5-toubun no Hanayome

What do you feel as you look at this anime. Do you feel a warm feeling of love? Do you feel nothing? Or do you feel what I feel. Hatred. Out of the many shows of this season which I can say are are about as good at Mars of destruction I can say one show takes my place as number 1 least favorite show this season. And dare I might say of all time. The Quintessential Quintuplets is by far my least favorite show I have ever watched and let me explain why. Will have minor spoiler I guess A good harem show needs good characters. When i say good characters I don't just mean the girls which form the harem but the main dude as well. All of my favorite harem shows such as DxD, Trinity Seven, A world only God knows, and Ouran host club have both of those. Quintessential Quintuplets does not have both. I can say I do like 1 character from Quintessential Quintuplets (Miku) but I can't say I love them all. Even with utter trash shows I can still say I like at least 1 character. However in this show I can say none of these characters are good in anyway. A little about this show. We have our MC Fuutarou, a poor student who studies all the time to get out of poverty and finds himself in a situation were he teaches 5 rich big tittied women (cause of course he does). However before this we get a teaser of the future in which he marries one of these 5 girls which is unique I guess, maybe pushing it a little. The five girls he has to teach are all dumb, with minor spoilers they have at least 1 thing there good at. To make my point that this show is litter I will use examples. Now the characters are the backbone of any story. Without good characters you can not have a good story. From the people who have watched and read the manga they praise the characters, for being a good example of how to do the trope correctly. I fail to see how. Nino being the bratty tsundere who at any moment she can, wants and does do things to make the MC’s life miserable. “She does it cause she loves her sisters..”sh-shut the fuck up. Bluntly accusing someone of sexual harassment for the sake of “her sisters” is not only annoying but just bad. Even though I don’t like the MC I hate the way she treats him. In the end of episode 3 after the whole sexual harassment gag when she storms off and Fuutarou ends up leaving and then sits next to her and they talk, the episode end with her saying. “I will never accept you” or some shit. Idk if people find this cute or heart warming somehow but its just annoying and makes me hate her even more. If you wanna use the she cares about her sister shit that's why she acts like such a bitch then shut up u have bad taste. Just kidding but still. The overuse of trying every way to be a dick to the MC gag was annoying the first time I saw it and still hasn't gotten better the 10,000th time. People have also said that during her arc which are like the last two episodes she gets better but in honesty she just gets worse. Nothing like a bratty big biddie bitch being bashful by bad boys. In the anime at least she doesn’t develop at all. Itsuki the seemling main girl of the series. Yet another tsundere who openly hates the MC and why does she hate the MC. Because when she asked him to tutor her first he declined, then after her dad hires Fuutarou without the girls knowing she gets upset and starts to pout and throw a tantrum like a fucking five year old. Again we have another character who trashes the MC over and over and the trope still hasn't gotten funnier or cuter from the first time I saw it. In the first episode when she drugs the MC because she doesn't want him to her and her sisters send him on the taxi home, and may I put some emphasize to the fact she legit drugs him, is this not a crime. Of course as they get to his house Fuutarou’s sister greets them and wants her to come in for dinner. After seeing how poor they are and Fuutarou sister cuteness she doesn't agree to want him to tutor but at least doesn't mind if he shows up. I would like to see if she has a good side to try and say something good about her but I can't . Ichika being the onee-san type of the 5 doesn't have much else going for her. However she is not really a unique character in this trope. If you wanna say she has other qualities like having a goal of being an actor and she works hard for it then go for it I won't stop you, but it's like okay? She tries hard at something she likes. Good for her? How does this make her a good character in anyway? It’s not like she is a bad character she just isn’t an overly good one. Yotsuba is the energetic girl of the group she is the always friendly one, the ditzy, always accepting and always sacrificing herself for people type. I guess she isn't really bad but she isn't good either. She has nothing new to this archetype as well she is just really bland. She doesn’t progress in the anime and seems to be more of a side character rather than a main one. Miku being the only girl I actually like in this group due to her not being annoying bitch and actually being really cute and loveable however that is just compared to the other girls which is pretty much comparing a shit to somewhat better shit. Either way it’s still shit. Even if I do like her it's only within this series and can't say I can really like her outside of it. Fuutarou himself is the typical harem MC. Being a loner who has one good trait about him, he can't say the words he needs to when he should and always putting the girls in his harem before himself no matter how bratty they are. He takes the fall for any situation and he doesn’t stand up for himself when he should. He is just your average bland protagonist. All the girls beside miku for the most part are shit characters individually and even worse as a group. As nothing good happens when they all get together and for the most part when they get together only really bad slapstick humor follows. I can never put my full on hatred for really just Nino or Itsuka in this review. On top of bad characters the animation and art are also really shit beside that one scene in episode 11 when Ichika and Fuutarou are in the shed together and he grabs her as she falls and says something MAJESTIC to her which makes her start to fall for him. That was like the only good part of animation/art in the show. However again the art is far better in the manga. In conclusion, this is a typical harem anime with nothing new to add to the genre and another show to add to the already large trash pile.

Another harem plot, basically of all the harem stories you have seen before, you have never seen anything quite like "Gotoubun no Hanayome.” The series has an overall harmony, where this lavishly designed comedy, which sometimes turns into a slightly unrequited romance involving a nerdy guy and five ignorant sisters who hate to study. I forgot to tell you those sisters are quintuplets. The plot is easy to follow. A guy, Fuutarou Uesugi, nerdy, poor, solitary, gets a job as the tutor of a group of quintuplets who are near to fail the school. This group of girls, Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, Itsuki, named in order as they came to this world, hate to study and even more dislike the tutor. After some time, these girls begin showing affection towards their tutor and their surroundings starts to change. The only problem, this kind of plot could be seen absurdness and filled with excessive banality, boring a selected group of anime followers. But that hardly matters. This group of characters is funny and genuine. In the beginning, you can feel the show as the classical, generic harem where the guy likes and love all the girls. However, in this series, the guy only cares to study and do not see the quintuplets as friends or even more as candidates to have a relationship. I do not think that passed his mind (in the manga is in the same way). The quintuplets have a different personality forcing Fuutarou to take different decisions to deal with each of them. This contrast creates refreshing chemistry between the cast and keeps the whole crazy story spinning, this thing is never boring. As a positive point, I am glad, the adaptation followed the manga and they do not change anything of the plot, so I am hoping to see a second season in the future (it was announced). The quintuplets have a very different personality; for example, we can observe a clear contrast between Nino and Miku. The latter is shy, dedicate, charming, not social while Nino is very social, extrovert, direct, bossy and probably most of the spectators could end disliking her. The same happens with the other sisters, Ichika, the eldest and the one who tries to keep the group harmony, Yotsuba, filled with excessive energy and who cannot say no as an answer and finally Itsuki, the hard worker and stubborn sister. On the other hand, the art and sound are fabulous. For me, the art quality is one of the best of the season and I want to praise the creator, the animators because the quintuplets have the same silhouette but with some changes in the hair and the accessories they create different characters. If you pay closer attention to the character design, they will look the same boosting the effect. The sound and voice acting are perfect. The sound appears in the precise moments and it fills the scene. The characters' voice is contrasting and complements the personalities. The OP and ED are good. However, the OP is fantastic because it shows the voice contrast between the quintuplets and has a good rhythm and interesting lyrics. Mostly, "Gotoubun no Hanayome” is just fun, for Fuutarou to become a better person and starts caring for others outside his family, for the quintuplets whom evolve and begin to experience the love path. Together, they create a cheerful and enjoyable comedy where this group connects between each other and their world expands hilariously.

