You may ask yourself, while sitting down to watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, why am I watching this? Why did this need to be made? You may recall that Edgar Wright directed the film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic series in 2010, and was seen as a mild disappointment at the box office, but still garnered mostly positive reviews. You may also notice that the voices of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off are the same actors playing the same roles from the original film adaptation. You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. (Sorry.) So why make an animated series, when Wright injected so much energy and visual flair into a film that already felt like a live-action cartoon?

Fortunately, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is more than just an elongated version of the film. Though the first episode wouldn’t have you believe that, as it’s essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the film’s opening, complete with Wright’s pop-up infographics and video game aesthetics. In fact, aside from the characters and basic premise of the comic – Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must fight off the Seven Evil Exes, each with their own unique superpowers, in order to date his newest crush Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) – Scott Pilgrim Takes Off shares only a passing resemblance to Wright’s film.

The episodic format allows the show to explore ideas brought up in the film (if you couldn’t tell, I’ve never read the comic), like Ramona’s history with each of her Exes, and gives them more room to breathe. It also gives some much needed interiority to the lives of the Exes. One episode follows Roxie Richter (Mae Whitman), and her resentment towards Ramona after their breakup. One episode takes a sillier detour for a faux-documentary look at a movie being made about Scott’s first encounter with the League of Evil Exes.

What remains consistent across the show is the irreverent humor, best personified in Wallace (Kieran Culkin), Scott’s scene-stealing gay roommate. The voice cast, which also includes stars like Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick, and Chris Evans – stars who broke out even bigger after the film’s release – are uniformly terrific. It’s clear they all have a great deal of affection for the characters and the story. Never mind that they’re all 13 years older than the twentysomethings that they portrayed in the film; it won’t factor into your enjoyment of the show.

The animation from Japanese studio Science Saru looks very much like that of the comics, emulating the simplified style of a traditionally kid-friendly Japanese cartoon. Though it moves more deliberately, lacking the frenetic zip that most anime has. (This is not a complaint.) Lip dubbing is almost always inconsistent, as if it was originally made for Japan and translated to English – the credits list a Japanese voice cast as well – but it’s not a death knell. It remains one of the best looking animated shows of the year.

Projects like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off rarely work out, feeling more like a lazy cash grab than something worthy of your precious time. For all the glossy visual flare of the original film, there was a genuine message about being honest with yourself. The series contains an equally poignant message about regret, and the elongated format allows it to really explore that, to great benefit. Only time will tell if another season can or will be made of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, with or without the same voice cast, but this is a series worth investing in, whether you’re a superfan of the film, the comics, or neither.

The entire season of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off premieres on Netflix on November17.