Uncovering the Hidden Pop Culture Gems in the Scott Pilgrim Anime

The release of the Scott Pilgrim anime, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, on Netflix in November 17, 2023, created a sensation online. Serving as a spiritual sequel to the comic and movie, the series took the narrative in a fresh direction, placing a greater emphasis on Ramona and the perspectives of other characters.

In addition to the shifts in the storyline, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is packed with references, easter eggs, and a plethora of pop culture memorabilia for fans to uncover upon rewatching.

15 pop culture references in the Scott Pilgrim anime that make the series worth rewatching

1) Sonic the Hedgehog

The Scott Pilgrim anime contains several references to Sonic the Hedgehog (Image via Our Website)

Throughout the Scott Pilgrim anime, there are multiple references to Sonic the Hedgehog, beginning in episode 1. Scott's awkward attempt at small talk with Ramona includes mentioning the 90s Sonic cartoons Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog, and how Jaleel White (Steve Urkel in Family Matters) provided the voice for Sonic in both.

Michael Cera's portrayal of Scott in both the film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and the anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off adds an extra layer of humor. In episode 8, there is a reference to Sonic 3 when Ramona and her future self merge into Super Ramona, and both versions of Scott mention the Sonic 3 video game. Notably, Older Scott corrects himself after mistakenly referencing Sonic 2.

In the Scott Pilgrim anime, the reference in episode 8 alludes to the initial introduction of Super Sonic. Older Scott is actually accurate, as Sonic 2 is where Super Sonic first appears, if the player successfully navigates the secret levels and collects all the Chaos Emeralds.

2) Neon Genesis Evangelion

Two major Evangelion references in the Scott Pilgrim anime (Image via Our Website)

The Scott Pilgrim anime makes several references to various anime, but one surprising nod is to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The mecha franchise is referenced in episodes 4, 7, and 8, with episode 8 containing multiple references when watched in Japanese.

In episode 4, during the climax when Lucas Lee is skateboarding away from the ninja paparazzi, he crashes through a large matte painting of a giant version of Scott's half-obscured head, reminiscent of the giant Rei Ayanami at the end of The End of Evangelion.

3) The Tony Hawk video games

The Evangelion references take center stage in episodes 7 and 8, with the introduction of the AK (Anti-Kiss) fields that prevent Scott and Ramona from kissing. These fields bear a striking resemblance to the AT (Absolute Terror) Fields in Evangelion, which are protective barriers used by the Eva Units and Angels and share the same shape. Additionally, Fumihiko Tachiki, known for voicing Gendo Ikari, provides the Japanese voice for Older Scott.

Those who grew up with a PlayStation and the Tony Hawk games will find Scott Pilgrim Takes Off episode 4, also known as Whatever, to be a major nostalgic throwback. The use of the song United States of Whatever by Liam Lynch in the marketing for Tony Hawk's Underground and in Lucas' skateboarding montage across Glendale, California adds to the nostalgic appeal.

The ending skateboarding fight between Lucas and the paparazzi featured the song Police Truck by Dead Kennedys, which was a highlight of the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtrack. The use of music, angles, and references to skate culture in the Scott Pilgrim anime, such as Lucas Lee's room full of skateboards and the tricks he performs, pays homage to the games. Additionally, the inclusion of Superman by Goldfinger and references to Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne further highlight the appreciation for skate culture in the film.

4) Various music references and famous music

The Scott Pilgrim anime adaptation includes references to a variety of famous music, such as the rock ballad version of Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You" performed by Envy Adams at Scott's funeral in episode 2. Additionally, the end of the fight between Ramona and Roxie in episode 3 is accompanied by the humming of the song "Whistle Stop," known from Disney's Robin Hood and also popularized as the Hampster Dance song among Internet users.

5) Callbacks to the movie/comic

Black Sheep by Metric is performed by the crowd during a Clash at Demonhead show in episode 5. Additionally, all of the closing credit songs, with the exception of the Mortal Kombat remix, have been used in other contexts, such as Rain of Fire by Johnny Cash, Konya wa Hurricane by Kinuko Ohmori, and Scott Pilgrim by Plumtree.

