Ramona in the movies felt way too apathetic and empty and giving her agency in the anime was an amazing decision I feel. I know people will say that scott didn't get enough of an arc and that's fair, I think the show works better as a companion piece than it does stand alone. At the very least, anything that gets more people to read the books is fantastic
My first of any Scott pilgrim was this series, honestly I think it works. I feel that just after the first episode I know who Scott is, I have an idea of the kind of person he is. I really enjoyed seeing all the side characters get development rather than Scott, because while season 2 could still cover that, Scott is a good character to begin with
While watching it, my FIRST reaction was that this seems more focused on Ramona actually having agency, whereas Scott's arc, if any, happened in the "alternate universe" where he fought the entire League and won, especially gaining self respect in the processes. In this universe, he (perhaps) doesn't get that same "self respect" arc (as evidenced by his future selves all being hot messes, influenced heavily by Ramona).
Ramona is definitely the most realistic manic pixie dream girl ironically in the fact that men typically really hate it when they find out that the manic pixie dream girl, is in fact, manic!
Had an ex girlfriend like that, and damn it feels just like she's a Ramona to my life, the only difference being the fact I'm not her Scott Pilgrim, and I'm not an evil ex either I hope 😂
I had a huge crush on one when I was in school, I would talk and hang out with her every day every break for half a year straight, til I couldn't contain my feelings for her. She broke my heart, then put a bandaid on it, just to smash it into dust. I got depression from her. I would have given my life for her without 2nd thought. I thought about her 24/7, all my dreams were about her. I would talk with her and somehow poems would come out of my mouth about how great she is (they would ryhme) I literally couldn't control it. It's been 7 years since she demolished my heart and I had a gf in that time, but honestly I never have loved someone so much, so strongly like my first crush. Til this day when I see something that reminds me of her, I need to try to stop myself of crying since it hurts so bad, it feels like an instant dagger to the heart and my heart feels so heavy, like lead. She broke me. I can't imagine what she could have done to me that would have been worse. I hate her to the bottom of whats left of my heart, but I know if I were to meet her again (we have met after what she did to me, because we were in some same groups so we had to see each other, even though I tried to avoid it, because I knew my feelings would almost instantly come back if I were to spend time with her), I would have strong feelings for her again.
I really feel like they did, like in the comic book, and in the movie she’s so aloof and cool, like it’s hard for me to understand why Scott likes her, and like why is the audience like her. But in the Netflix version she’s really sweet and they actually have like chemistry. It doesn’t seem like she’s annoyed by him and like holding him at like arms length the whole time.
Yeah, the version has zero chemistry. I assumed it was on purpose because it was trying to show Ramona and Scott were too toxic right now to be dating each other, but they got together in the ending anyway
I like to believe she appeared annoyed because he doesn't look like the type of guy to handle 7 evil exes or be committed enough to stay. but idk they probably just didn't think about it like that
@@almostcheesecake the reason is cause in the first version they wanted Scott to end up with knives (idk what went through their mind) so they made Ramona unlikeable and cold to Scott to make it seem more realistic but when they released the testing preview thingy the viewers didn't like Scott ending up with knives so they changed it but they couldn't change the cold personality they made her have. (this is also why theres an alternate ending)
I didn’t see the chemistry. They had “sparks” but that’s it. Why does Ramona want Scott who she learned cheated on her with Knives the high schooler? And why does Scott want Ramona who he learns leads to a miserable divorce and also learned abandons most of her exes? How is Ramona more compassionate? Aside from Roxie everyone else got treated like jokes. No sincerity.
I thought Ramona flowers in the movie was sort of didn’t care. Like she didn’t seem like she liked Scott. The anime saved her character. I felt like she loved Scott, had emotions and had great chemistry with every other character
@@NatManzano I’m just referring to the fact that in the movie the relationship between scoot and Romana doesn’t make sense. Like she doesn’t give you any reason to think she likes Scott. If anything she acts indifferent. Compared to the anime in which she shows emotion and looks like she actually cares for Scott. Neither in the show or movie she’s bubbly. She’s a badass but badasses in relationships still care for the other person in the relationship.
The movie covered an anxious attachment disorder person falling for an avoidant attachment disorder person and their disfuncional relationship. The TV show has them learning to grow and heal and realizing that that growth was necessary if they wanted the relationship to work.
Lmao there is literally no character development in the show. Everyone just becomes friends in the end because plot reasons and then Ramona is a goddess that must be validated and worshipped for having the unexplainable urge to become unhealthily obsessed with a guy she barely knows just so that the plot can keep on moving on. Her whole character is just being effortlessly badass and loving Scott for no aparent reason.
@@RainerRilke3 your media literacy is actually horrid lol. if you some how interpret ramona explicitly stating and resolving her massive character flaws after being confronted with the repeated mistakes of her past and future as being a "goddess that must be validated and worshipped" i think you need to stick to the 4th grade reading level your teacher recommended.
@@RainerRilke3 Tell me you didn't even watch the series without saying it lol Literally that "Goddess" was a representation that Ramona could no longer run and abandon her boyfriends when things got difficult, and she herself explains it "I run away from the things I love, and I'm not going to run away anymore". She also changes her job at the end of the series for thet reason. All her exes eventually become friends because they discover they have a life outside of a girl they dated for one week, like aspirations and work to focus on. Even with Patel they show that, once he "kill" Scott he didn't get the girl and they have to move on with their life.
@@Jonathan-lc7ic how were they resolved? They just backpedalled and made her breakup with future Scott be just a misunderstanding. I might've missed the part where there's an actual change in her character besides coming to terms with her issues of suddenly withdrawing from the people she loved. Just recognizing and accepting the flaws doesn't seem like a high note to end the series, the point towards which the entire show was building up to
as someone who read the books and saw the movie i wasn't really mad , mainly cause i read them a long time ago and forgot what happened lol, i was more confused but then excited when i saw the turn the show was taking. they're like a cool power couple thats like kinda worth rooting for now
That’s so true, half way through the first episode I was thinking “what’s the point of this? It’s a scene for scene remake.”. I wasn’t even planning on watching the second episode till that fight. Kind of like invincible that way
I actually wasn't sure about the first episode for the opposite reason. It's not a scene for scene remake at all. It's more similar than the movie, but they cut out and changed a lot of little details that made me question whether it would do the story justice. So it was cool in episode 2 when they changed direction and I realized why all that set up would be unnecessary. You miss out on all Scott's moments "dating" Knives and seeing her falling more deeply in love while Scott treats it as a whimsical diversion until he gets together with Ramona. Some of the harshest criticisms of Scott dating Knives are left out, including when Scott says it's like Trainspotting.
I was honestly surprised by the end of the first episode, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it until I realised it was a series about Ramona, which also made me think, "well, she didn't really have much development in the first two pieces of media, so this could be really interesting". It was a good watch for me.
I like this animation because I see it like a "WHAT IF" scenario. Where Ramona is the one dealing with her problems (Ex's) and going after Scott. It feels like a complementary story, or "another route" in a video game, that should be enjoyed after looking at the Comics and Movie (on this order).
I was pleased with the positive bisexual representation given to Ramona in the anime, because you can still be bi and still break up with your past partner you're no longer attracted to anymore, regardless of whatever gender you are and still be in good terms with that person as well. The movie reeked biphobia with dialogue such as "It was just a phase" "you had a sexy phase?" "I didn't think it would count" "I didn't think it mean anything" and "well maybe I was just a little bi-curious" because no one should be treated as an experiment.
@@almostcheesecakeRoxy definitely deserves someone better like Kim or her co-worker that has a potiential to develop as a character if the writers decides on that if we ever get a season two. Despite the biphobic dialogue that was added in the movie's fight version (instead, they could've been written as ex-girlfriends just fighting without that, it was unnecessary to include that) I can agree the fight is awesome to look at, it probably my favorite fight scene ever in the movie.
in my opinion, that was the point. Everyone was terrible in that movie, except maybe Knives. Scott and Ramona aren't people to look up to and emulate. It was just another projection of their shallowness and self centered natures that led to all of their problems.
I felt like the movie was never meant to portray Ramona in a likeable way. To me it always felt like she was supposed to be a shallow character because its a way of playing with the stereotype of the manic pixie dream girl. It shows that Scott doesnt really have a deep connection with her, since Scott (and the audience as well) doesnt really have enough information about her to have a realistic idea what kind of person she is. He's just kind of projecting his idea of the ideal girlfriend on her. I think it really resonated with me because I feel like a lot of people are looking for somebody whos unhappy and "broken" so they can then try to "fix" them. So Scott defeating Ramonas Exes is just his way of living out his savior fantasies.
I kinda saw movie Ramona the same way, which is why I thought Scott and Ramona getting together at the end was weird. I assumed he would have stayed single because he no longer needs to attach himself to girls for self worth
@@almostcheesecake In the commentary Edgar Wright said that they considered having Scott be single at the end, because Brian Lee O'Malley told them he considered doing that at the end of the books. But ultimately decided have him get back together with Ramona because they felt the studio would never go for an ending where Scott ends up with nobody. And at test screenings, where they used the original ending of him getting back with knives, a lot of people felt cheated, angry that he didn't end up with Romana.
The anime made Ramona sooo much better Didn't really like her during the movie The same goes for other characters like Knives, it was weird seeing her obsess over Scott and giving up at the end for no reason
i personally think movie knives made alot of sense if you think about the fact that scott accidentally love bombed her then went completely avoidant which can psychologically fuck some one so bad they become obsessive and at the end he finally confronts her and gives her the closure she needs to move on and "give up" on the toxic relationship with the guy who not only wasnt interested in her any more but also cheated on her.
The comics develop most of the side characters way better than the movie(other than Ramona who’s cold, jealous and pushes Scott away while he tries to improve himself), the anime did way better with Ramona and her exs, I miss Stephen’s boyfriend in the show, and Scott’s battle with himself near the end of the comic
@@PokemeninblackRamona was being controlled by Gideon during the comic. Which is why she is so cold and distant. You see Gideon lurking in the shadows of her mind when Scott goes into it.
I think the movie was focused mainly on the comedy, and didn't really give any time to flesh out the personality and or show any depth, so if you analyze it the characters definitely appear hollow. I love how they actually made them likable in the cartoon because all the character designs are FIRE. The movie was funnier imo, but the new cartoon is much better overall. Can't wait to see more.
My only complaint for the cartoon/anime is that they did Wallace dirty. They made him too selfish and a playboy. I the movie he was a lot nicer and he cared more about Scott. And the anime Wallace? He treated Todd like shit, I'm so mad about it
@@helenahildegarda5739 sorry Ik this comment is like 2 weeks old now but I actually saw Bryan Lee O'Malley make some tweets about this! Basically he said some stuff that boils down to if you pay attention to what Wallace actually does (get black out drunk after the funeral and hook up with a guy also named Scott, then involve himself in a biopic about his dead roommate and hook up with the guy playing scott and immediately drop him as soon as he stops cosplaying his dead roomate) then it's pretty evident Wallace WAS heavily affected by Scott's death but he just doesn't have the most conventional/healthy coping mechanisms. Personally I do think it could have been conveyed better but it is always interesting to get insight from the actual creator of the whole franchise
Scott Pilgrim actually has so much personality shining through him that we get only three episodes with him and it is still fine, because we get a major power up on all other characters. Ramonoa being the first she feels exotremly relatable and fleshed out as someone dealing with avoidant attachment issues but still wants connectio, and she carries the emotional heavy lifting of the series with her infatuation for Scott and wanted to see her again. Although I like that you still can't read her very well. Searching for Scott can either be because she has feeling for him or because she is simply interested about what happend to him. Very well written character
Yeah, completely agree. There’s that mixture of wanting to figure out if the spark was real, along with the guilt that her own past caused Scott's death.
I think what was always unique about Ramona, was that her flaw _is_ the flaw inherent to the entire manic pixie dream girl trope. Ramona likes people who seem pathetic, flawed, or vulnerable. she likes people who are unimpressive in comparison to her. people who think she's out of their league... people who need her more than she needs them. she can be the best thing that ever happened to them, and they'd do literally anything for her. she can look better just by standing next to someone who's worse. and this simultaneously makes sense out of why a lot of Ramona's exes turned out to be "evil" and also shows why they have a legitimate reason to either still be hung up on her, or have major grievances with her. some of Ramona's exes were legitimately underconfident or insecure people, and a person like Ramona choosing to date them was kind of a miracle in their eyes. they put her on a pedestal, and that can be both flattering and pressuring... in some ways, Ramona probably got uncomfortable just from having what she asked for in the first place. and when she leaves, they just keep trying to cling. but she also did them a disservice by choosing them because she could look down on them to some extent... and she tends to insecurely leave when it seems like they might improve past her level of desirability. they might even realize _they_ don't need _her._ so Ramona leaves first, before that can happen. I wouldn't be surprised if the exes who realize this are actually mad at her for doing it. and yet some of Ramona's exes were actually assholes. that's the thing about choosing to date people who are worse than you... sometimes you end up simply dating a bad person. and in a case like that, Ramona probably left when she realized she was in over her head. but an asshole wouldn't be an asshole if they didn't act like one when their victim leaves. and then Ramona meets Scott, who sits at the nexus of all of these qualities. Scott is legitimately pathetic. he's an unemployed mooch. he dates a high schooler for a moment because that's about where his level of mental maturity is at. he acts clueless, but honestly, that's not an excuse... sometimes, you grow up when you choose to put in the effort and learn how to grow up. and Scott has yet to do that. but if Scott is going to do that, he needs a partner who actually wants him to do that. Ramona has to want Scott to grow. and a version of Ramona who doesn't, is way less healthy for both of them, than a version of Ramona who does. to me, that is always Ramona's character arc. she has to go from the type of person who doesn't want Scott to improve, to the type of person who does want Scott to improve. in the beginning of the story, Ramona dates Scott because he's a wimpy nerdy loser who is obsessed with her, and it slots very comfortably into the habit she's always had with the people she dates. Scott's improvement is scary for her, because she'd have to keep up. but Ramona deserves to date a good person, in the same way that Scott deserves to become a good person. and if Ramona can bring herself to stick around as that actually happens, that's a sign that she's improved too. I think the main difference between the original story and the anime, is that Ramona's improvement is very passive in the original. she improves by letting Scott's character development happen without ditching him. in the anime, she gets to be more active by _choosing_ Scott, and specifically choosing him because of the things that are good and appealing about him. and I agree... it does make Ramona's character much more textured and vibrant. but tbh I think that's partially a function of Scott being out of the way for a bit. one of Scott's many flaws, is that he tends to smooth out Ramona's characterization to himself. she's "mysterious" because he doesn't endeavor to know much about her. it's way easier for him to project his ideals onto her if he doesn't learn anything that contradicts them. and Ramona was perfectly happy to let him idealize her in the beginning. but if Scott isn't around to do that, then Ramona has no choice but to be herself.
