Behind-the-Scenes w/ Science SARU Making the ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Anime
by Alex Billington
December 1, 2023
Source: YouTube
“They have a very cinematic approach to anime. They don’t want to anything that is generic or cliched, and that’s how I feel about my art as well.” Netflix’s new anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is already available to watch streaming. For one final promotion, Netflix has unveiled a 10 minute behind-the-scenes video taking us to Japan where the animation studio Science SARU is located. Based on the comic books by Canadian creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, the anime is inspired by Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs the World movie but is directly pulled from the comics themselves. They explain this video that the voice cast recorded first, then they animated the series with the voices already in place – the opposite of what usually happens in Japan. This anime series is also quite diverse – it’s showrun by Canadian Bryan Lee O’Malley and American BenDavid Grabinski, directed by Spanish animation director Abel Gongora, and animated by the Japanese studio Science SARU (known for Inu-Oh, SW: Visions, The Heike Story, Yurei Deco, Devilman Crybaby). This video features O’Malley, Grabinski, and Gongora, plus many others who worked on the show talking about their experiences creating Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Makes me appreciate it even more! Enjoy.
Here’s the behind-the-scenes featurette for Netflix’s series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, from YouTube:
Watch the first teaser trailer for Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off series here or the other full trailer here.
Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, but learns he must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her. Then things get even more complicated. Filmmaker Edgar Wright adds: “Since the film’s release in 2010 we’ve done Q&As, remembrances and charity read throughs, but there was never the occasion to reunite the whole gang on an actual project. Until now… Original creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, along with writer BenDavid Grabinski have conjured up an anime series of ‘Scott Pilgrim’ that doesn’t just expand the universe, but also… well, just watch it. I’m more than happy to announce that I have helped coax the entire original cast back to voice their characters on this epic new adventure. You are in for a treat.” Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a series created by the comic book artist / writer Bryan Lee O’Malley, writing the adaptation (based on his own graphic novels) along with screenwriter BenDavid Grabinski, who is also the showrunner. With episodes directed by animation expert Abel Gongora (director of the “T0-B1” segment of “Star Wars: Visions”). It’s executive produced by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Michael Bacall, Eunyoung Choi, BenDavid Grabinski, Jared LeBoff, Nira Park, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, and Edgar Wright. Netflix launched Scott Pilgrim Takes Off streaming on Netflix on November 17th, 2023. Worth a watch?