5-toubun no Hanayome Movie

Behold, everyone! The single biggest fuck up in storytelling I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing!

The only reason I'm as upset as I am is because of the amount of investment I had in this series. This anime was great. Emphasis on "was".

BEFORE WE BEGIN, a little disclaimer. Discussion of this series is actually braindead and toxic at times. I've seen a lot of people who like this movie, and particularly the winner, be completely blind to criticism, dismissing it as "mad because your favorite girl didn't win". Don't be a fucking idiot. This review isn't that in the slightest - I hope to ... point out the valid talking points as to why this movie is such a poor finisher to the series. The same goes for people blindly hating on the series for different-but-just-as-meaningless reasons. Discussion should be civil, not ravenous, neanderthal-esque "MOVIE GOOD" or "MOVIE BAD".

I read the manga when it was still ongoing, and it's almost cathartic seeing everyone just as disappointed as I am. The show itself had genuinely great moments only to build up to a terrible ending. As I wrote in my review for the manga, it's like building a house of cards only to have it be blown down because you tried to do something that just wouldn't work. As an adaptation, this movie isn't even that good, either. It felt like the studio knew they were on a sinking ship and just decided to end it and leave everyone to drown. The pacing was breakneck, yet mindbogglingly slow at the same time. Just... wow. Let's just quickly go into depth.

**Major spoilers where necessary to give context to what I'm talking about.**

EDIT: A lot of this review is played up for comedic effect. While a lot of what I say may be hyperbolized for the sake of an argument or otherwise, there is undeniably some truth at it's core. Additionally, I'm team Nino. If this invalidates the review for you, get the fuck out, you're a part of the problem. All of that said, please enjoy.

Story: 2

I would like to preface this by saying that I do not dislike Yotsuba that much, just that I find her bland and uninteresting in comparison to Nino, and even Miku. My problem with her, is that she never got any proper development before Negi remembered that he had to pick a bride. If she was a good character, I would not be averse to her winning in the end, only slightly bitter. That being said, rant begin.

This movie spat on what the anime had been building up for so long. Purely plot wise, it feels like Negi said "Ha! Bet'cha didn't think that was coming, did'ya!". Negi had two perfectly good, good/greatly developed, fan favourite characters that he could have given the spot at the altar, but went with fucking Yotsuba. The character (barring the upsetting character assassination that Ichika got the season prior) that bar-none would have been the least likely candidate if it weren't for the fact that she met Uesugi 5 years ago in Kyoto. This is all I'll spoil, but the rest of the movie isn't any better story wise, either, so lets get into why this is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Yotsuba had just about as much character development as Itsuki did, maybe even less. She was, until this last section, the least interesting quintuplet of the bunch, with her perky and genki, goody-two-shoes archetype being her only defining trait other than that she's the dumbest of the five quintuplets. From a storytelling standpoint, this is already dire. But then we move on to her last minute development which resides effectively only in the movie, which is just pathetic. This anime suffered from not being long enough, and not taking it's time. With enough *proper* and *interesting* character development, the selection of Yotsuba as the bride would only be bittersweet. But, alas, instead it's just insulting. Not to mention the message that the movie sends - Despite Nino and Miku trying their hardest to appeal to Uesugi and sharing genuinely sweet moments with him, Uesugi chose Yotsuba because she was the girl he met 5 years ago. You hear that? The winner was decided before the story even took place. "But she supported him along the way" I hear you say, upset and confused behind your cheeto-covered keyboards. Sure, she did. Too bad that's basically all she did for the entirety of the anime. Nino showed him boundless affection. Miku showed him love and care. Hell, even Itsuki had more of a reason to be the bride, and she didn't even fall for him in the end! What the fuck. But hey guys, look, here's Nino in an idol costume! That fixes everything, right? Right? Please buy the merchandise, thank you and go fuck yourself.

*****Edit: This review got a lot of traction, so I'll quickly elaborate. From an in universe point of view, Fuutarou picking Yostuba is fine despite him being out of character for most of the film anyway. From a storytelling perspective, however, it's a boring choice that feels like it was done to not piss off half the fanbase due to how controversial/toxic the whole "Nino vs Miku" thing was. Sure, there were vague clues along the way that pointed towards Yotsuba being the bride as well as obvious red herrings. Still doesn't change the fact that Yotsuba got little to no actual time in the spotlight before the movie itself barring a scene or two.