The Scott Pilgrim anime's intro song by Edgar Wrong and Envy is featured in the series (Image via Our Website)

The fourth and fifth episodes of the Scott Pilgrim anime include references to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. These episodes are set on a film set attempting to recreate the events of the movie as per the screenplay given to Young Neil by Future Ramona. The result is a comical documentary highlighting everything that went wrong.

The episodes feature plenty of references and jokes that callback to the movie:

Director Edgar Wright has his name changed to Edgar Wrong.

Lucas Lee questions how anyone could be tricked into grinding on a rail to their death, referring to his own death in the movie.

The actresses playing Knives and Ramona are unsure of their characters' motivations, as neither of them knows they are dating Scott.

Upon discovering how easily he can be defeated in the first fight, Matthew Patel decides to shut down the production.

The audience eagerly joins in singing "Black Sheep" by Metric, the song that introduced Envy Adams in the movie.

The complete script becomes a crucial plot point later on, as Future Ramona attempts to disrupt Future Scott's plans using it. There are also references to the comic book, such as the first episode being titled 'Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life', which was also the title of the first volume of the graphic novel, and the movie they are filming in episodes 4 and 5. Throughout the show, there are numerous callbacks to the movie and graphic novel, particularly when Scott witnesses Future Scott's life in the Virtual Boy-style simulator, including the original fate of the Evil Exes.

6) Nintendo references

Two big Nintendo references in the Scott Pilgrim anime (Image via Our Website)

The movie Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is full of nods to Nintendo, such as the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda series appearing whenever a character is introduced. These references continue throughout the series, especially in Episode 7, also known as 2 Scott 2 Pilgrim. This episode includes more obvious nods to Nintendo, including a vault door designed to look like a Gameboy/Gameboy Advanced SP, and the use of the Virtual Guuy (a nod to the Virtual Boy) to showcase Future Scott's memories to Young Scott.

Detective Pikachu is mentioned by Present Scott while discussing famous detectives with Future Ramona, who had just mentioned Columbo. A real-life connection to a video game urban legend about Nintendo is made when it is revealed that Future Wallace's husband actually works at Nintendo, unlike the myth of "My Uncle Works At Nintendo."

7) Bubblegum Crisis

In episode 7 of Scott Pilgrim, a more obscure anime reference is made when Young Scott watches a music video featuring a remixed version of Konya wa Hurricane by Future Scott's new band. Fans of cyberpunk anime may recognize this as the opening to Bubblegum Crisis, a series from 1987.

The original song is even featured during the episode credits. Bubblegum Crisis, an anime heavily influenced by cyberpunk, incorporated a city-pop theme in its pilot episode. It's not unusual for a series to have music that contrasts with its content in the opening scene.

In interviews, co-writer BenDavid Grabinski revealed that he showed series creator Brendan O'Malley the film Streets of Fire, which inspired O'Malley's vision for Bubblegum Crisis. This led Grabinski to suggest the song for the scene, discussing how Konya wa Hurricane paid homage to and remixed the song Nowhere Fast from Streets of Fire.

8) Into the Woods

Two Into the Woods references in the Scott Pilgrim anime (Image via Our Website)

The Scott Pilgrim anime makes two references to Into the Woods. In episode 2, Knives accuses Ramona of killing Scott at his funeral, and in episode 6, Matthew Patel shows Knives and Stephen his old theater days performing a one-man performance.

The line "You're responsible, you're the one to blame, it's your fault!" that Knives Chau yells at Ramona at Scott's funeral is a direct quote from the ending verse of the song "Your Fault" from Into The Woods. The context of the musical is that everyone is assigning blame and nothing is being accomplished by doing so, much like how blaming Ramona for Scott's death doesn't help.

The next significant moment occurs when Knives and Stephen approach Matthew with an offer to star and produce Young Neil's script as a musical with him in the lead role, in episode 6. Matthew boosts his ego by presenting a one-man show he performed, in which he sang both parts of Agony. The context for Agony is Cinderella and Rapunzel's princes singing about how their lovers are just out of their reach, which Patel can relate to.

