You’ve seen Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, now watch these other great Science Saru anime

By James On Nov 26, 2023

Scott Pilgrim leaves, the anime adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s popular comic book series by studio Science Saru, premiered on Netflix last Friday. Produced and written by O’Malley and co-creator BenDavid Grabinski, Scott Pilgrim leaves deviates significantly from the source material, turning into an adaptation that simultaneously functions as both a sequel and a remake of O’Malley’s original comic.

If you are new to anime, Scott Pilgrim leaves may be your very first introduction to the work of Science Saru, the Japanese animation studio co-founded by Masaaki Yuasa and Eunyoung Choi. In recent years, Science Saru has built a reputation as one of the most memorable anime production houses of the past decade, thanks to a wildly idiosyncratic collection of films and TV series and Yuasa’s flair for expressive, comedic-focused animation.

If you’ve already watched the whole thing Scott Pilgrim leaves and are looking for something else to watch while you puzzle over what exactly that ending could mean for Scott and his friends, don’t worry: we just have the list in mind.

We’ve rounded up our favorite Science Saru anime for you, from compelling romantic comedies to macabre supernatural action dramas and more.

Time for adventure, “Food chain”

Image: Science Saru/Cartoon Network

Duration: 11m
Where to watch: Max

What better place to begin a journey through Science Saru’s strange and wild animation than the studio’s first production? This 11-minute episode of the beloved show, directed by studio co-founder Yuasa Adventure Time follows Finn the Human and Jake the Dog as they oversee a field trip to the Candy Kingdom’s Natural History Museum. After being transformed into birds by the mischievous Magic Man, the pair experience the circle of life firsthand as they transform into bacteria, plants, and eventually caterpillars that eat and are then eaten by larger birds.

It is a beautiful and trippy short film that ties in with the story Adventure Time‘s signature brand of surreal humor, while coming across as a great sampler for Yuasa’s particular approach to animated comedy and storytelling.

The night is short, walk on girl

A short-haired girl drinking soda by a river in Night Is Short, Walk On Girl.

Duration: 1h 32m
Where to watch: Max

The 2010 anime The Tatami Galaxy is widely considered Masaaki Yuasa’s magnum opus and one of the best anime to come out of Science Saru. The 11-episode anime, based on Tomihiko Morimi’s 2004 novel, follows the story of an unnamed student who, paralyzed by indecision, finds himself bouncing between multiple parallel universes as he relives his freshman year over and over again. Unfortunately at this time of writing The Tatami Galaxy is not available for streaming. But The night is short, walk on girlthe standalone spiritual sequel to the series, is as good a place to start if you’ve never seen a Science Saru anime before.

The night is short, walk on girl follows a hapless senior student at Kyoto University who plans to confess his feelings to his classmate during the school’s annual night festival. Unfortunately, the two become separated while taking in the local nightlife, creating two parallel storylines: a comedic pub crawl and an over-the-top series of mishaps and pranks. If there is one anime on this list that is closest to it Scott Pilgrim leaves in terms of comedy and premise it is this.

Keep your hands off Eizouken!

Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crispy roll

Keep your hands off Eizouken! found its way into our hearts and onto our list of the best anime of the year when it first aired in 2020. Based on the manga by Sumito Ōwara, the twelve-episode anime follows a trio of high school girls who form a bond form their mutual love for animation. The series follows the girls’ journey through the wild world of amateur animation, as they first form a ‘film club’ to circumvent resistance from their teachers and parents, before creating a short film to sell their first commercial anime project.

Besides being a wonderful anime in itself, Keep your hands off Eizouken! is a passionate tribute to the craft and dedication of traditional cel animation, putting a tireless focus on the struggle of taking a creative vision from idea to reality. Filled with brilliant fourth wall breaking sequences and charismatic characters, Keep your hands off Eizouken! is as entertaining as it is educational.

Devil man cry baby

Number of episodes: 10
Where to watch: Netflix

Long ago Scott Pilgrim leaves was even announced, Yuasa’s adaptation of Go Nagai’s apocalyptic superhero manga Devilish man was a breakout success for both Science Saru and Netflix when it debuted in 2018. An alternative modern retelling of the original story, Devil man cry baby centers on Akira Fudo, a lonely high school student who is transformed into a powerful human-demon hybrid shortly after reuniting with his childhood friend Ryo Asuka. A hyper-violent dark fantasy with intense action scenes and an ambiguous ending that toes the line between implicitly hopeful and explicitly nihilistic. Devil man cry baby is a modern classic that is highly recommended for fans of anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Chainsaw man, and the supernatural thriller anime X.

Inu-Oh

Duration: 1h 38m
Where to watch: Max

Masaaki Yuasa’s latest film is also, at the time of writing, his final production at Science Saru, after he announced his retirement from the company shortly before the film’s 2021 premiere. That doesn’t necessarily mean Yuasa will never direct another project with the film. studio again, but if so, Inu-Oh is a great way to end his time there. As critic Kambole Campbell noted in his review for Polygon, the film is “a psychedelic, bombastic rock opera that ponders what stories have been lost as the more controlling elements of society seek to control how art is made and distributed.” Music has always been a big part of Yuasa’s animation, and here that love for the tightly woven relationship between the visual and the musical erupts in a howling display of breathtaking scenes and pounding musical numbers. If you are looking for an anime that suits you Scott Pilgrim leaves‘s energetic beat, Inu-Oh is an easy recommendation.

The Heike story

Number of episodes: 11
Where to watch: Crispy roll

The Heike story is an underexposed entry in Science Saru’s oeuvre. That’s a shame, because it is a painfully beautiful series that more than deserves appreciation.

Directed by Naoko Yamada (K-On!, A quiet voice), this adaptation of the classic Japanese epic follows Biwa, a traveling orphan who is brought to the home of Lord Shigemori, a powerful lord whose servants murdered Biwa’s father. Framed as a classical tragedy, the series follows the members of Shigemori’s family as his empire crumbles from within, with Biwa documenting the various twists and turns of their destruction while playing her lute. The Heike story was one of the best anime of 2021, and for good reason: it’s a beautiful, complex story of power undone by hubris, with a delicate and beautiful art style and an evocative musical score.

Ping pong the animation

Number of episodes: 11
Where to watch: Crispy roll

Ping pong the animation is one of the best anime of the past decade. Based on Taiyō Matsumoto’s (Tekkonkincree) original manga, it follows the story of two young men: Yutaka “Peco” Hoshino, a cocky, confident high school student who is a local ping pong expert, and Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto, his reserved childhood friend.

The series follows the divergent lives of Peco and Smile, as the former is humiliated and ultimately forced to grapple with the limitations of living solely on pure talent, and the latter is brought out of his shell to realize his own potential as a ping pong player. to make. pong player. Animated entirely in Flash, the series is one of the most unique productions of its time: a coming-of-age psychological drama, brought to life with a quirky mix of misshapen lines and strange proportions that merge into an inspired display of visual and emotional stories. .