Scott Pilgrim Takes Offtakes the famous graphic novel characters into a new animated world, The series revolves around its namesake, a Canadian slacker and musician, who starts up a relationship with an American girl, Ramona Flowers. Eventually, he is soon targeted by her seven, vengeful exes. Unfortunately for them, Scott is quite the fighter. However, the story takes a turn when Scott is apparently killed during his first fight.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
For fans who’ve watched the show, there are plenty of animated series from around the world with similar themes that they can enjoy. Considering the series is a U.S.-Japanese co-production that was nearly calledScott Pilgrim: The Anime, there are plenty of anime that fans may enjoy, even a few from the same crew. Being a series released on Netflix, there are even a few series already on the same platform that appeal to the series' fans. After all, Netflix even offers a few of its own recommendations after viewers watch the show.
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FLCL (2000)
FLCL, also known and pronounced asFooly Cooly, starts as a coming-of-age story about a boy named Naota Nandaba. His seemingly normal life is turned upside-down when he is run over by the Vespa-riding Haruko Haruhara, who revives him and hits him in the head with her guitar. Soon, Naota discovers his forehead has now become a portal for giant robots, all the while Haruko, who claims to be an intergalactic investigator, infiltrates his life.
Why Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Fans Will Enjoy FLCL
Over the years, it’s been noted thatFLCLwas an influence onScott Pilgrim, meaning fans of the latter series can appreciate the latter anime. Both are known for playing fast and loose with their series' universes and crafting surreal worlds.FLCLstarted as an OVA series but proved popular enough, especially in the United States, to eventually garner more series.
Stream on Adult Swim
Angel Beats! (2010)
Angel Beats!is an anime series that starts out in the afterlife, where Yuzuru Otonashi has no memory of his former life. Before passing on, Otonashi finds a hereafter resembling a high school. While there, a girl named Yuri Nakamura invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront, or SSS, who fight Angel, the mysterious student council president. Of course, fighting is tricky when no one can die. In time, Otonashi will soon learn the afterlife’s true purpose.
Why Angel Beats! Makes the List
Angel Beats!has quite a few shared elements with the Scott Pilgrim franchise. Both series play up the idea of a protagonist seeing the world around them as a game. For example, Otonashi refers to the other residents of his school, beyond the other SSS members, as non-playable characters. Moreover, the students fear they may one day turn into these NPCs.Angel Beats!also features a band, Girls Dead Monster, which, like Sex Bob-omb, allows the series to showcase musical performances. Ultimately, both works have themes of trying to live your life to its full potential.
Stream on Crunchyroll
The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)
The Legend of Vox Machinais an adult-animated series based around the first campaign of Critical Role, theDungeons & Dragonsweb series. The story revolves around the namesake traveling party as they encounter enemies and allies, all the while trying to shed their disaster-prone reputation. Various Vox Machina story arcs are adapted, starting with the Briarwood arc, in which Vox Machina aims to avenge the murder of the Whitestone rulers.
Why You Should Watch The Legend of Vox Machina
Scott Pilgrimis known for taking elements of video games into the real world, while The Legend of Vox Machina brings an RPG game into its own animated world. Both shows are also known for their dedicated voice casts, as members of the first campaign reprise their respective roles inThe Legend of Vox Machina. Thanks to composer Neal Acree,The Legend of Vox Machinahas also beennoted for its music.
Stream on Prime Video
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Love, Death, & Robots (2019)
Love, Death & Robots
Love, Death, & Robotsis an American-animated anthology series on Netflix. Each self-contained story blends elements of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Sometimes characters from other planets have adventures in space. Other times, characters live in a world that resembles our own, only for them to learn the world is much more complicated than they think, from tiny hidden worlds to secretly intelligent animals.
Why Love, Death & Robots Belongs Here
Both shows are Netflix animated series aimed at older audiences. The two series also blend realism with action, adventure, and fantastical elements. Both have also been noted fortheir voice casts. One of the most famous aspects of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is that the main cast from the film adaptation,Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, returned to voice their characters in the series.Love, Death, & Robotshas also beennoted for its guest stars. In fact, Ramona Flowers herself, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, appears in theLove, Death, & Robotsepisode “Ice Age.”
Stream on Netflix
Arcane (2021)
Arcaneis an animated series set in the League of Legends universe. A pair of orphaned sisters, Vi and Powder, grow up in the Undercity, a low-level area of the high-tech city of Piltover. Meanwhile, a crime lord known as Silco aspires to transform the Undercity into its own nation, while two inventors, Jayce and Viktor, hope to bring change to the city with a magic energy source. With all this going on, the sisters will soon witness conflict taking over their world.