Jesus f*cking Christ. I wish all Scott Pilgrum's fans could read this. Ahhhh, it's so.good. You spelled out everything I suspected about her. You fricking king/queen.
@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ thank you! I've been a fan of Scott Pilgrim since the comics, so I've had a lot of time to think on these two... tbh, I loved the anime, and it cemented a lot of the stuff I'd already thought about Ramona and Scott. ^_^
I am still watching the anime (haven't read the comics but I watched the movie years ago). And honestly that is actually an awesome analysis, oh my god. I didn't think of them that way, but it makes their flaws so interlinked now.
@@minty7945 if you ever find yourself curious about the comic, I highly recommend it... each version of the story has it's own feel, but I think the comic was what gave me the clearest picture of Scott and Ramona in this light. it's super interesting! and I just love how the anime handled them, especially compared to their comic counterparts. plus the art style is really appealing. ^^
@@IDKLOL-qj7sl Yeah I love the art style! There is also something refreshing in seeing a character like Ramona (who is so used to leaving people before she believes they'll realize they don't need her) actively choose Scott. Anime Ramona has to put in all that work just to find Scott, and in doing so she is forced to just trust that Scott will like her anyway, regardless of how much "better" he gets. There is definitely more of an "active" trust that she has to put. I got the feeling that Movie Ramona could still leave Scott once she feared he'd get better than her. And that version of her was so aloof and distant that she seemed willing to. I think there were more stakes for Anime Ramona, who had to fight for Scott and trust that he would still want her by the end of it all. The anime forces her to care about Scott in a way Movie Ramona didn't really have to. It also helps that in the anime, they enough actual chemistry for Ramona to care that much Anyway I hope this made sense haha. I am definitely gonna check out the comics, your analysis got me thinking about things.
I love your video! My only gripe is Gideon, I feel like his abusiveness really was downplayed and glossed over. So many people can relate to that ex who was truly scary and abusive who they’d never want to cross paths with again. What he did to her and his ex’s is horrific. He didn’t need to be likable. I won’t say I wasn’t entertained by the changes, it’s simply an aspect I didn’t appreciate character wise for him.
Scott and Ramona have way better chemistry in the books. Ramona being as cold and apathetic as she was in the movie was because they wanted people to root for Scott getting back with Knives as they initially planned. She definitely had more of a personality in the books. I'm a big fan of the comics. I actually hate the movie and how it portrayed everyone (minus Wallace and Knives) and loved Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I was surprised at first and a bit skeptical, but I really loved the fresh take in the end. It felt like a gift to me. I also loved that they took out the biphobia and showed that Ramona and Roxy did have a beautiful relationship in the beginning and that they healed their wounds. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it felt truer to the Scott Pilgrim comics than the movie to me. I'm grateful for the anime.
I heard this years ago but the director said that movie Ramona was supposed to be "Broken". She was apathetic and empty and avoids conflict whenever she can to show how broken she is. Anime Ramona strays from the original story. She goes on a journey of personal healing so we see a side of her that strove for personal growth - all without Scott
To me it definitely was the "Oh yeah this is why they are meant to be", it honestly was a really good way of giving her character depth, something I've really come to dislike in retrospective is how passive Ramona was in the entire plot of the original story in the movie, like she doesn't try to help Scott for like most of the fights, she just sits there and is like "Guess we will see who wins", I mean if they had gone on more dates or had more chemistry like in the anime, then I could really see it anything other that apathy, because a lot of the time it really feels like she doesn't care about Scott winning or loosing like it is just another one. I really like that in the Anime Ramona is the one now having to fight to be with Scott, we know that Scott wants to be with Ramona but it wasn't always really clear if she really wanted to be with Scott, also having her figure stuff out herself and internalising a lot of her troubles and past on her own was really nice, because it gives he agency in the story, Scott also has his own agency in the story and it really portrays him in a big way where he is likeable despite dating a high schooler, like his future self is the one setting the events into motion and Scott is actively trying to figure out how not to end up like his future self and that is genius because it basically is about him also healing from his own past pains. Like Envy actually fucked up Scott, I mean the fact that people mention how bad Scott was after being dumped by Envy shows that it was bad for Scott, he didn't really have the emotional fortitude to endure a break up like that again specially not with Ramona who is by all measures the girl of his dreams, like we can tell how much he loves Ramona manifested in how bad his future self was when he misunderstood them basically getting separated for a time as being divorced, like Future Scott thinking that Ramona divorced him completely destroyed him, I think that goes to show how much he cares about Ramona quite well. The fact that Ramona gives her exes closure was a magnificent detail, I was in the position of one of those exes with a girl once where they basically ran off on me, ditched me without much thought and it really really hurt me because I internalised that dumping as somehow being my fault because there was just no explanation for me to find there, and I know how powerful it is to get closure in a breakup like that it really does release you from something actually awful you are carrying and in a way helps you move on with life, I think the best example of that is Lucas Lee he built up his entire life around that feeling of insecurity that he internalised when Ramona suddenly started dating someone else, he built his life on the idea of "I have to be someone important because she didn't want the nobody I was back then", so her telling him that she went out with the version himself who was nobody really helped him realised that it was never about if he was famous or not so he could let go of this internalised feeling of no being good enough and actually found himself enjoying his life as no one important.
Bro cooked the best meal of his life. Great analysis, for me, the anime universe is the most satisfying one, where we get some good deep on the exes and a universe where Ramona and Scott really deserve each other. As a person who has gone through all the versions of this universe, anime has to be on the top for me, to get to see Ramona fighting for their relationship and confronting her past for her and for Scott has to be top tier. A lot of people got really really mad because they were expecting a page by page re-do from the comics, honestly for me, I'm so glad they decided to something entirely new that shows a new perspective and for me at least a better conclusion for Scott and Ramona, without both being so toxic to each other, really loved the anime.
@@almostcheesecake Oh also another character that steals the show with their development is Knives, who basically goes from being a young girl obsessed with Scott to someone with her own dreams, aspirations and abilities. It was really funny that she honestly moved on after she thought that Scott died and really found something she cared about more which was music. I really liked the conversation that Knives and Scott had when he came back, where Knives tells "Scott that him dying was the best thing that could have happened to her" because even if it sounds mean with the way that it is worded it isn't meant like that but rather that him not being around anymore helped her grow past that pretty much one sided love that she had for Scott. Also I think that the biggest reason why Scott struggled in the original to break up with Knives is because he didn't want to be her Envy Adams, he was too chicken to break up with her because he didn't want to break her heart but ended up doing so anyways, he basically was stuck basically allowing her one sided feelings fester because he couldn't bring himself to say no to her.
@ilo3456 that's a good way of seeing it, the fear of repeating the past resulting in exactly that, repeating the past. I heard Knives also gets a lot of growth in the comics, so that'll be exciting to see
The comics are great, most of the characters are more fleshed out because they had more time to do so, with the movie only being like 2 hours long it definitely was hard to fit everything in there and I'm pretty sure the ending was supposed to be different because the the final issue hadn't come out, scott was supposed to get with knives so they made Ramona more unlikable but then they changed the ending to fit the manga
My take on vs the world... Ramona isn't that into the relationship, this one or any one. She seems like the perfect girl if you only look at the surface and not at the relationship. Scott doesn't prioritize the relationship. Anything unconftorable (like breaking up with, or being honest about knives) he avoids... relationship is always 2nd to him. It's two living embodyments of red flags who seem like a cool boyfriend/girlfriend but are horrible partners. And the payoff is that they end becoming self aware enough to breaking up and try to grow rather than ignore their flaws. Takes off... imediatly Ramona's tone in E1 comes across as being emotionally available and invested. She's a completly different person. Scott seems like the same old Scott. It's like she ran to Canada to have a fresh start and be a better person... rather than simply hiding from her past and herself. Vs the World is the story of two ignorant and terrible partners eventually realising they need to improve. Takes off is the story of a newly self aware but flawed person trying to improve and make amends. It's arc is perfect for a sequel, without the plot actually being a sequel.
My first exposure to Scott Pilgrim was watching Takes Off with a group of friends who were fans of the series. I was confused, but managed to perfectly follow what was going on and by the end, I was so in love with the characters that I needed more. I read the comics and took in everything over the course of a week (busy work schedule) and ohhh my god. Almost Cheesecake, I will support this channel if you take a chance to read the comics. They're free on Kindle Unlimited. I went into the comics wanting more Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and not only did I kinda get that, but I also got a great and well written narrative on how destructive it is to just cast your problems and wrongdoings aside like they never existed, carrying on while learning nothing. The comics thoroughly dissect not just Scott Pilgrim, but also his relationships with everyone else and you learn how they all fell apart. They also elaborate on the concept of subspaces a bit more and that turned out to be pretty cool. I don't want to reveal too much, but trust me. The comics are so good that they hurt the movie for me a bit. I love like....pretty much every character in the comics. They're all given plenty of time to be fleshed out and experience their own arcs. Even if Ramona's story felt just a tad rushed near the end of it, she was done far more justice in the comics than the movie. If you liked the movie or the anime, definitely read the comics. They're a great experience. I will once again try to shut up about Scott Pilgrim. This has been my nightmare for three days.
I really loved your read on both movie and show. I believe Ramona has much more agency in the show because as you mentioned, she has will to do so while facing on her own and in her own style with her exes. This was the first video I watched from your channel but hoping to watch many more, thank you so much!
When it comes to fleshing out Ramona in the comics, it helps a lot that they actually happen over the course of multiple years in-story, as opposed to the movie which is basically just the seven exes plotline truncated to fit into the events of the first book.
Clearly, the anime takes place in a parallel universe. It was supposed to be like the movie, until the futuristic Scott captured the present Scott, during battle with the 1st evil ex. So the anime focuses a lot more on Ramona and her exes, which is very cool. However, I did miss Scott throughout the series.
@@SirCrusher But he did. He called it an alternative-reality universe. Do you think that he would've wanted to ruin the universe that he created? Because anime and the comics being in the same universe does not make any sense at all. Comics (and the movie too) are about people changing for the better. It's not a love story. Scott and Ramona are both toxic persons and they change throughout the comics (and movie..). And in contrast, in the anime Scott and Ramona never changed, Ramona just left him and Scott became the 'next evil ex'. The creator literally pointed it out.
Don't get me wrong I adore the movie but fuck this anime was incredible. All the character development and seeing more of the ex's. The subversion of expectation was so well done. I do wish we saw more of Scott because I love him but everyone else getting that time made up for it and when he did finally come back it was a nice change of pace. Young Neil stole the show though, what a goofball.
I loved so much how you did a video saying exactly what i was thinking when i finished the anime. In the movie, on their first date, Ramona semmed forced to be there on a date with him, like she only accepted so he could take the order. Now in the anime, she smiled when he gave the idea of a date and was smiling the entire date. Felt like a totally new character with a whole new personality. I have the feeling that if "movie Scott" did "die" at the first fight on the movie, "movie Ramona" would just said: "yeah whatever" and would just go away and completely forget about him While in the anime we see a Ramona that was 100% committed to find Scott because she actually have feelings and like him and loved spending time with him. Anyways, great video dude, congrats on being so damn right lol.
Hearing what I've heard about the comics, I think they played the movie Ramona a bit too cold and mysterious. I hear they cut out a lot of her real personality
@@almostcheesecake yeah, they really did her dirty in the movie, just made her totally cold and with near zero emotions, and that's definitely not the Ramona from the Comics or even from the Anime.
@@matth2283 bro, not supposed to relate 100% to real life, girl takes a 15 meters hammer from her little star purse, in a universe where Scott dies it makes sense for her to go after him, not saying that it's a real life situation, but instead at least makes her character way more likeble since she at least shows interest in him, my only point is that I feel like Ramona from the movie doesn't show any interest or feelings in the whole movie.
@@MathChiarleglio but like why? what was so interesting about him after one date? That was basically them talking and then crashing at her place? She cared more about Scott after 1 shitty date then all his friends.....
Not sure if anyone said it yet, but the one girl in the video store is actually Kim’s coworker/manager (not sure), Hollie. She’s prominent in the comics, if barely, but yes, she’s hot. 😂
@@almostcheesecake Hell yeah! It’s not a *lot* of her since the story mainly focuses on Scott and the others, but the rare moments we do get with her are good! Side note: while she doesn’t wear glasses in the anime, she does in the comics but she’s still cute and hot either way imo. 👀
Definitely recomend reading the comics, if only because it gives a few characters a chance at the spotlight who only got minor roles in the movie and anime. The way I see it all versions of the story do something different and that should be celebrated, tho the anime is my actual favorite
The cartoon feels like a sequel to the movie. Even though Ramona was better in this I felt the other characters were either worse or watered down. Wallace in the movie actually took time to listen to Scott’s problems and tried to give him advice. But in the cartoon it just feels like he’s not friends with Scott.
@@almostcheesecake I found that very off putting, it was hard to root for any of them knowing that almost all Scott friends except for Ramona felt super cold and selfish
@nessito1 I get that. I'm used to how nonchalant death is in the movie (even though the exes actually just respawn), so Scott's death just reminded me of how the exes got treated
@@almostcheesecake I felt we never knew they respawned, but they did, so that's why nobody cared. But now all of the sudden they are sure turning into coins means death and they don't care for real, even if its a good friend. This for me was one of the lowest points of this version
Finally someone who gets it!! Dude, 13 years without Scott Pilgrim content, if it was the novels all over again, I wouldn't even be mad, but getting actually new and different content? That's amazing, and I love the anime, it was so good!! People getting salty from not having the same adaptation for the fourth time it will always be hilarious for me lol, if you want the original story, you can play the game, watch the movie, read the comics, finally getting new and refreshing content is sooooo good
@@MathChiarleglio Right??? I don't actually follow fandoms so I didn't know people weren't happy about this lmao, I never thought we would have a new story, and it's even cooler that all the minor interesting characters got more development and screen time, it's beautiful to se Ramona actually deal with her shit and see the exes actually move on, I love it. I really liked Lucas Lee haha
@@amanda-uw3un YEAHHH, Ramona finally being the one to deal with her past and with the shit things she did is soooo good. The time they gave for other characters is amazing as well, every Young Neil scene was just perfect and I loved Lucas Lee as well lmao. I don't follow fandoms a lot as well, but just from Twitter and some other posts in some social medias I saw the response from people and the amount of people mad for not getting the same content for the fourth time after 13 years without anything is actually crazy lol
@@MathChiarleglio I hate do judge but I feel like people who wanted the same thing again are not really fans of the property as a whole maybe idk and I myself hate change, but this was very welcome. I loved seeing knives become a member of sex bob-omb too, I was really intrigued that all the cast was coming back for this, it was so good that everyone actually got bigger roles (except for michael cera but I think he's had his time haha).
