Why Scott Pilgrim Takes Off doesn't work
I recently finished the recent Rebuild of Eva-type sequel series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I think I enjoyed my time with the first few episodes, but there seems to be a general fundamental lack of understanding of what made the original comics work.
The series revolves around Scott and does not work when he is not there
I've seen people on Twitter smugly insist on Scott "being there" because the anime constantly references stuff he did and his presence there, or argue that the original comic exists. Neither of these takes make sense, though. The core of this franchise is Scott Pilgrim and his own personal growth. It's about the way he's able to reconcile with himself and work through his issues with Ramona.
Scott doesn't face any consequences for his mistakes
If y'all thought the movie let this kid off the hook, this is arguably worse. Most of the Bad Shit this guy does is brushed off and not even taken seriously.
Knives is able to bounce back and is largely fine and able to get over her lingering feelings incredibly quickly and conveniently at a point where Scott returns without having to worry much about the conflict, and they spell out loud How Bad Dating a High Schooler Was, Who Knew.
Compare this to the comic where Scott and Knives relapse, after she insists the guy is toxic and unhealthy for her but that she's still trying to get over her feelings, and after kissing there's just nothing but mutual disgust.
He has to live with and carry that weight, and it can't just be forgotten as a footnote in his larger life.
Same thing with Envy... he just never resolves anything with her and she's portrayed as strangely bitchy throughout the story, showing up to Scott's "funeral" just to sing a snarky song. The thing about Envy is Scott exaggerates how bad she is in his head and she's not on the same level as Ramona's evil exes.
Crack fic energy
"What if" scenarios aren't inherently bad. I think they can work if there's a clear focus and direction behind their writing. However, there's a certain point in the anime where the execution of the premise goes over a threshold and just becomes silly.
I don't think all of Ramona's ex-es needed several episodes of fleshing out as realized characters. I'm not inherently against it, but I feel like with the increased focused on those characters, time that could be better spent exploring the core cast outside of Scott is lost.
It's also jarring to have every single one of them sort out their problems and become completely rehabilitated people. I can't help but feel it's a bit idealistic to have them all sort out their issues in that way.
The implication from the comic has always been that Ramona is somewhat reasonable in having a pattern of running away from her relationships, as not all of them have been great experiences. I just don't feel as if personally walking up to every single one of your shitty ex-boyfriends and talking things out is really a good idea.
It works with Scott as most of the people he's dated have lives outside of him and aren't really that much worse people than him. With Lisa, nothing ever actually kicked off, with Kim, they're still pretty good friends, and with Envy, he's able to get over his resentment. It doesn't work the same way when Ramona has assholes like Gideon in her past.
I think Roxie was actually handled pretty well and enjoyed the way she was written, but that didn't warrant everybody else getting the same treatment.
The romance does not work
One of the reasons Ramona and Scott's relationship was so compelling to me when I read the story years back was the fact that they were by no means some couple fated to just bond together and they (especially Scott) needed to put actual effort into the relationship for it to sustain itself. They work through each others' issues together.
Takes Off decides to just place Ramona in a space where she's able to have a self-contained character arc without Scott helping her confront her issues. It misses how Scott challenges Ramona on her insistence to hide from her problems and run away, but clearly he just didn't need to exist at all?
By the end of the story, we're greeted with a Scott Pilgrim that doesn't actually go on a thorough journey of personal growth, and just naturally decides to be less of an asshole despite not actually learning anything. He doesn't reconcile things with Envy, Lisa, or Kim.
Ramona wants to save a guy she knew for like two days, not because he did anything particularly significant, but because they're just cosmologically fated to be together in this timeline. It's undeserved and I'm confused at how such a fundamental misunderstanding of what the comics have to say about healthy relationships is pushed here, even unintentionally.
I mean, shit, he doesn't even know her age by the end.