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As of 2024, the Scott Pilgrim franchise has primarily featured in three different mediums: the original comic book series that ran from 2004 to 2010, the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World film that premiered in 2010, and the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime that premiered in 2023. While each is similar, there are plenty of differences upon closer inspection.
From Scott and Ramona's stories being condensed, to seeing Scott's exes in full, and the Evil Exes getting better treatment alongside showcasing an entirely different story, each version of the Scott Pilgrim story has major differences that separate them.
Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for the Scott Pilgrim franchise. All opinions are exclusive to the author.
Major differences between the Scott Pilgrim anime, comics, and movie
1) Scott's story
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Every version of the Scott Pilgrim story has Scott start the same: he's an unemployed slacker living with a roommate who barely tolerates him and is dating a high schooler. Although Scott grows as a person in each, how his development proceeds depends upon which version of the story is being told.
Scott's backstory is shown from volume 2 onward in the Scott Pilgrim comics. It shows how he and Envy fell in love, his relationship with Lisa, and how he broke up with Kim.
Scott reconciles with all his exes throughout the story, gets a job as a prep chef in volume 4, moves in with Ramona, and gets better at understanding others as represented by the Power of Understanding sword he obtains when fighting Gideon in volume 6.
While the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie is hyperfocused on Scott, it amps up the self-centered nature of his character. Scott abandons S*x Bob-omb at the drop of a hat, drives Ramona away after the Roxie fight, and is extremely callous towards Knives.
While he does swallow his pride and apologize to Knives and Ramona, Scott's issues are treated as an issue of self-respect instead of ongoing communication problems.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off doesn't involve Scott's past at the beginning of the series until his return in episode 6, with the explanation for the mystery of why Scott vanished in episode 7. Encountering a toxic version of himself who hadn't learned anything in a decade forced Scott to change himself. Crucially, this started with apologizing to Knives and admitting they shouldn't have been a couple.
In doing this, the anime skips the heartbreak he and others went through in the comics.
2) Ramona's story
Ramona Flowers starts as having just moved to Toronto and is working as a delivery person. She's often regarded as the textbook Manic Pixie Dream Girl, whereas she subverts that trope, as Scott's the bright and zany part of her life. While the ending of her story is similar across the mediums, she develops and is presented differently,
In volumes 3 through 6 of the Scott Pilgrim comics, the audience gets a deeper view of Ramona's personality and issues. Her attachment issues drive the plot more than Scott's, revealing that she always leaves when things get tough due to not wanting to be stuck. It's also revealed that being hit by The Glow exacerbated her issues, making her prone to lashing out unpredictably.
The problems with the movie version of Ramona are in the writing and condensing of the story. While she has the same flaws in all three versions of the story, the movie version of Ramona is more emotionally distant than her comic or anime counterpart. Her issues are sidelined to focus on Scott's in the movie, which makes their eventual relationship unbelievable.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off breaks with the source material and the movie to show Ramona as the protagonist. It helps to complete Ramona's character arc by showing her realizing her flaws on her own. As she's the main character in the anime, her choosing to stay with Scott, thanks to Future Ramona's help, is more impactful since the audience sees it from her perspective.
3) Ramona's Evil Exes
The League of Evil Exes are seven people who Ramona dated at various points in her life. They all function as "boss" characters in the video game, the comics, and the movie as obstacles for Scott to fight and defeat. The anime ditches that trend, showing the Exes as people with justifiable reasons for their anger at Ramona.
In the comics, the Evil Exes get major differences from the movie. For instance:
- Matthew Patel fights Scott in a Bollywood dance number not seen in the movie in volume 1, complete with S*x Bob-omb and the rest of Scott’s friends lending him a hand in the battle.
- Lucas Lee is over Ramona and is friendly enough to offer Scott a victory with a bribe, after smoking with him and warning him about the League of Evil Exes in volume 2.
- Todd Ingram is far more arrogant, believing he can do whatever he wants, including cheating on Envy with The Clash at Demonhead’s drummer, Lynette Guycott, and eating nonvegan products like gelato in volume 3.
- Roxie Ritcher is on good terms with Ramona and only attacks Scott because she believes he's cheating on Ramona with Lisa Miller in volume 4.