@@amanda-uw3un I feel the same actually, people have the right to not like the new version or to not like as much as they liked the novels, but i really don't get someone getting annoyed for not receiving the same thing all over again lol. It feels like people didn't like the characters or anything more that they can get from those characters, instead it feels like they only like that specific version of the story and only that, which is on their right, but people could also be grateful for finally getting something new that tells a new story, idk, my point of view. Knives joining the band was so good as well, I loved she saying by the end that she was sad and happy for Scott dying because it helped her to grow as a person lol, Knives on the novels was like, mad crazy for Scott from the beginning until the end because he was there the whole time and dating Ramona right in front of her. THIS PART HAS SPOILERS FROM THE COMIC, JUST SAYING lol One other thing that i feel that people cry to much about the Anime version and it doesn't make sense for me is that Ramona on the comic has way better development and grows way more as a person than the anime because the time span for the story of the novels is like, 1 years and the time span for the Anime story is like, 2 weeks or less. But it doesn't make sense??? Like, ok, I get it, Ramona has more time to grow as a person in the novels, SHE LITERALLY SPENDS 4 MONTHS LAYING AROUND AND WATCHING SERIES IN HER FATHERS HOUSE, SHE LITERALLY COMES BACK AFTER THOSE 4 MONTHS AND DIDN'T GROWN ANYTHING, SHE SAW SCOTT DYING FOR HER, SCOTT WAS CLOSE TO DYING AGAIN FOR HER AND SHE WAS ALMOST TELEPORTING AWAY SAYING THAT IT WAS A BAD IDEA GOING BACK, SHE LITERALLY JUST DIDN'T RUN AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS AGAIN BECAUSE GIDEON PUT A FUCKING SWORD THROUGH HER CHEST, HOW IS THIS SUCH A BIGGER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN COMPARISON WITH THE ANIME, 1 YEAR THAT THE STORY GOES BY, 6 NOVELS SO THE CHARACTER CAN GROW UP AND BY THE FINAL BATTLE SHE WAS STILL RUNNING AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS AAAAAAAAAAAA (sorry I needed that lol), but seriously, I don't get the argument of Ramona being way more developed in the novels than in the anime, I feel like that they did an amazing character development for her, considering they had 8 episodes with 20 minutes each and not 6 entire novels lol.
Great video! I absolutely recommend the comics. Ramona as well as the past and emotional growth of Scott is much more fleshed out. Ramona in the comics is a well-rounded person just like in the anime. However the anime does some justice to the exes, who where more or less just the "bad guys" both in the comics and the movies. So I feel like, the anime made amends and gave us the exact parts the both the comics and the movie lacked (I also loved how the anime at one point makes a complete parody of the entire movie, and gives some fun little cameos tied to Edgar Wright). The biggest problem with this video, is the complete missed opportunity to reference the Negative XP song "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Ruined a Whole Generation of Women" when it comes to Ramona as a manic pixie dream girl...
I liked the film, but mostly because I saw it with my friends before cornova hit. Something similarly beautiful hasn't happened since. From what I recall, the film was interested more so in the comedy and wackiness than anything else. Very fun, creative product. But aimed at teenagers. It felt like that. Something designed for teen boys. Ramona felt very flat, more a dream than a real woman. In the anime, she's so likeable. Because she's loyal, intelligent and actually owns up to her mistakes. She's also, in my opinion, a better protagonist than Scott. They came across as a toxic couple of self-absorbed arseholes in the film. In the anime, they have better chemistry. I was actually rooting for them. In the movie, it was clear Ramona would break up with Scott after a year, since she never really... changed. She kept being equally as selfish and cold as ever. And Scott just had one scene in which he won the power of self-respect and that was that. It really felt like he kept being the same self-pitying douche. In the anime, it actually feels like Ramona is willing to grow this time. It feels like Scott, when confronted with his future, lonely, pathetic self, will commence his healing journey.
I feel like the movie and the tv show's make 2 different problems. In the movie Ramona isnt as fleshed out and in the anime Scott isnt also fleshed out. The older scott stuff just feels like a poor attempt at Negative Scott and doesnt really see Scott go through much change.
I agree with that, they focused a lot on Ramona, the exes and side characters, and then remembered "oh wait this is Scott Pilgrim anime" and had to hastily make an arc for him as well. It's definitely not perfect
I can agree that Scott doesn't go through much change in anime version, but I consider it more or less a sequel to the original comics or a new game+ situation or a continuation. I look at this source as a supplementary material that also just makes Ramona and Exes more likable or give them a little bit more of a happy ending for them all. tbh, Nega Scott's importance is not as much as people remember tbh. Scott fights him once and most of it is just him realizing he can't runaway from how he feels about Ramona and just absorbs him back in. He only really appears in the chapter he fights and that's it. Even Older Scott is basically a parallel where he does become an Evil Ex in the end and his main problem is that he wants to forget about Ramona bc he can't ( Because he absorbed Nega Scott and can no longer forget about her or runaway from his feeliings anymore.)
@@YightLagami Making it a sequel it’s even worst cuz it basically means that comic Scott will turn into future Scott and he and Ramona will have to go through exact the same arc again
This would have been fixed if they had let the series have more episodes, or make the episodes last longer, in the end they only had like 2 episodes to do Scott's arc.
Personally I love the comics character arcs alot more than both the movie and anime, however I guess that's a given when it's about as long as the show. They all go through the same character arcs but the comic feels more real and natural then the movie or show.
I loved this show, I was enchanted by it, the idea instead of fighting the exes and beating them, it's about developping them and "saving them" is so much interesting, specially because ramona has to face her problems and mistakes head on, scott isn't there, so she has to look at them, see how much she's hurt them and how they, as well as her, change for the better in the story. This is the show I never knew I wanted, I never imagined that I wanted to see the exes happy and as better people, seeing them cheer for scott and ramona when they kiss was so unexpectedly wholesome, even gideon gets better by finding a girl who's just as evil as he and will support him through everything
Great video on Ramona, I think scott pilgrim is one of those franchises were each versions of the story is good, hope you enjoy the comics those are my personal favorites
Been loving all the fans of the original getting salty that it wasn't a true remake. I thought it was a brilliant way to explore the characters and original and it was a great surprise for me. In the graphic novel ramona does get more time to actually face what she did. I much prefer how Scott Pilgrim takes off handled it though, giving her more character development and forcing her to actually make up with her exs. Especially Roxy, Roxy was the ex who got the worst backstory. They even hand wave that Ramona might be bi in the movie with the "Just a little bicurious line."
So pretty much all of your questions about Ramona, where is her character development, what is her goal, why does Scott have to deal with all of her exes, etc? Can be answered in the comics, where you can also find the rest of Ramona's personality. Although they touch on it (and I do mean LITERALLY only touch on it) in the movie at the very end: Ramona is mind-jacked by Gideon to an extent. Not like she's totally possessed or anything, but Gideon makes a point of making himself the center of Ramona's mind. In the movie, Ramona just touches the chip on the back of her neck and says "No, he's literally in my head." In the comics, there's a sequence where Scott stumbles into Ramona's subspace, where he finds her kneeling on the floor, head resting on the knee of someone we can't make out in the shadows. SPOILER ALERT for a 20 y/o comic: It's Gideon. As soon as Ramona realizes Scott's there, she freaks out and outta there they get, and we don't find out who was getting "UWU senpai" treatment from Ramona until way later. I grant the comic plays out a lot more like a slice of life, and revisiting set-ups is a lot easier in the more long-form media. Whereas the movie is like a video game, where the plot sets up for the increasingly difficult boss trials, somewhat cyclicly, until the conclusion. Fitting in plot reachbacks would literally have killed the momentum of the movie. So I may not like it, but I get why they basically stripped the character down to her most essential MPDG roots. But I don't think the OG Ramona was something that Netflix needed to fix, the dumbed-down characterization that we got from the movie certainly was.
Yeah as a person who has read the comics, seen the movie, and just finished the anime the other week, i think the movie is definitely the weakest link. It may have to do with getting made before the story was finished (no book 6) like other commenters said, but im not sure. It always just felt like we had no reason to be connected to or care about ramona other than than her being the girl scott wants to date. I always found that disappointing, because in the comics there is a lot more back and forth. They both fuck up, they both hurt each other and make mistakes but they figure it out, and make it work, and help each other.. and its clear that by the end you have a reason to like them, or at least respect their growth, and see why theyre together and why they love each other. But the movie just doesnt get it there at all. (Also I feel where people were coming from about Gideon, he was very tame in the anime but honestly.. i think its a good thing. From the comics we know why hes fucked up, and why hes so powerful. But Bryan had always had intentions for him to be a loser despite that. That if you strip away all the power he's managed to get for himself hes just a normal guy who sucks. I remember there being like authors note type additional sketches where you could see early concepts for characters and other fun behind the scenes of him making and it stuff and there was one line somewhere in there where he talks about wanting the readers to feel like "what? THAT'S Gideon??" When actually getting to see his character. So i think an approach that pretty much disarms him episode 2 was interesting! Because we got to see him lose it all and just be what he is, a normal guy who sucks, and is a loser lol. Obviously its a comedy too so seeing a girl finally be interested in him because shes ALSO evil, and then them running with that, was entertaining. It being a "what if" type re-write i think can forgive that they change his character enough to allow for this to work and still be funny, rather than just purely fucked up. All the ex's got to be comedic for one reason or another in the comics, except Gideon who was taken pretty seriously (except the "drinks on me" panel lol). I do wonder if hes going to be more impactful for a hypothetical season 2? Given the ending with Julie. I know the creators said theres no plan for one and it was written intentionally to exist on its own in that way but, who knows!!) Anyway, uh, nice video! Sorry for writing an essay im just havin a good time :))
comics are great reread them thrice it is good. Ramona does get more character development in them but I still prefer the anime out of all three versions but comics do also have great story and Scotts development is better in the comics than the movie also liked your video
Thankyou for not using too many spoilers of the show. The Comics really are soft compared to the show. You did yourself a disfavor by experiencing them out of order. But hats off to all the content in 'Takes Off' for a big fan of the Universe. We can only keep hoping that another project comes around Brian's head. Or a fan comes up with something to kickstart new ideas.
Its been a while since I've read the books, but if memory serves me right. She is more fleshed out and loving towards Scott up until she leaves him for Gideon. The movie really tried to cram in all 6 books which is why Ramona kinda seems like a asshole to Scott and didn't really seem to like him. In my opinion the new show on netflix captures her love from the comics more than the movie did.
@@almostcheesecakethey are completely different characters movie Ramona is cold and distance and has a personality of a piece of cardboard comic Ramona is bubbling and incredibly expressive she is also a bit insecure and act likes a real human being especially in the later volumes
@@almostcheesecake very much so! As much as I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead, I don't think her portrayal of Ramona was accurate. Same with Michael Cera and Scott.
Eeeeeh….I would disagree I do like her as a character but there are some problems that the anime addressed for me. I do like how Ramona fixes her own problems instead of effectively just pawning them off on everyone else and playing the victim when she was pretty awful to her exes (ie cheating and using several of them.) it really addressed it. (Dont get me wrong I still like Ramona as a character! I think she’s a great character, but that is one thing that always kinda bugged me.) I do like that she got real closure and the exes feel more like characters. (Roxy admittedly felt the most developed out of the exes, and felt the most interesting. I like how this version of her actually takes accountability for her previous wrongdoings, and let’s be real in the comics she didn’t really do that. She never really owned up for what she did and how she hurt people. She admitted that she has a tendency of running away from her problems, but other than that there was never really any moment of accountability.
I definitely agree the characterization was way more fleshed out in this mini series. As soon as it broke from canon I knew we were going some place great.
Just think of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, as a alternate universe. There's one where Scott takes the lead, another with Ramona takes the lead, and the movie which both kinda meh. You could even say that the original comic is the timeline that 'old scott' came from (because he got together with Ramona, but she left him too). Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, is in a new timeline where the 'old scott' visited to try to stop 'young scott' but inadvertently helped him? With time traveling in the current anime plot it makes sense that the 'original' timeline is a 'bad ending' plot maybe. Now we just need a new game (that is not made by Ubisoft) based on the whole time travelling, dimension hopping fiasco... You have variations of Scott, Ramona, and friends trying to fix the timeline from a mentally unstable adult scott who manipulates the league of evil ex's, and all the villains are drastically upgraded due to multi-verse powers. Maybe instead of stage by stage it could be more like River City Ransom style with map to map travel points, and get Arc System Works to develop the combat system? For instance instead of stat based, it can be skill based where dojos and learning actual techniques for each character is a better focus like with River City Girls 2. Scott can tap into Nega-Scott powers, and Ramona can tap into Super Ramona powers, etc. You still have stats, but it's not a massive influence on damage, instead your combo gauge has a damage multiplier the better you fight. Scott Pilgrim VS the Multiverse?
I love the movie, comics, and anime all for different reasons. the comic is obviously the most fleshed out, with the most complete version of the story. The movie (to me) is about one guy who is sort of a loser being able to get the girl "of his dreams" by fighting for her - and she isn't just a cardboard cutout for the protagonist. It does feel a little rushed and not as well fleshed out, but still fun and one of my comfort movies. The anime fixes a lot of the pacing and character problems from the movie, taking it's time, fleshing out everyone BUT Scott, and making them more pleasant to watch (as opposed to the movie where everyone sort of seemed jerky)
Honestly, read the comics. They're great and can be pretty much speedran in a night. The way Ramona is characterized in the anime is very similar to her arc in the comics, so I feel like you're really missing out. Like yes she reaches the conclusions different ways, but she has entire arc just like the anime of learning not to run from her problems. Also Old Scott/Ramona/Wallace are heavily implied to be the comic universe versions of the characters, but older. The anime didn't fix Ramona bc she was already great, the movie just broke her. And between finding out the director of the movie initially planned on Scott ending up with Knives, as well as his name being parodied as Edgar Wrong in the anime, I think it's safe to say Bryan Lee O'Malley didn't like the way his characters were portrayed on the big screen. Ramona has ALWAYS been the opposite of the MPDG, and a deconstruction of the "woman as a prize."