Actually, you know what, this edit is long enough anyway and I'm still in the mood to rant months later. I have something new to say in the character section, so look out for that. But for now, let's talk about chemistry. The reason that Yostuba likes Fuutarou for the most part is extremely shallow. They don't play off of each others faults or particularly get along in much capacity. Fuutarou, for the most part, treated Yotsuba like a colleague. Compare that to Nino and Miku for a moment. Nino's chemistry with Fuutarou is much clearer. Nino's aggressiveness paired with Fuutarou's passiveness is already a good start, opposites attract and what not. Plus, it's far more obvious that there was something actually between them even during season 2. Miku, on the other hand, plays into Fuutarou's traits, sharing quite a few of them. Her interest in history gives her a sort of shared interest with Fuutarou, and her shyness being remedied by Fuutarou's (developed over time dealing with these girls, mind you) patience and willingness also makes for good chemistry. Hell, once again, even with ITSUKI of all characters does he have more chemistry with. What's the extent of Yotsuba and Fuutarou? Well, Yotsuba's sporty and dumb while Fuutarou is weak and smart. Like I said, even if from an in universe point of view Fuutarou picking Yotsuba is justified, it makes for poor storytelling without any prior or further character development or interaction.

SIDE RANT: The Bell Tower Kiss. The single worst turning point in the show, because of one thing - it was the be-all-end-all. It was a 100% stated fact that it was the bride who had kissed Uesugi in the same damn scene. Even worse, it indirectly de-confirmed Nino due to a line of dialogue she said earlier. So, at this point, Itsuki isn't the bride (because that would have been too obvious, and 5-toubun is intent on defying expectations. Well, except the very end for some reason, mind you, but I digress.), and now Nino. Not long after, Ichika gets her character upsettingly assassinated in order to de-confirm her as well. You know what would have been better? Not flashing forward to the damn wedding. But, I guess they needed some callback to remind you that this is a mystery. On top of this, despite it's history of defying expectations in a way that made the reader engaged, 5-toubun's bride is the girl that Uesugi met 5 years ago. Let that sink in for a moment, and then sigh along with me in disappointment. This is, like I said, such a major storytelling disaster that I find it genuinely hard to believe that there are people who thought this was a satisfying ending to them, even to the Yotsuba fans. Know what would've been a nice breath of fresh air, even if it *really* had to be Yotsuba? Make her *not* be the Kyoto girl. Make her relationship with Uesugi more than an unkept promise and a remarkably perplexing dream of becoming a bride wrapped in a trashy "Love at First Sight" cliché. Fuck me, man.

That all said, though, while the movie is borderline irredeemable (not even by the overpriced region locked, console locked visual novels with a "choose your favorite" premise), the one thing I can compliment is that despite everything, it did manage to actually pick a girl and not be a harem ending (MANGA EXTRAS NOTWITHSTANDING, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE WHAT THOSE MIGHT IMPLY). Congratulations, Gotoubun no Hanayome, you've successfully done... well, much worse than the bare minimum, but you did something right.

Art: 8

Bibury Animation studios did a passable job on the art and animation during the movie. Some scenes were even quite impressive looking. However, it's not that much to gush over. It was above average, but not mind blowing.

Sound: 7

The OST is largely unimpressive, but it does it's job fine. Forgettable, but inoffensive.

Character: 6

The movie largely focused on Yotsuba getting some last-minute development in an attempt to justify why she won. But hey, at least the other characters were there, so it's not all bad.