- The Katayanagi Twins kidnap Kim to get Scott to fight them. They have their backstory shown in volume 5. Also, their robots fight Scott and the twins physically fight him 2-on-1.
- Gideon is revealed to have several of his ex-girlfriends cryogenically frozen and a part of himself inside Ramona's head. He invented The Glow to make his fortune and is more of a control freak than the film, as seen in volume 6.
The movie versions of the League are made more over-the-top. Matthew comes after Scott with his summons while singing, Lucas is now an arrogant Hollywood actor with stunt doubles fighting for him, and Todd is far more stupid in thinking chicken parmesan and half-and-half are vegan.
Roxie is more hostile towards Ramona and Scott, with her relationship treated as "just a phase", the Katayangi Twins get nothing except a battle of the bands, while Gideon's control issues extend to S*x Bob-omb selling out to him.
In Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the Evil Exes are all humanized. Roxie and Ramona's relationship is taken seriously, with Ramona apologizing, and Lucas Lee loses his acting career and reconciles with Ramona. Matthew Patel defeats Gideon and lives his dream of being a musical star.
The Twins help Scott in the future with Robot-01, to see the events of the show. Todd loses Envy after cheating on her with Wallace and works with Roxie to get back to being vegan. Gideon gets a sympathetic backstory and a girlfriend in Julie Powers, though Gideon turns back to villainy at the end with Julie at his side.
4) Scott's exes
The Scott Pilgrim franchise treats both Scott and Ramona as bad people, especially Scott. Despite being loved by fans, Scott has left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. The comics focus on Scott's exes the most, showing how the plucky protagonist is unlucky in love due to his obliviousness and lack of communication.
The comics give depth to Knives Chau, Kim Pine, Envy Adams, and Lisa Miller. Lisa Miller is a character that doesn't show up outside the comics, debuting in Volume 4. Lisa was one of Scott's friends, alongside Kim, in high school and had feelings for Scott but never acted on them. Lisa helps Scott throughout volumes 4 and 5, giving him a place to stay when Ramona leaves him.
Envy's backstory is shown in full during volume 3: she was a wallflower named Natalie who became a diva and stole Scott's original band from him. Ramona and Envy fought in volume 3, only stopping when Ramona revealed Todd was cheating on Envy. Scott and Envy get closure, but not until the end of the comic in volume 6.
The movie cuts out Lisa Miller entirely, doesn't showcase Envy's backstory or sympathetic qualities besides mentioning her former identity as Natalie, and skims over Kim. Knives is in focus, promoted to a major character instead of being an extra, but her story is solely focused on trying to get Scott back.
While the anime likewise nixes Lisa and doesn't showcase Envy's backstory, it makes sense given Scott's disappearance in episode 1. Knives and Kim are present and get better showcases than in the movie, with Knives moving on from Scott to join his band and Kim joining the investigation in episode 6.
5) Knives Chau's story
At 17 years old, Knives is involved with Scott as her first love. When Ramona skates into Scott's life and Scott breaks up with Knives unceremoniously, Knives suffers severe depression and heartbreak, beginning a quest to get Scott back. The anime subverts this story, whereas the comic and movie have different approaches.
While Knives' story in the comics revolves around her feelings for Scott, plenty of details aren't shown in the movie. Volume 1 shows how she and Scott met as well as her family, with her father attacking Scott in Volume 4. She duels Ramona in volumes 2 and 5.
Knives concludes that Scott cheated on both her and Ramona, explicitly telling Scott in Volume 6 that it took over four months to get over him. She moves away at the end, while telling Scott he’ll always be her first real love. It's a happier ending for her compared to the movie.
While many of the major story beats for Knives are kept in the movie, the movie gets plenty of things wrong about Knives and Scott's relationship, and the rushed nature of it makes Knives' turnaround at the end unbelievable. The problem with Scott and Knives' relationship is the age gap and the power dynamics, and the movie treats the problem as if Scott cheating on Knives was the main issue.
The anime has Knives grieve Scott in episode 2, join S*x Bob-omb after playing bass for only four hours in episode 3, and help Stephen provide music for Matthew Patel's stage play and Envy Adams' solo career in episodes 6 and 8.