Apart from the quintuplet gimmick and the pretty colors, I can’t really tell you what Gotoubun no Hanayome adds to the harem genre. Inside of it is full of all of the things that make up a relatively generic harem show, but only this time with a group of five sisters. Standard anime archetypes, boring/bland main character who all the girls magically fall in love with, overrun harem tropes, you name it. People have called it a more “wholesome” harem show with less fanservice and a less insufferable main character, but I fail to see how it is even better than other harem shows with similar qualities. There is nothing inherently wrong with being cliche, but Gotoubun fails at creating interesting characters within their archetypes. Miku is just a kuudere with an affection to Japanese history. Yotsuba is just a genki girl. If Nino is the tsundere, than Itsuki is just a lighter version of her. The reasoning for all of their personalities is the same, they love each other and act they way they act because of that. Without the cliche archetypes, none of the girls would be different from each other at all. The ironic thing about this is they all are strangely distant despite being sisters. Ichika is actually too embarrassed to tell her sisters that she is a actress. Nino is too scared to request help from her sisters when she gets locked out of their apartment. These type of trivial situations that actual siblings wouldn’t care about get dragged on forever and make the show incredibly uninteresting. And about uninteresting, there is nothing of note about the MC. He is standard to the harem genre. Self insert, dull, helps all the girls for whatever reason, and they all end up loving him. (bonus for even being voiced by the harem king himself, Matsuoka.) Sometimes a good group of female characters can carry a harem show if the main character is stale (OreShura, Saekano, A Bridge to the Starry Skies) and sometimes a good MC can make it all that much better (Seitokai no Ichizon) but Gotoubun fails on both sides. This is crucial. I am aware the character design is quite a bit different from the manga, and as a result many situations were poorly adapted. Any time a joke or gag was to infer the sisters look alike, was downright laughable for all the wrong reasons. Because obviously, in the anime, they don’t look alike. Why they didn’t scrap these jokes I have no idea, and I’m not even really sure why they changed the character design from the manga to the anime so much. The art overall is super inconsistent. The colors are beautifully done, and many of the close up shots and backgrounds are nicely drawn, but there a tons of wonky shots and weirdly drawn faces. It got to a point where almost every time the show cut to a faraway shot I would cringe at how wonky the faces would look. The type of huge inconsistency between how good the show would look and how bad it would made this so incredibly noticeable. While the general idea of the plot did have potential to be interesting, teasing that one of the girls does in fact marry the MC into the future, (although it is pretty obvious Itsuki is the ‘main’ one) the show itself is just a sort of collection of cliche harem happenings. Fireworks festivals, characters getting sick, getting locked in a shed, having to pretend to like each other, etc etc. All of this has been done before in more interesting ways. They even throw in that the MC knew the girls when he was younger, and has a sort of “fated love” with one of them, that he can’t remember. This felt totally shoehorned in and unnecessary. Helplessly generic, boring, standard archetypal characters, and a “go read the manga!” ending. It isn’t the worst thing ever, but just meh work.

Quintessential Quintuplets quickly qualified for harem anime of the year for its great rendition of the cute girls + comedy combo. Now while this is a pretty cheap combo deal that you can find during practically every anime season, consumers still buy into it in droves. And after seeing how expertly this anime handled the combo, I know I for one will be coming back for more in the future! Quandaries regarding education can really throw a wrench in your future life plans. Failing can leave you in some pretty dire straits, so it’s clearly optimal to succeed. Shocking, I know. Unfortunately for our well endowed quintuplets, their beauty is matched only by their incomprehensible stupidity in practically all forms of academics. Therefore it is up to financially disadvantaged genius student Fuutarou Uesugi to tutor these hopeless rich girls and save their futures. He makes a pretty penny out of this deal, plus he gets to spend quality time with these five lovely ladies. Bonus! Of course, these siblings start off more troublesome then our protagonist could have imagined. Quitting is not an option for Fuutarou, as he has a kawaii imouto to support, so he admirably never gives up on the girls when a lesser man would have quit ages ago…probably right after being drugged by one of them. Yes, this actually happens. The plot is pretty simplistic, yet charming. It is revealed from the beginning that Fuutarou is about to marry one of the quintuplets and is reminiscing about how they met and other sentimental mushy stuff. The whole story basically shows how each of the girls starts to fall in love with their charming tutor, while the viewer is left to ponder which one Fuutarou ends up with. I enjoyed how the anime portrayed the development of the characters’ feelings through many entertaining scenarios that left me really liking the cast. While the siblings start off pretty bratty and give Fuutarou the cold shoulder at first, the way in which this man thaws their hearts and unintentionally gets them to fall for him is very well done. And hey, they even start to improve academically! Of course they’re still failing, just…not as much! Quantity vs. Quality, which do you prefer when it comes to characters? Normally, anime like this tend to sacrifice one in favor of the other. Here, we thankfully get both. Not only are there five lovely ladies featured for you to waifu, but they each boast their own unique designs, personalities, struggles, and more! Quiet and bashful is Miku, the first of the siblings to really begin to connect with Fuutarou and actually start to study with him, though she still puts up quite the fight before eventually submitting. Based on what I’ve seen, Miku is the prime candidate for “best girl” in this anime, and it’s no secret why. She’s a beautiful, busty babe. She’s reserved and awkward. She isn’t too skilled in things like academics and cooking, but she always does her best. Plus she wears headphones, a fantastic fashion fad if I do say so myself. Queued in front of her sisters at birth, Ichika is the big sis of the group. She has a rather sloppy room with her underwear and the like lying around for all to see and likes to sleep in the nude. When you also take into account her fantastic character design, she immediately becomes the sexiest of the siblings. Even Fuutarou-kun gets embarrassed by this attractive girl on occasion. She’s also trying to pursue an acting career, which is pretty neat. Top that off with her job getting in the way of school and boom! Instant character arc. I like how she presents a levelheaded and strong exterior yet keeps many insecurities quelled within her. It really makes Ichika an interesting character and not just a pretty face. Queens are typically rich, pampered individuals who act dignified, but probably look down on the masses with contempt. Nino is sort of similar to a queen, with the one difference being that she isn’t afraid to degrade people with her words and actions straight to their faces. Especially Uesugi, who she even drugs at one point. Pretty hardcore. She’s a rebellious type who deep down is actually extremely loving and caring. Plus she’s a great cook and wouldn’t mind being the breadwinner of the family, so that should excite all the basement dwellers out there. Quirky girls are usually fun and interesting, and Yotsuba is no exception. She’s quite energetic, athletic, and seems to excel at every physical activity known to man. Unfortunately for Uesugi-san, she’s the biggest baka of the bunch, and probably has the highest chance of outright failing school. She’s always upbeat and happy though, which is endearing. Quizzically, there is a common rule in anime where the first girl the protagonist meets becomes the one that he ends up with. If that’s the case, then Itsuki has the best shot of ending up with Uesugi-kun. She’s a fine girl who likes to eat and looks good in glasses, but wasn’t really given any focus in the anime. She’s quite plain in the show and is overshadowed by her sisters. But who knows, maybe the manga gives her some much needed development. Question time. Who truly is best girl? Well the good thing is that you could make a case for all of them, because they’re all completely unique from each other in many ways despite being quintuplets and each add their own exquisite flavor to the anime. However, there is one noticeable predicament the arises because of this. Quite possibly the most glaring issue with this anime would be its visual representation of the heroines and the repercussions of this problem. So a major plot element of this show is the fact the the five girls are, well, quintuplets, and the anime makes a point of saying that it is hard to distinguish between the five of them. They occasionally wear the accessories of the others in order to trick people into thinking that they’re a different sibling. Fuutarou himself constantly struggles with determining which girl is which from time to time, which admittedly causes some humorous situations. But as I said, each girl is completely unique, which includes their voices and designs, which are easily distinguishable from each other. This makes these switcheroo scenarios not as authentic as they could be had the siblings actually resembled one another. These moments also occasionally make Fuutarou look like a complete idiot sometimes when it’s blatantly clear which sibling he’s taking to yet he thinks she’s a different one. Now I perfectly understand why the creators went with this artistic choice. It’s just more aesthetically pleasing to have a variety of designs as opposed to using the same one five times over. Plus the seiyuu are an all star bunch with a lot of talent and experience behind them, so once again, it’s just more entertaining this way as opposed to having all the girls sound the same. So in the end, I honestly can’t call this decision to make the girls so different from each other wrong because of how much it adds to the show and the characters themselves. But as I mentioned, there are some negatives that result from this too. Quality harem anime are probably considered to be nonexistent by many in the anime community. And while I’d disagree, I have to admit that there haven’t really been any at all in recent memory. The Quintessential Quintuplets ended up ceasing that drought for me. Yes, from a technical standpoint, the anime has many flaws in several departments. But damn it, I can be biased if I want to, and I enjoyed this anime thoroughly. Of course, labeling this show as a harem anime might be a bit of a stretch…And to all of those individuals out there who may write The Quintessential Quintuplets off as generic and bland, I would suggest taking a page out of Fuutarou’s book. For when Miku and Nino had a cooking competition, Nino’s dish was more aesthetically pleasing and filled with originality and flavor, whereas Miku’s was dull and plain in comparison. Yet to Fuutarou, they both were go…