***Edit: Let's talk about character faults. It's basic writing 101 - a character without faults is hardly a character, let alone an interesting one. I mean it quite literally when I say every character except Yotsuba has at least one interesting character flaw. Ichika is manipulative. Nino is abrasive and judgmental. Miku is unconfident and overly passive. Itsuki is stubborn to a fault. What does Yotsuba have? Well, for starters, she's dumb. Except, the other quintuplets are too. She's just slightly dumber. She's also a terrible liar, which isn't really a fault so much as a gag. Lying is bad, kids, being bad at lying doesn't make you bad. She's also kind to a fault, which I shouldn't have to tell the damn anime community barely counts considering the hundreds of one note protagonists with that exact same flaw. The closest thing she has to a "flaw" (more of a misdeed, but whatever) is that she didn't keep a promise she made 5 years ago with Fuutarou which caused him to be the way he is. Which, if more explored, could easily catapult her into being a really interesting character. The implications of it, though, are barely if at all touched within the confines of both the movie and the manga. Hopefully this edit has really gotten across *why* I think Yotsuba is such a poor choice.

Enjoyment: 2

It's like 2020 all over again (Christ, has it really been that long?). It nosedived as soon as I knew that it was basically an abridged recap of what happened in the manga's endgame. Not much else to say here other than this show was carried by it's two best female heroines and Uesugi.

Overall: 4

This series would have benefitted from another season or two before a movie to finish it off, including an anime original ending. More or less, it's exactly what I expected it to be: A poorly adapted rush of an ending with no fixes to the mistakes done in the manga, fluffed by fanservice between the boring scenes about Yotsuba.

It is honestly disheartening to see that a show so hellbent on defying the expectations of the harem genre turn around at the very end and act like "Love at first sight" is the reason why Yotsuba won. It's just... disappointing considering the showstopper that was Nino amidst the unending sea of boring harem heroines.

This manga has been living in my head rent free for the past two years over how poorly it ended. The anime being like this too has not helped, either - so, thank you for reading my review, and I hope I managed to articulate to you lovely readers what made this movie so bad to me.

If you want to watch the movie, go ahead. If you enjoy it, all the power to you. I, though, can't recommend it with good faith if you were really invested in the anime/manga. This is far more easily enjoyed by people who weren't really active in following the series. I don't have anything against anyone, except maybe Negi, who had something so good and ended up making it so bad, and even then, I'm out of energy to even have that.

Contains a few major spoilers, but most people have read the manga, and anything important was already spoiled 3 years ago.

My review for this show was supposed to be in the manga section, but since the movie was released, I think it should be better here.


"They had us on the first half... Not gonna lie."

Since the creation of the harem theme in a romantic comedy, the shipping war was born. Many animes led to a good ending, but for the worst part, you don't know why the heck that happened. The recent harem romance film was Saekano Fine which I watched from a Japanese theatre. ... It was great actually since I knew the reason why the MC ended up with her.

And now this...

It's like I'm living in a deja-vu, another great manga/anime with a polarized or controversial ending. It's like eating a meal, but for some reason, you ended up tasting bitterness after that last bite. I remember that time when I read the manga a few months back and honestly, I hope this film would surpass that manga. But all hopes seemed lost. Don't get me wrong, the first season was good, the second season was great, but the film/conclusion was meh or so-called, disappointing. Before you read this review, let me give you a warning that I didn't simp anything in particular, and had a neutral side.

All I can is, WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK!

So the film started after the events of the second season. Well, I'll not state the contents of the film but damn... I don't know how the heck they condensed the remaining chapters of the manga into a 2-hour long movie. Many important scenes were cut from the manga, and the pacing of the movie was like a solid recap of 3 episodes from a certain anime. I know that in the second season, they cut also many scenes but this film adaptation was different. It was a rapid-fire recap format. From a romcom harem story, you would've expected all of the girls to be happy in the end, but in reality, that was a total disaster. The beginning of the story was great. The hints, the dynamics and developments of the characters, and the chemistry between the girls and Futarou, but suddenly, Negi buried the work of the final remaining chapters. He didn't conclude it is a good way and of course, the hate was reasonable because it felt rushed, pointless, and incomplete. All characters were developed well and had a great build-up for that ending. But suddenly, this girl stole the center stage of the story. She kept and chained herself to her memories and "sacrificed" herself for the greater good of her sisters. And she made herself to be the supporting role in the series. She eclipsed the whole story without any proper explanation and ended up being that girl who had a happy ending. That's the problem, Negi didn't put any argumentative stand on why that girl had to be that girl, who didn't have any development. And Futarou, who didn't show any emotion throughout the series, kneeled in front of that girl and said, "Will you marry me?". Well, that sucked. I didn't have any problems with why that girl won, but Negi should add some closure to their relationship. The ending was like, "you didn't see that coming, didn't you?!" when in reality, it was unexplainable. It seemed Negi was forced to end his story and just wrapped up all the loose ends, but it doesn't feel satisfying.