Admittedly I get frustrated when people talk about Scott pilgrim without reading the books. It think it’s an interesting perspective for someone who didn’t get caught in the zheitgheist to talk about it with fresh eyes but Movie Ramona is extremely flat compared to comic Ramona. I always respect that the comic and movie were somewhat of a joint work and there are limitations to a movie length story line but there is so much lost when people didn’t get to see beyond the honeymoon phase. The comic and the movie are first and foremost about Scott learning to take responsibility for himself for the sake of others as he is the perspective character but part of that also felt like it was about stripping away the idea people are these sparkly characters, Stephen stills is dating a guy by the end, Knives loses interest in Scott, and Envy was a prickly weeb who sold her memorabilia when she got the chance to be an it girl but it’s never some revolutionary internal monologue. I don’t think anyone is wrong for just watching the movie because it is infinitely more accessible than reading the whole book series but it does suck that most people got to view Ramona as a pretty apathetic and aloof damsel that was in his life for a few weeks at most but the comic provides a Ramona who was someone who already had some damage, got worse from her most recent narcissist ex, and probably like Scott choosing Knives as something less complicated saw Scott as a step back from something so intense, only to then end up in a long term that was the pin in her whole new social circle too while the feeling of trauma from Gideon kept bubbling up the more problems with Scott popped up. Comic Ramona smiles a lot in the middle part of the comic but it’s usually in the midst of group situations and probably some hard feelings came from them being Scott’s friends first. Lisa Miller was a real trigger to her before even knowing Scott cheated and it could easily be because of how she openly liked Scott while also being more familiar with people like Kim who Ramona was closest too. The final battle is importantly about Ramona’s overcoming of her insecurities and reclaiming an identity Gideon had taken from her. Even the anime in some ways I had gripes from stripping Envy down to a joke but what is great is how it basically flips Scott and Ramona’s roles. Ramona is fighting (getting closure) with her exes so she can be with Scott while Scott inevitably has to face the idea of a future him running away from his relationship because of a bad future. Sorry for this long ass rant, I literally finished the final volume of Scott pilgrim the same day I went to see the movie on its opening weekend. It’s like a core memory getting caught reading the final pages in Borders in the hour before my friend and I went to see it. That irk of flattening Ramona’s character was something I immediately felt in the theater while then going through the next decade getting compared to her for having dyed hair and whatever the hell “Ramona Flowers Ruined a Generation” was. Really not directed at OP but more just how Scott Takes Off in some ways was a “none of you listened last time so I’m gonna really spell it out this time, okay.”
Now that you mention it, I did feel a bit annoyed by the live action movie when i first watched it because there's was no reason for scott to get ramona (except that he's the main character) and for ramona to be desireable (except that she's not from town, a hot manic pixie girl). As you were breaking down your analysis, i realise that it's very much because it's written in the perspectives of 20-something men and women, and how they see themselves. Still don't really like scott's character in the first movie, but really like ramona now!
I love the true books, the movie, and the anime are able to portray different flavors of Ramona that don't contradict each other, but instead add onto each other to create a more fleshed out character
The movie came out before the end of the comic, so the ending is similar but the path is different, also scott had time to solve things out with kim in the comic and we saw more of kim's friends and personality. The ending was kinda weird and random in the movie, I think it makes more sense how it was done in the comic. About ramona, I think the actress didn't get what her personality was or they didn't explain it well to her, she probably didn't read the source material. She is mysterious and cool, but in the comic she has personality and insecurities and the way it was explained why she got back to gideon and how they defeated him works better.
I'm going out with an uncommon opinion I'm sure, but: This doesn't seem like its out of left field at all. I never read the comic, so I'm not confusing the two. But its always seemed to me that Ramona DOES care, but for some reason just has a really hard time opening up. Actually, its probably because of everyone else's vision of her. She's always wanted, idolized, but without a lot of consideration of what SHE wants. She's just a kid who doesn't even know who she's going to be yet, but people try to control her so much that that she feels the only option is to run away. So she runs. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And is trying to get more experience to actually figure herself out, but its just continuing the cycle. She's flawed, but believable and not irredeemable. I've known a person like her all my life. She was trying to push Scott away to avoid conflict and opening herself up. But couldn't make herself do so fully. If she really was as cold as people percieved her as, the movie literally wouldn't have happened. Either because she wouldn't have given Scott a chance in the first place, and even if him just persuing her onesidedly got the league's attention, all she'd have to do is sit back and let them finish him off and leave town again. All the show did initially was show the cracks in her armor more. Which is proven more by all the evidence suggesting that it is the same Ramona but with time travel shinnagians. But that being said, I really loved the direction the show went with her character as it did give her a more powerful place to really lead her to the realization she always needed. Just like I had hoped she had learned from the movie, but was left to wonder because it was kinda open ended. So needless to say I love the show. I am a sucker for a good character arch afterall.
This is exactly how I interpreted it. I _am_ (or have been) someone like Ramona. The movie and netflix versions feel equally realistic(though stylized) and relatable to me, but netflix version just feels like me after I started taking SSRIs. I honestly would give my in-depth analysis of Ramona, but I'd just end up describing myself, and I already see a therapist once a week for that.
As a big fan of the comics and Edgar Wright's film, this anime totally was the fix I didn't know I needed. I loved that they redeemed Ramona and gave all the "evil Exes" a proper background story.
When I heard that it was not going to be a faithful adaptation to the comic or the movie and saw so many bad reviews, I was worried that they had made a bad adaptation, but having finished the series I loved what they did with the story lol I love the movie, but Ramona doesn't have much personality beyond her ex boyfriends, here it is nice to be able to see a little more of her life and her character without Scott, like how she actually apologise to her exes. And I also like that now the exes have personalities, goals and dreams outside of Ramona, some of them are one of the reason I love the series lol they really funny and bring a lot of action to the series. It's a shame that there were a lot of fans who didn't give the show an oportunity, I would have loved a second season, but they announced that there wasn't going to be one.
The worst thing any creative can have is "fans". They believe they have a say in what's good or right for something they did not create, do not own or had any input in ... just something they consumed, based on their expectations. Like that means something. Screw those "fans"! SPTO was amazing, and I'm saying that as a fan of the comics AND the movie.
@@almostcheesecake there are no plans for a second season, according to O'Malley. He said "way too many miracles had to happen and did happen to make this ... I don't think there's going to be more" and I concur. I'd even add: I don't think there _needs_ to me more.
I'll be honest, both the movie, comics, and anime gave me a tough pill to swallow that I desperately needed. I just saw too much of myself in both Scott and Ramona, and realized I'm not, and never was, a good person. Made me figure out what years of therapy failed to put in my dense head
Bro, I had the same with the series, people always go on about Scott and Ramona being horrible people that only end up together because they are horrible people but what I love about this series is that makes you reflect on yourself and when you see at the end of the story the characters trying to grow up and become better people, you kinda reflect upon yourself and see that you are not perfect as well and you start to try to become someone better This series is very special, will always have a place in my heart❤
As a huge fan of SP, you are on the verge of something brilliant with your analysis! Read the books, watch the movie, and watch the anime again, and don’t be afraid to dive deeper!
The character growth for Ramona in the film was in facing her problem at the end and choosing to abandon her fear-based transience; her hair changing every week and a half was indicative of her not being able to commit to anything, same as her choosing a job that would aimlessly bounce her from place to place, she was keeping herself out of the driver's seat of her own life. When she was first dating Scott it was just going anywhere he took her because she was actively opposing choosing her own direction. When the chip was broken she made the choice to drive. Choosing to start afresh with Scott, who'd just done some major work on getting over his own personal bullshit, was growth, choosing to see the future together with a new outlook on life. Scott needed to leave his home behind because it was where he'd mired himself in his own emotional filth, his growth involved taking a step into the unknown and letting her help guide him down a road not traveled.
Ramona was always much more developed in the comics. She stopped running from her problems and dealt with her past in a way that she didn't in the movie. Her relationship with Scott is also better handled, we actually see them date for quite awhile before their break up (I think the comic storyline takes place over a couple of years).
How I watched the series (which was very recently) was going back and forth between watching the LA movie and Anime episodes. That made for an interesting experience.
@@almostcheesecake for example, I was basically seeing an episode of an ex getting redeemed right after seeing that very ex get destroyed in the movie. I started with the first episode of the anime but decided to start up the movie after the first episode and saw Mathew Pattel lose? Watch to a point, pause, go watch an anime episode, after that I unpause the movie. Rinse and repeat. It would definitely be awkward if I watched the entire anime first before watching the Live Action Movie.
Both comics and movie had the same problem with the Ramonna(and the exes ,and Scott) conclusion imo. I think about the anime as a volume 7 of the comics or a sequel of comic/movie,the creators corrected a lot of the "problems" that the comics and movie had,making almost a happy ending to the hole saga
Dude solid video! The things you really liked about the anime shine through in the comic. I think you should really read it. It builds and shows a lot more of the characters (including your mysterious hot movie store employee ;)). You should totally check the comic out!
When I heard that is was not another retelling of the story and people hated Netflix for it I said (and got told off) that the writer gets the right to do what they want and tell the story they want with the characters. In the movie is is Scot focused and is all about how he sees it. But Ramona was always not given a moment to giver her story and she gets it here so show she is a real character. Make me feel vindicated.
I always felt like the movie spit in the face of Ramona’s character, in the comics she was an affectionate jerk to Scott in an endearing way, but it wasn’t in an endearing way in the movie. Of course that comes from the late production decision to swap out love interests. The anime Ramona is a lot truer to the comic source material even if the plot is completely flip-flopped.
I would argue that the comics are neither better or worse than the anime Personally, i believe that the comics did a REALLY good job flushing out Scott as a character, and flushing out Ramona (even though her past isnt really that detailed in the comics as it is in the anime) Absolutely read the comics theyre great
I headcanon the reason all of the rest of the characters are more fleshed out and interesting is because in the original movie, Scott is the protagonist and views everyone else as props that serve a purpose, but every other character is their own protagonist in the anime
Normally I can’t stand it when the female character is put above the male in reboots or sequels bc usually nowadays, it comes from a place where it’s all about having “a strong female” and it’s also done thru putting down the males. But in this case, I actually was pleasantly surprised at how Ramona grew. I didn’t even find her all that great in the film, but in the anime? Loved her! Something that a lot of female characters don’t get is growth bc they’re supposed to “be already perfect and badass” They really highlighted how flawed she is but in that, also made her a lot more likable and relatable.
Could just be me, but considering a good number of male-led stories have reduced female characters to just prizes to be won for many, many years, even when said female characters are SUPPOSED to be highly competent only for them to be fodderized: I cannot help but find the reaction some guys are having to be amusing. It's like they can't take what they dish out.
What do you think of the original movie ending, in which Scott stays with Knives and Ramona leaves? Apparently test audiences responded so badly to it that they did a reshoot, but personally I think it makes a much better ending for the movie. But then I say this as someone who has never read the comics.
As someone didn't read/watch Scott Pilgrim, I'm considering giving the animated series a shot, mostly because of the artstyle and because the characters seem intriguing albeit flawed. Is it good to start with this series or do I have to start with the comic books/movies?
I would recommend watching at least the movie before the anime. You can still enjoy the anime without it, but I think you would also miss a lot of context
Nice look at the trope. Can we admit that tropes can be done well or poorly? You can have a full character who checks the MPDG box. Ramona Flowers is one of the few Western examples of this trope with some depth. It's good to have another female archetype besides popular girl, not popular girl, but it needs to be treated with care.
I would say yes, but often times I see MPDG used in a negative manner, to say a character is poorly written. I don't have any issues calling Ramona MPDG as long as it's not used negatively
The term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is like "Mary Sue," in that people throw the term around without understanding what it actually means. Also, I loved the fact that they didn't do the same thing all over again. We already got two versions of Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, we didn't need another retreading of the same story... As much as people may argue the movie wasn't faithful, both the movie and comic were scripted at the same time, with full knowledge that it would be impossible to get them 1:1 congruent... the same thing happened with Akira - also finished before the manga it was based on. And with a much wilder divergence of plot. So the movie was as good as it was ever going to get if you wanted to compress six volumes of book into a movie. And going into an anime series, the pacing of the book wouldn't fit, either. Too much quiet time. Too much filler. Too much... life... happening to fit neatly into a seasonal series where you expect resolutions and plot movement within episodes.
Ramona in the movies felt way too apathetic and empty and giving her agency in the anime was an amazing decision I feel. I know people will say that scott didn't get enough of an arc and that's fair, I think the show works better as a companion piece than it does stand alone. At the very least, anything that gets more people to read the books is fantastic
I loved being able to see a different side to Ramona in the anime, and I can't wait to see another side once I get to the comics
My first of any Scott pilgrim was this series, honestly I think it works. I feel that just after the first episode I know who Scott is, I have an idea of the kind of person he is. I really enjoyed seeing all the side characters get development rather than Scott, because while season 2 could still cover that, Scott is a good character to begin with
I agree. Compared to comic Ramona, the movie Ramona has a resting bitch face
We all thought it was going to be an adaptation but it ends up being more of a continuation of the comics
While watching it, my FIRST reaction was that this seems more focused on Ramona actually having agency, whereas Scott's arc, if any, happened in the "alternate universe" where he fought the entire League and won, especially gaining self respect in the processes. In this universe, he (perhaps) doesn't get that same "self respect" arc (as evidenced by his future selves all being hot messes, influenced heavily by Ramona).
I love the little jabs at Scott. "Babysitting his girlfriend..." "Great with children..." Nice
I love how the movie and anime make fun of him, had to do it myself
Ramona is definitely the most realistic manic pixie dream girl ironically in the fact that men typically really hate it when they find out that the manic pixie dream girl, is in fact, manic!
Quite a few of the Manic Pixie Dream Girls I've seen are already a little obnoxious, so I can't imagine meeting one irl
Ramona is not a manic pixie dream girl. She only gets that tacked on because of her looks.
Had an ex girlfriend like that, and damn it feels just like she's a Ramona to my life, the only difference being the fact I'm not her Scott Pilgrim, and I'm not an evil ex either I hope 😂
@@stevemcstevens1279 That's why she's the most realistic one, an "expectation vs reality" if you will
I had a huge crush on one when I was in school, I would talk and hang out with her every day every break for half a year straight, til I couldn't contain my feelings for her. She broke my heart, then put a bandaid on it, just to smash it into dust. I got depression from her. I would have given my life for her without 2nd thought. I thought about her 24/7, all my dreams were about her. I would talk with her and somehow poems would come out of my mouth about how great she is (they would ryhme) I literally couldn't control it. It's been 7 years since she demolished my heart and I had a gf in that time, but honestly I never have loved someone so much, so strongly like my first crush. Til this day when I see something that reminds me of her, I need to try to stop myself of crying since it hurts so bad, it feels like an instant dagger to the heart and my heart feels so heavy, like lead. She broke me. I can't imagine what she could have done to me that would have been worse. I hate her to the bottom of whats left of my heart, but I know if I were to meet her again (we have met after what she did to me, because we were in some same groups so we had to see each other, even though I tried to avoid it, because I knew my feelings would almost instantly come back if I were to spend time with her), I would have strong feelings for her again.
Describing Scott as “being great with children” is wild 💀
You can always find him at the local high school
@@almostcheesecake😂😂😂
Man’s a super senior
Knives co-signed that statement.
He's fucking 23
I really feel like they did, like in the comic book, and in the movie she’s so aloof and cool, like it’s hard for me to understand why Scott likes her, and like why is the audience like her. But in the Netflix version she’s really sweet and they actually have like chemistry. It doesn’t seem like she’s annoyed by him and like holding him at like arms length the whole time.
