With Itsuki’s help, Futaro sneaks in to the Nakanos’ hotel room for clues as to who the Fake Itsuki is. To his surprise, all four other quints are dressed as Itsuki. The only one Futaro manages to identify is Yotsuba, who explains what’s going on. As it turns out, everyone dressing up as Itsuki is coincidental to Futaro’s encounter with the imposter (though the imposter did use the disguise to her advantage). The real reason behind the getups is to accommodate their grandfather, who once got worried that his granddaughters are drifting apart once they all started to change their appearances. For no real reason in particular, it was just decided that all five girls look like Itsuki. Yotsuba was worried last episode because she knows she’s the most likely out of the five to screw this act up. As for why the real Itsuki didn’t tell Futaro about this during their meeting at the baths…I don’t know.
While that does clear up one mystery, it still doesn’t help Futaro figure out which one wanted to cut ties with him. Futaro decides that his best clue is a possible bruise the imposter accidentally got on her thighs when he tried to get an explanation from her. That’s initially a gamble but Futaro somehow does end up in a situation where he can check the girls’ thighs under their kotatsu (and I know how weird that sounds) and he does find a bruise on one of them. Unfortunately, Futaro can’t tell the girls apart from their thighs so this lead doesn’t really help him in the end. Oh well.
After that, Futaro asks the innkeeper how he tells his granddaughters apart. While the old man is still wary of Futaro, he surprisingly agrees to help him, presumably deducing that the boy is no stranger to his granddaughters. The innkeeper reveals that he has no trick. He simply tells his granddaughters apart because he loves and knows them so much. While it’s not the instant fix Futaro is looking for, he nevertheless keeps the innkeeper’s advice in mind.
Meanwhile, we see Nino talking to Ichika at the baths about a boy she likes, unaware that Ichika already knows that the boy is Futaro. I’m glad that Nino instantly got over Futaro’s failure to recognize her at the baths. It would’ve been tiresome if she did, given her track record. Instead, Nino is still adamant about making Futaro hers, even admitting to Ichika that she’ll trample on the competition if she has to. I feel really bad for Ichika. She’s so torn between respecting her sisters’ feelings and pursuing her own. Nino is also so much more confident than her that she can’t help but feel she pales in comparison.
Nino then decides to talk to Futaro alone and she asks Ichika to distract Maruo for her. Asking Ichika to be a wingman is a pretty cruel move but to be fair, Nino isn’t aware that Ichika also likes Futaro. Yotsuba runs into Ichika and while she doesn’t know what exactly is going on, she nevertheless encourages her sister not to hold back and do whatever she wants. You know, if Yotsuba does like Futaro, she’s holding herself back much more than Ichika has. Regardless, her advice is what Ichika needs to hear. Funnily enough, Ichika unintentionally messes up Nino’s plan. By hanging out with Yotsuba, Maruo is left unchecked. It’s unclear if Maruo knows of Nino’s plan but he nevertheless finds his daughter at the meeting spot she had planned for herself and Futaro. Between this and final exams, maybe Ichika doesn’t need to try. At this rate, she’ll win by sheer happenstance (and I’d be okay with that).
The following morning, Futaro runs into an Itsuki, who confirms that she’s the one who wants to cut ties with him. I originally ruled out Miku so imagine how stupid I feel when the show reveals that she is indeed the one Futaro is looking for. With how smitten Miku is with Futaro, she just seemed extremely unlikely to end her relationship with him. Once Miku explains however, her decision does make sense. She loves Futaro but she’s also thinks Futaro only sees her as a student and she’s afraid that he’ll never see her as more than that. She figures if Futaro is gone, she won’t have to deal with any more heartache.
In a way, Miku disguising herself as Itsuki once more is a test. Futaro consistently struggles with telling the quints apart. If he correctly identifies Miku, he shows that he really does care for her and Miku can still hold onto hope that the two of them can be a couple. If not, Miku is free to give up. I find it funny that Futaro first guesses that he’s talking to Ichika as I figured Ichika was the most likely candidate to reject him. Maybe it’s just me but Miku really is good at impersonating her sisters. She manages to emulate Itsuki’s and Ichika’s voices and mannerisms pretty darn well and both within the same scene no less. I also really like how Futaro baits Miku into revealing herself only for Miku to know what he’s up to and respond the same way as Ichika. Are we sure Miku isn’t the actress in the family?
Right as Miku walks away in defeat, Futaro correctly identifies her based on the way she clenches her fists. In the end, he takes the innkeeper’s advice to heart and he proves to Miku that he really does know the girls enough. Miku’s response is so good with how she tries to impersonate Ichika again before she finally letting her emotions take over and embraces the guy. I also love how she immediately downplays her earlier attempt to reject him. It’s water under the bridge and that’s all Futaro needs to know. The only thing that irks me about this scene is that Miku doesn’t use this to confess to Futaro. They’re lying on the ground and in each other’s arms. It would’ve been the perfect moment! But no, Miku decides to save it for later. Don’t do this to me, Miku. Don’t leave me hanging here. Just confess to Futaro before it’s too late!
As the vacation comes to an end, Futaro talks with the innkeeper some more. The innkeeper asks Futaro to tell his granddaughters to stay true to themselves, suggesting that he’s actually okay with the girls being different from each other. I’m guessing the old man figured out what relationship Futaro has with the girls if he’s entrusting his message to him. A surprising tidbit the innkeeper incidentally shares is that the name of his daughter and the quints’ mother is Rena. This naturally catches Futaro off guard since that’s the same name as the mysterious girl. Hopefully that puts Futaro back on the idea that Rena is actually one of the quints.
On the way out, Futaro checks the Bell of Vows, a bell that supposedly keeps couples together when rung. All of a sudden, an unseeen girl runs towards Futaro, causing him to ring the bell by accident. We can safely assume it’s one of the quints but that’s about it. Considering how the campfire back in Season 1 went, it seemed likely that one of the girls would take the opportunity with a similar legend. The plaza where the bell is situated happens to be the same meeting place Nino had in mind earlier in the episode so it’s possible that she’s the one who runs towards Futaro. That said, this show is no stranger to redirects. It could be Ichika to go in line with her decision to do what she wants. It could be Miku given what just happened between her and Futaro. Itsuki and Yotsuba seem unlikely to me but after failing to identify Miku as the Fake Itsuki, any guess is free game.
Watch The Quintessential Quintuplets 2 on Apple TV and Crunchyroll
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