Ramona Flowers is no longer the prize
We’ve all seen the movie. Or read the books. You know the drill: Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, she has baggage, and he has to punch that baggage until it turns into coins. For years, the story was Scott’s. Ramona Flowers was the enigma, the girl with the changing hair and the subspace suitcase who mostly existed as a goalpost.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off flipped the table.
Honestly, the biggest shock wasn't just Scott "dying" in the first episode. It was the realization that we were finally going to see Ramona as a person rather than a plot point. In the original series, she’s often reactive. She’s running away from Gideon, running away from her past, and letting Scott do the heavy lifting. In this 2023 Netflix remix, she’s the detective. She's the one actually doing the work.
The mystery of the missing himbo
When Matthew Patel actually wins that first fight—which, let's be real, he probably should have in the original too—the timeline fractures. Scott vanishes. Everyone thinks he’s dead. But Ramona? She feels "sparks."
It’s a bit of a rom-com trope, but it works here because it drives her into a whodunnit. She’s not waiting for a knight; she’s tracking down her exes to see which one of them kidnapped her new crush. This shift in perspective is everything.
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Instead of Scott fighting the exes to "win" her, Ramona confronts them to find him. It changes the dynamic from a conquest to a journey of accountability.
Confronting the past (literally)
The exes in this version aren't just boss fights. They are people Ramona actually hurt.
Take Roxie Richter. In the film, their relationship is basically played for a joke—a "sexy phase" that Scott is weirdly into. It’s dismissive. In Takes Off, their confrontation in the video store is raw. Roxie is genuinely heartbroken because Ramona didn't just break up with her; she vanished.
- Ramona actually apologizes.
- She admits she was a coward.
- They find closure that doesn't involve someone exploding into loonies.
Then you have Lucas Lee. Instead of him skating to his death because of a "trick" Scott played, he and Ramona actually talk. He’s a sell-out actor with a fragile ego, but she helps him escape the paparazzi. They have a moment. It’s weirdly sweet.
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Basically, the show suggests that most of these "Evil Exes" were just people who didn't know how to handle a breakup with someone as flighty as Ramona. And Ramona didn't know how to stay.
That wild ending with Old Scott
The reveal that Old Scott was the one who kidnapped Young Scott is a massive meta-commentary on the franchise. Future Scott is bitter. He’s a gym rat who hates that his marriage with Ramona failed, so he decides to stop the relationship before it starts.
It’s the ultimate "toxic fan" move. He wants to preserve a version of reality where he doesn't get hurt, even if it means erasing the good times.
But the real kicker is Even Older Ramona. When she shows up, she’s not just a future version of the character; she’s the embodiment of growth. The way she merges with her younger self to become Super Ramona? That’s not just a power-up. It’s a literal representation of accepting every version of yourself—the mistakes, the blue hair, the pink hair, the regret.
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Why this version is better for 2026
Looking back at the original story now, Scott dating a high schooler (Knives Chau) is... a lot. The anime doesn't ignore this. It leans into how messy Scott is. But by making the story about Ramona, it moves away from the "male power fantasy" and into something more about emotional maturity.
Ramona isn't a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" here. She’s a 24-year-old delivery girl who has been treated like an object by almost everyone she’s ever dated—including the audience. By giving her the lead role, Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski effectively "de-objectified" her.
What you should do next
If you've only seen the movie, you're missing half the story. The anime is a conversation with the original fans. It’s a way of saying, "We've grown up, and the characters should too."
- Rewatch the 2010 film first. It makes the twists in the anime hit ten times harder.
- Pay attention to the background characters. In Takes Off, characters like Knives and Envy Adams get actual arcs that don't revolve around Scott.
- Listen to the soundtrack. Pop ETC and Anamanaguchi killed it, and the music often tells you more about Ramona’s internal state than the dialogue does.
The series proves that you can revisit a "classic" without just lazily repeating it. It’s a masterclass in how to do a reboot right. Ramona Flowers finally got her flowers, and it turns out she’s a much more interesting person when she isn't just someone's girlfriend.
Go back and watch Episode 3 again. Specifically the fight with Roxie. It’s the moment the show stops being a comedy and starts being a character study. That’s where the real magic happens.