Yeah, the version has zero chemistry. I assumed it was on purpose because it was trying to show Ramona and Scott were too toxic right now to be dating each other, but they got together in the ending anyway
I like to believe she appeared annoyed because he doesn't look like the type of guy to handle 7 evil exes or be committed enough to stay. but idk they probably just didn't think about it like that
@@almostcheesecake the reason is cause in the first version they wanted Scott to end up with knives (idk what went through their mind) so they made Ramona unlikeable and cold to Scott to make it seem more realistic but when they released the testing preview thingy the viewers didn't like Scott ending up with knives so they changed it but they couldn't change the cold personality they made her have. (this is also why theres an alternate ending)
@@chiaapet yeah Knives ending would have been so weird lol, should have just ended single
I didn’t see the chemistry. They had “sparks” but that’s it. Why does Ramona want Scott who she learned cheated on her with Knives the high schooler? And why does Scott want Ramona who he learns leads to a miserable divorce and also learned abandons most of her exes?
How is Ramona more compassionate? Aside from Roxie everyone else got treated like jokes. No sincerity.
I thought Ramona flowers in the movie was sort of didn’t care. Like she didn’t seem like she liked Scott. The anime saved her character. I felt like she loved Scott, had emotions and had great chemistry with every other character
Really breathed some life into Ramona when comparing the movie to the anime
In the comics she's a lot like the anime
If it was a man, people would say he is a bad-ass and cool. Because she is a girl and she is not doing bubbly skipping, she is not expressive enough.
@@NatManzano no, dude you just need to compare her to her comic self and you'll see a clear difference
@@NatManzano I’m just referring to the fact that in the movie the relationship between scoot and Romana doesn’t make sense. Like she doesn’t give you any reason to think she likes Scott. If anything she acts indifferent. Compared to the anime in which she shows emotion and looks like she actually cares for Scott. Neither in the show or movie she’s bubbly. She’s a badass but badasses in relationships still care for the other person in the relationship.
The movie covered an anxious attachment disorder person falling for an avoidant attachment disorder person and their disfuncional relationship. The TV show has them learning to grow and heal and realizing that that growth was necessary if they wanted the relationship to work.
It's always great to see flawed characters learn and grow
Lmao there is literally no character development in the show. Everyone just becomes friends in the end because plot reasons and then Ramona is a goddess that must be validated and worshipped for having the unexplainable urge to become unhealthily obsessed with a guy she barely knows just so that the plot can keep on moving on. Her whole character is just being effortlessly badass and loving Scott for no aparent reason.
@@RainerRilke3 your media literacy is actually horrid lol. if you some how interpret ramona explicitly stating and resolving her massive character flaws after being confronted with the repeated mistakes of her past and future as being a "goddess that must be validated and worshipped" i think you need to stick to the 4th grade reading level your teacher recommended.
@@RainerRilke3 Tell me you didn't even watch the series without saying it lol
Literally that "Goddess" was a representation that Ramona could no longer run and abandon her boyfriends when things got difficult, and she herself explains it "I run away from the things I love, and I'm not going to run away anymore". She also changes her job at the end of the series for thet reason.
All her exes eventually become friends because they discover they have a life outside of a girl they dated for one week, like aspirations and work to focus on. Even with Patel they show that, once he "kill" Scott he didn't get the girl and they have to move on with their life.
@@Jonathan-lc7ic how were they resolved? They just backpedalled and made her breakup with future Scott be just a misunderstanding. I might've missed the part where there's an actual change in her character besides coming to terms with her issues of suddenly withdrawing from the people she loved. Just recognizing and accepting the flaws doesn't seem like a high note to end the series, the point towards which the entire show was building up to
as someone who read the books and saw the movie i wasn't really mad , mainly cause i read them a long time ago and forgot what happened lol, i was more confused but then excited when i saw the turn the show was taking. they're like a cool power couple thats like kinda worth rooting for now
That initial confusion when Matthew Patel killed Scott is still one of the greatest twists I've seen this year
That’s so true, half way through the first episode I was thinking “what’s the point of this? It’s a scene for scene remake.”.
I wasn’t even planning on watching the second episode till that fight.
Kind of like invincible that way
I actually wasn't sure about the first episode for the opposite reason. It's not a scene for scene remake at all. It's more similar than the movie, but they cut out and changed a lot of little details that made me question whether it would do the story justice. So it was cool in episode 2 when they changed direction and I realized why all that set up would be unnecessary.
You miss out on all Scott's moments "dating" Knives and seeing her falling more deeply in love while Scott treats it as a whimsical diversion until he gets together with Ramona. Some of the harshest criticisms of Scott dating Knives are left out, including when Scott says it's like Trainspotting.
I was honestly surprised by the end of the first episode, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it until I realised it was a series about Ramona, which also made me think, "well, she didn't really have much development in the first two pieces of media, so this could be really interesting". It was a good watch for me.
I like this animation because I see it like a "WHAT IF" scenario. Where Ramona is the one dealing with her problems (Ex's) and going after Scott.
It feels like a complementary story, or "another route" in a video game, that should be enjoyed after looking at the Comics and Movie (on this order).
I was pleased with the positive bisexual representation given to Ramona in the anime, because you can still be bi and still break up with your past partner you're no longer attracted to anymore, regardless of whatever gender you are and still be in good terms with that person as well. The movie reeked biphobia with dialogue such as "It was just a phase" "you had a sexy phase?" "I didn't think it would count" "I didn't think it mean anything" and "well maybe I was just a little bi-curious" because no one should be treated as an experiment.
Yeah, I'm really glad the anime called out how terrible it was for Ramona to treat Roxie like that. Movie version, cool fight, not so great undertones
@@almostcheesecakeRoxy definitely deserves someone better like Kim or her co-worker that has a potiential to develop as a character if the writers decides on that if we ever get a season two.
Despite the biphobic dialogue that was added in the movie's fight version (instead, they could've been written as ex-girlfriends just fighting without that, it was unnecessary to include that) I can agree the fight is awesome to look at, it probably my favorite fight scene ever in the movie.
@@nicatina Man, if we see a season 2, I would love to come back to seeing Roxie in a happy relationship
@@almostcheesecake YESSS
in my opinion, that was the point. Everyone was terrible in that movie, except maybe Knives. Scott and Ramona aren't people to look up to and emulate. It was just another projection of their shallowness and self centered natures that led to all of their problems.
I felt like the movie was never meant to portray Ramona in a likeable way. To me it always felt like she was supposed to be a shallow character because its a way of playing with the stereotype of the manic pixie dream girl. It shows that Scott doesnt really have a deep connection with her, since Scott (and the audience as well) doesnt really have enough information about her to have a realistic idea what kind of person she is. He's just kind of projecting his idea of the ideal girlfriend on her. I think it really resonated with me because I feel like a lot of people are looking for somebody whos unhappy and "broken" so they can then try to "fix" them. So Scott defeating Ramonas Exes is just his way of living out his savior fantasies.
I kinda saw movie Ramona the same way, which is why I thought Scott and Ramona getting together at the end was weird. I assumed he would have stayed single because he no longer needs to attach himself to girls for self worth
@@almostcheesecake In the commentary Edgar Wright said that they considered having Scott be single at the end, because Brian Lee O'Malley told them he considered doing that at the end of the books. But ultimately decided have him get back together with Ramona because they felt the studio would never go for an ending where Scott ends up with nobody. And at test screenings, where they used the original ending of him getting back with knives, a lot of people felt cheated, angry that he didn't end up with Romana.
The anime made Ramona sooo much better
Didn't really like her during the movie
The same goes for other characters like Knives, it was weird seeing her obsess over Scott and giving up at the end for no reason
I'm really happy with what they did with Ramona and the side characters
i personally think movie knives made alot of sense if you think about the fact that scott accidentally love bombed her then went completely avoidant which can psychologically fuck some one so bad they become obsessive and at the end he finally confronts her and gives her the closure she needs to move on and "give up" on the toxic relationship with the guy who not only wasnt interested in her any more but also cheated on her.
The comics develop most of the side characters way better than the movie(other than Ramona who’s cold, jealous and pushes Scott away while he tries to improve himself), the anime did way better with Ramona and her exs, I miss Stephen’s boyfriend in the show, and Scott’s battle with himself near the end of the comic
@@PokemeninblackRamona was being controlled by Gideon during the comic. Which is why she is so cold and distant. You see Gideon lurking in the shadows of her mind when Scott goes into it.
@@robertivey7644 oh that’s a cool detail I never noticed! I thought she got controlled after that point hahaha
I think the movie was focused mainly on the comedy, and didn't really give any time to flesh out the personality and or show any depth, so if you analyze it the characters definitely appear hollow. I love how they actually made them likable in the cartoon because all the character designs are FIRE. The movie was funnier imo, but the new cartoon is much better overall. Can't wait to see more.
Yeah, I noticed that a lot when watching the movie, unfortunately cut out so much character from the comics
My only complaint for the cartoon/anime is that they did Wallace dirty. They made him too selfish and a playboy. I the movie he was a lot nicer and he cared more about Scott. And the anime Wallace? He treated Todd like shit, I'm so mad about it
And in the anime he never ever showed any affection towards Scott and they were meant to be friends
@@helenahildegarda5739 sorry Ik this comment is like 2 weeks old now but I actually saw Bryan Lee O'Malley make some tweets about this! Basically he said some stuff that boils down to if you pay attention to what Wallace actually does (get black out drunk after the funeral and hook up with a guy also named Scott, then involve himself in a biopic about his dead roommate and hook up with the guy playing scott and immediately drop him as soon as he stops cosplaying his dead roomate) then it's pretty evident Wallace WAS heavily affected by Scott's death but he just doesn't have the most conventional/healthy coping mechanisms. Personally I do think it could have been conveyed better but it is always interesting to get insight from the actual creator of the whole franchise
3:11 "...and being great with children!" is such a good roast.
I love how everyone takes jabs at Scott for dating a high schooler, had to throw in some of my own
Scott Pilgrim actually has so much personality shining through him that we get only three episodes with him and it is still fine, because we get a major power up on all other characters. Ramonoa being the first she feels exotremly relatable and fleshed out as someone dealing with avoidant attachment issues but still wants connectio, and she carries the emotional heavy lifting of the series with her infatuation for Scott and wanted to see her again. Although I like that you still can't read her very well. Searching for Scott can either be because she has feeling for him or because she is simply interested about what happend to him. Very well written character
Yeah, completely agree. There’s that mixture of wanting to figure out if the spark was real, along with the guilt that her own past caused Scott's death.
I think what was always unique about Ramona, was that her flaw _is_ the flaw inherent to the entire manic pixie dream girl trope.
Ramona likes people who seem pathetic, flawed, or vulnerable. she likes people who are unimpressive in comparison to her. people who think she's out of their league... people who need her more than she needs them. she can be the best thing that ever happened to them, and they'd do literally anything for her. she can look better just by standing next to someone who's worse. and this simultaneously makes sense out of why a lot of Ramona's exes turned out to be "evil" and also shows why they have a legitimate reason to either still be hung up on her, or have major grievances with her.
some of Ramona's exes were legitimately underconfident or insecure people, and a person like Ramona choosing to date them was kind of a miracle in their eyes. they put her on a pedestal, and that can be both flattering and pressuring... in some ways, Ramona probably got uncomfortable just from having what she asked for in the first place. and when she leaves, they just keep trying to cling.
but she also did them a disservice by choosing them because she could look down on them to some extent... and she tends to insecurely leave when it seems like they might improve past her level of desirability. they might even realize _they_ don't need _her._ so Ramona leaves first, before that can happen. I wouldn't be surprised if the exes who realize this are actually mad at her for doing it.
and yet some of Ramona's exes were actually assholes. that's the thing about choosing to date people who are worse than you... sometimes you end up simply dating a bad person. and in a case like that, Ramona probably left when she realized she was in over her head. but an asshole wouldn't be an asshole if they didn't act like one when their victim leaves.
and then Ramona meets Scott, who sits at the nexus of all of these qualities. Scott is legitimately pathetic. he's an unemployed mooch. he dates a high schooler for a moment because that's about where his level of mental maturity is at. he acts clueless, but honestly, that's not an excuse... sometimes, you grow up when you choose to put in the effort and learn how to grow up. and Scott has yet to do that. but if Scott is going to do that, he needs a partner who actually wants him to do that. Ramona has to want Scott to grow. and a version of Ramona who doesn't, is way less healthy for both of them, than a version of Ramona who does.
to me, that is always Ramona's character arc. she has to go from the type of person who doesn't want Scott to improve, to the type of person who does want Scott to improve. in the beginning of the story, Ramona dates Scott because he's a wimpy nerdy loser who is obsessed with her, and it slots very comfortably into the habit she's always had with the people she dates. Scott's improvement is scary for her, because she'd have to keep up. but Ramona deserves to date a good person, in the same way that Scott deserves to become a good person. and if Ramona can bring herself to stick around as that actually happens, that's a sign that she's improved too.
I think the main difference between the original story and the anime, is that Ramona's improvement is very passive in the original. she improves by letting Scott's character development happen without ditching him. in the anime, she gets to be more active by _choosing_ Scott, and specifically choosing him because of the things that are good and appealing about him. and I agree... it does make Ramona's character much more textured and vibrant. but tbh I think that's partially a function of Scott being out of the way for a bit.
one of Scott's many flaws, is that he tends to smooth out Ramona's characterization to himself. she's "mysterious" because he doesn't endeavor to know much about her. it's way easier for him to project his ideals onto her if he doesn't learn anything that contradicts them. and Ramona was perfectly happy to let him idealize her in the beginning. but if Scott isn't around to do that, then Ramona has no choice but to be herself.
Jesus f*cking Christ.
I wish all Scott Pilgrum's fans could read this.
Ahhhh, it's so.good. You spelled out everything I suspected about her.
You fricking king/queen.
@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ thank you! I've been a fan of Scott Pilgrim since the comics, so I've had a lot of time to think on these two... tbh, I loved the anime, and it cemented a lot of the stuff I'd already thought about Ramona and Scott. ^_^
I am still watching the anime (haven't read the comics but I watched the movie years ago).
And honestly that is actually an awesome analysis, oh my god. I didn't think of them that way, but it makes their flaws so interlinked now.
@@minty7945 if you ever find yourself curious about the comic, I highly recommend it... each version of the story has it's own feel, but I think the comic was what gave me the clearest picture of Scott and Ramona in this light. it's super interesting! and I just love how the anime handled them, especially compared to their comic counterparts. plus the art style is really appealing. ^^
@@IDKLOL-qj7sl Yeah I love the art style! There is also something refreshing in seeing a character like Ramona (who is so used to leaving people before she believes they'll realize they don't need her) actively choose Scott. Anime Ramona has to put in all that work just to find Scott, and in doing so she is forced to just trust that Scott will like her anyway, regardless of how much "better" he gets. There is definitely more of an "active" trust that she has to put. I got the feeling that Movie Ramona could still leave Scott once she feared he'd get better than her. And that version of her was so aloof and distant that she seemed willing to.
I think there were more stakes for Anime Ramona, who had to fight for Scott and trust that he would still want her by the end of it all. The anime forces her to care about Scott in a way Movie Ramona didn't really have to. It also helps that in the anime, they enough actual chemistry for Ramona to care that much
Anyway I hope this made sense haha. I am definitely gonna check out the comics, your analysis got me thinking about things.
