English Dub Review: Engage Kiss: “Gentle Foolish Lies”

Overview: With Shu (Howard Wang) at his lowest point with his memory nearly non-existent, it pushes Kisara (Kayli Mills) to make a critical decision that will change their relationship onward. 

Our Take: Kana and Kisara both get subdued in their conflict with one another with the intriguing question of whether or not Shu’s little sister is human or demon, throughout and after. It plays into the moral issue of how to treat Kana in the major S-rank threat level she presents as well as whether or not she is a human or demon. Mikhail is also treated with respectable character consistency when he could have just been made a throwaway threat screeching in at a breakneck pace. Despite firing with his sister in the line of fire, he is at least somewhat decent-hearted in remaining loyal to fair beliefs, not boxed into a pessimistic totalitarian.

Shu is in shambles with how far gone his memory is with his mission and family having departed. His misery and desperation creates an unexpected wrinkle in him getting his memories back. 

With every bit of essence Kisara takes from Shu, it makes one question why he would sacrifice himself without any sort of contingency in place. Chronicling the events leading up to Shu’s contract with Kisara, thankfully his wits that have been a mainstay up to this point, are not illogically thrown under the rug. He has the foresight to cover his bases for the future in conditioning that he has the authority to revoke their contract should things become too dire for him mentally, emotionally, etc. through folding his hands together, whether he is conscious of it or not. 

In another shocking twist is how Kisara changes those parameters in which she holds power to give his memories back through interlocking fingers. This is an evocative emotional touch in how she wants the same sensation and passion that he and Ayano shared during their more intimate moments for themselves. But most of all, it is a loving sentiment, seeing that she wants to pick up the pieces to make him whole again and how content she is as long as she remains in his thoughts. Specifically, content with the price that comes with her love in the complete erasure of her own memories in exchange for his for one doozy of curveball that left me dumbfounded for a complete relationship reversal. It will be intriguing to dig into a new emotional core of their relationship in how Shu will support Kisara as she did for him in his most vulnerable and harrowing moments moving forward.