Scott Pilgrim Anime

Shadhausen

Well-known member
Citizen
So I'm four episodes in and this is NOT what I expected. That being said, so far so good but how and if they stick the landing will determine whether it's "really good" or just "whatever".
 

TriBlurr

Well-known member
Citizen
Stopped watching halfway through. Not what I thought it was going to be and what it was wasn't holding my attention.

Disappointed to be honest.
 

Monique

Guess whos back
Citizen
Yeah.. I thought this was gonna be an adaptation of the books but like... yeah. And then even what part they did adapt the movie did far far better. Even with the same actors voicing the roles most people did.. very inferior jobs? Some like Schwartzman and Bhabha dont even sound like the same people.

I dunno I guess i feel a bit like i got bait and switched but maybe I misunderstood what they were advertising in the first place. Either way I'm not really impressed.
 

Shadhausen

Well-known member
Citizen
I ended up really liking it. I appreciate the disappointment from some that it's not an adaptation of the comic, but I also appreciate the balls it took to NOT make it an adaptation of the comic and instead make it it's own thing. It allowed them play around with other characters and give them more development (especially Ramona). Anyway, I thought it was overall fun and what can I say, sometimes having your expectations flipped on their heads is a good thing.
 

Tuxedo Prime

Well-known member
Citizen
All the bitching about Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Screentime is totally worth it for Ramona Flowers actually getting to be a character instead of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl
I don't think that she ever really was one (or at most she was a deconstructed/partially reconstructed one), but more development for her and Knives (who kind of came off as the Heroine of A Mina Shum Film stuck in the B-plot of a different movie) are hardly bad things.
 

Monique

Guess whos back
Citizen
All the bitching about Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Screentime is totally worth it for Ramona Flowers actually getting to be a character instead of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl
I mean I feel like its kind of a failure on the authors part if he couldn't have managed to both tell the story people wanted to see and flesh out Ramona at the same time. In the end they kind of sacrifice Scotts development for Ramonas rather than having both.
 

lastmaximal

Administrator
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
They do manage some development for Scott, but it comes from a different direction (the future rather than reinterpreting his past). I prefer the original too, but this has something.

I enjoyed it, but only because I consciously decided to watch it as a new thing once it became clear that's what it was. Honestly, Ramona becoming the protagonist we follow makes for a very interesting new take on the story. The new things they were able to do with all the characters -- now off the leash of the original plot -- were fun and interesting. I just have a few quibbles with the writing (in particular, Ramona's choice at the end of the big fight was a bit clunkily phrased for completing her arc) but it's a worthwhile watch.

BUT I still (kim) pine for a "proper" adaptation of the finished books. This was such a perfect opportunity to do them "right". A more evenly-paced series rather than a single movie, the completed story and full narrative arc available to adapt, the anime format rather than a live-action adaptation, this entire cast bursting at the seams with talent and love for this ... It was RIGHT THERE.

I don't hate what we got, but I still want that.
 

Monique

Guess whos back
Citizen
It has /something/ but its not much. It's mostly Scott being told he made mistakes rather than really realizing them on his own and growing because of it. Of all the adaptations Scott grows the least in this one something kind of evidenced in the fact that hes effectively stuck in a self perpetuating cycle that hes unable to prevent from happening.

Like okay cool we got more exploration of Ramona but it felt like it kinda came at the cost of... everything else?
 

lastmaximal

Administrator
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Oh, I agree with all of that. I mean I don't view these things as an either/or so I probably wouldn't phrase it that way, but Scott definitely has even less actual development here than he really does in the original film (which at least has the excuse of mostly relying on adapting the earlier books, an excuse this doesn't have).
 

Monique

Guess whos back
Citizen
I mean canonically it is an either/or thing. The way this thing is written the books were the original canon, then time travel altered stuff, Movie version was something attempted in universe, then this overwrites the original canon.
 

Tuxedo Prime

Well-known member
Citizen
Oh, I agree with all of that. I mean I don't view these things as an either/or so I probably wouldn't phrase it that way, but Scott definitely has even less actual development here than he really does in the original film (which at least has the excuse of mostly relying on adapting the earlier books, an excuse this doesn't have).
It's been a while since I watched the film with any commentary tracks, but if memory serves, when the film started production only 4 of the graphic novels were out? And the film basically became a "sneak preview" of sorts for book 7 (although Gideon's mech is unique to the graphic novel, and Nega Scott was a creation of Edgar Wright, I believe).
 

lastmaximal

Administrator
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Tbh in today's multiverse-happy storytelling milieu, it's easier than ever to live by the notion that adaptation Y doesn't erase story X from existence. I'm happy to see this as a Hitchhikers Guide sort of situation where each adaptation/version has its own unique bits, although in this case the unique bit is that it (ahem) takes off into a whole new narrative direction.

But as much as I don't MIND this, I still badly want a straight adaptation of the finished original series.

It's been a while since I watched the film with any commentary tracks, but if memory serves, when the film started production only 4 of the graphic novels were out? And the film basically became a "sneak preview" of sorts for book 7 (although Gideon's mech is unique to the graphic novel, and Nega Scott was a creation of Edgar Wright, I believe).
Yup, that's what I remember too. The movie adapted the first one mainly with the ex- fights and some stuff from the latter, and bare bones plans for the ending. This is unfortunate because as fun as the movie was, it lacked the much more satisfying character arc of the last couple of books.
 

Powered Convoy

Randy
Citizen
This was really quite good and unexpected. Makes sense now why everyone agreed to return. This is quite better than a remake of the film.

The
Bubblegum Crisis
nod has had me grinning like an idiot f ator days.
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
The
Bubblegum Crisis
nod has had me grinning like an idiot f ator days.
Where was this reference? The bus?

Just finished it. I was already going 'what happened' at the end of ep 1 so didn't know what's next. I knew the robot was involved but I didn't figure the why.

Loved Matthew Patel's rework. They put too much of Lucas Lee but, to be fair, Chris Evans made him waaay more memorable than Routh. Would have been great if Todd Ingram got the same focus, shame. Roxie Ritchter, wow, I thought she was going to be Ramona's adventure sidekick, darn. Shame about the twins again. Kiiiinda liked Gideon's reversal but we didn't see the full extent of what alternate evil he could have done with his new Power at his disposal.

Disappointed sorta at not using the Konami code, haha.
 


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