Unfortunately, it seems that the Quintessential Quintuplets II is not like most anime.
I never cried like I did during Bunny Girl Senpai. I never laughed like I did during Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. But maybe, just maybe, I got to experience melancholy and depression for the first time in my entire life, in a good way of course.
In many ways, this season was better than the first. For one, it got a lot more drama, and things got heated up for once, which almost never happened during the first season. This would be partially due to the plot, which involved the quintuplets getting a lot closer than I would ever have expected to the main protagonist/tutor, Futaro Uesugi. And I noticed quite a bit more character development in all of the characters. If the first season was the stable foundation that this series was meant to be built on, the second season would be the stunning structure built to compliment it. The only sticking point I really had with this anime was that Futaro's hair and eye color changed, which threw me off a bit but I was overall fine with it.
And as I had mentioned before, the characters really started to shine through, no matter good or bad.
1) Itsuki was probably the weakest out of the five girls, and I still don't quite really know her personality, even after 24 episodes and 2 seasons.
2) In the first season, I noticed Ichika's thoughts and feared the worst. To my guilty delight, my fears that Ichika's love for Futaro would become a whole lot more manipulative and obsessive (albeit not as extreme as a true yandere would go) came through, and I got to watch the first true antagonist of this entire anime series.
3) It was around this time that the internet ruined it for me, and I found out Futaro would end up with Yotsuba. But despite that earth-shattering news, I continued to watch the season. Yotsuba has really come a long way, from being a happy go lucky child to a truly mature student who understands when to be serious and when to laugh and play. She truly has grown.
4) Nino...I did not expect the haircut. But truly, she turned from the tsundere I labelled her as in the first season to an awkward little girl who really, really doesn't know how to love someone. It's a good thing, I will believe, that she tries really hard in this season to keep the girls from breaking apart in their love for Futaro.
5) No matter how much people talk, I will always root for Miku in my heart. She, out of all the girls, really got the most character development and grew into a truly mature and appealing character that many others like me will follow to the ends of the earth. Truly a great character.
6) And last but not least, Futaro Uesugi. Man, I never expected him to have so much feelings other than being serious all the time. And as much as he worked to help the girls in the first season, he truly sacrificed himself this season, actually slacking on his own perfect grades to help the quintuplets pass, and, after a challenge by the 2nd highest scorer in the school, rallied and got ranked 3rd nationally in the national mock exams WHILE CONTINUING TO TUTOR THE QUINTUPLETS WHO CAN BARELY PASS. He is a man I will respect forever, a person I will always strive to achieve for the rest of my life.
I almost never talk about the music, but in this case I will make an exception. The background music was timed perfectly for every single scene, and the OP and ending theme was just phenomenal, with the consideration that I don't ever listen to theme music unless they make me feel something.
I started with a 9 here, but I think maybe, just maybe, if I cannot find any other anime that's truly perfect for me, the Quintessential Quintuplets series will get my golden rating of 10.
On to the movie, where I will finally see the ending of this godforsaken series that has captured my heart.
