The Quintessential Quintuplets. An anime I didn’t consider watching at first. I added it to my watchlist around the time it aired but I never picked it up. Alas, has boredom succumbed me during the 2022 summertime, and instead of binging Code Geass (which I am rewatching), watching a high school harem rom-com might be just the thing to make the summer go by quicker. Did it work? Surprisingly yes. When I started the show I didn’t have high expectations because it’s a simple harem formula. Guy meets girls and they all start to fall for him… through tutoring. “What could be so special about
...
it?” I thought.
People tend to associate generic with bad because it makes the story seemingly bland and doesn’t offer anything new. Some criticize shows like this for not having any sense of creativity because of the lack of originality. However, this statement can be cast aside quite easily: recurring themes will always be present in any work of fiction, and no matter what, this is inevitable. Unfortunately, this is the reason why it is impossible to make anything 100% original. That is also a reason why it’s so hard for a show to appeal to some people nowadays.
That being said, what truly matters is how you execute such themes. Give Jujutsu Kaisen for example. Although I am not a fan of the show, its success in orchestrating a plot with so many references from various mainstream shounen (i.e. Bleach, Naruto, etc) while still amassing so many fans with a shocking 8.66 rating is impressive. As I said, many correlate generic to bad. The reason why I say this is because some also correlate JJK to being generic. But fans don’t care how generic it is. Why should it matter? You wouldn’t rate a show purely on writing alone. If you thought it was a good anime, wouldn’t you be biased and cast aside its flaws because you thought it was good? Well, that is my case for Gotoubun. You know it’s simple and generic. But you find yourself coming and reading this because you are curious about the show's worth. My take is that it isn’t the best out there and that it isn’t wrong to call it generic, but don’t look down on a show because of that. Although this is very blatant, don’t go in and expect a mind-blowing anime and start watching with extremely high expectations. It’s just something you can watch during the weekend and be like “that was interesting.”
Oh alright, generic doesn’t always equal bad and bland now get to the point!
Gotoubun no Hanayome provides a simple and enjoyable watch about 5 rich girls with different colored hair and cute accessories (yes Ichika has an accessory it’s her earring it’s just not noticeable) that need help studying because they are all bad at everything-although each quint has one particular strong subject-and just hate school. They need to pass their classes for poor student Fuutarou Uesugi to make money and live off of these rich girls who care for nothing but for him to get the heck away from them… until they all slowly start developing a liking for him.
While this anime lacks any seriousness in the drama department, the sisters have their moments and you’ll see them argue… a lot. Especially because of Fuutarou (heavily emphasizing on Fuutarou). But, hey, it’s impossible not to have arguments with your siblings right?
Characters: 7/10
Although these characters are simple archetypes (typical tsundere, kuudere, and I don’t know the rest), I give credit to Negi for making characters with decent character development and genuine flaws… relative to Gotoubun’s counterpart (Bokutachi: We Never Learn - which is pretty much the same to Gotoubun, but failed to succeed in actually having any form of character development and is compared to Gotoubun as being blander in terms of the characters and their personalities).
Itsuki (Eatsuki/My second favorite):
The most studious out of all her sisters, Itsuki Nakano is the first sister to appear in the anime. She is shown to be a crybaby and one who loves to eat, as shown in the first episode. Hence the popular nickname “eatsuki.” She’s the second most popular quint on MyAnimeList as of now. She is stubborn and always states that she has no need for Fuutarou’s help in her studies and that she’ll manage it on her own. Despite this tuff demeanor, Itsuki is very sensitive and it’s hard for her to be straightforward with both Fuutarou and her sisters with her feelings, which is something that I can relate to which is why I like her so much. She also acts as a motherly figure. Before their mother’s passing, she willingly took the role of taking care of all her sisters and replacing that void, albeit being the youngest. She is my second favorite.
Miku (most popular quint):
Oh, Miku. She is very popular. The first thing that comes to mind when you bring up The Quintessential Quintuplets will be “oh I think I know one character from that show… Miku Nakano? Yeah! The girl with the headphones. She is so cute.” Which I can agree on. I mean, can you resist? Miku is a shy girl who loves warlords and keeps it a secret from her sisters because they might think that she’s weird. Miku is usually the one who shows much affection to Fuutarou. Sometimes when any of the given sisters are against Uesugi, Miku, at most times, abruptly defends him, backing him up with genuine reasons on how he has no intention to do bad things. She is also the smartest out of the five when it comes to her studies.
Nino:
A tsundere who thinks that Fuutarou is the worst person in mankind. Drugs him and thinks that she will face no consequences whatsoever and uses it to her advantage to get away from her studies because she’s a psychotic bitch. She also has a huge ego. Having said this, you might think she’s the worst person on earth just like how she thinks Fuutarou is. You can’t justify what she did. However, this is just the exterior of her personality. She cares about her sisters immensely. She is the most protective of them. She doesn’t want anyone to get in the way of their happiness and Fuutarou is the biggest obstacle because she feels that he would intervene with their sisterly love for each other. It’s hard to defend her personality wise and she doesn’t have the greatest one. Nino can be intolerable and annoying but she doesn’t have the worse intentions.