9) Columbo

The Scott Pilgrim anime made multiple references to Columbo. In the first episode, Ramona mentioned that she grew up watching Columbo reruns, indicating her preference for older shows. This reference also influenced the series, shifting it from a simple "beat the Evil Ex League" story to a detective narrative with Ramona taking the lead.

Columbo was mentioned for the second time in episode 3 when Julie sarcastically referred to Ramona as Columbo, but later became engaged when listing off suspects. Ramona then sought to eliminate suspects and stumbled upon clues, much like the titular detective.

A final reference to Columbo occurred when Future Ramona spoke to Young Scott in the future after he broke into her home with Future Wallace in episode 7. She mentioned Columbo as a famous detective who never gave up, in response to Young Scott saying that her past self never gave up on searching for answers about his disappearance.

10) Many movie references

Two movies referenced in the Scott Pilgrim anime (Image via Our Website)

The anime features numerous references to the Scott Pilgrim film, as well as other films. A notable example is Future Ramona's time travel skates, repurposed from an old DeLorean that can go back through time when she reaches 88 miles per hour (141 kilometers) in episode 7. Additionally, there are subtle references hidden throughout the series, such as Young Neil's room adorned with movie posters including nods to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Fight Club in episode 3. The fight scene between Roxie and Ramona spans various movie genres, transitioning from black-and-white detective films to wuxia films, yakuza films, and Westerns, before culminating in an adventure/war film with a plane being shot down.

The movie studio tour Young Neil takes Ramona on in episode 4 is filled with background movie references that flash across the screen, including ET escaping CDC agents, a blue King Ghidorah from Godzilla, the plant Audry II from Little Shop of Horrors, and a pink Xenomorph from Alien. The title of Episode 7, 2 Scott 2 Pilgrim, is also a nod to 2 Fast, 2 Furious from the Fast and Furious franchise.

11) Many video game references

The Scott Pilgrim anime references Street Fighter and Metal Gear Solid (Image via Our Website)

In addition to the overt Nintendo references, the Scott Pilgrim anime also heavily features other video games. The combination to enter Future Scott's VR Room in episode 7 is the Shoryuken or Dragon Punch Combo from Street Fighter. Even Older Scott in episode 8 is modeled after Street Fighter's Evil Ryu, with red eyes, darker skin, and a hatred for their counterpart.

The series' logo was designed to resemble the font used in Street Fighter. In addition, each episode title, with the exception of episode 7, is styled after various pixel art-age video game fonts. For example, Episode 1, also known as Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, features the Super Mario Bros font.

Episode 2, A League of Their Own, is styled in Street Fighter II's font, specifically the Champion Edition.

Episode 3, Ramona Rents a Video, is rendered in Bubble Bobble font.

Episode 4, Whatever, is modeled after Skate or Die's font.

Episode 5, Lights. Camera. Sparks?!, burrows a font style from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Mega Man games.

Episode 6, WHODIDIT, has its font modeled after the NES port of Pac-Man.

The finale of season 1, episode 8, aka The World Vs Scott Pilgrim, has its font modeled after Clash at Demonhead.

12) Many anime references

In another instance, in episode 2, during the altercation between Matthew and Gideon, the demon girls exclaim "He's on fire!" after Gideon is hit by a fireball on a basketball court. This is a clever nod to NBA Jam, where the famous catchphrase originated. Additionally, in episode 6, two Metal Gear Solid-style "Alert!" exclamation points appear over Ramona's head along with the corresponding sound effects.

References to anime are made throughout Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, as seen in this screenshot of the Gurren Lagann-inspired fight between Lucas and the paparazzi in episode 4. The intense clash of skateboards pays homage to the drill-based fights and clashes in the Studio Trigger anime.

The intense battle between Roxie and Ramona in episode 3 leaves them drained, lying side by side in the rain from the sprinklers of the destroyed video store. This scene bears a striking resemblance to Naruto and Sasuke's epic final fight in the Naruto anime, though thankfully without the loss of any limbs. Other nods to anime include Todd instantly transforming into his super form after eating a vegetable provided by Ramona in episode 8, reminiscent of the Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z. Additionally, the opening sequence closely resembles that of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, and Robot-01's attempted rocket punch against Even Older Scott is a homage to the older mecha anime Mazinger Z.