Knives gets to exist as a person separate from Scott, takes Scott breaking up with her a lot more healthily, while saying she’s glad he “died”. She joins the band by the end of the series.
6) Kim Pine's story
At first glance, Kim Pine seems like a snarky member of Scott's friend group. Despite her prickly exterior, Kim is the "normal" one. Given everyone else is over the top or has problems that the story slowly reveals, it makes sense Kim is the realistic one.
Kim plays the biggest role in the comics as an anchor and aid for Scott. Her story starts in volume 2, showing her family, her video store job, how Scott was her first boyfriend, and how she broke up with him after he moved out of her life without a word.
She eventually helps Scott get a job in volume 4, moves out of her place and back in with her parents in volume 5 while helping Scott get out of his funk against the Katayanagi Twins, and helps him face Nega-Scott in volume 6 while assisting Scott in realizing that he loves Ramona. She also helps him and Ramona realize that they're affected by The Glow.
In the movie, Kim is relegated to the background and incredibly one-note. Much like the rest of the cast that isn't Scott, she has barely anything to do besides snark and drum. The audience doesn't see why Kim is so deadpan or sarcastic at Scott aside from his general slacker nature, since their relationship isn't commented on in depth.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off provides Kim with more development during episodes 2, 3, and 6. She's sad when Scott “dies” in episode 2 and gets the bulk of time in episode 3 to talk to Ramona, help Knives out of her depressive funk with a jam session, and reveal that her being kidnapped by Simon Lee happened in this continuity.
Kim reappears in episode 6, helping keep the band's investigation into Scott's disappearance on track, and is genuinely happy to see Scott and Ramona together. She also supports Knives joining the band and states she made them better.
7) The other characters
Scott Pilgrim's side and background characters include Stephen Stills, Julie Powers, Young Neil, Wallace Wells, Stacy Pilgrim, and others sprinkled throughout the narrative aside from the main characters. They serve multiple purposes, from comic relief to support. Depending on the story and medium, their roles have been expanded, diminished, or drastically altered.
Wallace Wells in the comics is friendlier toward Scott than in the movie or anime, trying to help him rather than make his life worse. His boyfriend Mobile shows up, and they live together in volume 5. Scott's parents appear in the comics in volumes 2 and 5, getting Scott a new apartment.
Stephen Stills has an arc involving trying to get S*x Bob-omb record deals, and breaking up with Julie after realizing he's gay in volumes 5 and 6.
The movie doesn't give the other characters much. Wallace is more snarky, Stephen is a lot more anxious, especially when trying to get a deal with Gideon, Julie is twice as horrendous toward Scott especially, Scott's family doesn't get mentioned, except Stacy Pilgrim who's just a gossip girl alongside Wallace, and Young Neil is just there to say off-the-wall stuff.
While the anime likewise mostly nixes Scott's parents and Stacy, it does give some of the other characters purpose. Young Neil is briefly a screenwriter thanks to Future Ramona's script, and Wallace has a whole arc where he breaks Todd's heart and meets Mobile at the end.
Stephen and Knives elevate S*x Bob-Omb to new heights. Julie Powers gets a romance arc with Gideon, it's revealed she knew him in high school and fell for his ambitious and criminal behavior.
8) Nega Scott and The Glow
This entry is split into two because these concepts are important to Ramona and Scott's stories in the comics. The Glow is a form of psychological torture that Gideon created to attain his fortune, trapping people in their minds. Nega Scott is birthed from this, appearing first in volume 4 of the comics.
The Glow is shown at various points throughout the comic, primarily around Ramona. Whenever it appears, she goes blank and tries to run from a conflict. The Glow messed with Scott's head, as revealed in volume 6, altering his memories. Simon Lee didn't kidnap Kim in the comics, Scott just beat him up after he hugged her. Kim had to find out about Scott moving from Lisa, instead of Scott breaking the bad news to her.
Nega Scott shows up in volumes 4, 5, and 6. He's not a real person, merely an apparition and manifestation of Scott's flaws. Only by accepting him is he defeated, much like a Persona user's Shadow Self and other shadow archetypes across anime and video games.
