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REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Anime Review


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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 918
Location: MD
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 12:37 pm Reply with quote
An alternate title for this might as well have been Bryan Lee O'Malley Grows Up. We've already got the story of the graphic novels told well and in a format with lots of stylistic choices drawn from video games and anime. We've seen that already and it's streaming on Netflix. But what the movie didn't do is give Ramona a lot of agency. In her hunt for suspects, she realizes that, to these people, she was the evil ex, and she makes things right with them.
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chrisb
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Joined: 07 May 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 6:36 pm Reply with quote
The most accurate description I’ve read is this is basically Scott Pilgrim’s Rebuild of Evangelion.
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Kusakabe



Joined: 22 Jan 2018
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 8:15 pm Reply with quote
I loved the show but it was bizarre that they did basically the exact same thing Masters of the Universe did. The reception to that choice was sooo bad so it's funny to me that Netflix just let them do it again. I also don't think it's clever to portray the media as one thing in promotion, and reveal it as something else when you watch, I feel like it's a bit deceptive and can really backfire....Either way, I ended up loving it once I got over the shock of the first episode and would love to see more.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 9:28 pm Reply with quote
chrisb wrote:
The most accurate description I’ve read is this is basically Scott Pilgrim’s Rebuild of Evangelion.


Metal Gear Pilgrim 2
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Seif



Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 458
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 10:37 pm Reply with quote
Scott Pilgrim Remake
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14893
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 11:44 pm Reply with quote
Aresef wrote:

But what the movie didn't do is give Ramona a lot of agency. In her hunt for suspects, she realizes that, to these people, she was the evil ex, and she makes things right with them.


Cobra Kai, Daniel-san did Johnny dirty Laughing
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prime_pm



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2375
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2023 1:35 pm Reply with quote
Okay, I'm just gonna say it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead CAN'T emote. I know her character is supposed to be all like "whatever" but all of her scenes felt like she was just reading from a script. Seriously, she was practically on the same octave throughout every episode. And tbh I never connected with her well in the movie either.

I should check the Japanese version.
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Silver Kirin



Joined: 09 Aug 2018
Posts: 1254
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:14 pm Reply with quote
I'm on episode 5 and so far I'm quite liking what I'm watching. It's been years since I've seen the movie, so it doesn't bother me that the story deviates from the comic/film. And as for the visuals, it's phenomenal, Brian's comic already had a cartoony-manga style, and it translated incredibly well to animation, I also noticed the use of 3D backgrounds but unlike many other anime/animated series in general it looks great here. I really like the soundtrack as well
I also like that the Latin American Spanish dub has kept all the original dub voice cast from the movie, with the only exception being that of Lucas who is now dubbed by Chris Evans' usual voice actor. Though interestingly, the Katayanagi twins and additional voices were recorded in Argentina and the voice direction was also done there, while all of the returning main charcters were recorded remotely from Mexico, and France in Knives' case since her VA moved there. But the results were great, unlike other LatAm anime dubs done in collaboration (cough... MHA)
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Matros



Joined: 22 Feb 2021
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2023 8:29 pm Reply with quote
Kusakabe wrote:
I loved the show but it was bizarre that they did basically the exact same thing Masters of the Universe did. The reception to that choice was sooo bad so it's funny to me that Netflix just let them do it again. I also don't think it's clever to portray the media as one thing in promotion, and reveal it as something else when you watch, I feel like it's a bit deceptive and can really backfire....Either way, I ended up loving it once I got over the shock of the first episode and would love to see more.


It bears repeating Netflix has no creative involvement in the shows that they license.
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Exodus007



Joined: 21 Sep 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 12:33 am Reply with quote
Wallace being a predatory type tricks Todd into being with him, then makes him gay and leaves him. The whole thing was messed up.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 918
Location: MD
PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:15 am Reply with quote
Matros wrote:
Kusakabe wrote:
I loved the show but it was bizarre that they did basically the exact same thing Masters of the Universe did. The reception to that choice was sooo bad so it's funny to me that Netflix just let them do it again. I also don't think it's clever to portray the media as one thing in promotion, and reveal it as something else when you watch, I feel like it's a bit deceptive and can really backfire....Either way, I ended up loving it once I got over the shock of the first episode and would love to see more.


It bears repeating Netflix has no creative involvement in the shows that they license.


People have the same misconception about Power Rangers. I think what is true, though, is Netflix's role in making this all possible. Universal wanted to do something that wasn't another movie, Edgar Wright suggested an anime. Netflix had Science SARU on speed dial and Science SARU loved the books, so Netflix reached out to Bryan Lee O'Malley.

https://www.cbr.com/scott-pilgrim-takes-off-bryan-lee-omalley-bendavid-grabinski-interview/
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onpufan



Joined: 22 Dec 2022
Posts: 166
PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:20 am Reply with quote
Exodus007 wrote:
Wallace being a predatory type tricks Todd into being with him, then makes him gay and leaves him. The whole thing was messed up.


I haven't read the comic in ages but wasn't Wallace with a new guy every other day in them? He has a bunch of one-night stands. Whatever the opposite term for a 'womanizer' is. He likes his boy toys. That seemed pretty in-character for him to hook up with someone then drop them. At least until goes steady with Mobile. Also I think he tended to jokingly sexually harass Scott a lot as well so that's totally in-character. I still like him and he's funny.

None of the Scott Pilgrim cast are generally "nice" people aside from Knives.. They're all flawed. They're still enjoyable to watch and you can like them, but they're genuinely not great people if you look at what they do and how they act. They're human. Like, to me it feels like this show was made in direct response to all the women who 'stanned' and idolized Ramona Flowers. It showcases that she's a bad person too by talking about how she treated her exes and how they viewed her and showing things from the 'evil exes' side. Don't know if that was the intentional direction of the series, but the general rule is that all the character apply to the "you missed the point by idolizing them" meme.

It's also why the biggest criticism I can give this show is any newcomers to Scott Pilgrim watching it for the first time are going to be missing a lot. They expect you to know who everyone is and what happens already to apply context to this new direction. Otherwise, there wasn't enough Knives in it.
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Seif



Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 458
PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 1:41 pm Reply with quote
Exodus007 wrote:
Wallace being a predatory type tricks Todd into being with him, then makes him gay and leaves him. The whole thing was messed up.


Wallace tricked a grown man into being gay? Come on man.
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MesousaGaby



Joined: 16 Oct 2018
Posts: 71
PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 4:26 pm Reply with quote
prime_pm wrote:
Okay, I'm just gonna say it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead CAN'T emote. I know her character is supposed to be all like "whatever" but all of her scenes felt like she was just reading from a script. Seriously, she was practically on the same octave throughout every episode. And tbh I never connected with her well in the movie either.

I should check the Japanese version.


I actually thought she was the only weak performer in this whole thing. I thought Culkin Plaza actually did okay, it just kinda feels like she didn't take enough voice direction lessons, and mind you, Tony Oliver was the voice director ofr this one, he tends to be one of the better received voice directors out there, so Winstead's performance tends to feel way more awkward than literally anyone else.
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MrPuzzles



Joined: 27 Sep 2023
Posts: 152
PostPosted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 6:08 pm Reply with quote
Exodus007 wrote:
Wallace being a predatory type tricks Todd into being with him, then makes him gay and leaves him. The whole thing was messed up.


You can't be for real.
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