Anime Spotlight #72: May I Ask For One Final Thing?
a.k.a. The Animeister.
Some people in my professional life have said some pretty soul-crushing things to me, about me, to my face this past week. That's slightly better than me being ignorant of things people say behind my back, I guess, but since punching them in the face is a terrible idea, and this is the last week of the Month Of Love, and it's best I move past my feelings in a professional manner, I'm glad I get to live vicariously through the protagonist of today's Spotlighted Anime.
The opening ("Senjō no Hana" by CHiCO & HoneyWorks)
and ending music ("Inferior" by Shiyui) are Anime Banger honorable mentions for being sugar-metal and melancholy trap, respectively, but the fairytale influences on the end credits animation were right up my alley.
When Scarlet (a bloodthirsty brawler of a Proper Lady who dresses in red—including seemingly blood-spattered earrings—because this series is endearingly unsubtle) is publicly dumped by her sadistic royal nepo-baby fiance under the influence of another woman, she snaps and makes a title-drop request to use her literally god-given Kenshiro-meets-Dio blessing (yes, this is one of those fantasy worlds where people have divine superpowers and magic, and the protagonist's blessing/skill/etc. is hilariously broken) to beat the shitty personalities off of everyone present, especially said pink-haired cuckolding heroine bitch.
In the process of sating her long-repressed appetite for socially just manual violence, Scarlet basically exposes her kingdom's version of the Epstein Files (religious corruption, various forms of interspecies slavery and trafficking, and more) and attracts the curiosity of her ex's older brother, Crown Prince Julius, with whom she develops something of an antagonistic romance as he accompanies her in investigating acts of social injustice and helps her escort a Saint on a pilgrimage to stop typical fantasy world threats (purify relics, defeat monsters, stop a multi-faction war, defeat an evil god, etc.) so he can watch Scarlet make sadistic faces while she "prepares and tenderizes the self-serving asshole meat-sacks" with her biker-gloved hands.
Though the hit-or-miss action animation (provided by Liden Films Kyoto Studio, who have worked on everything from the worst Berserk adaptation of all time and Gods' Games We Play to Hanebado! and Call Of the Night) immediately sets this series up as a shōnen battle comedy, but Scarlet's escapades attract the unwanted affections of a variety of male characters (including a beastkin puppy-boy, a horny prince from a rival kingdom and his pet dragon—whom she humbles with a single finger, and whom she possibly hears the psychic voice of near the end of the season, calling her "master"—a half-elf spy, her patron god, and two separate armies of male knights, to say nothing of the aforementioned female Saint who has bisexual romantic feelings for Scarlet and her borderline siscon brother), and her opposition by "the Pink Bietch" (who was selected by a jealous goddess to get isekai'd into the series' world as a visual novel heroine trope) give May I Ask For One Final Thing? a "villainess" subgenre twist for some cross-gender appeal.
As I said, the animation runs the quality spectrum between impact slideshows, rushdown flurries of blows, and cinematic ArcSys finishing moves, and detailed static character models aren't always a priority for Liden Films (the extras are just faceless blobs in a few scenes), so don't expect a masterpiece, but there are definitely way worse-looking and less entertaining ways to spend six and a half hours of your life (I was eight episodes deep on my first day before I felt tired, and I stopped only because I didn't want to sleep through anything important).
Speaking of bingeing, my only point of criticism is that, aside from the sadistic catharsis and spectacle of Scarlet punching rich, repugnant scumbags in the face and/or into space and/or into paste (I was joking in my Tales Of Wedding Rings post, but she actually does all three at various points throughout the season), May I Ask For One Final Thing? feels like it only has one joke with one speed of comedic timing (which I'm calling the "...What?" joke; you'll recognize it when you see it), and while it always landed with me in the moment (because this anime is entertaining and I'm interested enough to want to see where the print story goes beyond "Scarlet Final Smashes Pink Bietch into Spaieze"—her pet dragon Rex can talk maybe and the opening animation shows that there might be demons to contend with in the future), marathon viewing only draws more attention to how predictable the comedy can be.
Very engaging (marriage puns!) and therapeutic to watch (especially if you have some feelings about the current state of the world, because the messaging here is enjoyably unsubtle), the variety of fashion Scarlet has beyond "red dress and studded biker gloves" is impressive and beautifully designed, and the story blends several predictable, oversaturated genres in unique enough ways to keep the audience on their toes. Just remember to take a break if your mileage begins to vary.
Now, if I May Ask For One Final Thing (That's More Than One Final Thing), please share the love by Staying Tuned and remembering to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leaving a comment at the bottom of this post and any others you have feelings about, helping out my ad revenue as you read so I can stop requesting favors, and following me on BlueSky, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my content.
96
Animeister,
Out.
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