The movie doesn't feature The Glow, substituting it for a control chip in the back of Ramona's head. The movie doesn't explain Nega-Scott's presence, though he is foreshadowed in deleted scenes and the Nega Ninja in the DDR parody game. Nega-Scott isn't absorbed either, merely befriended in this version.
The Glow briefly appears in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, during the fight against Even Older Scott in episode 8. Gideon attempts to use it to stop Even Older Scott, but it doesn’t work. The toxic future Scott, Older Scott Pilgrim, is Nega-Scott made manifest since he's a selfish manchild who divorces Ramona after one bad fight and tries to break up Scott and Ramona via time travel.
9) The Story
The Scott Pilgrim franchise is considered a transmedia narrative because the story is told across different mediums. The movie is a beginner's experience, the comics are the full version, and the anime is an alternate take that wraps everything up. Each version of the story starts similarly, diverging after the Matthew Patel fight.
The movie is the original Scott Pilgrim story, condensed into an hour and 52 minutes. The film condenses the events to just the Evil Ex fights that take place over, at minimum, one week. By doing this, the film misses several crucial points that the comic had going for it.
Specifically, the movie misses the sense of progression and flow the comic had, and the crucial downtime for character development for everyone, Scott and Ramona included.
The comic was released over six years and chronicled a full year of Scott Pilgrim's life. It expands on every character, from Kim to Wallace, provides crucial breathing room and buildup to each Evil Ex fight, and shows that everyone develops independent of Scott's involvement. Scott may be the protagonist, but the universe doesn’t revolve around him in the comics or anime like in the film.
Bryan O'Malley once said in an interview with Caroline Cao that he was inspired by the Rebuild of Evangelion film series when creating the anime, wanting to look at the story of Scott Pilgrim with fresh eyes and give it another go with years of experience. The anime serves as a "rebuild" to that effect.
The anime’s story showcases the Evil Exes as people and gives Ramona her due as a protagonist since she vanishes from the story in the comics and movie.It also provides meaningful development for some of the shafted side characters (Julie, Young Neil, etc) while solving the mystery of Scott’s disappearance.
10) The endings
All three versions of the Scott Pilgrim story differ heavily in how they proceed, who they focus on, and especially how they end. As fans can attest an ending can affect the overall view of the product. Sometimes a story can be great, but if the ending is bad then that's all fans tend to remember.
The comics end with almost every major character in a better place, or moving towards it. Scott and Ramona are together but admit their relationship might need a reset. Knives moved away to go to college and reconciled with Scott.
Envy and Scott get closure, with Envy being less mean. Kim and Scott form a new band called Shatterband. Kim moves in with her parents, Wallace lives with Mobile, and Lisa starts on the road to becoming an actress.
By rushing the ending, the movie is the weakest of the bunch. While Scott and Ramona are together and the Evil Exes are defeated, nobody else's story is satisfactorily complete besides Knives. Even then, Knives admitting she's too good for Scott after helping him kill Gideon comes out of nowhere.
By humanizing the Evil Exes and having Scott and Ramona learn their lessons earlier, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's ending is more satisfying. All of the Exes, sans Gideon and Julie who go back into villainy, move on to better things (Matthew Patel's show gets several Tony awards, Lucas Lee works as a barista, etc.).
Knives joining S*x Bob-omb makes them better, whilst Stephen and she manages Envy's solo career. As for Scott and Ramona, Ramona retains her job as a stunt double and the two are officially together.
Final thoughts
There are more than 10 things that are different throughout the Scott Pilgrim franchise. This can include plenty of references in the anime that don't show up in the movie or comic— Scott's swords being different, the various and different uses of Subspace, among other changes and tweaks.
Overall, fans need all three main Scott Pilgrim products to experience the story properly. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's story relies heavily on the audience's familiarity with the movie and comics. The differences between the three are based on how each approaches the same material but does something completely different with them.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off can be watched on Netflix, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is available on the Max streaming platform, and the Scott Pilgrim comics are available on Amazon, Comixology, or wherever comic books and novels are sold.
Related Links
- Is Scott Pilgrim Takes Off an anime? Confusion explained
- Scott Pilgrim anime wins Critics Choice Award