I love your video! My only gripe is Gideon, I feel like his abusiveness really was downplayed and glossed over. So many people can relate to that ex who was truly scary and abusive who they’d never want to cross paths with again. What he did to her and his ex’s is horrific. He didn’t need to be likable. I won’t say I wasn’t entertained by the changes, it’s simply an aspect I didn’t appreciate character wise for him.
Yeah, I'm only recently finding out that Gideon is actually really fucking evil in the comics
i watched the anime first and i was genuinely so shocked at how awful he is in the comics because i wasnt expecting it at all 💀
Scott and Ramona have way better chemistry in the books. Ramona being as cold and apathetic as she was in the movie was because they wanted people to root for Scott getting back with Knives as they initially planned. She definitely had more of a personality in the books.
I'm a big fan of the comics. I actually hate the movie and how it portrayed everyone (minus Wallace and Knives) and loved Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I was surprised at first and a bit skeptical, but I really loved the fresh take in the end. It felt like a gift to me. I also loved that they took out the biphobia and showed that Ramona and Roxy did have a beautiful relationship in the beginning and that they healed their wounds.
I'm not saying it's perfect, but it felt truer to the Scott Pilgrim comics than the movie to me. I'm grateful for the anime.
I heard this years ago but the director said that movie Ramona was supposed to be "Broken". She was apathetic and empty and avoids conflict whenever she can to show how broken she is. Anime Ramona strays from the original story. She goes on a journey of personal healing so we see a side of her that strove for personal growth - all without Scott
To me it definitely was the "Oh yeah this is why they are meant to be", it honestly was a really good way of giving her character depth, something I've really come to dislike in retrospective is how passive Ramona was in the entire plot of the original story in the movie, like she doesn't try to help Scott for like most of the fights, she just sits there and is like "Guess we will see who wins", I mean if they had gone on more dates or had more chemistry like in the anime, then I could really see it anything other that apathy, because a lot of the time it really feels like she doesn't care about Scott winning or loosing like it is just another one.
I really like that in the Anime Ramona is the one now having to fight to be with Scott, we know that Scott wants to be with Ramona but it wasn't always really clear if she really wanted to be with Scott, also having her figure stuff out herself and internalising a lot of her troubles and past on her own was really nice, because it gives he agency in the story, Scott also has his own agency in the story and it really portrays him in a big way where he is likeable despite dating a high schooler, like his future self is the one setting the events into motion and Scott is actively trying to figure out how not to end up like his future self and that is genius because it basically is about him also healing from his own past pains.
Like Envy actually fucked up Scott, I mean the fact that people mention how bad Scott was after being dumped by Envy shows that it was bad for Scott, he didn't really have the emotional fortitude to endure a break up like that again specially not with Ramona who is by all measures the girl of his dreams, like we can tell how much he loves Ramona manifested in how bad his future self was when he misunderstood them basically getting separated for a time as being divorced, like Future Scott thinking that Ramona divorced him completely destroyed him, I think that goes to show how much he cares about Ramona quite well.
The fact that Ramona gives her exes closure was a magnificent detail, I was in the position of one of those exes with a girl once where they basically ran off on me, ditched me without much thought and it really really hurt me because I internalised that dumping as somehow being my fault because there was just no explanation for me to find there, and I know how powerful it is to get closure in a breakup like that it really does release you from something actually awful you are carrying and in a way helps you move on with life, I think the best example of that is Lucas Lee he built up his entire life around that feeling of insecurity that he internalised when Ramona suddenly started dating someone else, he built his life on the idea of "I have to be someone important because she didn't want the nobody I was back then", so her telling him that she went out with the version himself who was nobody really helped him realised that it was never about if he was famous or not so he could let go of this internalised feeling of no being good enough and actually found himself enjoying his life as no one important.
Bro cooked the best meal of his life.
Great analysis, for me, the anime universe is the most satisfying one, where we get some good deep on the exes and a universe where Ramona and Scott really deserve each other.
As a person who has gone through all the versions of this universe, anime has to be on the top for me, to get to see Ramona fighting for their relationship and confronting her past for her and for Scott has to be top tier.
A lot of people got really really mad because they were expecting a page by page re-do from the comics, honestly for me, I'm so glad they decided to something entirely new that shows a new perspective and for me at least a better conclusion for Scott and Ramona, without both being so toxic to each other, really loved the anime.
Exactly this yes, both characters coming to terms with their flaws and becoming better people
@@almostcheesecake Oh also another character that steals the show with their development is Knives, who basically goes from being a young girl obsessed with Scott to someone with her own dreams, aspirations and abilities.
It was really funny that she honestly moved on after she thought that Scott died and really found something she cared about more which was music.
I really liked the conversation that Knives and Scott had when he came back, where Knives tells "Scott that him dying was the best thing that could have happened to her" because even if it sounds mean with the way that it is worded it isn't meant like that but rather that him not being around anymore helped her grow past that pretty much one sided love that she had for Scott.
Also I think that the biggest reason why Scott struggled in the original to break up with Knives is because he didn't want to be her Envy Adams, he was too chicken to break up with her because he didn't want to break her heart but ended up doing so anyways, he basically was stuck basically allowing her one sided feelings fester because he couldn't bring himself to say no to her.
@ilo3456 that's a good way of seeing it, the fear of repeating the past resulting in exactly that, repeating the past. I heard Knives also gets a lot of growth in the comics, so that'll be exciting to see
the idea that everyone's lives improved without Scott present is so genuinely funny to me, it's what made the anime a 10 for me
The comics are great, most of the characters are more fleshed out because they had more time to do so, with the movie only being like 2 hours long it definitely was hard to fit everything in there and I'm pretty sure the ending was supposed to be different because the the final issue hadn't come out, scott was supposed to get with knives so they made Ramona more unlikable but then they changed the ending to fit the manga
While I think Scott should have stayed single in the movie, I would rather Ramona over Knives.
My take on vs the world...
Ramona isn't that into the relationship, this one or any one. She seems like the perfect girl if you only look at the surface and not at the relationship.
Scott doesn't prioritize the relationship. Anything unconftorable (like breaking up with, or being honest about knives) he avoids... relationship is always 2nd to him.
It's two living embodyments of red flags who seem like a cool boyfriend/girlfriend but are horrible partners. And the payoff is that they end becoming self aware enough to breaking up and try to grow rather than ignore their flaws.
Takes off... imediatly Ramona's tone in E1 comes across as being emotionally available and invested. She's a completly different person. Scott seems like the same old Scott. It's like she ran to Canada to have a fresh start and be a better person... rather than simply hiding from her past and herself.
Vs the World is the story of two ignorant and terrible partners eventually realising they need to improve. Takes off is the story of a newly self aware but flawed person trying to improve and make amends. It's arc is perfect for a sequel, without the plot actually being a sequel.
Exactly this, I completely agree
My first exposure to Scott Pilgrim was watching Takes Off with a group of friends who were fans of the series. I was confused, but managed to perfectly follow what was going on and by the end, I was so in love with the characters that I needed more. I read the comics and took in everything over the course of a week (busy work schedule) and ohhh my god. Almost Cheesecake, I will support this channel if you take a chance to read the comics. They're free on Kindle Unlimited.
I went into the comics wanting more Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and not only did I kinda get that, but I also got a great and well written narrative on how destructive it is to just cast your problems and wrongdoings aside like they never existed, carrying on while learning nothing. The comics thoroughly dissect not just Scott Pilgrim, but also his relationships with everyone else and you learn how they all fell apart. They also elaborate on the concept of subspaces a bit more and that turned out to be pretty cool. I don't want to reveal too much, but trust me. The comics are so good that they hurt the movie for me a bit.
I love like....pretty much every character in the comics. They're all given plenty of time to be fleshed out and experience their own arcs. Even if Ramona's story felt just a tad rushed near the end of it, she was done far more justice in the comics than the movie. If you liked the movie or the anime, definitely read the comics. They're a great experience. I will once again try to shut up about Scott Pilgrim. This has been my nightmare for three days.
Everything I hear about the comics is high praise, so I will absolutely be reading them!
I really loved your read on both movie and show. I believe Ramona has much more agency in the show because as you mentioned, she has will to do so while facing on her own and in her own style with her exes. This was the first video I watched from your channel but hoping to watch many more, thank you so much!
Omg I just made video in Czech about that same subject. I’m so glad that someone in the world sees it the same way! - New Ramona is great
Hell yeah, great minds think alike!
When it comes to fleshing out Ramona in the comics, it helps a lot that they actually happen over the course of multiple years in-story, as opposed to the movie which is basically just the seven exes plotline truncated to fit into the events of the first book.
The time difference between the movie and comics is so big lol
@@almostcheesecake it’s not really multiple years, more like just one year ish and a half
Clearly, the anime takes place in a parallel universe.
It was supposed to be like the movie, until the futuristic Scott captured the present Scott, during battle with the 1st evil ex.
So the anime focuses a lot more on Ramona and her exes, which is very cool. However, I did miss Scott throughout the series.
I'm pretty sure Bryan confirmed it as well on twitter
It's not a parallel universe, it's a time travel story. The things of the original comic had to happen in other for the series to happen
@@SirCrusherStill a parallel universe. Deal with it.
@@koulematon7359 unless the creator said so I'm not buying it
@@SirCrusher But he did. He called it an alternative-reality universe. Do you think that he would've wanted to ruin the universe that he created? Because anime and the comics being in the same universe does not make any sense at all. Comics (and the movie too) are about people changing for the better. It's not a love story. Scott and Ramona are both toxic persons and they change throughout the comics (and movie..).
And in contrast, in the anime Scott and Ramona never changed, Ramona just left him and Scott became the 'next evil ex'. The creator literally pointed it out.
Don't get me wrong I adore the movie but fuck this anime was incredible. All the character development and seeing more of the ex's. The subversion of expectation was so well done. I do wish we saw more of Scott because I love him but everyone else getting that time made up for it and when he did finally come back it was a nice change of pace. Young Neil stole the show though, what a goofball.
Also the movie came out over 10 years ago... glad its still getting love today!
Still love the movie, such a fun watch!
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO these were my exact thoughts and I haven’t seen anyone else talk about it
Happy to see so many people agree with my video
I loved so much how you did a video saying exactly what i was thinking when i finished the anime.
In the movie, on their first date, Ramona semmed forced to be there on a date with him, like she only accepted so he could take the order.
Now in the anime, she smiled when he gave the idea of a date and was smiling the entire date.
Felt like a totally new character with a whole new personality.
I have the feeling that if "movie Scott" did "die" at the first fight on the movie, "movie Ramona" would just said: "yeah whatever" and would just go away and completely forget about him
While in the anime we see a Ramona that was 100% committed to find Scott because she actually have feelings and like him and loved spending time with him.
Anyways, great video dude, congrats on being so damn right lol.
Hearing what I've heard about the comics, I think they played the movie Ramona a bit too cold and mysterious. I hear they cut out a lot of her real personality
@@almostcheesecake yeah, they really did her dirty in the movie, just made her totally cold and with near zero emotions, and that's definitely not the Ramona from the Comics or even from the Anime.
do you go on a quest to find any person you had ONE date with?
@@matth2283 bro, not supposed to relate 100% to real life, girl takes a 15 meters hammer from her little star purse, in a universe where Scott dies it makes sense for her to go after him, not saying that it's a real life situation, but instead at least makes her character way more likeble since she at least shows interest in him, my only point is that I feel like Ramona from the movie doesn't show any interest or feelings in the whole movie.
@@MathChiarleglio but like why? what was so interesting about him after one date? That was basically them talking and then crashing at her place? She cared more about Scott after 1 shitty date then all his friends.....
Not sure if anyone said it yet, but the one girl in the video store is actually Kim’s coworker/manager (not sure), Hollie. She’s prominent in the comics, if barely, but yes, she’s hot. 😂
Damn I really gotta read the comics now, more Hollie content lol
@@almostcheesecake Hell yeah! It’s not a *lot* of her since the story mainly focuses on Scott and the others, but the rare moments we do get with her are good! Side note: while she doesn’t wear glasses in the anime, she does in the comics but she’s still cute and hot either way imo. 👀
Definitely recomend reading the comics, if only because it gives a few characters a chance at the spotlight who only got minor roles in the movie and anime. The way I see it all versions of the story do something different and that should be celebrated, tho the anime is my actual favorite
I'm excited to read the comics, I know characters like Envy and Kim get major arcs
The cartoon feels like a sequel to the movie. Even though Ramona was better in this I felt the other characters were either worse or watered down. Wallace in the movie actually took time to listen to Scott’s problems and tried to give him advice. But in the cartoon it just feels like he’s not friends with Scott.
I can see that, it was a little funny to see how Ramona was the only one that cared that Scott died
@@almostcheesecake I found that very off putting, it was hard to root for any of them knowing that almost all Scott friends except for Ramona felt super cold and selfish
@nessito1 I get that. I'm used to how nonchalant death is in the movie (even though the exes actually just respawn), so Scott's death just reminded me of how the exes got treated
@@almostcheesecake I felt we never knew they respawned, but they did, so that's why nobody cared. But now all of the sudden they are sure turning into coins means death and they don't care for real, even if its a good friend. This for me was one of the lowest points of this version
@@nessito1 I kinda get that, I just found it really funny
I was so happy when the anime wasn't the graphic novels again actually, I love the novels so much, I was so happy to have new content!
Finally someone who gets it!!
Dude, 13 years without Scott Pilgrim content, if it was the novels all over again, I wouldn't even be mad, but getting actually new and different content? That's amazing, and I love the anime, it was so good!!
People getting salty from not having the same adaptation for the fourth time it will always be hilarious for me lol, if you want the original story, you can play the game, watch the movie, read the comics, finally getting new and refreshing content is sooooo good
@@MathChiarleglio Right??? I don't actually follow fandoms so I didn't know people weren't happy about this lmao, I never thought we would have a new story, and it's even cooler that all the minor interesting characters got more development and screen time, it's beautiful to se Ramona actually deal with her shit and see the exes actually move on, I love it. I really liked Lucas Lee haha
@@amanda-uw3un YEAHHH, Ramona finally being the one to deal with her past and with the shit things she did is soooo good. The time they gave for other characters is amazing as well, every Young Neil scene was just perfect and I loved Lucas Lee as well lmao.
I don't follow fandoms a lot as well, but just from Twitter and some other posts in some social medias I saw the response from people and the amount of people mad for not getting the same content for the fourth time after 13 years without anything is actually crazy lol
@@MathChiarleglio I hate do judge but I feel like people who wanted the same thing again are not really fans of the property as a whole maybe idk and I myself hate change, but this was very welcome.
I loved seeing knives become a member of sex bob-omb too, I was really intrigued that all the cast was coming back for this, it was so good that everyone actually got bigger roles (except for michael cera but I think he's had his time haha).