Why You’ll Love Arcane if You Loved Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Arcanehas been praised for being enjoyable for viewers unfamiliar with the original games, while still having elements that fans of the franchise can appreciate. Ultimately, viewers who like to see the world of video games get explored in the world of animation can appreciate bothArcaneandScott Pilgrim Takes Off, whether it’s the mundane world becoming more like a game or characters in a game sharing their world with us.
Devilman Crybaby (2018)
Devilman: Crybaby
Devilman Crybaby, stylized asDEVILMAN crybaby, is an adaptation of the classic Go Nagai manga. Akira Fudo is a kind young man who reunites with a childhood friend, Ryo Asuka, who seeks his help in fighting demons. In doing so, Akira ends up fusing with the demon Amon. With Akira’s personality still in control, the once shy boy has become the powerful warrior Devilman. Soon, as Ryo’s true motives become clear, Akira will find himself at the center of an apocalyptic battle.
Why You Should Watch Devilman Crybaby
Devilman CrybabyandScott Pilgrim Takes Offactually have a few things in common in their backgrounds. Both make up part of Netflix’s adult animation shows, and both share an animation studio, Science SARU, with founder Abel Góngora serving asScott Pilgrim Takes Off’s director. In fact,Devilman Crybabyis considered one of the studio’s flagship shows. That said,Devilman Crybabyis notably darker in tone, being a dark fantasy, compared to the more comedicScott Pilgrimanime.
The Midnight Gospel (2020)
The Midnight Gospelis an adult-animated series released on Netflix, co-created by Pendleton Ward, the creator ofAdventure Time. The story revolves around Clancy Gilroy, who lives in the Chromatic Ribbon dimension. Thanks to his multiverse simulator, he is able to go on adventures in strange worlds, which comes in handy for his spacecast.
Why The Midnight Gospel Makes the List
Both Netflix series find ways to transform aspects of the real world into something fantastic and even surreal through the power of animation. Notably, Clancy’s interviews are based on real interviews, sampling audio from co-creator Duncan Trussell’s podcast,The Duncan Trussell Family Hour.The Midnight Gospelalso features a notable list of guests, from writers to radio and internet personalities. Both series are known for their animation, transforming what first appears to be simplistic, if charming, designs into something dynamic.
Related:10 Anime Movies to Watch on a Bad Day
My Daemon (2023)
My Daemonis a Netflix animated series that takes place in the near future. Earth collided with the forces of Hell, causing a young boy, Kento, to find and raise a small daemon called Anna. Unfortunately, Kento’s mother is killed in the crossfire when a bounty hunter tries to capture Anna. The two go on a journey to bring his mother back to life. Meanwhile, a strange organization has its eyes set on Anna.
Why My Daemon Belongs on the List
Much likeScott Pilgrim Takes Off,My Daemonis an international co-production between Thailand and Japan. While Kento is a young child, and the series focuses on friendship, the stories each feature a hero who becomes the target of dangerous, shadowy figures after a new character comes into his life. Ultimately, being a story about the importance of co-existence,My Daemonis darker in tone than the more comedicScott Pilgrimseries.
Pluto (2023)
Plutois an adaptation of the Netflix anime of the same name, a reimagining of theAstro Boycharacter of the same name, taking place in a world where robots and humans co-exist. The world’s seven most powerful robots and their human friends are targeted by a mysterious killer. Suspicion ends with a robot, but the world’s robots are programmed not to kill humans, who haven’t been spared by the supposed killer. A prominent robot detective, Inspector Gesicht, learns he might be an upcoming target.
Why Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Fans Will Enjoy Pluto
At first glance,Plutoappears to be the inverse ofScott Pilgrim, being a story where seven entities are targeted by one apparent assailant. Of course, through Gesicht, viewers also get into the mind of one of the scheduled targets. However, fighting and action take a backseat to a science-fiction-laden conspiracy thriller. That said, both works offer twists on characters from well-known comics.
Scissor Seven (2018)
Scissor Sevenis ananimated series from Chinathat was released on Netflix. Seven is an amnesiac barber who wants to become the world’s best assassin. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a good track record, whether thanks to his conscience or simply not having much talent for it. Seven does have one advantage: the Gai-Ba eggs, which transform him into any object, supplied by Dai Bo, a sunglass-wearing chicken. Of course, this is the start of the surreal happening in the series, with musician dogs and magic martial artists.
Why Scissor Seven Is a Must-Watch for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Fans
Scissor SevenandScott Pilgrimhave often been compared to each other. In both series, viewers get a fighting series that blends action with comedy with a cartoonish art-style. The setting of each series is a world where everyone appears to have some form of fighting skills. Both heroes even have a blue-haired love-interest who, at least initially, isn’t interested in him.
