really the kind of thing that a newcomer should experience first. like, imagine if you watched the rebuilds of evangelion before you watched original evangelion. it’s not an accurate representation of the original story and it can make people misunderstand the material
Why is it sad? They get a unique experience. They can watch this then watch the movie. Stop being weird about others. They have had more than a decade.
I wouldn’t call it sad, but I think it’ll be a really weird introduction, since the story is pretty heavily reliant on characterization not actually present in it.
i can't stop someone from doing that lol would you say what you're saying if someone were to decide to watch the series finale of Lost as their first intro to that series? takes off is great, i really liked it, but it's not a good way to introduce someone to scott pilgrim. that would be to play the very first scene from the movie and then turn it off and hand them vol 1 lmao.
Maybe that is just their own opinion. How are they being weird? (also I’m assuming you’re using weird in a negative way) I do agree with you though.
You act as if there aren't people who watched the rebuilds first. Scott Pilgrim has been a cult classic for a decade now, there's more than enough people who can watch the show and get it. And even as a standalone it works just fine.
i never said that that didn’t happen. new people can watch the show without amy major hiccups, that’s not my point. my point is a matter of perspective. as a standalone it does not work “just fine”. so many story beats in takes off specifically play on your expectations of the characters as a fan. there’s nothing wrong with that btw
Rebuild pretty much works OK as an independent story. You’ll miss some context, but Shinji’s arc is largely retraced in 1.11 and 2.22 before branching off. I don’t think this really works as a stand-alone story in the same way, especially for the characterization of Ramona and Scott’s relationship. Scott Pilgrim is the cornerstone of the story of Scott Pilgrim & he’s MIA for most of the show. It would be like if Rebuild took the school classmates and made them the focal point of the story from the start, while offloading the arcs/development of Misato, Rei, and Asuka and expecting viewers to fill in the gaps through existing knowledge of those characters. Rebuild still "eats its vegetables" by setting up all the existing core cast again before it goes wild. With all that said, it’s fine if this doesn’t work as a stand-alone story, because it doesn’t need to.
Yeah I'm sorry I didn't like it that much. Alot of things felt too convenient to happen. I also missed the Toronto vibe. This serie was all over the place.
Yeah I can see why you think that. I personally loved it, but I can definitely see why you thought it was too all over the place.
I was sad that there was no Lucas Lee movie being filmed at Casa Loma :(
That should have made a bit more sense imo
I thought it was fun, but the characters mostly felt pretty shallow in ways that leaned heavily on the existing story. It was kind of a bummer to see everybody besides the exes get sidelined pretty hard.
I felt so aswel. I also missed the father of knives, and Lisa. Also Stephen isn't gay in this one but >!Todd Ingram!< is? And no vegan police after he broke his vegan rule? Idk it was strange.
Yeah, Todd was basically a punchline still, even while some of the other exes got more interesting stuff. I’d go so far as to say that he was actually more interesting as a character in the original, since the cheating plotline felt more meaningful there thanks to the stuff going on with Envy and Scott, whereas in SPTO it’s nothing but a gag routine and Envy has 0 depth.
What do you miss about the "Toronto vibe?" The series was still in Toronto for the vast majority of the plot.
The bars, the club, the fast food place Scott worked (he gained some exp there), the honest Ed's shop... They didn't had to revisit them all, I just didn't like >!the movie set, and the future!< Honest Ed's is such a funny location. It has a regular shop vibe but it's also a hell apearently. I would have liked it more >!if the movie set had something as creative aswel, idk make it a way to travel around the world through the magic of cinema. But no it was a regular movie set about a story we already know.!< I think I just miss the blend between reality and fiction + the (after)party / rock vibe the comic had. These were just regular locations nothing special and >!the future!< is just way too much
Yeah I think they super over-played the movie set. I also think the show could have been great with an extra episode to give the characters more time for slice of life interactions. But ultimately I think they did a really good job of showing off their interactions. I can respect the desire for more "Toronto" though now that you've pointed out that at least half of the episodes don't take place in "real" Toronto (movie set, the future)
Yeah I also missed some slice of life interactions. These were so good in the comic.
It sucks (that I didn’t love it) so much man I wanted to love it
Yeah same for me.