Gotoubun no Hanayome (also known as The Quintessential Quintuples) is well known for its character cast. It’s a harem and despite only been serialized since 2017, the series has proven to be popular enough for an anime adaptation. It even got licensed for Western release in June 2018 thanks to Kodansha USA. Being an open harem will raise some eyebrows. But rest assured, this show opens up for a lot of attractiveness beyond just these colored hair quintuples. It seems that harem anime tend to attract certain audiences. Most often these days, they let the characters carry the show with less emphasis on the plot. Gotoubun no Hanayome is a little different even though it sticks to some generic formulas. The first episode opens up as we meet male protagonist Fuutarou Uesug, a poor yet intelligent student. His encounter with Itsuki Nakano, a rich girl almost seems like a destined chance meeting. After obtaining a tutoring job, he realizes that his work is a lot tougher than meets the eye. The catch is that not only does he have to tutor Itsuki, he also has to tutor her quintuplet sisters. What could go possibly go wrong? Dr. Seuss once said “only you can control your future”. Now it’s the chance for Fuutarou to make the most of his own life by taking control of it while also helping these quintuples. Tutoring seems easy enough for a Brainiac like him, right? Well, from the first few episodes, the show makes it very clear that when it comes to academics, they’re not exactly prodigies. Their scores alone are more than enough to give an impression to improve a lot. Yet the real question here is if Fuutarou can lead them to a better future. As a harem rom-com, this sets up a plot although it’s not the central focus. In fact, preceding episodes seems to concentrate more on the cast and their character relationships. And really, that’s a juicy meat of the show. Who are the Nakano quintuples? From the key visual, you can see there are five and their names are: Itsuki, Ichika, Nino, Miku, and Yotsuba. The anime actually makes them easier to distinguish with their different hair colors (note: in the manga, their hair colors are much more similar) Nonetheless, the show doesn’t waste much time to bring out the most of this harem cast. Starting with Itsuki, it doesn’t take long for her to get into a rocky relationship with Fuutarou. Even from day one, they don’t see eye to eye although as time progresses, she seems to tolerate him more. Nino, the girl with the least amount of emotions also begins to appreciate Fuutarou after understanding him more. With a quiet reserved personality, she even begins to open more although her shyness sometimes still prevents her from expressing herself at times. On the other hand, Yotsuba displays an immense amount of playful behavior and despite being perhaps the least intelligent, she easily fits with the crowd and has little trouble making friends. This is a somewhat contrast compared to Nino, the second sister who can be a bit aggressive towards anyone other than her sisters. Last but certainly not least, Ichika is the oldest member of the group and has the most mature personality. Out of anyone else, she displays a wise way of expressing her feelings. Yet, she can also be playful and often, we see her teasing Fuutarou with sexual related jokes. So there you have it, the quintuplets. As for most harem, each character fits some sort of different archetype. From what I experienced with this show, it has a very balanced harem. Every character gets their spotlight and no one is really left out to be jobbed and forgotten. Each of the sisters has a chance to be with Fuutarou and throughout the show, he seems to grow to understand them better on personal levels. Outside of the cast though, don’t expect any character development from the others. Only few characters even gets a chance to be on screen like Fuutarou’s little sister, Raiha. Even then, her existence doesn’t impact the show’s plot at all. Speaking of plot, what should you really expect out of this anime? I mentioned before how the cast is selling most of the appeal but the storytelling does have importance too. There’s romance development between the main character Fuutarou with the quintuplets and it makes you wonder which ship will set sail. Unfortunately, harems tends to often be double edged swords as there may not be a winner in the end. As a 1-cour show, you definitely won’t get the answer from this adaptation. However, do pay attention to the character chemistry as it will do its best to get you attracted to the cast. The comedy speaks for itself with the hilarious gags and gimmicks. In fact, you shouldn’t be surprised to see these sisters pull off stunts with their identities thanks to how similar they look when disguised. Colorful is probably an understatement if we’re talking about the character designs. Every quintuplet has her own unique look such as Miku’s headphones, Ichika’s short hair, Nino’s butterfly accessory, Itsuki’s ahoge, or Yotsuba’s ribbon. However, I think what the show does exceptionally well is being able to balance out the comedy and dramatic moments. Camera shots are cleverly shot to show how characters react. Comedic moments tends to be reactive such as the pouts while dramatic moments focuses more on more human emotions. When you have a balance like that, it really makes the show worth watching for. Of course, a harem comedy isn’t without fan service and thanks to Ichika, there’s more than where that came from. I must admit that after watching this anime, I may have some different impressions on how harem comedy stories are made. In the past, most of them felt like a dumpster fire that were easily forgotten. Yet, Gotoubun no Hanayome managed to attract me more than I realized thanks to its masterful performances of the characters. Even Fuutarou stood out as a tolerable protagonist with his cunning personality rather than being a “nice guy”. I also say with supreme confidence that the VA did an exceptional job at bringing these characters to life. It’s not every day you get to see a group of quintuplets altogether stuffed together in a harem comedy.

