THE STORY OF SCOTT PILGRIM HAS always existed in a strange little pocket of time, one that seems perpetually on the brink of techno-modernity, and this continues to be true in its latest incarnation. In the new anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the world has spun on and the cultural references have been updated, but computers are still loud, blocky, charming things. Grimy music venues and video-rental spaces remain present in Scott’s Toronto, though you do feel a greater sense of their precarity. The future is encroaching, but he doesn’t care. After all, he’s still dating a high-schooler when he meets the girl of his dreams.
Published by Oni Press across the aughts, the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels bottled a vibrant feeling of being young and wayward in that cuspy Gen-X era. Written and illustrated by Bryan Lee O’Malley (with later rereleases inked by colorist Nathan Fairbairn), the books followed the journey of a sweet but self-centered 20-something dirtbag who falls in love with the effortlessly cool Ramona Flowers and ends up having to fight her seven evil exes. Along the way, he learns to see beyond himself or at least in that general direction. The stickiness of Scott Pilgrim has a lot to do with how the series captures the mess of being in your 20s, but its je ne sais quoi lies in the texture of its setting, a mundane Toronto that’s cut with literalizations of video-game and manga references. Despite possessing the lanky frame of an indie bassist, Scott happens to be a great fighter who’s constantly getting into scuffles straight out of Dragon Ball. Defeated antagonists explode into a mist of video-game coins. Ramona is a Rollerblading courier who uses Scott’s subconscious as an extradimensional superhighway to shorten delivery times.
Denne historien er fra November 20 - December 03, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra November 20 - December 03, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Wonk in Full- Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention.
Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention. Ezra Klein, who is known to keep his passions in check, did not have the right credentials to get into the arena. The Secret Service didn't recognize the New York Times' star "Opinion" writer and podcaster, but eventually he was able to figure out how to get in to where he belonged. This was, after all, as much his convention as any journalist's, since its high-energy optimism turned on the fact that President Joe Biden was no longer leading the ticket and, starting early this year, Klein had led the coup drumbeat.
The Afterlife of Donald Trump - The presidential hopeful contemplates his campaign, his formidable new opponent, and the miracle of his continued existence.
Donald Trump raised his right hand and grabbed hold of it. He bent it backward and forward. I asked if I could take a closer look. These days, the former president and current triple threat-convicted felon, Republican presidential nominee, and recent survivor of an assassination attempt-comes from a place of yes. He waved me over to where he sat on this August afternoon, in a low-to-the-ground chair upholstered in cream brocade fabric in the grand living room at Mar-a-Lago.
Danzy Senna Can't Stop Thinking in Black and White
Her latest novel holds diminishing returns.
Live, Laugh, Love
Dick jokes meet sentimentality in a wily Sandler-Safdie collab.
Tim Burton Is Great Again
A long-awaited sequel revels in gore and nostalgia.
In the Shack With Robert Caro
The Power Broker is turning 50. The final LBJ book is almostwell, he won't say exactly, but he's trying for 900 words a day.
24 Comedians You Should Know RIGHT NOW
THE COMEDY industry is undergoing a metamorphosis in 2024. Name-brand venues like the Second City and UCB are opening or reopening in New York, beloved local spots are being bought out by megacorporations, and streaming-service-helmed comedy festivals are usurping the old-fashioned ones. Post-WGA strike, TV-development execs are growing green-light-shy, Hulu is entering the stand-up fray, and YouTube specials are becoming just as worthy of watching as Netflix specials, if not more so.
Leading Lady
Anna Sawai could take home the Emmy for her performance in Shogun. But she's keeping her cool.
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The Frenchette crew has taken over the 87-year-old restaurant, and the snails are as garlicky and the duck as pink as ever.
DESIGN HUNTING: A LOFT WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE
Ali Richmond, co-founder of the nonprofit Fashion for All Foundation, has lived in this Brooklyn loft for almost 20 years with his archive of designer clothing.
