Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Creators Talk Transforming Scott Pilgrim Into an Anime (Exclusive)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will arrive on Netflix on November 17th, taking the titular character and placing him into an animated series from the legendary anime studio, Science Saru. In the past, Science Saru has created the likes of Devilman Crybaby, Star Wars Visions, and Space Dandy to name a few. With the new Netflix original series taking the aesthetic of the original graphic novels’ art style, we here at ComicBook.com were able to talk with series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and executive producer BenDavid Grabinski about working with the anime studio.

Bryan Lee O’Malley started things off by talking about how Science Saru was the perfect studio to bring the story of Scott Pilgrim back into the limelight, “I think they’re one of the most exciting anime studios and they’ve only been around for ten or eleven years! They’re pedigree goes back a long way and I’ve loved everything I’ve seen of there’s. For us, Devilman Crybaby was a big inspiration for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Like wow, they can reboot Devilman and go so wild with it, but also make it feel so contemporary. That was very refreshing. It was right around that time where Netflix and Edgar Wright started talking about this project, and they brought up Science Saru. I couldn’t say no to that.”

Science Saru Takes Off

BenDavid Grabinski, who worked on the recent Are You Afraid of The Dark reboot for Nickelodeon, shared his excitement for Science Saru to be a part of the upcoming project, “I was a huge fan of them as well. I actually first got into them when they did an episode of Adventure Time called ‘Food Chain’. You couldn’t pick two bigger fans than me and Bryan.”

Bryan then added that the animators at Science Saru were willing and waiting to dive into the anime adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, “We heard they were fans of Scott Pilgrim since the books did come out in Japan. There’s a mutual respect going on and it led to something very interesting.” 

Do you think Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be the best entry in Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life? Which actor from the live-action film are you most excited to see reprise their role? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Scott Pilgrim.