@@amanda-uw3un I feel the same actually, people have the right to not like the new version or to not like as much as they liked the novels, but i really don't get someone getting annoyed for not receiving the same thing all over again lol. It feels like people didn't like the characters or anything more that they can get from those characters, instead it feels like they only like that specific version of the story and only that, which is on their right, but people could also be grateful for finally getting something new that tells a new story, idk, my point of view.
Knives joining the band was so good as well, I loved she saying by the end that she was sad and happy for Scott dying because it helped her to grow as a person lol, Knives on the novels was like, mad crazy for Scott from the beginning until the end because he was there the whole time and dating Ramona right in front of her.
THIS PART HAS SPOILERS FROM THE COMIC, JUST SAYING lol
One other thing that i feel that people cry to much about the Anime version and it doesn't make sense for me is that Ramona on the comic has way better development and grows way more as a person than the anime because the time span for the story of the novels is like, 1 years and the time span for the Anime story is like, 2 weeks or less. But it doesn't make sense??? Like, ok, I get it, Ramona has more time to grow as a person in the novels, SHE LITERALLY SPENDS 4 MONTHS LAYING AROUND AND WATCHING SERIES IN HER FATHERS HOUSE, SHE LITERALLY COMES BACK AFTER THOSE 4 MONTHS AND DIDN'T GROWN ANYTHING, SHE SAW SCOTT DYING FOR HER, SCOTT WAS CLOSE TO DYING AGAIN FOR HER AND SHE WAS ALMOST TELEPORTING AWAY SAYING THAT IT WAS A BAD IDEA GOING BACK, SHE LITERALLY JUST DIDN'T RUN AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS AGAIN BECAUSE GIDEON PUT A FUCKING SWORD THROUGH HER CHEST, HOW IS THIS SUCH A BIGGER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN COMPARISON WITH THE ANIME, 1 YEAR THAT THE STORY GOES BY, 6 NOVELS SO THE CHARACTER CAN GROW UP AND BY THE FINAL BATTLE SHE WAS STILL RUNNING AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS AAAAAAAAAAAA (sorry I needed that lol), but seriously, I don't get the argument of Ramona being way more developed in the novels than in the anime, I feel like that they did an amazing character development for her, considering they had 8 episodes with 20 minutes each and not 6 entire novels lol.
I like to think of the show as the sequel to the comics n then the movie is the film that Young Neil makes if it had ever been allowed to finish
Great video!
I absolutely recommend the comics. Ramona as well as the past and emotional growth of Scott is much more fleshed out. Ramona in the comics is a well-rounded person just like in the anime. However the anime does some justice to the exes, who where more or less just the "bad guys" both in the comics and the movies. So I feel like, the anime made amends and gave us the exact parts the both the comics and the movie lacked (I also loved how the anime at one point makes a complete parody of the entire movie, and gives some fun little cameos tied to Edgar Wright).
The biggest problem with this video, is the complete missed opportunity to reference the Negative XP song "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Ruined a Whole Generation of Women" when it comes to Ramona as a manic pixie dream girl...
Ramona was so much better in the anime than the movie, she also looks better in the cartoony style. I only wish there was more Scott.
I liked the film, but mostly because I saw it with my friends before cornova hit. Something similarly beautiful hasn't happened since.
From what I recall, the film was interested more so in the comedy and wackiness than anything else. Very fun, creative product.
But aimed at teenagers. It felt like that. Something designed for teen boys.
Ramona felt very flat, more a dream than a real woman.
In the anime, she's so likeable. Because she's loyal, intelligent and actually owns up to her mistakes.
She's also, in my opinion, a better protagonist than Scott.
They came across as a toxic couple of self-absorbed arseholes in the film. In the anime, they have better chemistry. I was actually rooting for them.
In the movie, it was clear Ramona would break up with Scott after a year, since she never really... changed. She kept being equally as selfish and cold as ever.
And Scott just had one scene in which he won the power of self-respect and that was that.
It really felt like he kept being the same self-pitying douche.
In the anime, it actually feels like Ramona is willing to grow this time. It feels like Scott, when confronted with his future, lonely, pathetic self, will commence his healing journey.
I feel like the movie and the tv show's make 2 different problems. In the movie Ramona isnt as fleshed out and in the anime Scott isnt also fleshed out. The older scott stuff just feels like a poor attempt at Negative Scott and doesnt really see Scott go through much change.
I agree with that, they focused a lot on Ramona, the exes and side characters, and then remembered "oh wait this is Scott Pilgrim anime" and had to hastily make an arc for him as well. It's definitely not perfect
I can agree that Scott doesn't go through much change in anime version, but I consider it more or less a sequel to the original comics or a new game+ situation or a continuation. I look at this source as a supplementary material that also just makes Ramona and Exes more likable or give them a little bit more of a happy ending for them all. tbh, Nega Scott's importance is not as much as people remember tbh. Scott fights him once and most of it is just him realizing he can't runaway from how he feels about Ramona and just absorbs him back in.
He only really appears in the chapter he fights and that's it. Even Older Scott is basically a parallel where he does become an Evil Ex in the end and his main problem is that he wants to forget about Ramona bc he can't ( Because he absorbed Nega Scott and can no longer forget about her or runaway from his feeliings anymore.)
@@YightLagami
Making it a sequel it’s even worst cuz it basically means that comic Scott will turn into future Scott and he and Ramona will have to go through exact the same arc again
@@g.ricepad9470 agree to disagree because story looks like it’s going to be completely different ending
This would have been fixed if they had let the series have more episodes, or make the episodes last longer, in the end they only had like 2 episodes to do Scott's arc.
Personally I love the comics character arcs alot more than both the movie and anime, however I guess that's a given when it's about as long as the show.
They all go through the same character arcs but the comic feels more real and natural then the movie or show.
I loved this show, I was enchanted by it, the idea instead of fighting the exes and beating them, it's about developping them and "saving them" is so much interesting, specially because ramona has to face her problems and mistakes head on, scott isn't there, so she has to look at them, see how much she's hurt them and how they, as well as her, change for the better in the story. This is the show I never knew I wanted, I never imagined that I wanted to see the exes happy and as better people, seeing them cheer for scott and ramona when they kiss was so unexpectedly wholesome, even gideon gets better by finding a girl who's just as evil as he and will support him through everything
thats an amazing review and analysis
Great video on Ramona, I think scott pilgrim is one of those franchises were each versions of the story is good, hope you enjoy the comics those are my personal favorites
I'm so looking forward to reading them soon!
Been loving all the fans of the original getting salty that it wasn't a true remake. I thought it was a brilliant way to explore the characters and original and it was a great surprise for me. In the graphic novel ramona does get more time to actually face what she did. I much prefer how Scott Pilgrim takes off handled it though, giving her more character development and forcing her to actually make up with her exs. Especially Roxy, Roxy was the ex who got the worst backstory. They even hand wave that Ramona might be bi in the movie with the "Just a little bicurious line."
Yeah, I really appreciated Roxie getting a much better spotlight in the anime
So pretty much all of your questions about Ramona, where is her character development, what is her goal, why does Scott have to deal with all of her exes, etc? Can be answered in the comics, where you can also find the rest of Ramona's personality. Although they touch on it (and I do mean LITERALLY only touch on it) in the movie at the very end: Ramona is mind-jacked by Gideon to an extent. Not like she's totally possessed or anything, but Gideon makes a point of making himself the center of Ramona's mind. In the movie, Ramona just touches the chip on the back of her neck and says "No, he's literally in my head."
In the comics, there's a sequence where Scott stumbles into Ramona's subspace, where he finds her kneeling on the floor, head resting on the knee of someone we can't make out in the shadows. SPOILER ALERT for a 20 y/o comic: It's Gideon. As soon as Ramona realizes Scott's there, she freaks out and outta there they get, and we don't find out who was getting "UWU senpai" treatment from Ramona until way later. I grant the comic plays out a lot more like a slice of life, and revisiting set-ups is a lot easier in the more long-form media. Whereas the movie is like a video game, where the plot sets up for the increasingly difficult boss trials, somewhat cyclicly, until the conclusion. Fitting in plot reachbacks would literally have killed the momentum of the movie. So I may not like it, but I get why they basically stripped the character down to her most essential MPDG roots. But I don't think the OG Ramona was something that Netflix needed to fix, the dumbed-down characterization that we got from the movie certainly was.
i hope this video brings you many more subscribers. you deserve it!
Yeah as a person who has read the comics, seen the movie, and just finished the anime the other week, i think the movie is definitely the weakest link. It may have to do with getting made before the story was finished (no book 6) like other commenters said, but im not sure. It always just felt like we had no reason to be connected to or care about ramona other than than her being the girl scott wants to date. I always found that disappointing, because in the comics there is a lot more back and forth. They both fuck up, they both hurt each other and make mistakes but they figure it out, and make it work, and help each other.. and its clear that by the end you have a reason to like them, or at least respect their growth, and see why theyre together and why they love each other. But the movie just doesnt get it there at all.
(Also I feel where people were coming from about Gideon, he was very tame in the anime but honestly.. i think its a good thing. From the comics we know why hes fucked up, and why hes so powerful. But Bryan had always had intentions for him to be a loser despite that. That if you strip away all the power he's managed to get for himself hes just a normal guy who sucks. I remember there being like authors note type additional sketches where you could see early concepts for characters and other fun behind the scenes of him making and it stuff and there was one line somewhere in there where he talks about wanting the readers to feel like "what? THAT'S Gideon??" When actually getting to see his character. So i think an approach that pretty much disarms him episode 2 was interesting! Because we got to see him lose it all and just be what he is, a normal guy who sucks, and is a loser lol. Obviously its a comedy too so seeing a girl finally be interested in him because shes ALSO evil, and then them running with that, was entertaining. It being a "what if" type re-write i think can forgive that they change his character enough to allow for this to work and still be funny, rather than just purely fucked up. All the ex's got to be comedic for one reason or another in the comics, except Gideon who was taken pretty seriously (except the "drinks on me" panel lol). I do wonder if hes going to be more impactful for a hypothetical season 2? Given the ending with Julie. I know the creators said theres no plan for one and it was written intentionally to exist on its own in that way but, who knows!!)
Anyway, uh, nice video! Sorry for writing an essay im just havin a good time :))
Ramona is like... a goddess. Bruh. Just love her.
comics are great reread them thrice it is good. Ramona does get more character development in them but I still prefer the anime out of all three versions but comics do also have great story and Scotts development is better in the comics than the movie also liked your video
Yeah I'm excited to see the full character arc for Scott Pilgrim once I jump onto the comics
Thankyou for not using too many spoilers of the show.
The Comics really are soft compared to the show. You did yourself a disfavor by experiencing them out of order.
But hats off to all the content in 'Takes Off' for a big fan of the Universe. We can only keep hoping that another project comes around Brian's head. Or a fan comes up with something to kickstart new ideas.
Its been a while since I've read the books, but if memory serves me right. She is more fleshed out and loving towards Scott up until she leaves him for Gideon. The movie really tried to cram in all 6 books which is why Ramona kinda seems like a asshole to Scott and didn't really seem to like him. In my opinion the new show on netflix captures her love from the comics more than the movie did.
I heard the comics take over place over a year, which I imagine we get to see a lot more of Scott and Ramona being an actual couple
I wouldn't say Netflix fixed Ramona. If anything the movie damaged her. She was perfect as she was in the comics already.
I've heard that movie Ramona and comic Ramona are basically different characters
@@almostcheesecakethey are completely different characters movie Ramona is cold and distance and has a personality of a piece of cardboard comic Ramona is bubbling and incredibly expressive she is also a bit insecure and act likes a real human being especially in the later volumes
@@jaydenlopez3636 excited to see another side of Ramona once I get to the comics
@@almostcheesecake very much so! As much as I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead, I don't think her portrayal of Ramona was accurate. Same with Michael Cera and Scott.
Eeeeeh….I would disagree I do like her as a character but there are some problems that the anime addressed for me.
I do like how Ramona fixes her own problems instead of effectively just pawning them off on everyone else and playing the victim when she was pretty awful to her exes (ie cheating and using several of them.) it really addressed it. (Dont get me wrong I still like Ramona as a character! I think she’s a great character, but that is one thing that always kinda bugged me.)
I do like that she got real closure and the exes feel more like characters. (Roxy admittedly felt the most developed out of the exes, and felt the most interesting.
I like how this version of her actually takes accountability for her previous wrongdoings, and let’s be real in the comics she didn’t really do that. She never really owned up for what she did and how she hurt people. She admitted that she has a tendency of running away from her problems, but other than that there was never really any moment of accountability.
I definitely agree the characterization was way more fleshed out in this mini series. As soon as it broke from canon I knew we were going some place great.
Just think of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, as a alternate universe.
There's one where Scott takes the lead, another with Ramona takes the lead, and the movie which both kinda meh.
You could even say that the original comic is the timeline that 'old scott' came from (because he got together with Ramona, but she left him too).
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, is in a new timeline where the 'old scott' visited to try to stop 'young scott' but inadvertently helped him?
With time traveling in the current anime plot it makes sense that the 'original' timeline is a 'bad ending' plot maybe.
Now we just need a new game (that is not made by Ubisoft) based on the whole time travelling, dimension hopping fiasco...
You have variations of Scott, Ramona, and friends trying to fix the timeline from a mentally unstable adult scott who manipulates the league of evil ex's, and all the villains are drastically upgraded due to multi-verse powers.
Maybe instead of stage by stage it could be more like River City Ransom style with map to map travel points, and get Arc System Works to develop the combat system?
For instance instead of stat based, it can be skill based where dojos and learning actual techniques for each character is a better focus like with River City Girls 2. Scott can tap into Nega-Scott powers, and Ramona can tap into Super Ramona powers, etc.
You still have stats, but it's not a massive influence on damage, instead your combo gauge has a damage multiplier the better you fight.
Scott Pilgrim VS the Multiverse?
Definitely alternate timelines, I think Bryan confirmed it himself
In the movie, she was treated like Macguffin
I definitely agree with that
I love the movie, comics, and anime all for different reasons. the comic is obviously the most fleshed out, with the most complete version of the story. The movie (to me) is about one guy who is sort of a loser being able to get the girl "of his dreams" by fighting for her - and she isn't just a cardboard cutout for the protagonist. It does feel a little rushed and not as well fleshed out, but still fun and one of my comfort movies. The anime fixes a lot of the pacing and character problems from the movie, taking it's time, fleshing out everyone BUT Scott, and making them more pleasant to watch (as opposed to the movie where everyone sort of seemed jerky)
Some of this has to do with medium; you naturally get to delve deeper into character when you are writing a series than a movie.
That's definitely a part of it, how much you can fit into your limited runtime
Honestly, read the comics. They're great and can be pretty much speedran in a night. The way Ramona is characterized in the anime is very similar to her arc in the comics, so I feel like you're really missing out. Like yes she reaches the conclusions different ways, but she has entire arc just like the anime of learning not to run from her problems. Also Old Scott/Ramona/Wallace are heavily implied to be the comic universe versions of the characters, but older.