Come for the cute anime girls, stay for the... wait, nope, that's pretty much all this series has to offer. Harem is a genre I've had a really poor track record with. While I love romance anime, I find it nearly-impossible to suspend my disbelief when hordes of hot girls or guys fall in love with the typically vanilla, self-insert protagonist. For that reason, I held off for awhile on this series, up until the week of the season finale, when I binged the first 11 episodes in preparation for the last one. But after hearing some good things and seeing enough Miku pictures plastered across social media (and let's be real, the latter was the larger motivating factor), I decided to give it a shot. So has The Quintessential Quintuplets changed my mind on harem anime? If you couldn't already tell by the score and opening line of the review, that's an emphatic "no". If you read the synopsis, I assure you, there will be no surprises in this story. Smart but poor guy gets tasked with the job of tutoring rich and attractive but academically-challenged quintuplets, who apparently live alone together, and then for some reason they start to fall for him one by one. The quintuplet thing is basically the only semi-interesting aspect, but if anything, it makes the whole thing even harder to take seriously. The characters all fit nicely into their little archetypes. You got the tsundere, the genki girl, the big sister type, the quiet quirky one, and the "normal" one he meets first. The protagonist is decidedly more serious, and is often forced into the "straight man" role, as he tries to get these darn girls to study. Of course, we have the adoring imouto playing her role as well, doling out the "onii-chans" at an impressive clip. I would say it's worth noting her and the MC live with their single father, but it's really not, as that aspect wasn't explored much at all. As far as the sound, a couple of the seiyuus preformed admirably, but the OST and OP/ED were all pretty sub-par. The OP, in particular, grew to be borderline-grating the more I listened to it. Having all 5 quintuplets perform might have sounded like a good idea at some point in the creative process, but the result was a really disjointed opening number. However, as always, Kana Hanazawa killed it as the big sister character, Ichika. Ayane Sakura, too, really did a great genki girl as Yotsuba. So it's not all bad in the sound department. The animation will surely not blow anyone away, as it's probably the most underwhelming of all the Winter 2019 anime I've seen. I don't know if many fans care about what anything in the show looks like besides the 5 girls, though. And I will say, if nothing else, the creator knows how to draw cute anime girls. So cute, in fact, that in reality, each of them would likely have their own harem, as opposed to pining after MC-kun. Miku in particular, seems like she was created in a lab to be the perfect anime waifu. Like the female version of Hak Son from Yona of the Dawn. (Now THOSE would be some good-looking hypothetical offspring) So anyway, to wrap it up. Cute anime girlsl: check Everything else: wait, were you expecting anything else?

Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Gotoubun no Hanayome and while care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. Based off a popular manga of the same name Gotoubun no Hanayome which is also better known by its English title The Quintessential Quintuplets is a romance, comedy, school and harem genre anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see what will happen if one day a high school boy who as a result of trying to keep both his family and his life afloat and ahead of the many debts that his father has incurred which has created nothing but misfortune for his life that ensured that he has not just no friends but very few money is presented with a once in a lifetime golden opportunity to turn things around. An opportunity that will not only allow him to get a regular salary that will go a long way in helping keep his family afloat with its debt but also allow him to keep them happy as well. But what turned out to be a simple tutoring job for our hero Fuutarou Uesugi is that instead of teaching just one person he is rather teaching five of them and these five rather than being strangers from different families are instead sisters who are all related by blood. School-based romantic comedies are without a doubt one of the most popular genres within the anime world due largely to the fact that school itself presents a perfect environment in which to tell not just an interesting story but also provide its cast with numerous but easily relatable situations that many students can understand and relate too while still remaining light-hearted and comedic. Notable animes of this type that I found to have really enjoyed in the past included Yamada Kun and the Seven Witches and The World God only knows. However, what sets The Quintessential Quintuplets apart from other such anime however is the fact that not only is the main character one that is simultaneously trying to live the live of a high school boy while struggling with the unique financial demands of modern-day family life, but he’s also presented with a unique opportunity that will help alleviate it if he accepts. The catch here is rather than merely teach one person as would be expected of a typical tutor he instead will be teaching five girls who are not only sisters by blood but are all averse to studying which presents to Fuutarou a bit of a dilemma since his job is to ensure that all of the girls pass all their exams. The first episode of the series while certainly an enjoyable one also did well not just in introducing Fuutarou and the five sisters but also in showing just how different the five of them are not just physically but in attitude as well as well as showing just how hard this supposedly easy job will be for Fuutarou. As a result of this episode, I have to say that I become curious to see how this story would actually turn out and whether or not the sisters and Fuutarou would as they learn together not only end up passing their exams but also develop as people as well. The overall story for The Quintessential Quintuplets is set in a modern day Japan that’s not dissimilar to the one that we see with our very eyes and follows the life of Fuutarou Uesugi a high school student who despite being in the midst of his teenage years in which normally he will be surrounded by caring and understanding friends and enjoying the time that high school kids get to bask in but alas for Fuutarou this is nothing but an unachievable dream. For as a result of the large financial debt that his father had incurred Fuutarou despite being a mere high school boy has to not just work hard at managing the family’s finances but at the same time work hard at finding a part-time job that will allow him to better support his family a goal that until now was nothing but a dream. However, this sense of seeing this as a dream is soon shattered when Fuutarou on a seemingly average day has an encounter with Itsuki Nakano a beautiful but seemingly quiet girl who had recently transferred to his school who tries to hire him as her tutor to which he promptly refused much to her shock due to the low salary usually involved. However, this is a decision that Fuutarou soon learns to regret for the job in question not only offered a substantial salary but also one that will enable him to pay off the majority of the debt that they had incurred. Desperate to make amends and try and get back the opportunity of a lifetime that he had seemingly threw away Fuutarou after much effort manages to do so but finds to his surprise that rather than teach only one person he was in fact going to teach five of them who coincidentally are sisters by blood. In this wacky romantic comedy that Fuutarou finds himself in he must not only contend with the most difficult task of not just convincing each of the five sisters to overcome their dislike of studying but also impart within them all the knowledge that they will need in order to pass their exams and earn him the salary that he so much desires. But as Fuutarou works at trying to make the sisters realize the importance of studying he as a result of getting to know them not just as students but as individuals also starts to find himself changing as for the first time in a long time he was not only interacting with people his age but also in the process discovering that while it was certainly frustrating in trying to convince the girls to study it was also oddly fun and satisfying as well. This serves to create a question. Who really is the teacher here? Fuutarou Fuutarou Uesugi portrayed by veteran voice actor Yoshitsugu Matsuoka of Sword Art Online and Food Wars fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main protagonist of the series. A high school student that attends the local high school to which the Nakano sisters also attend Fuutarou on initial appearances is seen to be a quiet, calm and intelligent person by nature that was noted early on to have a rather curious talent for money management. While certainly a quiet person that preferred to keep his eyes in his books than at people Fuutarou was also shown to be a perceptive, determined and fast thinking person that can at times show unexpected kindness and care to others when he can. However, despite living the life of a high school student which normally would mean that you will be having the time of your lives with your friends and enjoy the time that youth brings you it can be said that this is something that sounds almost as alien to Fuutarou as not studying would to him. Indeed while Fuutarou despite clearly possessing excellent levels of intelligence that have enabled him to score high test scores in tests rather than make use of this as a means to forge deep friendships with his fellow students is instead seen to do the opposite in that he not just stays away from them but actively tries to stop others from approaching him as well as shown in his first encounters with Itsuki. Despite the apparent loneliness that can come from having no friends that he can mingle with and have fun with both at school and outside of it can be seen rather curiously that rather than feel despair as some would Fuutarou instead is seen to not mind this at all seemingly preferring the sense of peace that came about as a result. As the series goes on however it can be seen that this unique attitude of his is due to the large financial debt that his family had inherited from their father. This debt due largely to how large it is can be seen to be one of the major reasons for Fuutarou’s attitude towards life. While its easy to imagine that the reason for Fuutarou’s aloof nature towards friendships is due largely to his quiet nature and his love of studying when put alongside the debt it can be seen that rather than this the reason for Fuutarou’s nature is due to his desire of safeguarding his fam…

