This manga was very close to achieving greatness but leaves much to be desired at the end and a bitter feeling of how a borderline great manga ends up being like it's harem predictors.
Art: The art of Negi gradually became better and better throughout the manga and he kept it very consistent in quality. The double spreads are breathtakingly good at points, the covers are simple yet beautiful. And let's not forget the best thing about Negis drawings, the quints pouts!
Characters: This is were the manga truly shines! Most harems tend to use the same formula for their heroines, by this I mean there are always, for example, a tsundere, a tomboyish girl, a kuudere and so on.
How 5-toubun no Hanayome manages to take this to the next level is by making the characters feel like they're individuals instead of cutouts of famous characters.
Ichika is the big sister of the group and the ara ara type character. She goes from trying to support Mikus love to eventually trying to sabotage her own sisters chances. This might seem like she's a horrible character but she's really just very human. Her redemption is well done afterward but unfortunately, because of her arc, she's quickly disregarded in terms of having a chance with Futarou later on.
Nino is the girl that starts off by hating our MC for getting in between her sisters. She's the assertive sister and the one that is the harshest. But behind that is a girl that probably cares for her sisters more than anyone else. When she finally falls in love with Futarou, she almost immediately confesses to him. She breaks every harem trope that you can think of!
Miku is the one with the biggest fanbase, why? She's a shy girl that doesn't like interacting with others but because of Futarous continuous efforts of trying to get her to study, she very quickly falls in love with him. She goes from being uncertain about her feelings and if they're OK to harbor, to valiantly showcasing her love and appeal to Futarou at every chance that she gets.
Yotsuba, oh boy. When the manga was at chapter 90 she was the second favorite girl of 90% of the fanbase, but that quickly changed for several reasons. But in a nutshell, she's a relentless extrovert with a positive attitude, or rather that's the role she tries to play.
She tries to sacrifice her own happiness for her sisters but ultimately plays into her own feelings several times throughout the manga. She's also the infamous childhood friend of Futarou, which is also something she hides during the mangas run.
Last but not least, the girl that everyone dreaded as the first girl, Itsuki (aka best girl, fight me!)
Itsuki is the first girl to appear in the manga and her relationship with the MC is shaky at first. But gradually she starts to trust Futarou and eventually this leads to her wanting to become a teacher. She's not bright when it comes to school but gives it her all. She loves food above all else, hence the nickname Eatsuki! And she's the one that Negi uses a plot device every single time!
She's an amazing character, but how Negi uses her, that's something I'll go deeper into in the story section.
But overall, this is the strongest part of the manga
Story: Now this is where the manga eventually falls apart (sorta, more like the last 15 chapters). At the start of the manga, we see Futarou getting married to one of the quints which starts of the mystery of "who is the bride"? Because they're quintuplets and all look the same.
This and several chapters in which we get a look into the future makes for a fascinating mystery aspect to a rom-com harem manga. This is also why the manga was so loved and had such an active community because there were so many theories to be crafted. Unfortunately, Negi throws this all under the bus for a rushed romantic development at the end.
One of my biggest disappointments with the manga is also how Negi uses Itsuki. The fanbase automatically had a dislike for her only because she was the first girl and Negi knew this and used this a plot device. The infamous bell kisser looked like Itsuki for one. She got close to no romantic development throughout the manga and didn't even get a kiss like all of the other sisters. All of this could've been for Futarou to reveal that he actually likes her instead of the ones that are already in love with him but no, instead Negi throws in that she was in love with him for a single chapter at the end.
Many people have said that not all sisters have to love, which is true BUT not when the manga is literally titled "5 EQUAL BRIDES".
We also never get to see how Futarou falls in love with the girl that he eventually chooses, which was even weirder because he said he's not going to pick anyone just a few chapters ago. And when he did decide to chose one, we get forced drama instead of fluff.
The ending is also nonsensical because nothing happens, literally! They play one last game of the quints game where he tells them each apart from the others and then he marries one of them. Still no interactions between the wedded couple, instead all of the sisters decide to tag along to the honeymoon!
Enjoyment: So as much as I ranted on about the story, that is only the ending. The story was very VERY enjoyable up until the last 15ish chapters. I truly feel very strongly for this manga because I really loved it and part of me still does. The characters are amazing and I'll probably never forget them. The mystery aspect was new and intriguing, even though it all fell apart at the end.
Overall: Why I feel so strongly towards the ending is because of one simple reason, I loved this with all of my heart. Every Tuesday, when the chapter would drop, would brighten my day, I had so much fun making up theories about who the bride would be and so on.
The story fell apart completely at the end and the writing took a nosedive, yes! But is that enough for me to forget how much I enjoyed this over its 3 years run? No, definitely not
At one point, I was sure that this was gonna replace "The World God Only Knows" as my favorite harem of all time. But alas that was not meant to be, but this manga will still have a very special place in my heart!