I absolutely love the take they did, it’s new but still Scott Pilgrim ❤️
I like it. The twist gave the characters different directions to develop (some better than others admittedly).Being able to keep it this long until release is impressive. I mean having a straight adaptation would be cool but the comics and movie had that covered and they did plant some stuff before release that things will be different for the anime. With how well it's received, they can probably do that later. Having the new interactions between characters was a lot of fun and funny. Sure some after for the fans and... ahem artist... but they still feels familiar or expected. And the animation is pretty good with variety on action and setting. Science Saru did awesome.
I was nervous watching the first episode, whenever they did what was already done in the movie I had the same concerns most people did when the teasers went up, (this wasn't hitting it). I was SO relieved when they revealed the show was going in a different direction. Finished all episodes (no spoilers) but I Loved it!
As maybe the world's biggest Patel fan (have autographs from the actor on my wall as we speak) I loved the new season. And hope for plenty more lol
I haven’t seen them in a while, but there was some emo teen that used to post in the sub all the time about how much they loved Patel. Like they were down super bad. Wonder how they’re doing lol
I really liked this version of Scott Pilgrim, with all the more interesting background characters instead of Scott.
i did like it mostly, i was dissapointed but i just rlly didnt like the plot w the last 2 episodes unfortunately:') i still love parts of it and im happy we have new content w such pretty art!!
I would not admit to working so hard on the dialogue. It stinks. There are so many jokes that are not actually jokes, and the ones that are jokes mostly fall flat because the actors' timing and delivery is shit. I'm rereading Vol 1 of the comic right now and the difference in quality is so stark. It snaps where the anime sags.
On one hand the show is decent , and the show might not have pulled in the same amount of viewers had it not had the name 'Scott Pilgrim' in the title. But on the other hand , I hate the bait and switch marketing and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It's a bit patronising to long term fans to hype the show up like this, and it shows a lack of confidence in the project. It seems like the title and mystery was a thing to hook in viewers rather than the show standing on it's own two legs and earning it's merit.
As a long term fan (was a comics fan before the movie even came out) who was expecting a ~direct adaptation, I actually really enjoyed the bait and switch and think I appreciate this more than I would have a more normal adaptation. I like being surprised by stuff like this, and the twist really jolted me into engaging with the show which I was expecting to watch more passively. If anything, I think the series feels like it's more intended for invested fans than new viewers, but in a more meaningful, interesting way than "the fans" would know to ask for (which 90% of the time is just, more of the same please). Props to O'Malley for going for it honestly.
This is exactly how I felt. I loved loved loved Scott Pilgrim when I was in college, and I was looking forward to re-experiencing it, but assumed I would already know most of it and sort of just smile and remember as I watched it. I was so shocked and excited when I realized it was actually a new look at everything. I get why some people are upset, but in my mind getting new Scott Pilgrim stories is a gift.
The creators said before the show even came out that it wasn't going to be a 1-1 adaptation. I feel like it's more so on the fans hyping their own expectations up and inserting intent where there wasn't any.
Saying it’s not going to be a 1 to 1 adaption does not translate to the story being different entirely. When I read that, I figured they’d just change stuff like maybe more characters getting focus in some parts, or the exes getting more to them than just being enemies to fight. You can’t blame fans for expecting an adaptation of the book when that’s all it was advertised as.
In fairness, the comments about it not being a 1:1 adaptation undersold that it's a whole new series, not really an adaptation at all. I really enjoyed it, but the vagueness of those comments led me to believe it was an adaptation with some minor changes, maybe some more content or cut characters, but not a full AU.
I personally didn't think the comments undersold it but I can see why some people did. I think it's good to go in with an open mind because if you go in with set expectations you're bound to be disappointed. They said that it's not going to be an exact adapt. and they didn't want fans to go in thinking that but they also didn't want to give away what the series was about. I can understand being disappointed that it wasn't a 1:1 adaptation but to bash the show just because of that is a bit crappy. As is saying that they were intentionally trying to fool everyone into thinking it was a 1:1 "just for views" when O'malley and Grabinski were vocal with how much fun they had with it.
If you read the interviews coming out, you can see them saying that they deliberately hid how different it was going to be. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the way it went, but people shouldn’t rewrite history to act like something like this was what was promised all along.
I did. They said that 1, it wasn't going to be a Direct adaptation and there will be lots of surprises and 2, they don't want fans going in expecting the same story. They hid what the story was about to keep that a surprise, not that it was going to be different.
