Engage Kiss – 10

「待ち望んだ最悪」 (Machinozonda Saiaku)
“High Hopes for the Worst Case”

If there’s one thing to say about Engage Kiss right now as it enters its climax is that it’s certainly committed to proving predictions right. While this was invariably a given considering the show’s setup and how these stories usually go, the lack of major surprises right now (yes, even this isn’t all too surprising) is both a tad disappointing and suspenseful. Could some serious twist happen within the next three weeks which breaks from convention? Probably not – but what if it does?

Right out the gate this week the grand reveal is that Shuu’s sister is – lo and behold – confirmed alive and setting up to be, possibly, the penultimate boss fight. Asmodeus is still waiting in the wings as some ethereal being awaiting a return to physical form, but the only question here is exactly what form she/he/it takes during the upcoming showdown. Will little sister simply be the conduit for Asmodeus to reappear and achieve the goal of harmonious peace and prosperity for humanity and demonkind (read: forced assimilation), or will Asmodeus come back into being by using the sister as a vessel for acting on the mortal plane? The answer to this will determine how Engage Kiss intends on ending, because while the former guarantees some sort of happy ending, the latter most certainly does not. After all, far easier to extract and destroy an unwanted presence external to the body compared to one making it its home.

The other key piece of the puzzle relates to Shuu and – also anticipated – his determination to go all-in for saving a sister he’s this close to actually forgetting. Although I’m still inclined to treat Shuu as a victim given his circumstances, the rate at which he’s sacrificing everyone around him for a past he’ll never reclaim is increasingly grating. Kisara is one thing, but what about Ayano? Hell what about even Sharon? The kid has entered the positive feedback route our little totally still a nun warned about last week where the more memories are sacrificed the more he starts losing seemingly unrelated (yet still connected) parts of himself. It’s enough to even raise the prospect that Shuu’s actions right now are a consequence of this, because without any understanding of just what he’s lost the ease of sacrificing what’s left becomes a stronger and more tantalizing prospect since it has no bearing on his current state of mind. It makes the upcoming decision for Kisara all the more important (and agonizing), because without Shuu’s memories she may not get the powerup needed to survive the fight – but winning the battle may entail leaving the kid without any reason to keep on living.

We’ll just have to see which decision all parties involved finally settle on.

Preview