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May I Ask For One Final Thing? Makes for A Smashing Anime Premiere

May I Ask for One Final Thing? was third in line during Crunchyroll's second round of premieres at Anime NYC. About a third of the audience in attendance had left the panel room at that point, and I can't blame them. It was early on a Saturday morning, and these premieres weren't exactly the weekend's hottest ticket. It is a shame things emptied so quickly, since that crowd had missed out on what I'd consider the most promising debut episode of any anime shown. Despite this show's title being in the form of a polite question, there's nothing mannerly about a woman who solves her problems by smashing people into walls. And I'm kind of here for it.

One Final Thing focuses on Scarlet, a young lady whose prince fiancé broke off the engagement after he got enough of her. The twist is that the prince is the villain, an abusive partner to Scarlet, whose ultra-bratty sense of entitlement has him treating her like property. Most of the episode is told through flashback to explain the origin story, bookended by scenes of Scarlet dropkicking her husband and her cronies.

The action scenes that make up this episode's beginning and end aren't technical wonders, but having her whoopings set to classical music makes them feel like they have a bigger punch than they actually do. It doesn't reach the same heights as DAN DA DAN, which mixes musical elegance with cartoony violence, but that's fine. There's something about One Final Thing's juxtaposing ultraviolence with classy music that gave off the necessary A Clockwork Orange vibes, which are light here but still enough for my satisfaction.

It's revealed that this isn't the first time Scarlet threw hands against someone. The first segment of the episode's flashback reveals that Scarlet's been fighting since she was little--a brief scene has her as a child smiling ear to ear while caked in blood, all after beating up some poor shmuck who happened to get in her way. Speaking of people who throw punches, her prince fiancé is named Kyle, a name that the Internet tells me is associated with people who punch holes through walls out of frustration. Ironically enough, we never see Kyle punch through drywall, but certainly Scarlet takes more than a crack at it.

I found the first episode of One Final Thing entertaining, but not great. This was made clear to me when the first five minutes revealed a fantasy world filled with blue bloods and castles we've seen a million times over. The animation and direction aren't something to write home about either. However, my biggest personal gripe is with the character designs' lack of effort. Scarlet looks like a frostier Saber from Fate, Prince Kyle looks like a de-horsified, genderswapped Tokai Teio from Uma Musume if you squint hard enough. This show is Database-pilled, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Still, even if I don't expect this show to be great, I at least expect it to be a nice little side dish to complement your share of other action-y anime. Besides, there is a lot to be said about having an elegant woman trying to punch and kick her problems in some way. Who knows? It might actually slap. At least in more ways than one.

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ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2025 is sponsored by Yen Press!