Customer Reviews

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Scott Pilgrim books are in a class by themselves. There is so much to laugh at in each one but the surprising thing is how much there is that will move you. Even the most minor characters become like old friends when you read this incredible series.

Book 5 is the most serious one yet, dealing with Scott and Ramona settling into life together. My favorite character, Kim Pine, finally gets her chance to shine in this volume. Her actions in the final battle....wow Kim, just wow.

I don't want to give any details for fear of ruining the delight you will get reading it yourself, but there is a cliffhanger that will make you curse the year long wait until the final book that brings the series to a close.

I cannot recommend these books enough. If you are between the ages of 13-45 this is guaranteed to become one of your favorite books. Not to diss the older folks I'm almost 40 myself), all the pop culture references may be lost on those people who weren't raised with a video game console in their house. But there is enough heart in these books for anyone to get a lot of them.

But this book!

Here we have what is said to be the second to last volume in the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels. Scott still has to defeat three more of Ramona's evil exes, and he faces off with two of them here (they are twins). Scott is marginally more mature now, but that doesn't make his actions any less funny. Looking forward to the conclusion!

Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe is definitely one of the books that you can finish in an hour if youve been following Scott Pilgrim from the beginning. The books is as usual, filled with hilarious dialogue, an interesting action packed feature of Scott and robot fighting, and finally more evil ex-boyfriends.

If this was your first entry into the Scott Pilgrim universe then I would definitely, after reading this, urge you to go back to the first book. However, the author does a great job at providing a refreshing review of what happened in the previous books. All the characters arent included in the review but when they appear in the story a brief cutway or side discussion discusses their part.

To close away this one is a fast read. As I usually suggest for the books that are a fast read, you may want to reread it. The only flaw is that at times the characters are a bit hard to make out and you have to really follow them to see who exactly is speaking in scenes that may have just two or three of them. Fortunately Ramona is always easy to pick out because of her bag, Scott is too.

Also this one I like because of several of the scenes with Scott. The author did a great job with his design, mainly in the area of some of the panels with only a portrait of Scott. They are hard to describe but they are definitely memorable.

Definitely pick this up and as usual have fun rereading them all as we wait for the next one, since they all always end on two huge cliffhangers.

"Scott Pilgrim" is an odd little comic, brilliantly summing up the experience of a generation (that would be Gen Y) in the most appropriate way possible: with rock and roll, superheroes, and video games. I'm about the same age as Scott (he ages slower than I do, sadly) and his situation feels familiar: out of college, going nowhere, and generally trying to find his way. English majors could read in many layers of subtext and symbolism as Scott fights his way through his girlfriend's evil exes and turns his otherwise humdrum little life into an ongoing game, which he has to win to survive.

In the first volume, Scott meets Ramona Flowers, a delivery girl who uses the subspace corridor in Scott's head. He's instantly in love, but it takes a while (until Volume Four) for Ramona to realize she loves him too. He defeats the first four of her evil exes, gaining experience points along the way. One of the most genius moves on the part of Bryan Lee O'Malley, artist and writer, is to make the martial arts duels an ordinary part of everyone's daily lives -- background characters will even express boredom as another fight breaks out in front of them.

Volume Five sets up the final book -- and the long awaited climax with the final boss, Gideon -- with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger. Scott has to fight a pair of twins, but that's secondary to the rocky path his relationship with Ramona has taken. Ramona transcends her initial status as the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl and turns into a complex character who might not be who Scott thinks she is. Mr. O'Malley's artwork is more polished than earlier volumes but just as detailed, and he's getting better and better at capturing gestures and facial expressions in his distinct style. The series always balanced the silly video game influences with the more grounded and serious story of its protagonist, and this book really benefits from a darker mood. Expectations for Volume Six are very, very high.

Admittedly, for fans of Scott Pilgrim, the previous volumes are hard to top. I, personally, think that the revelation of vegan powers for Todd Ingram will never be equalled. There will be many that find this latest volume a disappointment as the pace seems to slow and the fight scenes take a back seat to real emotional resonance. I disagree and think this downbeat interlude will be essential to the arc of the entire story.

This is Ramona Flowers's volume and from finding out she's changed her hair--we know something has changed, but the mystery of her funk, the return of her glow, and the truth behind her relationship with the series' big bad, Gabriel, is more than enough to keep a reader flipping the pages. This book features the best gag I've seen employing the ubiquitous cell phone camera and does a great job of ratcheting up the dread associated with Scott's upcoming confrontation with Gabriel and the conclusion of the series.

You've gotta read this and the cover is all shiny like its a 90s comic book, too!

This is definitely my least favorite Scott Pilgrim to date. I love all the others: Precious Little Life and The Infinite Sadness are the funniest and the other two are also very good. Scott Pilgrim VS the Universe, however, just gets off to a slow start. I didn't laugh at all for the first half of the book, just chuckled here and there. Luckily, the second half of the book is much better. The hilarity seems to pick up in the latter half, and the ending is SUPERB. Someone else on here says the book "left you wanting more" as if that were a bad thing. It does leave you wanting more, but in a good way. After each of the other books, I was very excited to read the next to see what would happen, but once I get to the last page of this volume, I almost got depressed because I know I have to wait so many long months before the next issue comes out.

So yes, this issue is not the best we've seen, but as far as getting you excited to see the next issue, this one trumps the others. The character interaction in the second half is better than anything the series has shown us thus far.

I don't really know why I am writing this, as anyone who would likely be interested in book five has already read books one through four and knows if they like Scott Pilgrim or not. And because I've never met anyone who was anywhere in between straight up loving it or flat out hating it, I assume that anyone still reading this already loves the series. So just get it already.

The Scott Pilgrim series is an absolutely awesome storyline and I highly recommend it to anyone with a geeky side, especially if you enjoy video games. I also recommend watching the movie if you haven't seen it :P

Books came in and on time, but there was a black greasy substance on the books...ink perhaps? but got all over the books and my other order.

This is a great volume, but things tend to get a little depressing in this one, so i can see why this is some peoples least favorite volume, but this might actually be my second favorite (vol. 6 being the best)

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe / 9781934964101

I've really been liking the Scott Pilgrim series so far -- I love the thoughtful characterization and the exploration of "growing up" in those later young adult years when you're not quite a kid but not quite feeling like an adult either -- but I will admit that some of the earlier volumes have been a little slow-paced for my tastes. This volume, however, is a thrill ride from beginning to end and probably my favorite of the series so far.

If things seemed rosy at the end of the last volume ("Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together"), this volume is here to turn all that around and curb stomp your heart into a mass of quivering sadness. In following the developing theme that you can't run from your problems because they'll always catch up with you, quite a few of Scott's previous bad decisions start to catch up to him here, including his poor handling of his Knives/Ramona switch-over from the beginning of the series. The storyline in this volume is fast paced and tight, and it's impossible for Ramona and Kim *not* to steal the show -- it's easy to see why Kim especially is such a fan favorite after her stellar role in this volume.

Another thing I really liked about this volume is the continued evolution of the artform. There's a lot of cute "anime-esque" panels that really fit nicely with the overall video game theme, and it's really nice to see an artist improve and expand their repertoire over time. The regular art style is noticeably clearer and darker to me now, too -- outfits especially seem to really pop and the overall feel is very nicely done and professional.

If you've been with the Scott Pilgrim series so far, I am fairly confident you'll like this volume. The pace has really picked up, and it's nice to see Scott being forced to confront and deal with his bad decisions up to this point. The characterization development of Ramona and Kim is well worth exploring, and overall I enjoyed this volume immensely.

~ Ana Mardoll