Warning: Contains spoilers for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is the anime adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim comic, which was famously adapted into the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010. The anime is another take on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s story, now with more faithfulness to the source material, but as a bonus, everyone from the film returned to voice their characters in the anime, thus providing excellent fanservice for fans of the film.
As the latest adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, there are, naturally, plenty of differences between Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. While the anime is meant to be more faithful to the source material than the movie, the differences between the Scott Pilgrim anime and the Scott Pilgrim movie aren’t just about faithfulness to the Scott Pilgrim comic, but about what’s done to create a wholly original story, as well.
This means that more than being judged by how they compare to the comic, each adaptation has its unique strengths, and that’s more than worth acknowledging.
10 Ramona Flowers Is The Hero Of The Scott Pilgrim Anime
Scott Pilgrim’s story has a new hero.
The first big difference between Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the most important of them all, is that Ramona is the true hero of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Unlike the movie and the comic, episode #1 had Scott die during his fight with Matthew, although he was really sucked into the future by his older self, and the rest of the show is focused primarily on exploring Ramona’s relationships with the League of Evil Exes and her issues with commitment. That aspect of Ramona’s character was majorly underdeveloped in the film, so seeing the anime focus on it does a lot to give it an original feel.
9 Scott Pilgrim Is The Villain Of The Scott Pilgrim Anime
Scott Pilgrim’s character arc is taken to the extreme by making him his own villain.
Parallel to how Scott Pilgrim Takes Off makes Ramona Flowers the hero, another major change from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that Scott Pilgrim – or, rather, his future self – is the villain of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. As previously mentioned, Scott disappeared when he was pulled into the future by his future self, and that was because future Scott wanted to keep his younger self away from Ramona so she wouldn’t leave him because of his selfishness. That storyline was the anime’s way of tackling Scott’s arc of becoming a better person, and the bluntness and over-the-top nature of it adds a great deal of uniqueness to the anime’s story.
8 Scott Pilgrim Is More Of A Jerk In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gets Scott Pilgrim right.
Another difference that’s specific to Scott Pilgrim is that Scott Pilgrim is a bigger jerk in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off than he was in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. While Scott is a selfish person in every version of the story, the anime puts far more emphasis on it than the film with things like having Scott not care about how much he leeches off of Wallace and how dismissive he is of Knives even before meeting Ramona. It makes Scott’s characterization in the anime far more accurate to the comic than what the film did, and it makes his growth far more satisfying to watch, as a result.
7 Scott & Ramona’s Relationship Is A Lot Stronger Than It Was In The Movie
The anime highlights the core of Scott Pilgrim’s story.
As a Scott Pilgrim adaptation, most of the story revolves around Scott and Ramona’s relationship, and a notable difference from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that Scott and Ramona have a stronger relationship in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. In the film, Ramona isn’t into Scott at first, only agrees to go out with him to shut him up, and the two repeatedly fight after the League of Evil Exes shows up. By comparison, the anime has them immediately hit it off with Ramona being as in love with Scott as he was with her, and as such, it’s impossible to see their relationship as anything other than true love.
6 The Scott Pilgrim Anime Makes The League Of Evil Exes Actual Characters
Some of the best characters of the story get the development and depth they deserve.
The League of Evil Exes are some of the standout characters of Scott Pilgrim, and something noteworthy about them is that, unlike the movie, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off makes the League of Evil Exes actual characters. While the film made the Evil Exes little more than obstacles for Scott to overcome, the anime fleshed out their characters and made them more sympathetic, and except for Gideon and possibly Matthew, they all get over Ramona and their various personality flaws to find better ways to live their lives. That’s a stark change from even the comics, but considering how the anime played out, it’s more than appropriate.
5 Matthew Patel Has A Much Larger Role In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
A minor but memorable character becomes more relevant.
Going off of the expanded focus on the League of Evil Exes, a notable change to the story is that Matthew Patel is a far more important character in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Matthew originally existed solely to set up the League, but his apparent victory against Scott in the anime leads to him having far more involvement in the story, even usurping Gideon as the leader of the League and being at the center of the final act of the anime. Despite his limited involvement, Matthew was a very memorable part of the film, so it’s great that the anime decided to do so much more with him.
4 Todd Ingram Has An Affair With Wallace Wells In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
An odd but welcomed change from the source material.
Another member of the League of Evil Exes who went through changes in the Scott Pilgrim anime is Todd Ingram, who ends up having an affair with Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. While Todd was undeniably straight in the film and comic, the anime had him enter a sexual relationship with Wallace and become heartbroken when Wallace broke things off due to never being serious about it in the first place. That sort of change was rather unexpected, but it did allow Todd to go through significant growth and development, so it still added a lot to the story.
3 Knives Chau Is A Completely Different Character In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
Scott Pilgrim finally does right by Knives.
Regarding differences with specific characters, another notable difference between Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has a completely different take on Knives Chau. Not only does the anime depict Knives and Scott as being nowhere near as close as they were in the movie, but after Scott’s alleged death, Knives is relatively quick to get over Scott and focus on herself, which leads to her genuinely bonding with Sex Bob-omb and becoming their keyboardist. It makes Knives far more well-rounded than she was in the film, and the story is all the better for it.
2 Young Neil Has A Bigger Role In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
The movie’s most ancillary character gets his due.
Another difference regarding how a specific character is used is Young Neil having a larger role in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off compared to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The film more or less made a joke about how uninvolved with everything Young Neil was up until the end of the story, but he’s far more involved in the anime thanks to his story of making a movie about Scott’s life. Add in the anime’s reimagining him as a dimwitted goof, and Young Neil comes off as being a far more interesting part of the story than he was in the film.
1 Julie Powers Becomes A Villain In The Scott Pilgrim Anime
Scott Pilgrim’s newest villain sets up a possible sequel.
The last big difference between Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off makes Julie Powers a villain. Julie was a largely ancillary character in the film, but after entering a relationship with Gideon, she becomes a villain and helps him try to kill Matthew as revenge for stealing his company. The ending even sets up Julie to join Gideon on his next evil plot. Julie’s depiction in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a major divergence from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but it, and all the other differences, do a lot to add a great deal of originality to the anime.
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