5-toubun no Hanayome ∬

Through their tutor Fuutarou Uesugi's diligent guidance, the Nakano quintuplets' academic performance shows signs of improvement, even if their path to graduation is still rocky. However, as they continue to cause various situations that delay any actual tutoring, Fuutarou becomes increasingly involved with their personal lives, further complicating their relationship with each other.

On another note, Fuutarou slowly begins to realize the existence of a possible connection between him and the past he believes to have shared with one of the five girls. With everyone's feelings beginning to develop and overlap, will they be able to keep their bond strictly to that of a teacher and his students—or will it mature into something else entirely?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nakano, Miku Main

Itou, Miku Japanese

Nakano, Nino Main

Taketatsu, Ayana Japanese

Nakano, Itsuki Main

Minase, Inori Japanese

Nakano, Yotsuba Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Nakano, Ichika Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Uesugi, Fuutarou Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Uesugi, Raiha Supporting

Takamori, Natsumi Japanese

Uesugi, Isanari Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Nakano, Maruo Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya Japanese

Revival's Manager Supporting

Toriumi, Kousuke Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Furukawa, Shin Producer

Ogura, Mitsutoshi Producer

Reviews

Dec 2, 2024

elpsykongroo2k4

Recommended

Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2 Rewatch

After rewatching both the anime and reading the manga of The Quintessential Quintuplets, I felt compelled to jot down my thoughts, even though my writing might not be perfect. These feelings stem from my deep love for this masterpiece. (This review is based solely on what Season 2 accomplished.)

Even though this was just a rewatch, the sense of immersion was undeniably captivating. Season 2 was brilliantly adapted, far exceeding the original manga in many aspects. I’ve rarely encountered a romcom harem series that handles storylines, characters, and romantic drama as masterfully as 5-toubun no Hanayome.

The second season continues Uesugi ... Fuutarou's tutoring journey with the quintuplets, but this time, the story escalates into more intense drama compared to the lighthearted tone of the first season. With all five sisters realizing their feelings for Fuutarou and expressing them in their unique ways, the narrative becomes irresistibly engaging.

Character Development: Flawlessly Executed
The character development in this series is phenomenal. It's hard to dislike any of the characters because each of them shines naturally, thanks to everyday scenarios that feel so relatable. Although Ichika, Nino, and Miku dominate screen time, Yotsuba and Itsuki are not overshadowed.

Here are my impressions of the characters:

Ichika
Her internal struggles were excellently portrayed. I was struck by her line, "I want to stay in this comfortable place forever," while walking with Fuutarou, as well as her selfish attempt to reclaim her jacket from Yotsuba with the words, "I'm cold too." These moments highlight how much Ichika, as the eldest, has sacrificed for her sisters. After receiving encouragement from both Miku and Yotsuba, she finally decides not to yield her current position to anyone, even her sisters, leading to impulsive, love-driven mistakes during the Sister War arc. Despite this, I can’t help but empathize with her. “It was all a lie.” — Ichika’s complexity speaks volumes.

Nino
Nino's transformation is another standout. From a stubborn tsundere who initially despised Fuutarou, she eventually fell for him. Her spontaneous, unfiltered actions driven purely by emotion make her both charming and humorous. One of her standout internal monologues goes something like, "I truly love who he is, even if I don’t accept the role he plays." Nino's boldness makes her irresistible.

Miku (My Favorite)
Miku is an adorable kuudere who starts off as shy and insecure, believing herself to be the least capable among her sisters. She sets personal goals, like scoring the highest on exams or baking perfect bread, as a way to confess her feelings to Fuutarou. She even tries to mold herself into his "ideal girlfriend" (based on his teasing comments). However, Miku eventually realizes these goals were mere excuses to delay her confession due to her lack of confidence. Watching her grow into a more confident version of herself, culminating in her heartfelt confession during the festival arc, was deeply emotional. “I won’t hesitate anymore.” — Miku’s resilience makes her journey uniquely touching.

Yotsuba
Yotsuba is an energetic and selfless girl who always prioritizes her sisters over herself. Beneath her cheerful facade lies a sense of guilt—for failing to keep her promise to Fuutarou and for causing her sisters to transfer schools. She chooses to support her sisters from the shadows, despite harboring feelings for Fuutarou equal to theirs. Ultimately, Yotsuba’s true emotions couldn’t remain hidden forever.

Itsuki
The youngest sister, Itsuki, tries to act mature to fill the void left by their deceased mother. While her romantic feelings for Fuutarou aren't as pronounced, her character retains a subtle charm. Despite being the one who spends the most time at Fuutarou’s house, Itsuki’s growth isn’t as prominent as her sisters’, yet her blend of seriousness and childish antics wins over many fans.

Fuutarou Uesugi
As the protagonist, Fuutarou also shines. I was particularly impressed when he considered quitting his tutoring job after doubting his ability to help the quintuplets. Despite coming from a poor background, he values hard-earned money and refuses to accept handouts. Fuutarou evolves from a studious, emotionless character to someone who truly cherishes his time with the quintuplets. “Meeting and tutoring them is the greatest accomplishment of my life.” — Uesugi Fuutarou.