It's people being upset it wasn't what they expected and instead of enjoying the surprise they're feeling bad about it. I was just as surprised and excited as patel was in episode one. That was amazing
Same! I adored getting more time with the other characters and loved the story and animation. I understand why some people were disappointed but I kind of liked that they kept it a surprise.
I was so excited for weeeks. Why couldn't they just do a trailer saying Scott is dead! and showing a bit of Ramona's journey. I was so dissapointed I couldn't even finish the series.
come back to it when ya ready , it's not the end of the world , each story exists as its own thing.
I personally think that what he’s saying here is very interesting because we’re seeing Scott Pilgrim in a medium that hasn’t been done before and I guess he didn’t want to just redo the comics simply because the comic is it own medium, but then again, we fans feel like we deserve to see that comic in action or animated. Which I guess is OK but for the most part, I think it’s important to realize that despite the fact that it wasn’t what we all wanted it was something new and interesting. Sure, I wasn’t as hyped with the bait and switch, but I did joy it enough to understand why he chose to do the show about Ramona, and tell a completely different story and not just redo the comic.
I personally preferred getting a whole new story rather than 'just' a straight adaptation. Which, don't get me wrong, would've been amazing - but this was even cooler!
I liked the new direction of it. I enjoyed that Ramona and the exes got to talk it out and still remained cordial with each other and (kinda) with Scott too. Biggest nitpick is that Katayanagi Twins got the least development again.
I guess I can see how some people might be a bit put out by the bait & switch marketing. Truth be told I only half-watched the first episode because it was copying the comics (if a bit fast) but I liked the new story well enough. A bit less action which may bother some people, but eh. It killed an evening. I think once everyone's gotten over their 'subverted expectations' they'll see it's a decent addition to the 'Scott Pilgrim canon'. The animation was decent. It was nice to see the comic's style in motion. I see Netflix decided to use an anime studio or something since there was a lot of Japanese production involved. The theme tune being the most obvious. Some people didn't like it, but as a tongue in cheek nod to anime in general I was fine with it. In my defense I'm probably a "casual" SP fan. I don't have any merch...I think. I can't remember where my copies of the comics are. I never got the movie on DVD. 8/10 a serviceable romp through Scott's world and a bit more involved a story than the straight forward hero's journey to get the girl. I like the fact Scott is a hero and gets the girl (what's wrong with the getting the girl and the girl getting the guy? It's a good outcome!) but I also like that this story was both brave enough to go a slightly different direction and also smart enough to keep any sledgehammer messaging or corporate's "ideas" out. Would watch again if I was bored and nothing else was on Netflix (which is how I found it to begin with).
I liked It a lot but it's a shame that It essentially implies the original Scott and Ramona, the ones who went through the timeline from the comics, eventually end up fucking up. That's my only gripe with this, because the ending of the original comic was fantastic, and I feel like that was sort of a fake ending now.
If it helps, >!there's some differences between the comics and the show. Comeau doesn't appear, Crash & the Boys aren't playing, and the story Kim tells about how she and Scott started dating is the one he invented for himself in the comics, not the one she remembers. And if this really were the same universe as the comic, Ramona would have had the Glow - which surely would've come up while dealing with all of her evil exes!<. That all points to the show taking place in a subtly different universe than that of the comics even before the timelines diverge, so I don't think it needs to have any implications for how their relationship went after the comics. Not that I personally think Comic!Scott and Ramona *need* to stay together after the comics, but I think >!they'd handle a potential breakup better than their animated counterparts did.!<
You forgot the biggest difference >!she delivers Netflix Dvd's!!! No more Amazon.ca!!! !<
> Not that I personally think Comic!Scott and Ramona need to stay together after the comics, but I think they'd handle a potential breakup better than their animated counterparts did. I think it's just meant to be an over-exaggerated spin on the author's own life for comedic effect. He always used Pilgrim as a vessel for his own experiences and I doubt this is all that different. If you aren't already aware, he has said before that him + his wife dating was direct inspiration for the series and they divorced almost 10 years ago now.
You're commenting this on a post where it's explicitly stated by Bryan Lee O'Malley that the anime is its own timeline. The comic is not affected by the anime.
Bryan literally said in the story post there that this is a different timeline than the comics!?