13) The guest stars

The majority of the original cast members from the 2010 film have already been mentioned. However, the guest stars may not receive much attention unless viewers carefully review the credits of the Scott Pilgrim anime. One of the most prominent guest stars is "Weird" Al Yankovic, who portrayed the Documentary Narrator in episode 5, introducing the documentary.

Will Forte, famous for his roles in Clone High and MacGruber, voices Old Scott and Even Older Scott in episodes 7 and 8. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, known for their roles in Shaun of the Dead, play the witty security guards on the movie set in episodes 4 and 5. Kevin McDonald, the voice of Pleakley from Lilo and Stitch, portrays director Edgar Wrong in episodes 4 and 5. Haruka Shiraishi and Seiichiro Yamashita, the Japanese voices of Rose Orina and Cid Kageno in Eminence in Shadow, portray a romantic high school couple in an anime Gideon and Lucas watch in episode 6.

Others include:

Kal Penn, aka Kumar from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, as Matthew Patel's lawyer.

Finn Wolfhard, aka Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things, voices Teen Scott Pilgrim in flashbacks.

Stephen Root, Bill from King of the Hill, voices the nanomachines that infected Scott in episode 8.

Kirby Howell-Baptiste, aka Kirby, Simone Garnett from The Good Place, playing Lucas Lee's manager in episodes 4 and 8.

14) The soundtrack

The soundtrack for the Scott Pilgrim anime contains several Easter eggs and references, which is unusual for soundtracks. Anamanaguchi, who worked on the soundtrack for the video game, also created the original soundtrack for the anime.

The Immortals created a parody of Mortal Kombat that is played during the credits of episode 8, featuring all the names of the cast and combatants, similar to the original song. They also performed the chiptune version of the classic love song "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys that plays during the Scott Pilgrim anime's epilogue. Additionally, references include "And They Were Roommates," which is a double reference to a writing trope about roommates becoming romantic partners, and "Yet Another Winter Again," a reference to the video game's soundtrack and a sequel to "Another Winter" from the game.

15) Famous people

Two famous people referenced in the Scott Pilgrim anime (Image via Our Website)

The Scott Pilgrim anime includes numerous nods to well-known figures. In episode 5, Young Neil is seen sporting a "Cronenberg for President" shirt, a reference to Canadian body-horror film director David Cronenberg. Meanwhile, Young Neil also strikes a pose reminiscent of Steve Jobs on the cover of his autobiography, which is turned into a screenplay by Ramona in episode 7. Steve Jobs is renowned for his role in founding Apple computers.

Final Thoughts

The closing credits of the last episode feature a touching tribute to Doug Sherwood, the production assistant who played a vital role in the final two volumes of the graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. His significant impact on the film is also acknowledged. Tragically, he passed away in January 2023, and the Scott Pilgrim anime is dedicated to his memory.

The Scott Pilgrim anime is packed with nods to pop culture, gaming, and anime. This is a common theme throughout Scott Pilgrim, with bands like S*x Bob-Omb, The Clash at Demonhead, and Crash and the Boys being named after video games.

It's clear that Brendan O'Malley and the rest of the team behind the Scott Pilgrim anime have a deep appreciation for pop culture, both past and present. As fans eagerly await news of a potential season 2, these hidden gems and references should encourage fans to revisit the series.

Editor's P/S

The Scott Pilgrim anime is a treasure trove of pop culture references and easter eggs that fans can discover upon rewatching. From iconic video game references to nods to classic anime, the series is a treasure trove of pop culture memorabilia.

The references to Sonic the Hedgehog, Evangelion, and the Tony Hawk games are just a few examples of the many pop culture gems hidden throughout the series. These references add an extra layer of enjoyment for fans who are familiar with the source material, and they help to make the Scott Pilgrim anime a truly unique and memorable experience.