If you came here for another scathing review about the dumpster fire that is One Punch Man season 3, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. While I did watch it, I don’t think there’s anything I can say that hasn’t been said already. Instead I want to talk about another anime that involved punching, which I did enjoy very much: May I ask for one final thing?
A young Scarlet El Vandimion has been betrothed to the second prince of the Kingdom of Pallistan since childhood. But her prince turned out to be a real piece of work throughout his youth. That’s what you get for naming your son Kyle, I suppose. At a party for nobles he announces that he’s breaking the engagement with Scarlet, who has been silently bearing with his abuse. Now free from her shackles, she asks for one final thing. To punch both prince Kyle as well as his new girlfriend, Terenezza in their faces. She dons her punching gloves – which have studs on the knuckles because we don’t do things half-assed here – and punches the crap out of the many nobles in attendance as well as prince Kyle and Terenezza.
This show really shines when it does exactly what it promises at the start. Scarlet punching the crap out of people who are written to be disliked is a very satisfying plot hook that is definitely a breath of fresh air. We have many villainess anime where someone is transported to another world to be the villainess, but to have the actual villainess beat up the person from another world for being a whiny person is a new one to me. Together with prince Julius (Kyle’s older brother) and the weredog Nanaka, this trio deals with all sorts of trouble throughout the kingdom as Terenezza is plotting to take over the entire place with her newly founded religion.
Where this show falls off a little bit for me is when we get into the second half and we start to actually develop a plotline about wars, alliances and different gods and powers. If I’m perfectly honest, the storylines surrounding that are rather boring, but the show manages to quickly regain your attention by having Scarlet ignore all protocol and just beat the crap out of whoever is in their path. Julius’ annoying provocations and the despair of Scarlet’s older brother about having to deal with his little sister add some nice light comedy to the show. With solid art, vibrant colors – especially when it comes to Scarlet’s design, who embodies the color that her name suggests – and decent animation, this show stands out above similar shows for me. If you like a show that doesn’t require you to do much thinking, but has some very satisfying moments, then I would highly recommend you check out May I ask for one final thing?. If only to get rid of the bad aftertaste that One Punch Man season 3 left. Thanks for reading.
Opal Kaharis 