I cannot understand how people actually enjoyed this show, this show is so fucking bad it left me seething with rage the entire time. If you want me to summarize the show here: 4 spoiled, annoyed, uncontrolled, entitled, rich girls bully a poor hardworking student thats trying to earn money to pay off a debt. The reason its 4 girls is because Miku is the only character that is actually somewhat likeable and doesnt bully him, I guess Yotsuba doesnt really bully the him (the MC, Fuutarou) either, but shes basically also annoying as shit. The entire story is bad and basically has no progression, sure the characters develop a little, but it basically goes from 4 people fucking terrorize the MC to 4 girls still terrorize the MC, but a little less. The anime forshadows that he might marry one eventually but that doesnt really matter at all. Not just am I absolutely appalled by these how these 4 girls (again, 4 because Miku is fine) just disrespect and make the MCs life miserable, they also do things that are COMPLETELY ILLEGAL (ill touch on this later) SPOILERS: The basic plot of the story is that the MC (Fuutarou) is hired by the father of 5 rich and stupid girls (who are good at 1 thing each) to tutor them. And all of them basically just say "we dont need a tutor, we'll deal with this ourselves" even though their failing, and do everything they can to make the MCs life a living hell to make him quit. (let me remind you that hes basically forced to put up with this because of how poor and in debt he is, and the girls also know this yet still behave this bad). I want to take a little time to also expand on how ridiculous the foundation of this entire show is as well. These 5 girls are failing so bad they are forced to move (for some reason?) and hire a tutor. Dumb as fuck point 1: the father hires the tutor because he knows these 5 are all failing (hardcore), yet he doesn't do anything when these 5 girls try to drive him out? In fact its like these 5 have never been disciplined or taught manner or even basic social skills their entire life (maybe excluding Miku and Yotsuba since they seem to posses some modicum of common sense and empathy, which none of the others seem to posses at all). Oh right, the illegal part, Nino (the worst girl ive ever seen in any show ever) FUCKING DRUGS THE MC and TAUNTS HIM WHILE SHE DOES IT, AFTER SHE SAYS SPECIFICALLY THAT ITS NOT DRUGGED, like what? how does she get away with this behavior. Nino also FRAMES HIM FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT, after he got in the situation trying to PROTECT HER in the first place. I want to dedicate this following entire section to how fucking bad of a character Nino is, she makes me even madder than Myne from shield hero. Shes basically the worst of all 5, The MC goes out of his way to be nice to her and try to help her at the end of the 3rd episode, but whats her repsonse? "I've decided, ILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU". Thats the response she gave to the MC after he helped her when she was down, I was questioning at that point if Nino was even human. Also I want to expand on the framing for sexual assault part, basically the MC forgot something in the apartment of the 5 so he goes back to get it, she asks him for help, he helps her, she accidentally knocks a bunch of books over, he pushes her out of the way and shields her from the books and she knows it. Then Itsuki runs up and takes of photo of the suggestive position hes in and then Nino basically just in front of everyone accuses him of sexually assaulting her, as well as waiting until she came out of the bath to take nudes of her. Shes not only being ungrateful, shes using his kindness to frame him for a SERIOUS CRIME. If it wasnt for Miku defending him (Nino also subsequently attacks Miku for defending him) he probably would have actually been accused of sexual assualt since he cant really defend himself in that position. The reason the show gives for her abhorrent actions is that "she loves her sisters" but its all fucking bullshit. In conclusion, if your not a masochist or for some reason enjoy seeing the poor debt ridden MC being torn apart by 4 spoiled and framed and drugged by 4 rich girls then maybe avoid this show. If you for some reason really really enjoy abusive tsunderes (imagine Zero from Zero no tsukaima, but crank that up to 11, since at least zero makes it clear that she likes the MC, while these girls are literally framing him for crimes and drugging him) or Myne from shield hero, then by all means give this show a try, and you might just like it. For me though, I just felt pure hatred towards everyone except yotsuba and miku the whole time as well as feeling really bad for the MC. Also I should mention that Yotsuba and Miku are really by no means good characters at all, their just significantly better than the rest of the cast, but their basically just really bland and generic characters. In comparison to the others in the show, theyre good, but compared to any actually good character from a good show, then they cant even hold a candle.

Finally an anime that is relatable to all us normal lads, as a complete genius good looking nerd with no friends in school, I would have five beautiful girls falling all over me all the time, why wouldn't they just leave me alone so i could study even though I score 100% on every test? Kapp 5 girls, 3 ones that aren't complete assholes, 2 with likeable personality traits and a protagonist with no personality at all. No real discussion for which someone would choose, I mean it's a harem anime so what do you expect? The storyline is not great, but the comedy redeems it somewhat. TL:DR - Worth a watch if you like comedy anime and you feel you have nothing else to watch right now.

I discovered the manga before the anime was announced but after seeing the 'Harem' tag i decided to not get into it and i was pretty hesitant getting into the anime as well.Needless to say, watching this was a great decision. Story/Plot Its the same old story every time smh. Futaro the mc is asked to tutor 5 girls who are all sisters. All 5 of the girls end up developing feelings for futaro and face their own challenges in trying to take him for themselves. Id rather not spoil the story since it woukd be better pt watch and enjoy for youreself. Unlike most Harem animes the characters are pretty amazing, lovable and cute, even the mc has his strong points and isnt trash like most harem anime protagonists. All the charachters have their own specil charachteristics and and are funny and cute in their own way The plot may be very cliche but its better than most harem animes. Art/Sound the art is pretty consistent and pleasing to loom at, all the chr-arcters are designed well enough to make u absolutely fall in love with them (Miku ofcourse). The OST goes pretty well with the anime and i personally really liked the Ending. WAIFU RANKS 1.Miku 2.Yotsuba 3.Raiha 4.chika 5.Itsuki 6.Nino Overall: 9 Id reccomend watching this since it was a great and enjoyable experiance and it was good enough to make me catch up to the manga.

