The cult classic graphic novel Scott Pilgrim receives another adaptation! The series received a few adaptations following the end of its comic run. It received a film in 2010 and a video game the same year. Now the series will jump to the next logical medium: anime!
Scott’s Still Kicking
Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series from 2004 written by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The series became a hit in the more niche nerd circles. It contained many references to things popular in nerd culture, mainly video games. The series did not receive mainstream popularity until well after its completion, the 2014 reprints being evidence of this. However, the publisher, Oni Press, had suspicions it would be popular and began talks of a film adaptation after the release of the first volume. This film adaptation would not come around until 2010.
The Wright Stuff
From the beginning, Edgar Wright was always on board to direct the Scott Pilgrim film since its inception in 2004. Following the success of his film, Shawn of the Dead, Universal put Wright in charge of the adaptation. The film had an absolutely stacked cast, with Superbad‘s Michael Cera staring as the titular Scott Pilgrim.
The film also featured Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans, just to name a few of the now massive names attached to the film. However, while well received now, the film did poorly at the box office, not even making half of its 85 million dollar budget. Only when the film hit home media and streaming did it really come into its own.
The First Attempt
With the release of the first film, an animated short was released by Adult Swim. The short was an adaptation of a flashback from the second volume of the comics. This short was nearly one-to-one with O’Malley’s art style while also retaining the original voice cast. While well received by fans, it remained only a short. Some hoped it would be the backdoor pilot for an animated series but to no avail. That is, until March of 2023.
Second Chances
On March 2023, following rumors of Netflix developing an anime based on the Scott Pilgrim series, a teaser was revealed, announcing only the voice cast. However, this voice cast was every single actor from the original film, reprising their roles. This came as a shock to many, as most of the original actors had grown in popularity to such a degree that their return seemed an impossibility. And seeing as the casting would no doubt be one of the most anticipated reveals, it was the first thing shown. A proper look at the actual anime did not come about until August 16th, 2023.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
This trailer showed the first actual look at the animation. While not being exact to O’Malley’s art style, fan reception to it has been insanely positive. This trailer also revealed a few of the names working on this series. For one, it isn’t just the voice cast who is returning. Edgar Wright and Bryan Lee O’Malley will return to produce and write respectively. It also revealed the studio behind the animation, Science Saru. Science Saru is a prolific anime studio, behind such projects as Ping-Pong The Animation, Devilman Crybaby, Night is Short, Walk on Girl, and Keep your Hands off Eizoken! to name a few. So, this anime is in good hands, as all of the prior projects were praised for their stellar animation.
Wrighting the Wrongs
One hope that many have for the new adaptation is that being a full series and not a 112-minute movie, it will allow it to adapt the source material more accurately. The original comic takes place over the course of a year. The movie, however, poorly illustrates this, and one could mistake it for only a couple of days. Many aspects of the comics were removed for time-related reasons. Some also think that an animated medium would serve the source material better. While the film did as much as it could be as flashy and stylish as a comic, to great effect, some aspects simply fall flat in a live-action space. Plus, since the original comics were inspired by Shonen manga, animation seems to be the medium it was made for. The Adult Swim short is further evidence of this.
The Return of Old Discourse
With the return of the Scott Pilgrim series to the public conscience, some aspects of the series are being brought up again, and old discussions are being reignited by newer fans. The most obvious of which is that, Scott Pilgrim, a 22-year-old, is dating a minor. This, however, is not treated by the source material as a good thing, and many characters call Scott a creep for doing so. However, inexperienced readers have yet to realize that Scott Pilgrim is not a good person and seek to “cancel” the fictional character. It is also not as if this is a dirty little secret of the series; the first line of both the comic and the movie is in reference to this.
Release Date
The trailer ended by showing the release date for the anime, which is later this year. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be released on November 17th, 2023. The release schedule, however, has not. It is unknown if the series will drop all at once or if it will be released on a weekly schedule. What is known, however, is the series will consist of eight episodes. While not as much as a typical anime would get (normally a season of anime is 12 to 13 episodes), this will hopefully be enough to adapt the six volumes of the comic accurately.
