''Engage Kiss'' is a Japanese mixed-media project created by

Aniplex Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu'') is a Japanese entertainment company and a subsidiary of Sony, Sony Group Corporation, founded in September 1995 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company fo ...

. It consists of a

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series, which was serialized in ''

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'' from July 2022 to March 2024, and an

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television series produced by

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and written by Fumiaki Maruto, with character designs by

Tsunako is a Japan, Japanese video game creator and illustrator who worked for Idea Factory. She has designed and illustrated characters for various games and print media. She is best known for illustrating the ''Hyperdimension Neptunia'' video game seri ...

, which aired from July to September 2022. An

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follow-up and sequel was developed by

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under the title ''Engage Kill''.

Plot

Bayron City, an artificial island located in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

near Japan, is troubled by the mysterious appearance of demons. To conceal their existence from the public, the city government hires PMCs that combat and neutralize demon-like monsters called "D-Hazards". One such PMC called "I&S Office" is run by the protagonist, Shu Ogata. Differing from other PMCs, Shu's only employee is a demon girl named Kisara. Kisara has the appearance of a young girl despite being hundreds of years old, and her combat strength is highly rated. Though Shu does little work and is constantly in need of money, Kisara seems affectionate for him and toils to support him. Despite Shu's close ties to Kisara, he frequently contacts his ex-girlfriend Ayano Yugiri for help. Ayano and Shu used to work for the same PMC called "AAA Defender Co." until their breakup and Shu's departure from AAA. Ayano claims that their relationship has ended, yet she still gives in to Shu's pleas for help. Shu appears to be a loser whose livelihood depends on his relationships with two women. However, he has an ambitious goal: to uncover the truth behind the D-Hazard incident long ago in which his parents and sister went missing.

Characters

''Engage Kiss''

Main characters

; : :The protagonist who runs a small PMC, I&S Office. He is usually broke as he cannot handle finances well. He is an orphan, as the rest of his parents are presumed to be dead after an incident prior to the events of the series. He still has feelings for his first ex-girlfriend Ayano Yugiri, despite their previous break-up. ; : :A young girl who goes to a high school in Bayron City. She is actually a demon girl who is hundreds of years old. She has the ability to eat the memories of people, including Shu. ; : :Shu's first ex-girlfriend. Although she and Shu have broken up, she still has feelings for him. She is also Akino's daughter and a member of AAA Defender Co. She is slightly older than Shu, and they met when they were both children. ; : :Shu's second ex-girlfriend, who dresses as a nun of the Seiten Church. She is actually an assassin and a part of an international organization tasked with fighting against D-Hazards. ; : :Shu's younger sister. She is also a part-demon girl. Later on in the series, she is freed from an underground area where she was trapped, but ends up fighting Kisara and the others due to her powers. After she is defeated she starts living with Shu.

Other characters

; : :Ayano's mother and the chairman of AAA Defender Co. She was previously Shu's boss, and continues to support him even after his departure from her company. ; : :A private military officer in Bayron City. Shu looked up to him as a father figure, but later on he became possessed by demons and tries to assassinate Shu. ; : ; : :The deputy mayor of Bayron City and the eldest daughter of the city mayor. ; : ; :

''Engage Kill''

Rising Sun Military Corps

; : :She comes from a rich family and is the player's first employee at their PMC. Despite her calm and comoposed personality, she is a member of the Rising Sun Military Corps who possesses superhuman combat abilities. However, she has a big appetite and gets hungry easily. Since she was 11 years old, she has traveled extensively and experienced a tumultuous life of many ups and downs. ; : :A Japanese woman who works in an administrative role at the Rising Sun Military Corps. In the past, she worked for a shady company where she had to do many repetitive tasks. This has made her unsure of herself, but she is actually skilled and can handle different accounting and everyday tasks effectively. ; : :She used to be employed by a PMC in North America and frequently takes charge during combat operations. Prior to joining the Rising Sun Military Corps, she was unaware of the existence of demons due to the censorships of the Bayron City authorities. She has a serious and unemotional personality, and often lacks awareness of things that are not directly related to training or fighting. ; : :A man who collects information for the Rising Sun Military Corps. He comes from Bayron City's Old Town. In the past, he was involved in illegal activities and he has strong ties to the hidden world of the city. As part of his information-gathering work, he frequently visits various restaurants in the city, which has turned him into a connoisseur of its exquisite food. ; : :A mechanic employed by the Rising Sun Military Corps. She is of mixed American and Indian heritage. Despite often being mistaken for a child, she is actually 19 years old. She feels uneasy around others and acquired her exceptional engineering abilities by spending time alone, tinkering with and repairing machines. She is not typically talkative, but when the conversation revolves around her interests and mechanical creations, she becomes extremely chatty and speaks rapidly in a nerdy manner. She has developed an AI-powered drone called Humpty.

Media

Anime

The anime was first labeled as "Project Engage", which listed Fumiaki Maruto (author of '' Saekano'') and

(''

Date A Live is a Japanese light novel series written by Kōshi Tachibana and illustrated by Tsunako. Fujimi Shobo published 22 volumes from March 2011 to March 2020 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. Yen Press holds the license to publish the ...

'' illustrator) as the main staff. The details were then announced through the

booth at the AnimeJapan 2022 event. The series, titled ''Engage Kiss'', is produced by

and directed by Tomoya Tanaka, with Shunsaku Yano in charge of world setting, Shinpei Wada adapting Megumi Katagiri's demon designs for animation, and Yoshiaki Fujisawa composing the music. It aired from July 3 to September 25, 2022, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and other channels. The opening theme song, , is performed by

Halca HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy), also known for its project name VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme), the code name MUSES-B (for the second of the Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft series), or just Haruka () ...

. The ending theme song, , is performed by

Nanawo Akari is a Japanese musician and YouTuber from Osaka Prefecture who is signed to Sony Music Associated Records. Starting her career as an independent musician in 2011, Akari gained a following performing at various live houses in Japan, as well as thr ...

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America, or Aniplex USA, is an anime distributor based in Santa Monica, California that serves as the American distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an entertainment company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, where its goal is to ...

licensed the series for an English simulcast and simuldub on

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outside of Asia.

Episodes

Manga

adaptation of ''Engage Kiss'' by Itachi was serialized in

's online manga magazine ''

'' from July 2, 2022, to March 27, 2024.

Game

developed by

titled ''Engage Kill'' was announced on April 24, 2022, and it was released in Japan on March 1, 2023. The game is a free-to-play RPG genre title with in-app purchases. The game ended service on March 21, 2024.