Oh my god I have never seen an anime make me so miserable, the main cast of characters are just really unlikeable, the girls are just stereotypes of different personalities and most of them are terrible and they all treat the main character like shit I have no idea how futaro can even stand them. The plot is really poorly paced and takes forever to get anywhere with most plot points not leading to anything. Other than my negative thoughts the anime itself if just a typical harem anime with little substance to it. There are way to many conflicts between the characters making all them feel pointless because they all end up happy and back together in the end There are better character arcs and stories in fucking SpongeBob than this.

All these years we wanted a good harem series where all characters acted like real people not like some sluts thirsty for that precious heavenly water. And it looks our prayers have been answered. Its delightful to see a main characters of harem series acting like a real human being for once, because I am sick of seeing aloof harem character or the ones who never get in any relationship from the dozens of girls available at his service. Futaro our main guy is more focused on getting rid of his debt then getting in any relationship but that does not mean he is insensitive to any of the girls because of that, he really tries his best to help all the girls, be at studies or anything else, he respects their choices and recognizes their differences. Even all girls are Quintuplets but each have their own personalty and unique quirks which separates them from other. Like how Miku likes japanese history and Ichika has like acting and so on . Mine favorite is Miku no doubt. This series only suffers from low quality animation which is weird because its done by studio Tezuka Productions, and studios Tezuka Productions is well known for the quality animation, so I do not what went wrong here in the animation department. You have to bare with some bad animation for that good story and character interactions. Give it try its a really good anime in my opinion.

All my life I've watched many harem anime and I must say this one is the BEST like literally the best one out of all of them. The story as well as the characters are great. Every girl has this best girl potential which makes it very hard to pick a waifu LOL. Either way this is by far my most favorite anime this season. LOL It's been so long since I got addicted to stuff like this lmao I even made a review because its just that good. I'm still waiting for S2 and the next chapters, cant wait <3.

I personally am not a huge fan of Romance / Harem animes but Gotoubun no Hanayome is an overall quite enjoyable watch. The anime is filled with good vibes, happy and funny moments, that make me wish I was the main male protagonist of this anime, just to be around with those quintuplets (especially Miku whom is best grill) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). The story is pretty simple, some guy wants to help some quintuplets study so that they could graduate and so that he could get paid, that's the gist of it. It is feeled with cute and quality comedy moments that I really enjoyed, pretty flawless nonetheless. The Art is also pretty flawless, the animations are nice and all the quintuplets are so damn cute! (Miku will always be the best grill though) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). I also really enjoyed the soundtrack, especially the ending. Not much else to say about it though. All the characters have their own unique personalities, that just simply makes you fall in love with them. (Miku is still best grill though) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Overall, I'm giving this anime a solid 7/10. It's a good watch that will put a smile on your face and is bound to give you a good time. <3 And remember #MikuBestGrill

A perfect harmony of personalities that cause humorous and interesting conversation between the characters. A not clueless male protagonist that doesn't fail to acknowledge the girl’s affection toward him. A female cast that doesn't instantly throw themselves at the male protagonist. These traits set 5-toubun no Hanayome (The Quintessential Quintuplets) apart from the generic harem. What is a generic harem? The two that come to mind are High School DxD and Nisekoi. High School DxD, without spoiling much, embodies the generic harem concept with high sex appeal in its female cast and a clueless male protagonist (Issei) who fails to realize the obvious hints the females are showing. This provides boring interactions as the female cast actively throws themselves toward Issei which ends up with the same result every time, Issei left face red and oblivious of the affection toward him. This repetitiveness only slows down the show and hinders the progression of the plot. Although some might find these pointless interactions funny or entertaining, they only serve to frustrate me as I scream into my computer screen "GROW A BRAIN DUMBASS". Nisekoi suffers from the same problems. However, I would say the character interactions are a bit more meaningful compared to DxD, but still hinder plot progression. Enough with the criticism of other shows. As stated before, 5-toubun on Hanayome sets itself apart due to its brilliant writing of character interactions that always serve to be entertaining. I've never been so entertained just hearing two characters converse. Here is broad explanation for each of the girls without spoiling too much... Itsuki and Nino both serve the tsundere role in the show. However, they show different degrees of the tsundere trait. Nino showed a sharp distrust in Fuutarou which allowed the beginning of the show to really feel as if Fuutarou needed to earn her trust to succeed. The writers knew this and made Fuutarou's journey more difficult with a few unexpected mishaps. This served primarily as comic relief and were a joy to watch as these scenes were beautifully crafted and they all made sense in the scheme of the story. Itsuki was much less harsh and served as the gateway between the quintuplets and Fuutarou. Her interactions with Fuutarou were very relatable, concise and slightly humorous. One of the primary highlights of her character was her process of finally beginning to trust and develop mild affection for Fuutarou. It was beautiful and unexpected. Miku stands out with her personality, she is the stand alone dandere in the beginning of the show and her interactions with Fuutarou only serve to further enhance her trait. These interactions can only be described as pure, wholesome innocence with a hint of humor. *SPOILERS AHEAD* (until the end of the paragraph) Throughout the show we get to see Miku develop into a more eager and upfront individual, breaking her dundere trait by the end of the first season and vowing to the other four sisters that she will take Fuutarou for herself. Although this transformation is not groundbreaking, the well written dialogue allows for the contrast in character to be more meaningful. Yotsuba and Ichika both play a similar role with their deredere like personalities. Although these two characters could have been boring and one dimensional, they weren't kept that way. Instead, tied with their personality trait of being friendly and energetic, came their moments of adversity and seriousness which really helped make them more meaningful characters as well has enhance their character development. Furthermore, their interactions bring a sense of light heartedness to the overall story as they are generally always energetic and positive outside of their moments of adversity. However, so many positives come some flaws. Based off the score that I chose to give this; the flaws are present. However, the positives still far outweigh the flaws. The main gripe that I have with the show is the plot sequence. In the OP the main end goal was established as which girl, out the five quintuplets, was Fuutarou going to be married to. It was then shown that Fuutarou was going to be their tutor and that, we assumed, would allow their relationships to blossom. This was just not a strong enough motive for them to eventually get married. Most likely, the writers also realized this when writing the source material and added a much more convincing motive. But, this was added far too late, toward the last 1/3 of the first season, this made the beginning feel lacking as the plot just didn't have complete harmony like the character interactions. Even though this may seem like a major issue, it wasn't a big deal in the long run as it was eventually amended. Overall, this show was phenomenal with its brilliant character interactions that not only bring humor, but also beautifully promote character development that is both exciting and shocking. I highly recommend it!