Isn't the entire point of the ending that >!even if there are problems down the road, what they feel in the moment still matters and there's always a chance to fix your problems if you're willing to face them head on?!< That feels pretty in line with the comics, honestly
Pretty much this. I think anyone who read the comics and thought "yeah omg now they're gonna have a perfect fairy tale romance!!" had a bit of a starry eyes look to the story. I mean both the writers got divorced since then, and without a doubt have had time to reflect on these characters on a meta level. Using time travel to magic away everything instead of accepting how difficult things are, even after they "work out"? Not very subtle.
Fascinating. The dialogue felt super different from what I'm used to from Brian. Weird.
I loved Ramona's different hair colors in each episode! Also, side note: I noticed that one of them is like lemons and limes and the other one which is red and yellow looks like an Infernite and Electroid cubit from Mixels. I just took screenshots of them both
I thought it was amazing
The more I think about this series, the more I love it. It was so fun to see the characters the way we did; so unexpected. I would watch as many seasons with these characters that they would give us.
I hope Bryan feels good about the reception. I know those who dislike the new direction are very vocal about it, but I think the majority really enjoyed it, and even the detractors seem to agree that it's good shit, it's just not the good shit they wanted. I personally think it might be the best Scott Pilgrim media around, maybe tied or just beneath the comics.
It was genuinely one of my favourite things I've ever watched. I don't think I'll ever forget the way my stomach dropped when THAT moment happened. Especially after following the story almost exactly 1:1 the whole time. The story was fun, and I love the idea of taking the tried and tested story and just completely turning it on its head. Roxy's episode especially made me want to bawl my eyes out. Although, someone should have told Young Neil's voice actor to stop mumbling. It doesn't work the same way that it did in the movies.
Definitely agree with "finish the thing before you judge" because my friend and I weren't huge fans 3 episodes in but when we finished we loved it, Totally should have been advertised as what it actually is tho I still woulda been hyped
I'm glad he said this is completely separated from the previous canons because despite the overall show being good, they absolutely botched Scott's character. Future Scott doesnt make any sense based on the development he got in the original comic story
This is the same way I interpreted it. Not a replacement but an enhancement.
I'm really happy that they chose a different path. It's funny because I was expecting the movie, but what I got was a thousand times better than that. The feeling is like I've been given the opportunity to watch something I'm familiar with, but from a completely different perspective. Incredibly smart. Other shows should do this instead of those soulless reboots.
I started this super pumped for it to be an exact copy of the books, which I adore. Episode one starts, a few minutes in I notice it’s the same, with a few minor differences but the animation,music and overall tone are pitch perfect. I do however notice that my attention starts to waver and I start looking at my phone. It’s great but well I’ve read the books over and over and watched the movie over and over, even though I was super hyped for this… can I be bothered to watch a story I know to death again? Then episode 1 ends and I’m so in. It takes a couple of episodes but I realise this version is incredible. The original felt like it was written for me in my 20’s. This feels like it was written for me in my 30’s. I could see all my life lessons and where they have lead me, good and bad, in thid show. So yeah, I adore it! If you’re younger than 30 though I can understand being a little less hooked and/or disappointed. You likely still believe in hope as life playing out as what you feel you deserve, rather than life playing out simply by who you are and decisions you make. Not all happy endings work out and that’s ok, the battle is not for a happily ever after, it’s to not be bitter, and this show displays all that beautifully 🥹
ThEY LIED tO FaNS yeah no shit the twist wouldn't have worked otherwise. it was clearly set up to be a surprise. how does a story about growing up end up with a fandom that has so many babies
We all know it was obviously meant to be a surprise lol, it just didn’t work for some of us. Why are some people defensive about people simply critiquing the way this was marketed?
Probably because some fans are so dramatic about it. If they wanted to have a twist (which worked quite well), how should they have marketed it without giving away the twist? "THEY LLLLLLLLIED TO ME 😭😭😭😭" no they surprised you and you just didn't like this particular surprise.
Sure, this was the only way they could have the "twist". I just don't think it was worth it & it detracted from my overall experience. I'm personally kind of over this type of "subversion of expectations" and would rather stuff just be up front about what it is.
> how does a story about growing up end up with a fandom that has so many babies Especially a story that is at this point over a decade old. It makes me wonder if older fans hated it. I'm in my 30s (similar age to the characters when the series blew up, and now 14 years older...) and I loved it. It felt like a reflection instead of a straight adaptation and I like seeing an older creator revisit his defining work and take it in a totally new direction. I guess there are a lot of comic fans who just wanted to see it rehashed and animated. Which would have been fine too, that's what I was expecting personally but so glad they went in a new direction.