At the very end of the series when Fuutarou is describing why each of the sisters is significant to him and relevant, he jokingly just brushes over the bride at the end and says “Welp, just be yourself and that’s that” and proceeded. Jokes are half-meant and it pretty hurts for other girls to hear that. It feels like he chose the winner based on who fans would predict the least and then didn’t have an agenda to go from there. I would have been happy with her winning if it was actually developed more, but it just feels more like a mercy win than what would’ve resulted.

I didn't expect to have an anime original ending for this film but at least, they should execute it well.

I like the characters, especially the other quints who had great development and resolve that led to nothing. But while the others like Itsuki, who didn't get any development until it got shoved right at the end, where it felt nonsense. That biological dad of theirs, who had no impact on the story, became a plot tool. Welp, it ended with melodrama soap opera garbage. It was nowhere to be seen in the first place.

The other bruh moment was the appearance of Futarou's grade school friend, where incredibly fast to the point that they felt completely disconnected from the overall arching plot. She came, and it was like 2 minutes where nothing happened, she left and never to be seen again. She also stated that she the girl who Futarou met from Kyoto. How the heck did she know that she's referring to Yotsuba, while she didn't meet her in the first place? This is some bullshit writing.

The art was nice. It's the same in the second season and they maintained the quality at some point.
The sound was great. It's a little bit better than the second season but I like the music from the second season. They captured the moments from the manga. The credits scene was a big thumbs up, and the music they used there was a memorable one.

Overall, I still enjoyed the series, but I had major problems with the film. It could be better if they produce a third season instead of a movie. There's a saying that it's not about the destination, but it's the journey. If you agree with that, you could say the whole story is great. Sadly, it didn't maintain that consistent and promising quality. The production quality maintained well, but the last stretch felt like Negi wanted to troll us. The romance at the end was cheesy and troupes were handled pretty well. I guess if this story is relatively well done, it is still a harem story at the end. I enjoyed Negi's ride. It's like riding into a van but the tire got flat and accidentally crashed into a crowd. It's not that bad, but the ending was a disappointment. As a matter of fact, it could be one of the potential best harem romcom animes, that it could overtake my favs. As a rom-com fan, my disappointment was immeasurable, and my day was ruined.

For some reason, I want my money back.

Grade for the movie:
Story: 4/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 4/10
Music: 8/10
Entertainment Factor: 6/10
Enjoyment: 6/10

Grade for the whole series:
Story: 6/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 6/10
Music: 9/10
Entertainment Factor: 7/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Score: 7/10

Spoiler Alert

Yes, maybe this is what should be, but this is a bad adaptation, I made a flight for eight hours to watch this film.

sorry if this review contains bad words

That's a bad show in my opinion, how could you cut the important part of the story, I had read the story three years ago, I know very well the reason why Futarou chose Yotsuba, but the essence in the film is very bad. As if Futorou chose Yotsuba because of pity.

Actually, after watching the second season I wish more about the film, but after seeing the film I felt watching season one and second ... season became in vain, where is the character development of Nino, Miku, Itsuki, I mean, you have launched the character for two seasons but what what happened at the end of that was in vain, yes, once again this film makes two seasons to devlopmen the character become in vain and you have to start again dejecting Yotsuba for two hours in the theater, come on, it wasted time, why not continue The story in the previous season and making it an original ending. As if the season one and two is only made to make money for the production of the film, they only look for Vibe by selling their beautiful characters and empty hopes to attract the audience.

Originally the ending was not too bad but at least give a reasonable explanation, don't make the previous season a futile performance

For the art I really enjoy the character being more beautiful than before, overall I just enjoy the visuals.

To be honest, I want a walkout from the theater, but after I remember, I had made a flight for eight hours and paid quite expensive for that, I discouraged my intention. This is like a robbery, I waste time and money just to watch a movie that I already know what happened three years ago, it feels nothing more than watching, nothing is surprising and there is no satisfaction.