Repost: so no more BS , cu'z I'd be presenting my ratings for this cliche anime: Story-mediocre 5: No matter who writes a long review, in the end it doesn't take a fool to notice that this anime's story plot was more or less a cliches as any anime that has a harem genre in it, so whether one is reading a long best selling novel kind of review or reading a short factoid review it was still the same shit but of different color . Art-pathetic 1: We have Quintuplets that don't look like Quintuplets , in fact every character design were give o take were similar in all aspects of facial design so therefore them studio staff from Tezuka Productions should know the Quintuplets are not Quintuplets if they don't have matching features. they could compensate it like giving them quintuplets same hair color. Now if one was to make a fuss that getting to differentiate one quintuplet from the other then he or she is stupid, cu'z they can be differentiated by the way the wore their uniforms, hair style or kind of shoes they put on as long as they have same hair color cu'z that would make them Quintuplets , it was kinda ironic that despite of Japan's tech advancement, they're very much of a bunch of morons when it comes to something as simple as knowing what Quintuplets should look like and they way they used the English language. IMAO, this would have been better if some fanservce were added. Sound-Fair 6: Non comment. Character- Mediocre 5: Given that this is a cliche harem anime, what does one expect from it????? Well the usual: The main character who should be oblivious , Futaro Uesugi. A tsundere like Nino Nakano A bokuko like Yotsuba Nakano A deredere like Ichika Nakano A Kuudere like Miku Nakano and another tsundere like Itsuki Nakano Now I don't know about you, but to me them quintuplets were just a bunch of spoiled daddy's girls kind of retards, were in the mind of the original creator Haruba, Negi wants them that way as such as to make the life of the MC as miserable as is. and don't forget an imouto like Raiha Uesugi , who is the quintessential here. Enjoyment Poor 3 : Cu'z basically what was suppose to be a plot for the guy to tutor them girls to get good grades ends up him being the girls' nanny. Let's not forget that this anime's title Gotoubun no Hanayome or in English The Quintessential Quintuplets, in reality it's actually The Troublesome Quintuplets, cu'z realistically all they do is give the main character, Futaro Uesugi , a top student and their tutor a hard time. Overall- Pathetic 1: basically the anime alone is a ripped off, cu'z them quintuplets weren't really that essential at all , in fact I don't dig as to why this was titled as such , cu'z this should be titled as "The troublesome quintuplets. " cu'z they weren't that interested in studying at all and the character's job of tutoring them was more like a wasted of time than anything else. Season 2, anybody?????? Don't even think about it, but then again looks like there is gonna be one in the works.

(spoiler free but also didn’t proofread bc this anime doesnt deserve anymore of my time me thinks) as an anime this fails on virtually every front. the music is absolutely horrendus, the visuals are so anime uwu kawaii it has no texture to it, and camera work is the worst offender. often resulting in dead pans, the camera works as a sitcom with people talking while sitting with the camera just staring at them. so creatively bankrupt. the characters are extremely bland. they feel like a flanderized version of themselves by episode 2 its insane. theres 6 characters but it genuinely feels like theres 2 characters and 4 clones. the world is so hollow and un lived in. ofc this is a slice of life not an epic fantasy but dude theres barely ANY hints of larger problems within families, communities, and domestic social issues. the anime ends with literally zero pay off to anything. theres no answers to any naturally asked questions, theres no rewarding scenes, theres no real character work. i could ignore all the poor story telling if this anime had something to say with its production. editing, storyboards, animation, color, sound design, its genuinely all so bad. the budget for this anime mustve been 30 dollars dude (miku my goat tho)

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Go-Tōbun no Hanayome, Quintuplet Brides seriously how many names does this anime have gosh... Anyways, this anime is one of the most hyped anime pre-release along with Mob Psycho 100 II, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, The Promised Neverland and many more. I watched some of the hyped anime when they were still airing and the other anime like Kaguya-Sama, I left it till it has finished airing. The Quintessential Quintuplets is one of them. - So now, first thoughts. After watching the first episode I already came to a general conclusion of what the anime will potentially be like. My first impressions were that this is a generic harem anime with, of course pretty girls that make perfect waifus, anti-social male protagonist and the pretty girls all having different personalities but have a common goal which leads them to meet and acquaint themselves with the male protagonist. The first episode showed some insights to our characters and an introduction of them meeting each other along with some information of their backgrounds and personalities. Like many other anime, the first episode of the anime used the ‘Teaser Approach’ where we get a glance at the future of our main character and then the episode continues with whatever it’s about. I have no problems with that kind of introduction and no complaints, genericity in my opinion is never bad. Nothing has to be original to be good but of course, being original would definitely improve first impressions. With that said, episode one introduces the male protagonist, Uesugi Fuutarou being an underprivileged, anti-social and dense character. Pretty generic. Then he meets our first female protagonist, Itsuki Nakano whom had their first fateful encounter. And well, of course! Uesugi’s dense character comes into play as their first fateful encounter features him rejecting her when she casually asks him to tutor her after she caught a glimpse of his results and realised he was smart. Uesugi then offended her a second time by saying that she eats too much and may get *fat*! The episode then continues with more fateful encounters firstly by introducing Uesugi’s background of being poor and needing a job, Uesugi then found a job to teach a rich person’s daughter or so he thought. The rich person was offering to pay 5 times the price which Uesugi thought was sketchy well, of course he’d think that and it turns out to be as true as it can be! On that same fateful day, Itsuki Nakano was revealed to be a transfer student and of course she would end up in Uesugi’s class. Afterwards our male protagonist then realised he fucked up and that she was the transfer student that was the one about to go under his tutelage. Yes, that’s a very generic way to develop an anime. (Not a bad way though, A offends B and plot twist, A realised he/she shouldn’t have done that) this easily creates chances for character development and gives an anime direction depending on how the characters approach the problem. Continuing, Uesugi tries to get an opportunity to apologise to Itsuki. As he looks for an opportunity, we get introduced to the other girls hanging around Itsuki that Uesugi assumed were her friends. A few of those girls approached Itsuki which gave us a rough idea of their personality (the Opening already somewhat did though) Then he went to Itsuki’s house to begin his first day on the job and that was when he realised... his job isn’t to tutor a rich man’s daughter, it was to tutor a rich man’s daughters! - The episode then follows with a small series of fan service and snippets to our waifus personalities, I mean I have to say they all make perfect waifu materials just by looks alone. We also learn that all the girls are failures in academics and the only thing they have in common other than being identical in looks is their hatred for studying So from the first episode I drew some conclusions. Nakano Itsuki: first girl to get to know our boy, if anime wants to be generic she will also be the last girl to get with our boy, either that or boy will get together with all the sisters or even better, NTR to remove genericity jk, I hate NTR despite the many development opportunities it gives :P Prolly a tsundere, maybe first girl best girl because she’s pretty hot, wait isn’t that most of the girls? I like her tho coz I like tsunderes anyways, she seems to be the ‘maturer’ one among the rest but little is known about the rest yet since I’m only at episode 1 Nakano Ichika: Second girl to know our boy, seems to be a bit of a tease but also seems to be the most forthcoming along with Nakano Yotsuba, by that I mean she is really easy going with Uesugi and even teases him for having a thing for Itsuki Nakano Yotsuba: Third girl introduced, immediately anyone can tell (if they watch a lot of anime) that she’s the cheery, easy going, ditzy girl of the group which generically has a clumsy trait which idk if she does in this anime (yet). She’s the one that helped introduce the other sisters when Nakano Itsuki rejected him as a tutor since she apparently bares a grudge now after Uesugi and her first encounter. Nakano Nino: Very little information from episode 1 but seems to be a tsundere too, maybe not as much as Itsuki but idk (yet). She drugged Uesugi on his first day. talk about extreme. Baited him by giving him tasty cookies but drugged the glass of water just so that they didn’t have to study. dafuq man She’s very pretty though. Pretty edgy too, who the fuck drugs their tutor, afterwards Itsuki was the one that takes Uesugi back so u can pretty much tell who the main heroine of the first episode was. Still, for Nino I still don’t have any/much info about her (yet) and I wouldn’t want to draw ANY conclusions (yet) apart from the fact she DRUGGED HIM Nakano Miku: quiet, soft spoken seemingly the antisocial girl of the group and according to my experience in anime, normally this is the one that gets the most love because anime fans don’t wanna be generic and like the girl that clearly is the prettiest and the most generic waifu material. She’s probably the most ‘different’ from the group since the rest seem to be very loud and sociable. My first impressions of Miku is that I can tell she’s the one all you fans out there will wanna protecc. Those are my feelings from episode one and hell was I wron- correct. - It seems the anime has a episode-by-episode approach as I like to call it. Meaning it features one character per arc like one character being the focus for 1 or more episodes straight and changing to a new character afterward, so on so forth. A very typical approach for harem anime with many characters. Either way, that’s what I thought but what particularly interested me was that many other harem anime that supposedly focuses one girl usually has that girl clearly shown to be the main heroine appearing in every arc etc like Bunny Girl Senpai, we have Mai appearing in every girl’s arc but in this anime, the girls have a pretty equal amount of air time in each episode to allow us to understand all of them better while giving more insight on the main heroine of the arc. Uesugi apparently does end up with one of the girl according to teasers but I mean it’s also possible he marries all or something. But I like the fact that no one is left out giving viewers the chance to guess who ends up marrying Uesugi or letting viewers pick the best girl of their choice! After watching like the first episode and telling my friends I started watching the anime I heard that many people like Miku which hopefully I will learn why. I mean currently my first impressions makes me fall for Itsuki first. But it’s sort of dedicated to Itsuki in the first episode however the anime is still in introductory phase. - As of now, episode 4 I realise that I like the anime even more because its approach is great. I said that each episode or two has a main heroine but that may very well not be the case s…

