Kara Dennison
March 31, 2023 
How appropriate… Scott Pilgrim will be getting an anime! The upcoming series will have a massive roster of people from the film adaptation attached. It will also be joining a proud—or at least interesting—tradition of other Western comics getting the anime treatment.
While we wait for the battle with the Seven Evil Exes to recommence, see if you can find these other anime adaptations. Some will be easy; others will take a bit more digging.
Mutant Turtles: Legend of the Supermutants
Like Scott Pilgrim, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been through many iterations. Starting as comic book heroes in 1983, the Turtles went on to star in cartoons, video games, live-action films, toy lines, and their own flavor of Hostess pudding pies. And in 1996, they got a two-episode anime. And it was. Really something.
These two episodes were based on the Supermutant and Metal Mutation toy lines, resulting in some absolutely wild power-ups. For example, the picture above. And then they could all fuse into a single entity known as Turtle Saint. Should you be able to find this short series, you’ll be treated to a Hironobu Kageyama theme song for your troubles.
Batman Ninja
What do Batman and Scott Pilgrim have in common? They’re fighting some absolutely wild rivals. Well, that and their status as anime stars. Bruce Wayne played ninja for one film, traveling back in time to stop the Joker from conquering feudal Kapan and remaking history in his image.
This 3DCG anime was produced by Warner Brothers and featured character designs by Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki. Fortunately this 2018 film is pretty easy to find online. So you can enjoy superhero action and time-travel antics on just about any streaming platform you have. Oh, did we mention Batman and Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop share a voice actor?
Marvel. Just… Marvel
Two years before Scott Pilgrim vs. the World came out, another little film was hitting theaters. That film was Iron Man, and it changed so much about the entertainment landscape… including the anime landscape. Because starting in 2010, we got a rapid-fire series of four Marvel-inspired anime: Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men, and Blade. The goal was to create a parallel universe for the popular characters: one that catered more to a Japanese audience.
This was followed by even more anime series and films, including a pair of movies made by Madhouse. Like Batman Ninja, you can find these on various streaming platforms.
Meet this season’s most powerful anime kids!