Animation & Soundtrack
The animation quality of Season 2 is exceptional, far surpassing the first season. Characters are more detailed, and important scenes are meticulously crafted. As the episodes progress, Studio Bibury elevates the visual quality, particularly in the latter arcs.

The soundtrack is equally praiseworthy. The opening theme, Gotoubun no Katachi, is an upbeat track performed by the Nakano quintuplets, perfectly capturing the show’s essence. The ending song, Hatsukoi, is a soulful reflection of the sisters' emotions. Other background tracks, like Stupid Girl, add depth and charm to various scenes.

Final Thoughts
Gotoubun no Hanayome is a rare gem among romcom harems that I thoroughly enjoy revisiting. Its seemingly simple yet profound storyline, captivating narrative, and masterfully crafted characters make it a masterpiece in the genre. What’s truly remarkable is its avoidance of excessive fanservice, instead relying on witty, heartfelt romantic comedy and drama unique to the quintuplets.

Scores:

Plot: 9/10
Animation: 10/10
Character Development: 9/10
Soundtrack: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10 — A Masterpiece.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 21, 2024

Franktamas

Mixed Feelings

Somewhat of a letdown for me after S1.

The Worldbuilding got a little bigger, still as an SoL it doesn't need huge work and it is not in the focus of attention, but it was a competent and nice plus.

Plot continues the story relatively well moving forward, sady it rushes too much which means a lot of changes are drastic and important parts are basically just skipped over. Especially problematic in that it even happens with the inciting conflict of the show, the teaching of the girls. That entire plotline jarbled and half-assed.

Regardless of that, the Characterwork is maybe the biggest flaw of the season. Some ... got nice arcs, even if certain ones subjectively can be little repulsive, but they are true to character.
There is a complete 180 in almost every sense of relations, but teenage girls do that, so while it is really weird it is realistic.
One of them I cannot describe any other way than 'being a manipulative cow' using people in their lowest for her selfish needs (worded like this to avoid spoilers). This wouldn't be a problem if she would've got punished for it (like the first example with the 'repulsive one'), but she didn't. The person knows that she used her, but hasn't retaliated yet or made her responsible. It can be a card to play later, but waiting for the opportune moment could've created a big issue with another problem (it sorted itself out, but it was a huge risk). Without knowing the end of that plotline I cannot really know how to rate that scene, but treating it open ended (for S2) it is a huge issue for the story, which has a huge negative stamp on the entire story.
The last Nakano just amazed me to the point that I cannot describe what she did other than being the master tactician. Even thinking back at it, she did have the first confession, she did sneak in the first kiss on cheek, and she grabbed the first kiss on lips of the MC, all while cheering and helping her rivals.

It is somewhat weird, but true to character for her to be this cocky, and if she "wins" it does just coming out as savages, but she has every right to it.

It is both a bonus and a flaw that S2 does almost needs everyone to continue with the story, on one hand because there were a lot of unfinished sub-plotlines, some which should have been at least partially resolved, but on the other hand because of how masterfully the anime plays with mysteries.
There were parts where it might've been too far (onsen), but most of the time it does balance it fairly well.

The MC is still really good, all the praises from S1 still stand of him being realistic, believable and acting as a logical human would, which gives heart to the story and makes it engaging.
Some problems did arise though, where the inability of him to act or decide cost him and his friends, most of them are at least partially believable and understandable, still it should initiate a character growing moment where he realizes his flaw and try to amend it, which didn't happen yet (as of S2).

Which does circle back to the plot, and what makes some reason out of universe wise for the anime to rush, but does damage the story. Events wise too many things happened, and those weren't 'unfolded' satisfyingly. But in terms of character growth, it lagged behind.
To signify it in numbers the 12 episodes enclosed 8 months of plot in 12 episodes, but only 4 months of character.

The highs were relatively high (higher than S1), but the lows were really low. At one point (I think E3
) reminded me of Mando [S1E3 specifically, but entire Mando] of how bad that moment was. It is a really damning sign if some story elements scoop to the 3-4/10 of Mando [S1].

In its entirety:
7.6/10
master tactician girl, repulsive actions girl and girl at last ep kinda saved it from being a disaster (compared to S1).

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 1, 2023

Venucurius

Not Recommended

Funny

[!]THIS REVIEW TALKS ABOUT THE WHOLE SERIES AND NOT JUST A STANDALONE INSTALLMENT[!]

Over the years, I’ve been watching harem anime that end up being either vacant and boring or severely infuriating, two sides of the sheer negativity a harem has for the most part. The Quintessential Quintuplets (from here on out shortened to 5toubun) is the biggest offender of both sides—a series that doesn’t care about its story, its characters, pretty much its goddamn everything at this point. Not even good voice acting could save this car crash. Yes, I know you came here when I answered this question “What is the worst harem anime ... of all time?” But yes, I do believe this is possibly the worst harem anime of all time.

Before we get to me reviewing the series, let’s recap the disclaimers again:

All of these are 100% opinion-based. What you’ll see is very subjective and therefore, shouldn’t be taken seriously.

I have no problems with anyone liking the series. If you’re a fan of the series, feel free to share why you think it’s better than what I said.