The Quintessential Quintuplets is pretty good. We enter Fuutarou Uesugi, a teenager who inevitably gets thrown into the lives of his tutee’s, a group of five sisters. From then on, we get to see how he fares with trying to make these girls study. The first episodes are standard harem scenarios. We are introduced to various personalities, some of them we are already used to, others we begin to acknowledge for their incredibly endearing sweetness. The show takes its time for the cast of girls to develop trust for Uesugi, and I appreciate that. Though the progression is slow, we gradually see the girls develop deep trust - even feelings - for our dear Uesugi. The conflict and drama are believable enough and provide many layers, notably impressive for an anime like this. Uesugi, while still retaining a little of that standard harem protagonist, manages to soar beyond his beta male counterparts. His determination and passion for reasons that are sincere and genuine prove to put him a step above the rest from other harem protagonists. His backfired attempts at convincing the girls to study lead to some pretty funny instances of shame and sorrow, all of which still contribute to the show’s efforts at seriousness. Slowly but surely, we develop interest in Uesugi’s struggle and goals while he still becomes the subject of teasing by his “students”. The girls themselves all have typical personalities… initially, that is. There is substantial growth in their character by the end of the season, and they break through the initial expectations set by earlier shows of the same nature. There is more to them than what is shown in the first few episodes. The chemistry between each of them and Uesugi is fun to watch, and we all know Uesugi’s going to pull through for our waifu’s. The whole sister dynamic is also something I have not seen, and the show manages to execute it well. While the anime is still held back by the bounds of overused tropes and a few weak-willed attempts at stirring drama, what is mostly shown in this adaptation manages to be fairly consistent and worthwhile. While it does not deliver in explosive portrayals of a bunch of girls madly in love, it is still a refreshing change of pace. On a visual level, Quintessential Quintuplets does not fail in this department as well. Colorful backgrounds coupled with fluid character expressions. Character designs are a bit meh to no one’s surprise, but there are some features of the cast that stand out. Fanservice is sprinkled in bits, though it does not make up the main appeal of the anime. There are a few grand spectacles, particularly in the closing episodes. The anime does a good job in highlighting the attractiveness of each individual with regards to their personalities. Vivid and lush, it maintains the same quality of production throughout its duration. As for sound, it is more or less of the same quality, although I am slightly afraid of what the end of the opening song foreshadows. Of course one can take the development of the harem in either positive or negative reactions. The anime is slow to develop romance, so if you want girls crushing on a guy left and right, you will not get that here. What is instead thrown is a satisfying harem that can hold its ground against others like it that are similarly well-received, and sets a benchmark that future adaptations should follow. Arguably enough, it might even be a step in the right direction. Too bad it was only twelve episodes. When all is said and done though, the Quintessential Quintuplets made my time spent worthwhile, and hopefully it ends up being the same for you, too. Miku though...

I'm baffled by the high scores and praise this show is getting. It's just so BLAND and utterly devoid of flavor. Fuutarou is a slice of stale bread, but the girls all learn to like him because, apparently he's the first guy they've ever met. I mean, it's pretty typical for male MC's (especially harem ones) to be utterly nothing, but Fuutarou has absolutely zero charm. Other harem MC's are aloof at times or say something funny. They might be bland, but they'll have some quirk about them that makes them attractive. But Fuutarou has none. He's annoying and likes to show off his high grades. He's just standoffish and very curt. But then again, it makes sense, when you consider 4 out of 5 of the Quintuplets are essentially hating on him or messing with him 90% of the show's runtime. It isn't until the show hits around 8-9 episodes in that it goes, "oh wait, this was a romance with a marriage or something, right? Shieettt", and then all of the girls are rewired into loving this man. This is the biggest problem with the show— it barely feels like a romance at all. Every single "moment" in the show feels forced and contrived. It's made worse by Fuutarou showing zero emotion back. Does he even like any of them? There is no give and take at all. There is absolutely ZERO (TN: Zero means "none") chemistry between Fuutarou and any of the girls. It's embarrassing that even the most trash of harems contain more chemistry than this show. It's not actually romantic, and it's not funny either— there isn't even fanservice, so there's nothing to make up for the weak points. I don't even need to talk about the plot, because plot isn't why anyone sits down to watch a romance or harem— you watch it for character interactions, and there are NONE to be found here. Avoid. 3/10 (gets points for the ED)