What could possibly be better than a brand new Scott Pilgrim anime, you may ask? A Scott Pilgrim anime that also happened to rope the entire cast from the 2010 film adaptation back in for voice roles recruited that same film’s director Edgar Wright as an executive producer and landed none other than Bryan Lee O’Malley — the mastermind behind the original graphic novel series — as a showrunner. Indeed, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the upcoming anime in question, already looks like the stuff of dreams.
With Netflix set to roll the series out later this fall, Scott Pilgrim newcomers may be curious to know if they have any catching up on one of our time’s deftest transmedia narratives before it hits the streamer. If so, here’s everything you need to know.
Do I need to read the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels to understand Scott Pilgrim Takes Off?
Realistically, you’ll probably be able to get away with starting your Scott Pilgrim journey with Takes Off without much trouble at all; without giving anything away, the cast of characters slated to appear in the show indicates that Takes Off will be treading the same set of key events that the graphic novel series began and ended with.
On top of that, Wright revealed back in March that Takes Off would be expanding the Scott Pilgrim universe in one way or another, so it could very well be the case that even the most diehard Pilgrim fans will all be patient zero when it comes to certain parts of Takes Off.
But, if you still want to plug into the comics knowing full well that Takes Off can be enjoyed independently, we’ve got you covered.
Which Scott Pilgrim comics should I read in preparation for Takes Off?
The Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series consists of six volumes; in order, they’re titled Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe, and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour.
The six volumes cover Scott’s entire plight of squaring off against Ramona Flowers’ seven evil ex-partners in order to be her new boyfriend. As mentioned earlier, that defining, six-volume-long story arc will almost certainly be fully adapted in Takes Off, as it was previously in the film adaptation.
However, it’s just as safe to assume that Takes Off, like the film, won’t cover every single subplot, backstory, and conflict found in the graphic novels, so even though you won’t need to have read the graphic novels to enjoy Takes Off, they’ll likely remain the source of the deepest, richest rendition of the Scott Pilgrim mythos even after Takes Off hits Netflix queues.
Our advice? Go in blind, and if you adore Scott Pilgrim Takes Off with all your heart, read the graphic novels after the fact. Either way, you’re bound to have one hell of a time with O’Malley’s beloved brainchild.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off roars onto Netflix on Nov. 17 and will consist of eight episodes.