Alright, let’s get to it.

What is the idea of 5toubun? Well, 5toubun is a harem series where a poor high school second-year named ‘Fuutarou Uesugi’ has a part-time job where he tutors 5 girls who happen to be quintuplets of each other. Each quintuplet has a distinct personality to each other and all of them equally hate studying. As a concept, I find this to be quite ‘eh’. It’s not too bad. It’s actually better than a lot of other premises in other harem anime. I just think that it feels a bit too dry and doesn’t feel any more engaging. But don’t worry. I’m pretty sure the show itself would make solid or even decent use of it, right? …he he …RIGHT? To which I would add, NO. Not even close to that. Now this is where the series drops really hard.

What makes this series such a big fail is the scriptwriting. The dialogue is downright atrocious. It’s either dry and monotone or chaotic and out of place, and I don’t mean the latter in ways that would make the show mindlessly enjoyable. You got interactions between Fuutarou and any of the quints with discussions that aren’t very special. They’re just topics that feel very shallow. Hell, the characters aren’t even the best at tackling them. They just talk back and forth to each other about random things randomly. It gets old really quickly to be honest. Another massive issue is how there are a lot (not all but a lot) of tropes around. I don’t necessarily mind seeing a handful of tropes in any show but the series is completely littered with stale harem tropes to the point where it doesn’t feel realistic in the slightest. You also got the so-called “comedy”. As mentioned, it’s not even funny on the surface. It’s a massive headache to sit through. It’s all over the place.

If the scriptwriting is dog water then so is the cast of characters. What we have here is Ichika, the teasing actress, Nino, the tsundere, Miku, the quiet girl, Yotsuba, the energetic girl, and lastly, the serious and gluttonous Itsuki. Are they distinct from each other in terms of character basics? Yes. Are they anything to write home about as actual characters? I’m afraid not. Literally far from that. I don’t know if I could call them “characters”. They don’t even have ‘some’ moments that made them stand out one bit. The “female cast” of 5toubun is a bunch of annoying and boring goblins who would overblow their character quirks instead of having any decent development whatsoever. Though for the annoying part, Miku is an exception because she’s a little more of a quiet girl, as the series states that out. She’s not really annoying to sit through. But even she’s a living archetype for the whole series. It’s just that she stood out from the other quints a little bit just because she doesn’t show as many expressions as the others.

The others can suffer from whip spanking. Itsuki is a crybaby, and I don’t mean a good crybaby, an insufferable one. She straight up takes almost everything too seriously and it gets head-scratching. Yotsuba is just the happy-to-go-lucky girl who hypes herself every time she’s on screen. Nino is a classic annoying tsundere who’s abusive for little-to-no reason regardless of conflicts and relations. But no one, NO ONE is as punchable as Ichika. She’s not only extremely annoying, but she’s also unreasonably manipulative. Nino is also manipulative but the manipulativeness from Ichika is a lot worse. How she “teases” Fuutarou isn’t enjoyable or cute. It’s incredibly toxic. That’s like punching a kid over a LEGO figure and calling it “teasing” for a living. So yeah, those are the quints. They are living mannequins with quirks that don’t even help their characterization at all.

Oh, wait! We can’t (or perhaps we can) forget the protagonist of the series, Fuutarou, the man who tutors all 5 girls. He is undoubtedly the most boring organism ever. Kirito and Tanjiro are well-written and inspiring characters compared to that milkless pawn. Now you would think that he would carry the series since the girls are a pile of nothingness, right? No, he’s literally just there. Hell, I forgot what his sole purpose of the show was. What does he do again? Oh, that’s right. To tutor the 5 girls. How interesting is this? As far as how the show presents, as interesting as toilet paper. Besides that gimmick, there’s just nothing special about him. Most of the time, his interactions with the quints are just boring and forgettable. It’s like reading a bunch of chores to deal with in an essay format. If you are as boring, if not more boring than Fuutarou then I am deeply sorry that happens…

Btw, if you’re wondering what my ranking on the quints is, here’s what it looks like:
Miku > Itsuki > Yotsuba > Nino > Ichika

All of them suck-ass either way.

Okay! Enough of the shitshow of the story and characters. Let’s move on to the miscellaneous elements. Artstyle is okay but is rather generic. Didn’t like the music in the series whatsoever. I guess the opening is fine-ish, but I don’t know, I couldn’t listen to any of the tracks one bit outside of watching the show. The Japanese voice acting is good. Not a fan of the English voice acting but Nino’s dub voice is kinda spot-on personally.

And that does it. So how do you make a good harem? By at least making character growth and interactions more intriguing while not going too hard on any of them. 5toubun can’t achieve any of that. It just makes the goddamn everything force. Now I actually don’t mind the first few episodes. They’re not special or anything but they’re not offensive to the series either. But by the time the show progresses, the whole presentation turns into a dry and outdated sponge. It’s not interesting and it’s not even entertaining. It’s just a massive chore to sit through. Despite my negative feelings towards this show, again, I have zero problems with anyone liking/enjoying the series. The girls do look admittedly cute. Thanks for reading.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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