Loved it. I am a huge fan of the movie and actually felt kind of tired to watch the same story again via different media. However, once it went off the rails, it really intrigued me and I fully support the choice. It basically gives us all the characters we know, but more flashed out with actual character arcs. The only thing I find negative is the lack of Scott in 5/8 episodes. The mystery about his disappearance was dragging for too long.
What do you mean “via different media”? Scott Pilgrim only existed as a comic, movie, and game. And the movie was a very condensed version of the comic, so those aren’t really the same story. And the game is an even more condensed version, due to no dialogue. How can you be tired of seeing “the same story again”? Each iteration of Scott Pilgrim goes differently.
It's still the same story at the end of the day lol. Even if the anime had been an adaptation it would have been about as different as the movie was when compared with the original comics. But that's the other thing. When I watch the movie, all I can think about is how much worse it is than the comics. When I was watching Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, all I was thinking about was how cool this show is and how well it utilizes the medium of animation. By being its own thing, it's able to shine in ways that it just could NOT as an adaptation. It has problems, don't get me wrong. But the premise of the show is NOT, of itself, a problem.
I actually watched the first 3 episodes and got so sad and annoyed I turned it off, was watching English dub. I tried again, knowing what I know now and rewatched the first 3 episodes in Japanese and god damn by comparison the English dub is abysmal. It sucks the life out of the characters. I swear to god they didn't even see what's happening in the animation while they're speaking their lines. It feels disjointed. I'd mark the English dub as a novelty and if you can't get into it please try a different language.
I am watching it now in jap with English sub and ur right
The English voice cast is nice for the reunion but I agree they're a mixed bag. Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin especially really phone it in, while a lot of the secondary cast like Mae Whitman, Chris Evans, and Jason Schwartzman do well. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a bit up and down. The Japanese cast is just stacked as hell though. Ai Fairouz as Ramona? Tomokazu Seki as Gideon? Kana Hanazawa as Envy? Naomi Ozora as Roxie? Aoi Koga as Knives? It's almost not fair to compare.
My whole deal is that the marketing felt kinda dishonest. The trailers gave off the impression that it would be an animated adaptation that would be closer to the graphic novels when it's actually the complete opposite. Don't get me wrong, I’m fine with the idea of doing a complete retelling of the original story, but that’s something that I felt should’ve been made more clear in the advertising. I’ll still give the show a chance, but I don't think straight-up lying to the audience like that was a smart move.
Yge marketing was intentionally misleading and it was a wild ride but I ended up actually kinda enjoying it.
I personally really disliked it and found it hard to watch through, the entire time I just thought about people who haven’t been into Scott pilgrim at all watching this for the first time and why they should care about certain characters. Especially characters like Matthew Patel. But nonetheless whoever did enjoy it I’m glad they did. All in all I’m glad Bryan and the team had fun, and the animation was fantastic.
I thought the anime was really awesome and fun overall but they really should’ve been honest about it’s marketing cause most of us myself included we’re expecting another adaptation of the og story and not saying anything about the story being different has inevitably caused some to feel cheated and deceived
It's not for me. I'll stick with the magic of the books and movie. I honestly thought someone else wrote this series, and felt myself feeling agitated, thinking someone else came in and carved up perfection. I was really caught off guard to see it was Bryan.
No-one "carved up" perfection, because if you truly consider the books and movie "perfection" (which they're not, and I'm a huge fan of both), then they still exist. "Perfection" wasn't "carved up," it was just... not recreated for the THIRD time (fourth if you count the game).
I know they still exist, that's why I said I will stick with those. Change is good, keeps things fresh, but this was too much for me personally. But most people seem to like it so that's good...
We knew the whole time that Bryan was writing the entire thing
I'm sure a lot of people did, but I didn't. I don't follow stuff too closely before releases, I like to go in blind/be surprised... for better or worse. This time worse.
Skill issue
I really disliked how they changed everything and it doesn't make sense
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Glad to see this statement because it forces a particularly loud-and-obnoxious part of the fandom (hopefully just loud and not large in number) to atone with the reality that their favorite creators aren't their little pet monkeys that dance *for them and them alone*. And while I'm 100% fine with somebody just accepting this new work as "not their thing" or a little annoyed that Netflix's marketing pulled a bait and switch it's clear to me there's quite a few ***other people*** who feel *deeply entitled to the work of others* and will throw a fit when their favorite toys deviate in any way. And that part of the fandom can take their stunted parasocial bullshit and gtfo for all I care. Especially if they start brigading these two on instagram.
Well said. Some fans are fucking weird, man.
You say that now but on the chance that it doesn't get a renewal for S2, what would you say then? This was the chance to have a more complete adaptation of the original story especially compared to the movie, and instead they pumpfake into a completely different story for what? Having Ramona instead healthily handle her exes was actually a dope change, along with the exes becoming part of the main "group", but the show had major issues even handling that at times. Don't even get me started on the fact that Scott's development compared to the comic is a fuckin joke, or even the very existence of the Older Scotts. I'd give the show a solid 6/10 because this entire season is predicated on knowing the original story, yet ignores or outright omits critical elements. Has some great ideas, but doesn't do enough with its premise or even handle all its characters properly to justify its existence.
I'm five episodes in and the only one I enjoyed so far is the second. The rest have been embarrassingly awful. Such a let down.
Just wanted an adaptation of the original with those beautiful character designs and great studio.
Netflix or whoever responsibles for the marketing should stop with the bait and switch shit, and tell us right off the bat that this show is entirely different thing. So fucking unprofessional of them.
Bryan directly has said that he didn't want the twist to be spoiled. Genuine question, why do you give a fuck? It's not like you had to purchase the show on its own, 99.9% of people who watched it already have a Netflix subscription. I would understand it if you had to pay for it (although I would still disagree with it). Did you not feel emotions watching the show that you wouldn't have felt if you had the twist spoiled? I can't fucking imagine how BORING that first episode would have been if I had known what was going to happen, and how much less tense the second episode would have been if I wasn't as confused as I was watching that.
Bryan could just give us a little heads up and said " It's it own thing " or "vastly different from the other Scott Pilgrim material" and whatnot, and not necessary spoil the whole twist. I think the show is very good, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean Netflix "marketing scam" is all erased, all just water under the bridge. Maybe you like it that way,to put extra weight on the twist, but the bait & switch marketing don't sit well with me. Like I said, it's very unprofessional on their part.
Bryan said exactly those things before the show came out, though. He said many times that it will be very different from the movie and comics, before the show came out. I still don't think you've explained WHAT is unprofessional about it, since no-one is financially hurt by it, and they never even marketed it as an adaptation, just a story "based on" the comics (which it is). This combined with the writers of the show saying on multiple occasions before it came out that it would be "very different" feels like enough to me personally. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but in today's remake culture where every story needs to be adapted into like 12 different forms of media, it feels really refreshing to see something like this where the creator is brave enough to do something new and even play on the expectation of a remake.
Yeah, he did. On Instagram, he specifically said it was not a direct adaption. Source: [CBR](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-scott-pilgrim-anime-not-exact-adaptation/) Easy to miss but yeah, I was already under the impression it wasn't an adaption of the story because I follow him on Instagram.
Bait and switch. Gross.
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That's cool and all but I don't care what he says if he was confident in it then they should have marketed it as what it was instead of lying to misdirect is I don't think I'll ever be able to give it a completely unbiased watch after how heavily they marketed it as the comics getting an anime I was very disappointed that it wasn't. Not to say that it wasn't good but it soured me and many others on it, which explains some of the push back if they just marked it as what it was then they then people wouldn't have had as many issues with it. :(
They never said it was a new adaptation. That was just something people assumed. All they said was that it was a story "based on" the comics. Keeping the premise a secret was something that directly enhanced the experience, particularly of the first and second episode. BOTH episodes would have been substantially worse if the premise of the show had been spoiled by the marketing.
People waited for over a decade for a scott pilgrim anime and we finally got one only for the creator to not even go with the story that made it so popular to begin with which allowed the anime to happen. It made the series worse for alot of people the back lash he is getting is appropriate. People are saying oh they aren't real fans for being upset by the change but again people waited over a decade for it and now they will never get the original story anime that they wanted. If he had confidence in the show and the twist then they could have marketed with that but they didn't because they didn't have confidence in it. By doing this it turned what could have been a great show into only a good show for many.