“BUT SHE LITERALLY DRUGGED FUUTAROU YOU IDIOT HOW CAN YOU DEFEND HER? Also didn’t you just say that it’s hard to defend her?” Yes, it is very hard to defend her. However, she gets better in season 2, trust me. As someone who favors Ichika the most, I have a slight favoritism for Nino.
Yotsuba:
The most outgoing and athletic of the quints, Yotsuba Nakano is very energetic, cute, and probably the first to show GENUINE respect for Fuutarou. Especially when he enters the sister’s apartment complex for the first time and everyone shuns him because they’re all lazy and hate looking at even as simple as a paper related to school. She is someone, although not exactly like Itsuki, who is unable to express herself properly. She is a people pleaser. No matter what she always wants to help someone in need. Basketball team needs a fill-in? Yotsuba is on the way! Track team needs more people? Yotsuba is on the way! No matter how busy she is she will always help anyone with anything. However, this is her ultimate weakness. She doesn’t put herself first, and that is what she struggles to do. Her inability to express the need to put herself first and always prioritize people’s needs other than her own is what makes her a bit more interesting. Nevertheless, she is a rather simple character. But it’s up to you whether or not she’s your favorite. 5,000+ people on MyAnimeList seem to agree.
Before watching TQQ, I rooted for Yotsuba because I thought she was the most interesting and I liked her bubbly nature. However, she lacks one thing: good character development. She’s the least interesting to me because, again, she’s on the blander side. Nothing super wrong with her though.
Ichika (my personal favorite):
Ah, Ichika Nakano. I remember being torn between Itsuki and Ichika because both characters seemed to be very interesting to me. I liked Itsuki’s stubbornness and appetite, and Ichika’s maturity and laid-back personality. Taking the role of the eldest (but who knows who truly came out first), she prides herself in being so and decides to pursue an acting career to be steps ahead of her sisters. She can be lazy in some cases, however, such be the case when it comes to her studies. Ichika is also shown to be smart. She’s quick in picking up things which is a huge advantage in acting and schoolwork. She works hard to take care of her sisters just like Itsuki, who has presumed the role of a motherly figure. Also, she’s hot. Say all you want but I love short-haired women. She may be the least favorite (for a reason) but she sure is mines.
Fuutarou: (Did you think I would forget about him?)
Fortunately, this protagonist isn’t the most shallow. Not the best but not the worst. He is very persistent and flexible in any situation. He knows how to persuade the sisters and bend their will to study based on their personalities. To enclose his bond with each and one of them, he tries his hardest to understand them. Miku likes warlords? Let’s get her to study more about that. Let’s make her think that she’s super smart by her talking about warlords so she can expand her knowledge further and start to warm up to study. All the quintuplets have a subject in particular considered to be their strong suit? Let’s let them teach each other.
Animation: 7/10
It’s pretty decent. I like the colors. That’s what’s in nowadays though. So many characters are so colorful you know? It’s not odd to see a girl with green hair (C.C) or purple hair… or white, even. But hey, white-haired characters are very cool (e.g. Hitsugaya, Kakashi, Killua, etc.)
Soundtrack: 10/10
Man, when I say the soundtrack is fire, it is fire. You can say what you want about the opening or whatever you want to criticize. My point is that it's fire. That’s all. Especially the first opening. Don’t you want to hear all the sisters telling Fuutarou to wake up and then start singing and talking about him? All 5 girls singing? Music to my ears. Especially Hanazawa’s voice. My god is her voice so beautiful.
Overall, the show is a simple and entertaining anime that may be worthwhile depending on your tastes. Coming for the sake of seeing 5 busty girls with the same physical measurements? Here’s your anime. Want a sweet anime with girls that just love each other so much they’re practically inseparable? Gotoubun is right in front of you. Or if you just want to see Miku then just go watch it already!
Sep 15, 2022
5-toubun no Hanayome
(Anime)
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The Quintessential Quintuplets. An anime I didn’t consider watching at first. I added it to my watchlist around the time it aired but I never picked it up. Alas, has boredom succumbed me during the 2022 summertime, and instead of binging Code Geass (which I am rewatching), watching a high school harem rom-com might be just the thing to make the summer go by quicker. Did it work? Surprisingly yes. When I started the show I didn’t have high expectations because it’s a simple harem formula. Guy meets girls and they all start to fall for him… through tutoring. “What could be so special about
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Sep 15, 2022
Steins;Gate
(Anime)
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Time travel is such a gratifying concept. Hearing someone mention time travel alone gets me all excited. After all, it is beyond our understanding. How are we supposed to know if our predictions about time travel are real if we have not experienced the phenomenon ourselves? Curiosity is in human nature, and, naturally, time travel is just the thing that boosts it. If you’re not into time travel, why are you even here?
Steins;Gate gives another dive into time travel and brings many bizarre questions at hand: “is time travel real?” “do time machines work?” And by answering those questions, we are given an interesting group ... |
