May I Ask for One Final Thing?

Episode 6

Is May I Ask for One Final Thing? going to end with Scarlet beating God to death with her bare, bloody fists? I can only pray that we would be so lucky to witness such a grand spectacle. For now, I suppose I will have to settle for gleefully awaiting the day that our heroine can thrash the tar out of the gods' priests and reincarnated vassals. It was fun to see Terenezza get clocked like a chump the first time. It will doubtless be much more satisfying to see what Scarlet will do when she's really out for the girl's blood.

Even if my appetite for deicidal carnage won't truly be complete until Scarlet is able to sprout wings and fly straight up to heaven to give the celestial powers-that-be their much deserved medicine, there is at least an Obviously Evil Pope whose nickname is literally just “The Scheming Social Climber,” so I have no doubts that Scarlet will have plenty of chaos to sow in her coming adventures. Truly, all of us are Julius in the moment he sees Scarlet's glistening gaze and thinks, “She wants to punch him~”

Given my track record for having almost no remaining patience for most of the modern power-fantasy slop that has flooded the market, you might wonder how I've not yet tired of the show's one perfect joke. Scarlet is obviously not the first anime protagonist whose entire shtick boils down to “Everyone assumes she is too weak to mercilessly melee her opponents into a thick pulp of shattered body parts; everyone is immediately proven wrong.” The difference, of course, is the fact that Scarlet has a discernible personality, and a deliciously gluttonous one at that. When our main character is clearly having just a hell of a great time beating down the defenses of the Palmian Wall, it's impossible for us to not join in the fun with her. It only gets better when the dub is constantly tossing out little gems like the one befuddled guard who responds to Scarlet's request for his weapon with history's most ineffectual “...No?”

Then there is the ever-increasing stable of deranged weirdos who are hopelessly infatuated with Scarlet's prowess. This week, we meet Dios, who somehow captures a similar vein of silky strangeness to what Julius and that Alflame guy are operating in while still coming across as a unique flavor of madness to add to the mix. The English dub director, Emily Fajardo, has very clearly understood the assignment of giving life to Scarlet's misbegotten harem. Every single one of these boys captures the essence of what my wife lovingly refers to as the “Cheeky Little Fucker” archetype. These are, of course, her absolute favorites, and I can only assume that plenty of the show's fans are eating just as good this season.

Scarlet is a worthy Queen of Blood, of course, so naturally she spreads the love across the whole of the gender spectrum, even if it is entirely against her own intentions. Diana is the typical, cute, little-sister-coded-but-also-obviously-crushing-on-the-protagonist type that balances out the cast nicely, especially since she's got a feisty side that she's more than willing to show to Julius. What I really like about her dynamic with Scarlet is that it shows off the depths of Scarlet's emotional intelligence. If Scarlet were your typical Potato-kun type, I reckon the show would play Diana's crush completely straight; hell, let's be honest and admit that it would almost certainly revel in the fanservice, age-gap be damned. While Scarlet is happy to cuddle with Diana and give her some much needed attention and care, the way she speaks to the poor girl comes across as much more measured and genuinely caring. I think Scarlet clearly understands how Diana feels, but she does a good job of establishing an appropriate boundary without being condescending or tone-deaf.

It's this sort of excellent writing that makes May I Ask for One Final Thing? such a delight to watch. Even if this episode was relatively light on the butt-whooping, it's got plenty of funny gags and a bunch of heart to spare. Diana is right about one thing, for sure. We all should be praying to our dear Saint Scarlet.

Episode Rating:

May I Ask for One Final Thing? is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.