This episode has an odd structure. It starts off right where the last episode ends, with Maruo walking off after Itsuki and Yotsuba strike a deal with him. Then, it jumps forward by two months to the day of the final exams. As the girls begin the tests, the episode jumps again to show the intervening two months. I don’t get the reasoning behind the slight nonlinearity but to be fair, it’s pretty easy to follow so I’m really just nitpicking here.
While studying with everyone else, Miku spends the two months honing her cooking skills so that she can make delicious chocolates for Futaro on Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before but Miku is extremely bad at cooking so this endeavor of hers is easier said than done. Later in the episode, Ichika gets Nino to help Miku. I have a feeling these two might bicker again once Nino decides she does like Futaro but for now, it’s nice seeing these two work together for a change.
Apparently, Itsuki visits her mother’s grave on the monthiversary of the latter’s death, August 14th. By chance, Itsuki meets a woman named Shimoda (Sayuri Yahagi), a teacher and a former student of her mother. Itsuki learns from Shimoda how her mother was a very stern teacher that she and many other students nevertheless admired. In the case of Shimoda herself, the Nakanos’ mother is the reason why she now works as a teacher. A peculiar detail in Shimoda’s story is her two friends. One of them honestly looks like Futaro did when he was younger. Shimoda being a teacher is also curious as I recall Maruo using female pronouns for the tutor he wants to hire. I wonder if those two are friends.
Aside from Shimoda’s backstory, we also learn that Itsuki wants to be a teacher. Now it makes sense why Itsuki takes her studies so seriously. Obviously, Itsuki wants to be a teacher to follow in her mother’s footsteps though Shimoda advises her to find another reason to make that her career of choice. That may sound hypocritical given Shimoda’s backstory but she is right in that Itsuki must actually desire to become a teacher and not treat exclusively as her means to respect her mother’s legacy.
Speaking of teaching, we then see Futaro get a book on how to teach. That makes sense considering that Futaro thinks he’s not good enough to be the girls’ tutor. Since the girls specifically want to work with him and with him so invested in them passing the finals, it’s only natural that Futaro seeks to improve his ability to teach. The book does come in handy as it helps Futaro realize he and the girls should take a break as positive reinforcement for their studies. Surprisingly, the gang decides to hang out at an amusement park. I say “surprisingly” because this seems awfully expensive for them.
The only one who doesn’t indulge in the break is Yotsuba, who scurries off to a Ferris Wheel to study some more. Futaro figures this out, prompting Yotsuba to reveal that she and her sisters dropped out of a prestigious school because she failed to pass a remedial exam. Everyone else passed but they chose to transfer schools with Yotsuba so that she wouldn’t be left out. It’s as I feared last episode. Yotsuba feels guilty about her low grades. She’s held her sisters back before and she doesn’t want a repeat of that so she’s working overtime to pass the finals. For someone who is touted as the fun one, Yotsuba shockingly has one of the sadder backgrounds in the cast.
Fortunately, the show ends this scene with a consolation as Futaro notices that Yotsuba understood a literary passage that the others did not. Realizing again that each girl has an academic area they’re good at, Futaro changes his plans to include the girls helping each other in their studies. I’ve always wanted to see something like this since the beginning of the show so it’s really satisfying to finally see it happen. That said, I got more emotional seeing Yotsuba’s reaction. Futaro telling her that she has a subject she’s good at and that she can help her sisters must be the most positive thing she’s heard in ages. Also, having the ferris wheel right against a setting sun is a really nice touch. It makes the scene feel very romantic.
Towards the end of the episode, we briefly see the peer tutoring working well for the girls. Itsuki particularly finds the experience worthwhile as it helps her realize that she does want to be a teacher beyond paying respects to her mother’s legacy. Meanwhile, Miku manages to create some good chocolate for Futaro though the guy doesn’t realize her intention with them. Miku then tells Ichika that she’ll instead confess her feelings to Futaro if she scores the highest on the finals. That would probably speak Futaro’s language better than chocolate and Miku has a point in that she needs to prove herself as a student so that Futaro can finally see her as a bachelorette.
Obviously, all five girls pass the finals. Given the stakes, they all had to pass. If they didn’t, we’d have no show. That said, it’s still a very satisfying moment. After a season and a half, these characters have earned it. It’s especially gratifying to see Yotsuba pass. Honestly, this girl is on a roll right now. The show is giving her a lot of great moments. While the results are a given, there is one big surprise in that Ichika is actually the one who scores the highest, beating Miku by two points. Up until now, Miku has consistently gotten first place and her confessing Futaro midway through Season 2 would be a solid shakeup to the plot. I know I’m part of the Miku fanclub but I honestly thought the finals would be her moment to shine.
As for Ichika, she’s surprised to have beaten Miku so I don’t think she was dead set on doing so. Still, her grades speak to where stands in the “race”. Even though she’s fine with Miku “winning” in the end and she’s conflicted over her own feelings towards Futaro, there’s clearly a part of her that wants to be the one that gets “chosen”. Outside of her rivalry with Miku, I must say that it’s insanely impressive that Ichika managed to score the highest while also working a part-time job and managing the finances. My God, this girl is working so hard.
Oddly enough, Nino isn’t with everyone to celebrate the test results. Instead, she leaves a message for Futaro, declaring that she no longer needs him. While not being friendly to Futaro has been Nino’s M.O., I’m actually not sure if she means any ill will this time. With where their relationship is heading, I can see this being Nino’s weird way of trying to keep things platonic between her and Futaro.
Watch The Quintessential Quintuplets 2 on Apple TV and Crunchyroll
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