The anime didn't fix Ramona bc she was already great, the movie just broke her. And between finding out the director of the movie initially planned on Scott ending up with Knives, as well as his name being parodied as Edgar Wrong in the anime, I think it's safe to say Bryan Lee O'Malley didn't like the way his characters were portrayed on the big screen. Ramona has ALWAYS been the opposite of the MPDG, and a deconstruction of the "woman as a prize."
I'm slowly reading through the comics now, so far enjoying it a lot!
Admittedly I get frustrated when people talk about Scott pilgrim without reading the books. It think it’s an interesting perspective for someone who didn’t get caught in the zheitgheist to talk about it with fresh eyes but Movie Ramona is extremely flat compared to comic Ramona. I always respect that the comic and movie were somewhat of a joint work and there are limitations to a movie length story line but there is so much lost when people didn’t get to see beyond the honeymoon phase. The comic and the movie are first and foremost about Scott learning to take responsibility for himself for the sake of others as he is the perspective character but part of that also felt like it was about stripping away the idea people are these sparkly characters, Stephen stills is dating a guy by the end, Knives loses interest in Scott, and Envy was a prickly weeb who sold her memorabilia when she got the chance to be an it girl but it’s never some revolutionary internal monologue. I don’t think anyone is wrong for just watching the movie because it is infinitely more accessible than reading the whole book series but it does suck that most people got to view Ramona as a pretty apathetic and aloof damsel that was in his life for a few weeks at most but the comic provides a Ramona who was someone who already had some damage, got worse from her most recent narcissist ex, and probably like Scott choosing Knives as something less complicated saw Scott as a step back from something so intense, only to then end up in a long term that was the pin in her whole new social circle too while the feeling of trauma from Gideon kept bubbling up the more problems with Scott popped up. Comic Ramona smiles a lot in the middle part of the comic but it’s usually in the midst of group situations and probably some hard feelings came from them being Scott’s friends first. Lisa Miller was a real trigger to her before even knowing Scott cheated and it could easily be because of how she openly liked Scott while also being more familiar with people like Kim who Ramona was closest too. The final battle is importantly about Ramona’s overcoming of her insecurities and reclaiming an identity Gideon had taken from her. Even the anime in some ways I had gripes from stripping Envy down to a joke but what is great is how it basically flips Scott and Ramona’s roles. Ramona is fighting (getting closure) with her exes so she can be with Scott while Scott inevitably has to face the idea of a future him running away from his relationship because of a bad future.
Sorry for this long ass rant, I literally finished the final volume of Scott pilgrim the same day I went to see the movie on its opening weekend. It’s like a core memory getting caught reading the final pages in Borders in the hour before my friend and I went to see it. That irk of flattening Ramona’s character was something I immediately felt in the theater while then going through the next decade getting compared to her for having dyed hair and whatever the hell “Ramona Flowers Ruined a Generation” was. Really not directed at OP but more just how Scott Takes Off in some ways was a “none of you listened last time so I’m gonna really spell it out this time, okay.”
Now that you mention it, I did feel a bit annoyed by the live action movie when i first watched it because there's was no reason for scott to get ramona (except that he's the main character) and for ramona to be desireable (except that she's not from town, a hot manic pixie girl). As you were breaking down your analysis, i realise that it's very much because it's written in the perspectives of 20-something men and women, and how they see themselves. Still don't really like scott's character in the first movie, but really like ramona now!
for the love of god let's not call dating minors "being good with children"
its called ...... sarcasm. 😮
I love the true books, the movie, and the anime are able to portray different flavors of Ramona that don't contradict each other, but instead add onto each other to create a more fleshed out character
great video! loved it
Thank you!
The movie came out before the end of the comic, so the ending is similar but the path is different, also scott had time to solve things out with kim in the comic and we saw more of kim's friends and personality. The ending was kinda weird and random in the movie, I think it makes more sense how it was done in the comic.
About ramona, I think the actress didn't get what her personality was or they didn't explain it well to her, she probably didn't read the source material. She is mysterious and cool, but in the comic she has personality and insecurities and the way it was explained why she got back to gideon and how they defeated him works better.
I'm going out with an uncommon opinion I'm sure, but: This doesn't seem like its out of left field at all. I never read the comic, so I'm not confusing the two. But its always seemed to me that Ramona DOES care, but for some reason just has a really hard time opening up. Actually, its probably because of everyone else's vision of her. She's always wanted, idolized, but without a lot of consideration of what SHE wants. She's just a kid who doesn't even know who she's going to be yet, but people try to control her so much that that she feels the only option is to run away. So she runs. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And is trying to get more experience to actually figure herself out, but its just continuing the cycle. She's flawed, but believable and not irredeemable. I've known a person like her all my life. She was trying to push Scott away to avoid conflict and opening herself up. But couldn't make herself do so fully. If she really was as cold as people percieved her as, the movie literally wouldn't have happened. Either because she wouldn't have given Scott a chance in the first place, and even if him just persuing her onesidedly got the league's attention, all she'd have to do is sit back and let them finish him off and leave town again. All the show did initially was show the cracks in her armor more. Which is proven more by all the evidence suggesting that it is the same Ramona but with time travel shinnagians. But that being said, I really loved the direction the show went with her character as it did give her a more powerful place to really lead her to the realization she always needed. Just like I had hoped she had learned from the movie, but was left to wonder because it was kinda open ended. So needless to say I love the show. I am a sucker for a good character arch afterall.
That's an interesting way of looking at it, this could easily be a video essay by itself
This is exactly how I interpreted it. I _am_ (or have been) someone like Ramona. The movie and netflix versions feel equally realistic(though stylized) and relatable to me, but netflix version just feels like me after I started taking SSRIs.
I honestly would give my in-depth analysis of Ramona, but I'd just end up describing myself, and I already see a therapist once a week for that.
This makes me actually interested in watching this now !!!
scoot has glaring issues though, like being a creep and a bum
As a big fan of the comics and Edgar Wright's film, this anime totally was the fix I didn't know I needed. I loved that they redeemed Ramona and gave all the "evil Exes" a proper background story.
I think the evil exes had also went through a lot of development
Absolutely, they're completely different characters in the anime
When I heard that it was not going to be a faithful adaptation to the comic or the movie and saw so many bad reviews, I was worried that they had made a bad adaptation, but having finished the series I loved what they did with the story lol
I love the movie, but Ramona doesn't have much personality beyond her ex boyfriends, here it is nice to be able to see a little more of her life and her character without Scott, like how she actually apologise to her exes.
And I also like that now the exes have personalities, goals and dreams outside of Ramona, some of them are one of the reason I love the series lol they really funny and bring a lot of action to the series.
It's a shame that there were a lot of fans who didn't give the show an oportunity, I would have loved a second season, but they announced that there wasn't going to be one.
I'm hoping the anime has done well enough that they get the opportunity for a season 2, but if they don't want to that's completely fair
The worst thing any creative can have is "fans". They believe they have a say in what's good or right for something they did not create, do not own or had any input in ... just something they consumed, based on their expectations. Like that means something. Screw those "fans"! SPTO was amazing, and I'm saying that as a fan of the comics AND the movie.
@@almostcheesecake there are no plans for a second season, according to O'Malley. He said "way too many miracles had to happen and did happen to make this ... I don't think there's going to be more" and I concur. I'd even add: I don't think there _needs_ to me more.
I'll be honest, both the movie, comics, and anime gave me a tough pill to swallow that I desperately needed. I just saw too much of myself in both Scott and Ramona, and realized I'm not, and never was, a good person. Made me figure out what years of therapy failed to put in my dense head
Bro, I had the same with the series, people always go on about Scott and Ramona being horrible people that only end up together because they are horrible people but what I love about this series is that makes you reflect on yourself and when you see at the end of the story the characters trying to grow up and become better people, you kinda reflect upon yourself and see that you are not perfect as well and you start to try to become someone better
This series is very special, will always have a place in my heart❤
As a huge fan of SP, you are on the verge of something brilliant with your analysis! Read the books, watch the movie, and watch the anime again, and don’t be afraid to dive deeper!
Definitely going through the comics now
The character growth for Ramona in the film was in facing her problem at the end and choosing to abandon her fear-based transience; her hair changing every week and a half was indicative of her not being able to commit to anything, same as her choosing a job that would aimlessly bounce her from place to place, she was keeping herself out of the driver's seat of her own life. When she was first dating Scott it was just going anywhere he took her because she was actively opposing choosing her own direction. When the chip was broken she made the choice to drive.
Choosing to start afresh with Scott, who'd just done some major work on getting over his own personal bullshit, was growth, choosing to see the future together with a new outlook on life.
Scott needed to leave his home behind because it was where he'd mired himself in his own emotional filth, his growth involved taking a step into the unknown and letting her help guide him down a road not traveled.
I say watch the show....but only AFTER reading the books.
Too late for me rip
not too late; you can read the comic then rewatch the anime just like me@@almostcheesecake
@@anselbriones2576 definitely reading them soon
I still Ramona character is better in the comics than in the anime
That's probably fair, given how much praise I hear about the comics
it is
Ramona was always much more developed in the comics. She stopped running from her problems and dealt with her past in a way that she didn't in the movie. Her relationship with Scott is also better handled, we actually see them date for quite awhile before their break up (I think the comic storyline takes place over a couple of years).
How I watched the series (which was very recently) was going back and forth between watching the LA movie and Anime episodes. That made for an interesting experience.
Obviously the true watch order
@@almostcheesecake for example, I was basically seeing an episode of an ex getting redeemed right after seeing that very ex get destroyed in the movie. I started with the first episode of the anime but decided to start up the movie after the first episode and saw Mathew Pattel lose? Watch to a point, pause, go watch an anime episode, after that I unpause the movie. Rinse and repeat.
It would definitely be awkward if I watched the entire anime first before watching the Live Action Movie.
@idreadFell365 just constant tonal whiplash lol
@@almostcheesecake
LA Lucas Lee: [grinds to death]
Anime Lucas Lee:[Reads that part of the script] Hmm, Couldn’t be me
@@idreadFell365 🤣🤣🤣
Both comics and movie had the same problem with the Ramonna(and the exes ,and Scott) conclusion imo. I think about the anime as a volume 7 of the comics or a sequel of comic/movie,the creators corrected a lot of the "problems" that the comics and movie had,making almost a happy ending to the hole saga
The anime is a lovely companion piece to expand on characters that may not have gotten much in the other mediums
Dude solid video! The things you really liked about the anime shine through in the comic. I think you should really read it. It builds and shows a lot more of the characters (including your mysterious hot movie store employee ;)). You should totally check the comic out!
Absolutely, actually reading through it now
3:13 “being great with children” CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD LMAOOO
When I heard that is was not another retelling of the story and people hated Netflix for it I said (and got told off) that the writer gets the right to do what they want and tell the story they want with the characters. In the movie is is Scot focused and is all about how he sees it. But Ramona was always not given a moment to giver her story and she gets it here so show she is a real character. Make me feel vindicated.
I always felt like the movie spit in the face of Ramona’s character, in the comics she was an affectionate jerk to Scott in an endearing way, but it wasn’t in an endearing way in the movie. Of course that comes from the late production decision to swap out love interests. The anime Ramona is a lot truer to the comic source material even if the plot is completely flip-flopped.
I would argue that the comics are neither better or worse than the anime
Personally, i believe that the comics did a REALLY good job flushing out Scott as a character, and flushing out Ramona (even though her past isnt really that detailed in the comics as it is in the anime)
Absolutely read the comics theyre great
It's going to be really cool to see a new side to all the characters once I get to the comics
I very much hope you meant to say "fleshing out"
Fun fact the person who played romona in the movie voice acted the ramona in takes off
4:17 - Scott gets with Ramona in the theatrical ending of the movie, but there's an alternate ending on the DVD where he gets back with Knives instead
The character in the dvd store is hollie hawkes from the comics
Nice, might see a bit more of her
I really love that the anime is more inclusive of knives too. She's not just a plot device like she was in the movie.
definitely read the comic pleaseee
I headcanon the reason all of the rest of the characters are more fleshed out and interesting is because in the original movie, Scott is the protagonist and views everyone else as props that serve a purpose, but every other character is their own protagonist in the anime
Movie Ramona < Anime Ramona
Normally I can’t stand it when the female character is put above the male in reboots or sequels bc usually nowadays, it comes from a place where it’s all about having “a strong female” and it’s also done thru putting down the males.
But in this case, I actually was pleasantly surprised at how Ramona grew. I didn’t even find her all that great in the film, but in the anime? Loved her!
Something that a lot of female characters don’t get is growth bc they’re supposed to “be already perfect and badass”
They really highlighted how flawed she is but in that, also made her a lot more likable and relatable.
Could just be me, but considering a good number of male-led stories have reduced female characters to just prizes to be won for many, many years, even when said female characters are SUPPOSED to be highly competent only for them to be fodderized: I cannot help but find the reaction some guys are having to be amusing. It's like they can't take what they dish out.
Men can't handle becoming the trophy wife lol
What do you think of the original movie ending, in which Scott stays with Knives and Ramona leaves? Apparently test audiences responded so badly to it that they did a reshoot, but personally I think it makes a much better ending for the movie. But then I say this as someone who has never read the comics.
I think that's a bad choice as well, the movie should have ended with him single
As someone didn't read/watch Scott Pilgrim, I'm considering giving the animated series a shot, mostly because of the artstyle and because the characters seem intriguing albeit flawed.
Is it good to start with this series or do I have to start with the comic books/movies?
I would recommend watching at least the movie before the anime. You can still enjoy the anime without it, but I think you would also miss a lot of context
@@almostcheesecake Ty for the reply 🤙
@@alanbareiro6806 all good mate
Nice look at the trope. Can we admit that tropes can be done well or poorly? You can have a full character who checks the MPDG box. Ramona Flowers is one of the few Western examples of this trope with some depth. It's good to have another female archetype besides popular girl, not popular girl, but it needs to be treated with care.
I would say yes, but often times I see MPDG used in a negative manner, to say a character is poorly written. I don't have any issues calling Ramona MPDG as long as it's not used negatively
Yo, people are mad about the Netflix show not being the comic story? Are they dumb?
I just hope for a S2 that goes with the comics in away.
The term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is like "Mary Sue," in that people throw the term around without understanding what it actually means.
Also, I loved the fact that they didn't do the same thing all over again. We already got two versions of Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, we didn't need another retreading of the same story...
As much as people may argue the movie wasn't faithful, both the movie and comic were scripted at the same time, with full knowledge that it would be impossible to get them 1:1 congruent... the same thing happened with Akira - also finished before the manga it was based on. And with a much wilder divergence of plot. So the movie was as good as it was ever going to get if you wanted to compress six volumes of book into a movie. And going into an anime series, the pacing of the book wouldn't fit, either. Too much quiet time. Too much filler. Too much... life... happening to fit neatly into a seasonal series where you expect resolutions and plot movement within episodes.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind