May I Ask for One Final Thing?

Episodes 1-4

May I Ask for One Final Thing? was one of my favorite series to debut during this Fall's Preview Guide. Launching the show with two episodes at once was absolutely the right call, too. The excellent first episode introduces us to our bloodthirsty heroine of justice, Scarlet El Vandimion, and tells us the tale of how her natural instinct to kick the shit out of scummy nobles was curtailed and suppressed for years in an effort to do her family proud and succeed as the fiance to the hideously pathetic Prince Kyle von Paristan. Kyle royally screws up when dumps and humiliates Scarlet in favor of his new lady love, the scheming Terenezza Hopkins, though, because that allows the Bloodstained Lady to finally cut loose in Episode 2, unleashing years' of pent-up whoop-ass on an entire ballroom of brown-nosing slave traders and ladder climbers. It is glorious.

Episode 2 is also where Scarlet survived the attempted assassination at the hands of an abused catboy maid named Nanaka, which is what leads us directly into the arc that the next two episodes have covered. Scarlet is not satisfied with just one orgy of broken bones and splattered blood, you see. The “Final” part of her request to coldcock Terenezza onto her delicate and well-powdered keister was a purely ornamental turn of phrase. Her world is full of so much injustice, and her craving for ultraviolence runs deep into the marrow of her bones. Men like Prime Minister Godwin are still out there, abusing the enslaved races and cackling over their ability to run rampant above the law. There are so very many blue-blooded asses that are in need of immediate and merciless thrashing.

I should probably point out that I intend to watch the dubbed version of May I Ask for One Final Thing? whenever I can, because you can tell that the entire localization team is having way too much fun with this assignment. The subtitles are excellent too, of course, and the Japanese cast is reveling in the lunacy of this premise just as much, but I cannot help but appreciate the English cast's ability to play up the sillier turns of phrase that their scripts are peppered with. I will never tire of hearing Morgan Lauré so confidently declare that she will thrash ass and knock out this or that bitch. I also have to commend Reagan Murdock's turn as Prince Julius, what with how he emulates Wataru Katō's too-cool-for-school purr and adds on a thick layer of ASMR smarm. It's like if an especially flirtatious V-Tuber became the heir to the royal throne (in a good way!).

To be honest, my favorite parts of these most recent two episodes all involved Julius and Scarlet's simmering banter, which is surprising, because I didn't expect the show to commit this hard to the pair's (admittedly inevitable) romance so early on. The slick bastard actually steals a kiss on the cheek that leaves Scarlet reeling, and by the time they've sneaked into the Prime Minister's slave auction, he's even convinced Scarlet to pledge her undying loyalty to him. Sure, this is all still technically under the guise of her letting him watch while she beats the ever-loving piss out of the rotten core of the kingdom's nobility, but even dearest brother Leonardo understands the score. I was not expecting to be outright shipping this pair at this stage in the game, but I'm honestly all for the Scarlius Revolution. That eager-beaver dragon rider guy that can withstands the might of Scarlet's fists and kicks is a pretty cute runner-up, though…

Funnily enough, with the writing being so sharp and the characters being so entertaining, the only real complaint I have for Episodes 3 and 4 involves the action. It isn't bad, because the context of Scarlet's ass-kickery is still so amusing in and of itself. You'll never convince me to have a bad time if Scarlet is taking down a dragon with her almost-bare hands and flinging around slave-trading one-percenters like she was Neo fighting and army of Smiths in The Matrix. Unfortunately, the animation takes a very noticeable hit in these episodes compared to the first two, with awkward storyboarding and clumsy edits only highlighting the dip in production values. There are still decent cuts to be found throughout, but they are much less consistent.

It's a shame, but it's also and all too predictable pattern for productions to follow these days. The good news is that the story being told in May I Ask for One Final Thing? is a legitimately interesting one, and I already love the cast. Plus, there are even compelling twists, like Terenezza bringing firearms into the world using the knowledge she has as a reincarnated Earthling, which is a spin on the villainess/isekai formula I'd love to see more often (but not, like, so often that the entire industry starts to choke on the rotting meat of a long dead and beaten horse, okay?). Even if the show might not ever look quite as good as it did in that premiere again, I have faith that the Bloodstained Lady will bring the pain and the entertainment in equal measure throughout the coming weeks.

Episode 1 Rating:

Episode 2 Rating:

Episode 3 Rating:

Episode 4 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.