‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’: How A Blend Of Western And Eastern Influences Created One Of The Year’s Most Distinct Animated Series

Netflix has posted an enlightening behind-the-scenes video for Scot Pilgrim Takes Off, in which showrunners Bryan Lee O’Malley – who created the comic and series – and BenDavid Grabinski visit the show’s Japanese animation studio Science Saru.

In the video, O’Malley talks about his excitement when Netflix approached him with an idea to adapt Scott Pilgrim as an anime series.

“Anime was a huge influence on me growing up. I would say, from the ages of 17-20, it was my favorite thing,” he explains. “I was obsessed with anime. I went to a lot of conventions. I was a fanboy.”

Although he was a diehard fan when he was younger, O’Malley never believed he’d work on an anime project, especially not one based on his own creation.

“It was not even a dream; it was beyond a dream, an impossible dream,” he says. “The fact that I’m here right now in Tokyo and getting to work with Science Saru is just… it’s unbelievable, but it’s true.”

For both O’Malley and Grabinski, Science Saru felt like a perfect fit from the moment they were brought onto the project. The studio’s credits include work done on feature films such as Lu Over the Wall and Inu-Oh and series like Devilman Crybaby, Star Wars Visions, and Adventure Time.

“They have a very cinematic approach to anime. They don’t want to do anything that is generic or clichéd,” says O’Malley. “That’s how I feel about my art as well, so I think they made a very good fit for us.”

According to Grabinksi, he’s been a Science Saru fan since seeing the Adventure Time episode “Food Chain.”

“I thought it pushed the boundaries of what a commercial, accessible animated show could be,” he explains. “When I found out they were interested in doing the show, it felt to me like the most exciting thing you could do with the property.”

A significant portion of the behind-the-scenes video is spent examining how the unique blend of a Western comic and Japanese animation studio created something so fresh.

In the video, Science Saru director Abel Góngora explains, “I think the style is very special because it’s based on the comic but still has the touch of anime and Japanese designers. I think it’s a very beautiful mix of both. And, of course, it doesn’t look like other anime projects because the comic is Western.”

Character designer and executive animation director Masamichi Ishiyama is surprised he hasn’t seen more crossovers like this in the past. “When I heard Science Saru was going to produce Scott Pilgrim, I thought, ‘Oh, they’re finally doing American comics.'”

Mokochan, who directed episode three of the show, adds, “I was really surprised by the novelty of the fusion of Japanese anime-style expressions and American comic-style expressions. The characters are cute, and the style of movement is also interesting. I thought it would definitely be something interesting if it were made into an anime in Japan.”