Questing for the ultimate harem may seem like an unattainable dream to most men, yet for Fuutarou, it's a reality. A beautiful reality. Yet what does he do about these girls who clearly like him? NOTHING. To him, studying > about everything else > romance. I don't know whether to respect this man for his dedication to academics or facepalm at his denseness. I guess it's a bit of both. The show primarily focuses on his continued tutoring of the girls and the development of the relationships between the six of them. It's a little more bare bones than season 1 because in that season, Fuutarou had to work to get the girls to trust, respect, and want to learn from him, which was interesting to watch. Now that that's been established, this season hones in more on the slice of life aspect of things.
Quips and other sarcastic sayings are constantly used to provide humor. These moments are often enhanced through the characters making funny and sometimes chibi-esqe faces. Jokes are primarily about romance misunderstandings, the stupid nature of the girls, and the oblivious nature of Fuutarou. The comedy is definitely one of the driving forces of the show, so if you're not into the type of humor utilized, this anime probably isn't for you. Of course, there's still the more serious aspects of the show that you could enjoy.
Quarreling with one another ends up being a common driver for conflict in this anime. This season gives a lot of attention to Nino in particular and her conflicting feelings, as well as the girls accepting that they're growing up and changing into their own individuals. It's by no means an amazing narrative and the themes are pretty obvious for a show whose heroines are Quintuplets. But the "drama", if you can call it that, can keep things interesting. Though for me, what stands out about this anime and makes it truly worth watching would be the girls. So it's time to go over them!
Quiver in fear before the might of NINO! When she's able to build up her confidence and character, her resolve is astounding. I can totally see her going around and saying embarrassing things to strangers like "Hello, my name's NINOOOOO!" I'm gonna say it. She became best girl for me because of what she did this season. It's no secret that tsunderes are one of my favorite character tropes, and Nino fits the bill for this type. She was the most hostile towards Fu-kun and rejected his involvement in her and her sister's lives, even though deep down she's probably the most feeling and affectionate of the bunch. But through a sequence of events, she eventually realized that this greedy and deadbeat dude was in fact her prince charming. And I just love how she acts after that. From flat out confessing to him to making sure she won't lose to anyone for his feelings...it's just great. Once the dere side emerges from the tsun, Nino becomes quite the strong and caring individual, and I really enjoyed her character arc.
Quoting historical warlords would probably be considered fun by our next girl Miku. She has the coolest character design and personality, and despite having a more emotionless nature, the girl lights up in the presence of Fuutarou. Like Nino, I'm a big fan of her type, and her dedication to the man she loves is admirable. Miku is definitely the most supportive of him, and she has a ton of heartwarming moments. She also easily gives the best facial expressions in the show. Fun stuff. She also has the most lewd scenes since she's drawn seductively several times wearing lose and skimpy clothing. Sexy stuff. She's right there with Nino for me in the fight for being "best girl."
Quenching this girl's hunger may be difficult. It's Itsuki! She's probably the calmest and most reliable of the girls, but also has some deep rooted fear and uncertainty. She's not really involved in the battle for Uesugi-kun's affections. Instead, she acts as a sort of voice of reason and moral support for him. I like their dynamic, and think it's a great aspect of the anime.
Quake in anger at Ichika's underhanded methods at getting ahead! Yeah, I definitely feel like some will be rubbed the wrong way by her using her sisters to try and indirectly hook her up with Fuutarou-kun. But hey, as they say, all is fair in love and war. She likes to act like the big sister and provides for her siblings through work, but might be the most immature deep down. I'm interested to see if she ever gains the ability to let her true feelings out.
Quick in terms of speed, not in terms of smarts. That about sums up Yotsuba. She's definitely the girl who gets the least amount of focus as she's not shown to be vying for Uesugi-san's affections like 3 of her sisters or being a frequent presence in his life like Itsuki. Nonetheless, she has some fun moments. Hmm...maybe she's playing for the endgame and is actually brighter than we all thought...
Qualms you might have about this anime are understandable. Now I don't think there's anything particularly bad with the anime asides from some inconsistent and mediocre art outside of the care and detail put into the girls' designs (At least the studio has their priorities straight!). Also, the difficulty in trying to portray the girls as being identical yet giving them completely diverse designs and voices can make things feel off. I get it, it would be boring if the girls all had the same character design and voice actress and this way we get a nice variety of looks. But it still makes other characters, especially Fuutarou, look like complete idiots when they fail to properly differentiate between the siblings, especially when they're not even trying to impersonate each other. We just gotta be able to understand this fact and deal with it. And I can definitely understand people calling the show plain, since it doesn't particularly have any big moments...except for Nino's straight up confession because wow, you practically never see a girl do that in an anime. But overall, I feel like this anime can be a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable watch for most.
Quantifying a score for this anime was actually a difficult task for me. It has a fair share of good things going for it, but it also just feels a bit lacking in several departments. Overall, I would have given this a 6/10, but because Nino and Miku exist, I decided to bump up my rating. Hey, what can I say, cute anime girls just have that kind of power! And ultimately, that's what will probably make or break this show for you. Whether or not you like the cute anime girls. This is clearly a character driven narrative, and for me personally, the girls are a colorful bunch who most certainly make Quintessential Quintuplets worth the watch.
