OP Sequence

OP: 「 五等分の気持ち」 (Go-Toubun no Kimochi) by Nakano-ke no Itsutsugo

「五等分の花嫁」 (Go-Toubun no Hanayome)
“The Quintessential Quintuplets”

Go-Toubun no Hanayome shows a ton of promise as a harem anime where there’s something for everyone. Harems of our yesteryear haven’t had the most likable casts or the most embraceable personalities, but with Fuutarou (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu) as our more head-strong lead and the Nakano sisters each having their own unique and endearing character traits, Go-Toubun no Hanayome is sure to satiate the appetite of anyone yearning for a fun and devious rom-com.

Unlike some of the milquetoast protagonists that we’ve seen in many harem anime, Fuutarou is far more amusing to watch as an egotistical yet gifted student who finds himself in a double bind of needing to handle the annoyance he gets from the Nakano’s to profit from their need for a tutor. He initially starts off showing his cunning by cheating the system at the cafeteria and getting the cheapest meal with the most side items. From there on, it only gets better as he is at odds with the first Nakano sister he meets, Itsuki (Minase Inori). When their first interactions end with Fuutarou jabbing at how much she’s eating for lunch, it comes back to bite him when she ends up being a wealthy student who places an ad for someone to help tutor her in exchange for a lot of money. At that point forward, he sings a far different tune as he has to challenge himself to go against his personality to get Itsuki and the other sisters to want to have him as a tutor. It is interesting how you have a character who isn’t well-off, but despite his poor living situation, it doesn’t stop him from gleefully tearing into people. Seeing how he develops once he gets to know the girls and once he starts to get accustomed to his role as their tutor should be interesting to watch.

Even more captivating are all five of the Nakano sisters, who have their own quirks and traits that make them stand out from one another. Itsuki is given the first appearance with her disdain for Fuutarou’s insensitivity coming at odds with the happiness she gets from seeing his little sister and having a chance to help her out. Ichika (Hanazawa Kana) is the big sis type who likes to tease Fuutarou and welcome him on board, but can’t quite keep her room tidy. Nino (Taketatsu Ayana) is the second sister who is outwardly aggressive to Fuutarou, has an interest in baking, and spiked Fuutarou’s water with sleeping medication. Miku (Itou Miku) is silent and reserved, yet pessimistic and wary of what is going on with Fuutarou as he tries to make his way into their household. And finally, we have Yotsuba (Sakura Ayane), the cheery, rambunctious sister who is able to bond with Fuutarou far earlier as the only Nakano who fully supported him since their first meeting. It’s come to my attention that there is an intense shipping war between the girls and Fuutarou, which is definitely intensified further with the hints of one of the girls marrying him in the distant future. At the moment, I’m liking Ichika and Yotsuba, but I can see this changing over time, especially with the next episode’s focus on Miku.

Go-Toubun no Hanayome is shaping up to be a highly entertaining and gratifying harem comedy as Fuutarou goes forth to help improve the Nakano’s grade point averages, and along the way, find the one that he’ll eventually fall head-over-heels in love with. While he’s more excited about the prospect of making money off of his services tutoring Itsuki (and the rest of the Nakano sisters), it will be neat to see what sets the wheels in motion for this series’ romances

Full-length images: 28.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Sign」 by Uchida Aya

Preview

23 Comments

  1. So, is this a cuter version of Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine? Just askin’ …

    BTW, Girly Air Force had a good showing for a 1st episode (of course, it’s
    a harem too). Hopefully it’ll get a review here.

    mac65
    1. I’ve seen others comment that the different hair colors are there to help the viewers visually identify each sister along with their respective hair decorations. In-universe though, they should have identical colors to reinforce the quintuplets theme.

      AshScar
    2. I think they’re all supposed to have the same hair-color and it’s mostly done for the sake of the viewers having an easier time differentiating the two. The manga makes it clearer that they’re all supposed to have the same color because of the black/white ink not being different shades, while covers, promo material, and the anime all have different colors based on the person.

      It’s also why the final bride has deeper crimson hair than the rest of the girls since it’d be easier to pick up on who is who if their hair aligned with a color that’s already used by one of the girls.

      Choya
    3. In fact

      Show Spoiler ▼

      It is what Choya said, they do it for the reader.

      cvb
    1. At the moment, it’s looking like this:
      1. Ichika
      2. Yotsuba
      3. Miku
      4. Nino
      5. Itsuki

      With the caliber of the sisters in the cast, however, it’s pretty agreeable to say a harem route would be a great choice.

      Choya
    1. That sudden number 1 in the second list… Yep, as I manga reader, I understand perfectly.

      A pity that the anime will only have a few episodes. Viewers won’t be able to witness the glory of the “runaway train of love”, as one of the other sisters described it XD

      Mistic
  2. Honestly I always hope for a polygamous end in manga these like, though I know it’s impossible given the publisher.

    I was expecting a more fast-paced and lighthearted romance actually, not sure this level of drama about a poor boy is what I want. That, and I also don’t like the plot device in love triangle manga where the tsundere main heroine ends up associating with the protagonist to avoid disappointing a side character who’s under some false pretense (you heard me, Kanojo Okarishimasu). But I’ll stick around for at least more 1 episode, this episode was just spent establishing the basic premise after all.

    Player
  3. The real test for these kind of shows are whether the protagonist has to grow at all to achieve the romantic ending, or if only the female characters have to do any growing.

    When it’s the latter, the show usually sucks.

    Rathje
    1. Harem shows can be pretty dicey because they can often concern themselves too much with the guy helping out the girls that they neglect the main guy’s flaws. However, I believe that Fuutarou has enough going against him that, in the process of his tutoring efforts, they would end up changing his mentality on whether he’d see them as more than just a nuisance or a meal ticket

      Choya
    2. It’s still developing in the manga, but it is a good ride.

      It’s a superior harem manga than the vast majority. The only similar I might remember is The World God Only Knows, maybe is because the mc are similar and

      Show Spoiler ▼

      There is no overused wimpy and kind mc here, which is quite refreshing.

      cvb

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *