In a surprising twist, Scott Pilgrim isnt dead. But he is missing and Ramona Flowers, the
Girl of His Dreams, still has a few Evil Ex suspects to sift through in order
to find him. Throughout the course of
her crazy investigation, new clues emerge that point to something beyond the
League of Evil Ex’s. Something, or
someone, is manipulating the story to keep Scott and Ramona from coming
together. Mysterious Scripts, Trouble
Making Robots, the Ultimate Stage Play, everything is building up to one
seriously epic conclusion…and no one will see it coming.
After the unexpected bait and switch at the end of the
very first episode, you’d think fans would riot over the fact that Scott
Pilgrim isnt in every single episode of his own show.
As we saw, however, Ramona Flowers is more
than capable of being Scott’s equally competent (if not more competent)
lead.
Everything that worked about the
opening half of this series was kicked into even higher gear in the back half.
And while I do have nitpicks, mostly being
that Ramona’s resolution with the other Ex’s isnt as emotional strong as with
Roxy and Lucas, this is still a golden gem of a series that I might just have
to give a top tier award to.
Before I
lock that in, let’s find out how things progressed for Scott and Ramona’s new
love story and why it might surpass the OG (and definitely The Movie) in a lot
of ways.
The back half of Scott Pilgrim Takes off was split into
two distinct halves.
First up was the
contuniation/conclusion of Ramona’s detective story.
The behind the scenes documentary of Scott
Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life was a ton of fun thanks in no small part to the
unexpected affair between Todd and Wallace (wow sparks) and the lovable dumb
fun that is Young Neil, who’s stupidity and honest reactions to quotes like
“The Director thinks of Toronto as a character in the film.”
“He said that…WHO DID HE CAST TO PLAY
TORONTO?!”
It didn’t lead to the same
kind of resolution with Todd as other Ex’s but still, he found himself on a
newfound path, even if it meant sacrificing his Vegan powers.
Ramona’s interaction with Gideon, sorry
Gordon, wasn’t quite as big as it should have been but it was enough for Ramona
to simply tell her Ex to treat his new girlfriend (Julie of all people) better
than he treated her.
I think that’s a
reason I’m alright with the finale even if it doesn’t deliver total payoffs on
all fronts.
It provides enough and
that’s satisfying for me.
This series has done a great job with throwing curveballs
to the Scott Pilgrim narrative from placing its titular character in the back
seat to more or less rehabilitating the entire League of Evil Ex’s.
But of all the major change ups, was anyone
expecting Scott himself to become the villain of his own story?
Maybe, maybe not but like every thing else,
when it’s revealed, it makes sense and if it doesn’t, well it never detracts
from the fun of it all.
Scott himself
seemed to take the bulk of his trip to the future in stride.
He was less concerned with how Toronto became
a post apocalyptic landscape within 15 years time and more excited to see his
Older self with a beard, still kicking it with Wallace, playing Video Games and
creating Anime theme song covers with the Katayanagi Twins. (btw shoutout to
the group performing Konya wa Hurricane from Bubblegum Crisis and we get to
hear the real version play in the credits of Episode 7 too). I’ve missed
Scott’s childlike wonder at stuff like this and it’s a stark contrast to the
pettier and more childish Older Scott, who blew one argument with Ramona so far
out of proportion that he wanted to change history so he never met her.
It feels like something Scott would do but also
something we never want to see happen.
So we still care but are still able to be entertained by the well done
absurdity.
Also Older Ramona is still
hot as hell and she actually makes playing a Mail Girl in the dystopia look
cooler than Death Stranding.
The final episode was a perfect cap off for this entire
little story.
We got to see Ramona
complete her series arc by making peace with her past and her future and
wanting to be with Scott in spite of what may or may not happen.
While this is a Scott Pilgrim show, it’s a
Ramona Flowers story at heart.
It’s the
story of a girl who found the love of her life and stopped at nothing to find
him while also sorting out her history and realizing it’s not too late to
change ones ways.
This emotional payoff
was only made better by the all barrels blazing Studio Trigger sized finale as
we got to see Scott, Ramona, their friends and the League of Evil Ex’s band
together to fight Older Scott, filled with all the Easter Eggs you could dream
of (I especially cheered when Knives threw out her battle cry, “Chow Down”).
We even got a tease of a potential sequel
that could happen…but personally I’d rather it didn’t because if this is a FLCL
sequel done right…well we’ve seen what happens with actual FLCL sequels and we
don’t need those tarnishing the masterpiece that is Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
Final Thoughts: Holy Crap this is a good show.
If you love the Comics and the Scott Pilgrim
vs. The World Movie, this is a perfect companion piece to both.
The animation and character designs are the
comics come to life and it is so awesome to hear everyone voiced by their
actors from The Movie.
The changes that
come out of nowhere never feel like a detractor or a betrayal of what might be
advertised going in.
This is a brand new
take on Scott Pilgrim that feels a lot stronger than both versions that came
before it.
Even if you haven’t read the
comic or seen The Movie, there’s plenty to enjoy with the world, story and
characters just because this is a show made by nerds for nerds and it embraces
all of nerd culture in a huge, hilarious and fun filled hug.
Not to mention the music, the music is
FLCL/Cowboy Bebop levels of masterful (we also get to hear a couple of tunes
from The Movie too which I was wondering if any were going to pop up).
I cant stop gushing over this one, even if
there are a few minor flaws.
You know
what, I’m gonna overlook those because this is that good of a show and the
world needs to know it.
Cause despite
the last volume of the comic bearing this title, this Anime is actually “Scott
Pilgrim’s Finest Hour”.
I guess 2024 is off to a better start because I don’t
think I’ve done this before on the Anime Corner.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off kicks off the New
Year with a perfect score of 10/10.
It’s
officially got a spot on my Top 5 Titles I’ve Reviewed in 2024 list
already.
Who will sit with it?
2024’s just getting started.
Next Week, we begin our look at a long lost
Video Game Anime Adaptation of once promising JRPG series.
Xenosaga: The Animation begins Next
Monday at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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