Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

Episode 1 of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off begins with Scott waking up from a dream he had about the girl of his dreams. He converses with his roommate Wallace for a bit and leaves his apartment to play music with his bandmates. After, he attends a house party with his friends and notices a girl that looks like the one from his dreams. He tries engaging in small talk with her but it doesn’t go smoothly. Scott leaves and bumps into Julie Powers, who questions why he’s at her party. 

Julie informs Scott that the girl he spoke to is Ramona Flowers and shares background details about her. However, she tells Scott she doesn’t want him to converse with her. Scott returns home to rent a DVD from Netflix since Julie told him Ramona works for the company. He waits for Ramona to arrive at his apartment. Ramona arrives, hands him the DVD, and attempts to leave. Scott stops her and asks if she’s the girl from his dreams. Ramona says it’s possible since there’s a “space subway” in his head. 

Scott changes the subject and asks Ramona if she’d like to hang out with him later. Ramona accepts. The two meet up at night and Ramona reveals why she decided to move to Toronto. The two discuss their different occupations, the weather, and their hobbies for a bit. While that’s happening, a man observes them from an undisclosed location and mentions something about a game starting soon. The two head to Ramona’s apartment to get out of the snowstorm. 

Scott wanders into Ramona’s room while she’s changing and the two end up kissing each other. Before they get more intimate with each other, Ramona stops Scott. However, she tells him she reserves the right to change her mind about them having intercourse whenever she feels it’s the right time.  Meanwhile, we get introduced to Matthew, Ramona’s first evil ex-boyfriend. He meets up with Gideon (the leader of the League of Evil-Exes). 

Gideon informs Matthew about Scott and shares insight about his affiliation with Ramona (so far). Gideon reveals Scott’s possibly dating a high schooler and Matthew learns Scott hasn’t told her yet. Gideon shares information about Scott’s fighting experience with Matthew. Despite being a skilled combatant, Matthew argues he can defeat Scott. The two laugh sinisterly. In the morning, Scott informs Ramona about his band and invites her to attend one of their nightly concerts. Ramona promises to stop by. 

Scott returns home and tells him about his time with Ramona. Wallace tells Scott to end his relationship with Knives (his high school-aged girlfriend). Wallace tells Scott that he received a letter in the mail. The letter happens to be from Matthew, who challenges him to a battle. However, Scott doesn’t take the letter seriously and chucks it. He asks Wallace if he’s planning to attend his band’s concert tonight. Wallace says he plans to. 

Knives arrive at the concert and we get introduced to Scott’s sister Stacey. Before they can tell Knives that Scott plans to break up with her, she notices Scott from a distance and calls out to him. Scott sees Knives and Ramona heading in his direction and flees backstage. Kim, one of his bandmates asks him why he’s spacing out but Scott ensures them he’s fine. While his bandmates panic over another band flaking out on them, Scott monitors Ramona and Knives. 

Although Steven (a bandmate) thinks they should cancel their performance, Scott tells them they should go out and try their best. Scott and his bandmates play their song. Matthew crashes the concert and attempts to harm Scott. Scott blocks his attack. Matthew informs Scott who he is and is baffled that Scott ignored his letter. He tells Scott what was written in the letter. Matthew explains Ramona has seven evil exes, each more powerful than the last. If Scott wants to date Ramona, he must defeat each one. 

Ramona apologizes to Scott for not informing him about this sooner. She tells him she never took it seriously and delves into her history with Matthew. Ramona explains they met in middle school. She states Matthew possesses strong mystical abilities while she has incredible strength and they teamed up to defeat jocks who were after her for romantic purposes. Matthew and Scott throw a punch at each other, resulting in Scott losing the battle and getting turned into coins. 

Matthew’s shocked he won so easily. The episode closes with Ramona looking over the coins in awe.  

The Episode Review

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off episode one delivers a fun introductory chapter that’ll catch longtime fans and newcomers by surprise. As the title suggests, it appears our protagonist, Scott, may not be as much a focal point in this anime as he was in the film and comic. This opens the door for multiple possibilities, making way for more dedicated screen time for underlooked cast members.

At the same time, this episode did a nice job of establishing our cast and getting viewers excited for future events. With its comic strip-like imagery, video game tributes, and captivating animation, audiences will find themselves immersed in it all. The minor battle sequence between Matthew and Scott was compelling though it wasn’t as well choreographed as the 2010 film’s take. 

Nevertheless, with Scott seemingly out of the picture, we can assume the story will be told through Ramona’s perspective. What that entails begs to be seen. Maybe we’ll get to see her reconcile with her exes via heartfelt discussions rather than her relying on Scott to defeat them in his crafty ways. Regardless, I’m interested to see what the story writers have planned with this anime adaptation since there are many noticeable changes and similarities shared between it and the other incarnations.