Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic book “Scott Pilgrim vs The World” was released in July 2004, instantly capturing the public’s interest and cementing itself in pop culture with a film adaptation. And now, due to the movie’s popularity after thirteen years, Netflix has decided to turn the movie adaptation into an animated TV show.
Although animated, the content rating is MA for the strong language and violence. While the show has comedic elements that might interest younger viewers, I wouldn’t recommend anyone below the age 14 to watch.
The main character of “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” is Scott Pilgrim, a 23-year-old Canadian who lives with his roommate, Wallace Wells, for free. Although Scott doesn’t have a job, he is a bass player in his band named Sex Bob-omb with his friends, Stephen Stills and Kim Pine.
While in Canada, Scott Pilgrim falls in love with Ramona Flowers, who has recently moved after living in New York for several years. However, to date his love interest, Scott must fight and defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes, who have formed “The League of Evil Exes.”
Although I enjoyed the plot, Ramona Flowers and Scott Pilgrim’s actions toward others are somewhat toxic. When Ramona first meets Scott, for example, she expects him to fight all of her seven evil exes without a second thought. And with the exception of one, Ramona never apologized to any of them for being toxic.
I don’t believe that Ramona had to run away from the people she loved. she didn’t take any of her relationships to heart, she only was worried about herself but not her significant other. There are so many wrong situations that she would have handled differently. Ramona has bad communication skills and has cheated many times in the past.
Compare this to Scott, who is treated as if he is free from problems himself. He not only dated a 17-year-old while he was a 23-year-old, he also has horrible communication skills and an inability to recognize his bad actions.
Nevertheless, although Scott is depicted as a poor character, he still experiences positive character development. He has a humorous personality and responds when conflict comes to him. As a viewer, I enjoyed watching Scott’s growth as a main character.
There are many debates online to understand if Scott is a hero because of his actions. Creator Bryan Lee O’Malley mentioned in one of his past interviews that teenagers saw Scott as a villain because of his actions, claiming that they would never do that. Instead, O’Malley encourages viewers to reflect on their own past actions when they get older, and ask themselves if they, too, see themselves as villains.
On a more positive note, however, the animation is amazing and the songs they created for the shows are catchy. The fight scenes were well-made and humorous. The art style looks much like a video game, and overall, the storyline is well done and well-written.
I enjoyed watching the show. It’s well-animated, and it does a good job of expanding on the characters’ backgrounds. Reading the book and seeing the movie would be helpful, as they establish the characters
RATING: 7.5/10
