Happy Thursday BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers! This is Pop Culture, uh, Thursday. I know this segment usually comes out on Wednesday, but I had an exam yesterday and couldn’t really justify working on this when I could instead use my time to study. Regardless, here it is, better late than never.

How have I not talked about this yeeeeeeeeeeet!!? Seriously, the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley is one of my all time favorite franchises. I genuinely love everything about this property from the comics, to the movie, to the video game, to, last but not least, the music. Every aspect of this franchise is incredible and I believe that everyone should experience it in some form or another.

Alright, enough of me hyping it up. It’s time to get down to the details. The Story of Scott Pilgrim focuses on, you guessed it, Scott Pilgrim. He’s an early twenties slacker who spends most of his time playing video games and practicing with his band, Sex Bob-Omb (if you know what a Bob-Omb is, congratulations, I love you). Scott Pilgrim is not the brightest, the most talented, and he’s also kind of an asshole, but that’s why we love him. Scott Pilgrim is more or less a love story and it is immensely refreshing to have a main character in a love story that isn’t perfect.

The receiver, and mostly reciprocator, of Scott’s feelings is Ramona Flowers. A beautiful and mysterious Alt. girl who has lived just enough of life to be weary of romantic relationships and has way too much experience dealing with guys like Scott. Despite this, Scott convinces her to go on a date with him and they both realize super quickly that they are both way into each other.

This is where the story starts to get more complex. Both of these individuals have a ton of baggage that they both try to ignore, but nevertheless continuously bombard the both of them throughout the story. Without getting to spoiler-y, here are the bare bones. When Scott went on his date with Ramona, he was cheating on his girlfriend, Knives Chau. Knives is seventeen years old and CRAZY infatuated with Scott. Scott eventually breaks up with her, but she does not take it well. Ramona’s baggage consists of Seven Evil Exes. that Scott has to defeat in order to continue dating her.

That previous sentence actually sums up a lot of the charm that makes Scott Pilgrim such a great franchise. In every relationship, there are struggles and problems that the couple has to overcome. In most stories about relationships, these issues are usually presented as some vague, metaphors. In Scott Pilgrim, the main character literally has to go through seven boss battles to strengthen his relationship and work out his own baggage. The series also does not place romantic issues on a pedestal, like many other love stories. This story is also about Scott learning how to be an adult and how to stop letting his negative past experiences define him as a person.

These issues are also dealt with in a charming and original ways. For example, just as Scott is forced to talk to his ex-girlfriend in an attempt to gain closure, he laments the fact that he was not able to save before the encounter, as he expects it to go poorly and would appreciate the safety net of a do over. The entire world of Scott Pilgrim is filled with video game and nerd culture references. At times characters pull incredibly large weapons out of bags that have no logical business being able to hold them and, in other instances, characters complain about not being able to use certain items, like skateboards, because they they did not pick that skill set in grade five.

Scott Pilgrim not only tells an incredibly well written story about two people trying to make a relationship work and simultaneously deal with their own issues,  but also creates am incredibly interesting world that’s saturated with nerd culture, that I personally would love to live in. That being said, this franchise is not for everybody. However, I would venture that if you took the time read this article or anything I’ve written on BaddaBing BaddaBlog (for which you have my undying gratitude), you are going to like Scot Pilgrim and you should start reading it ASAP. Seriously, go buy a copy or order one from Amazon. Order the complete series from Amazon and then sit in front of your door waiting for them to deliver it. It’s totally worth it.

Alright guys, that just about raps up me gushing about the incredible Scott Pilgrim franchise. If you like this please denote that down below and leave a comment while you’re there. Also, if you wish to subscribe to this blog, you can do so in the upper right tab, via email. Alternatively, you can stay up to date by liking the official BaddaBing BaddaBlog Facebook Page, or by following me, @LucasDeRuyter, on Twitter. I hope you guys have a great Thursday and be sure to come back here tomorrow for the latest installment of News for the Mighty, News of the Week.

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