Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Title: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim #2)

Author: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication Date: June 15th, 2005
Genre: YA, Graphic Novel

Scott Pilgrim is back and about to fight Ramona’s second evil ex-boyfriend, Lucas Lee. If he wants to date the mysterious Ramona Flowers, Scott will have to defeat her seven exes. Lucas Lee, skater and actor, dated Ramona in the ninth grade, and now Scott will have to defeat him. Will Scott triumph? Will he finally break up with Knives Chau, a self-professed Scott-aholic? Will Sex-Bomb-Omb make it big? And what will happen when Scott’s ex-girlfriend, Envy Adams, returns to Toronto with her band? When it feels like the whole world is against him, Scott will to step it up to be with the girl of his dreams.

In the sequel to Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim is currently dating two girls: the young and innocent Knives, and Ramona, who’s cool and mysterious but comes with tons of baggage. The story begins with a flashback to Scott and Kim meeting in high school, and at first I was a bit confused as to what was going on and why this was relevant. However, it was interesting to learn more about Kim and Scott. I thought that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World didn’t read as smoothly as Precious Little Life, since there were parts that were a bit confusing and rocky. However, it was still entertaining overall. It makes Canada (specifically Toronto) seem very cool. Which is refreshing, since it feels like all my non-Canadian friends are always making fun of Canada’s 'lameness' (apparently if you live in a country with children playing hockey on your five dollar bills, you’re asking to be made fun of.) There are battles at Casa Loma and the Toronto Reference Library and a gig at Lee’s Palace. I loved the drawings, especially since I’d been to most of the places in the book and knew what they were supposed to look like. The characters are just as quirky and charming as ever, and pretty much everyone is likeable (except the bad guys, obviously.) The plot was fast paced and original, making Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World a book that was a lot of fun to read. The sequel didn’t quite match the original, but it was still fresh and enjoyable. I will definitely be continuing with this epic and funny series.

4/5