Engage Kiss | First Impressions.

Yandere types have always been hit or miss for me. Furthermore, the whole concept behind Engage Kiss is questionable.

The whole concept of kissing your partner in order to gain power ups is something we’ve seen before. Campione! for example, is one where Godou gains his power through the power of the kiss. Not to mention, this whole partnership that is bond via a contract isn’t something new either, Takt Op. Destiny and Guilty Crown have that same concept.

So what is there to distinguish Engage Kiss from the others? Probably the fact that Kisara is a tandere demon and that the contract the binds Kisara and Shuu is a pretty sad one. That contract being, in order for Kisara to use the full extent of her powers, she must take the memories of Shuu through a kiss. All this because Shuu wants to find and exact his revenge on the person or demon who murdered his family. However, how long will it be until all his memories linked to his path of ‘revenge’ vanish?

As I binged episodes three through five, you can already tell that he’s starting to forget the real motivation behind everything that he’s currently doing. It has already taken a toll on everyone involved because Shuu has already lost all his happy memories with Ayano. Which is something that is hard for her to accept because she still loves him. Then you have Kisara feeling the guilt because all those happy memories that Ayano and Shuu shared together are now stuck with her. Kisara is indirectly responsible for the pain Ayano feels.

But Kisara is okay with that because she wants to be Shuu’s last girl, which in itself is pretty creepy and that’s why the yandere personality is a hit or miss for me. I mean, like in the most recent episode, Kisara erases the memory of Shuu and Ayano having the adult moment, in order for her to power up. Now Kisara is stuck with that memory being forever in her mind. Like that’s kind of weird.

Shuu as a character isn’t any better. In large part because he seems lazy. He’s someone who acts on impulse which causes for so many unnecessary moments. Not to mention, since he’s doing all this to get revenge on the person or demon who killed his family. Shuu is unusually good at putting little to no effort into it all. I mean, let’s be real, Shuu has relied more on others to do the job for him. It’s up to Ayano or Kisara to save his butt, while Shuu is just there.

With a concept that seems pretty basic and characters that are not all that great. There has been much I’ve look forward to, other than the fight scenes. But even then, they’re not that great. Overall, I’d say my first impression of Engage Kiss was fairly poor and I expected something a little better.