Note: This post is considered an episode review and it dives into spoilers for the movie.
I debated if I should watch The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie before the 2-part special airs. I knew ahead of time that this is the actual finale of the series so once I watch it, it’ll be weird going back in time. In the end, I decided to just watch the movie, if only because I generally go by release order. On the flipside, I’ll get to “appreciate” the bizarre decision of adapting cut content after getting to the ending of a popular and successful manga in all its glory.
As you can tell, this anime “ends” with a feature-length film. It’s hard not to be cynical over the production committee’s decision. It’s very plausible that they chose to quickly wrap things up and send it to theaters to maximize profit. Had the staff been given more running time to work with and the cut content from the manga, they probably could get a third season made. I wouldn’t be opposed to that so it’s a shame that’s not the route that was taken. That all said, I must admit that this final stretch drags on to the point that you’d want to binge watch it so it being turned into a movie isn’t the worst idea. I’ll also give the movie credit in that it does run at 2 hours and 16 minutes so even if it is marathoning through content, it at least has a decent supply of oxygen to work with.
The main plot of The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie revolves around the final school festival in the main characters’ high school careers. The gang’s class gets divided over what food they should sell for the festival, with most of the girls wanting to cook pancakes and most of the boys wanting to cook takoyaki, forcing them to get two stalls approved. During the first day of the festival, Futaro (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) admits to the quintuplets that he loves them but he can only pursue one romantically and he requests that they wait until the third and last day of the festival for him to choose one. On the second day, Futaro reunites with his former crush and childhood friend Takebayashi (Yuki Kyoka), who previously appeared in a flashback scene back in the Season 2 premiere. It’s nice to learn that these two are still friends after all those years. Takeyabashi also draws some entertaining and/or interesting reactions out of the quintuplets.
What then follows is a strange series of vignettes detailing whatever alone time Futaro has with each of the five Nakano sisters during the summer festival. These are ordered from oldest quint to youngest so it goes Ichika (Kana Hanazawa), Nino (Ayana Taketatsu), Miku (Miku Ito), Yotsuba (Ayane Sakura), and Itsuki (Inori Minase). Almost all of these vignettes end with its featured girl kissing Futaro so if you’re rooting for anyone in particular, you at least get that as a consolation prize in the event that Futaro doesn’t choose them. I suppose this is the movie’s way of presenting every quintuplet as a viable candidate for the bride’s identity and to reduce potential favoritism between them but it is weird to constantly jump between the three day festival. I find it funny that these segments are titled “If the Last Festival Is with [Insert Name Here]”, as if these are all hypothetical when they’re actually all canon and they don’t explicitly confirms which girl Futaro chooses.
Ichika having her own vignette feels weird. It’s a formality but after all the insane shit she tried to do last season and her calling her feelings towards Futaro a lie, I figured she has little to no chance. Admittedly, Ichika seems aware of this fact as she spends her segment discussing with Futaro about who kissed him at the Bell of Vows and she doesn’t offer candidacy until Futaro considers it.
Nino’s segment has her trying to find Maruo (Takaya Kuroda) at the festival. After Futaro finds video proof that he did show up briefly, the two head over to the hospital so that Nino can cook a pancake for her father. This sheds some light on the girls’ relationship with Maruo. It is strained and Maruo himself admits that he isn’t the best father out there but at the end of the day, he and his daughters do see each other as family. Not going to lie, Nino probably has the boldest kiss in this movie. She kisses Futaro right as her father turns away. Goddamn, Nino.
Miku’s segment is where the whole pancake versus takoyaki debacle factors into the third segment. Miku is the one who pitched pancakes to the class so she feels obligated to amend things between the split factions in her class. Eventually, she calls some of her classmates out for arguing so childishly and she convinces her class to work together. Given her arc, it’s very satisfying seeing Miku raise her voice and speak her piece.
In Yotsuba’s segment, we see her overworking herself by helping different clubs at the festival. Eventually, she collapses from exhaustion. As she recovers at the hospital, Futaro reveals to Yotsuba that all the different clubs are helping each other out so that she can rest, assuring Yotsuba that she doesn’t have to take on everything on her own. During the last day, an exhausted Futaro mistakes Yotsuba as “Rena”, unaware that he is indeed talking to the girl he met all those years ago. The two “catch up” so to speak and Yotsuba kisses him while he rests to give her past self some closure. It’s honestly the most heartbreaking kiss scene in all these vignettes.
Itsuki has a similar issue as Ichika in that her segment feels like an obligation. This girl has been so platonic with Futaro that I have a hard time buying her as a love interest. Hell, she’s the only girl who doesn’t kiss Futaro at the end of her segment. For what it’s worth, her segment does address a loose end I didn’t think the anime would ever explore. During the festival, Itsuki runs into her new instructor Mudo (Jiro Saito), who reveals himself as the quintuplets’ biological father. Mudo wants to reconnect with his daughters and he encourages Itsuki not to become a teacher like Rena did, claiming that Rena came to regret it. With Futaro’s encouragement, Itsuki decides to stick her career choice and she joins her family and their colleagues in confronting Mudo. I don’t think the old man is wrong for trying to make amends but it’s insanely presumptuous of him to try and dictate his daughters’ lives when he abandoned them and their mother. I love how Itsuki has Miku impersonate her when she and the others reject Mudo. That old trick is such a scathing way to prove that he really doesn’t know or love his daughters.
At long last, the festival escapes out of its time loop and Futaro finally makes his decision. The concept of this big moment and the time it’s taken to get here drums up enough suspense but the movie does bring it up a notch by having the girls separate themselves in different rooms and have Futaro approach one of them as his confession. I have to hand it to Quintessential Quintuplets in that it doesn’t make Futaro unable to pick one girl nor does it have him go “screw it” and pick all of them. He commits to choosing one of the girls and the one he chooses is none other than Yotsuba.
I think no matter what, Quintessential Quintuplets was going to disappoint or upset someone with the end result. That’s the double edged sword to harem anime. It can’t be helped. Even so, Yotsuba being the inevitable bride did take me by surprise. She was in my Top 2 or 3 for who I’d like to see the most as the bride. However, this girl didn’t directly partake in the race and the narrative was arguably dominated by the likes of Miku, Nino, and Ichika. She is indeed Futaro’s “first love” but she kept that a secret all the way to the confession scene. I really did not think Yotsuba would be the one. I suppose her staying out of the race makes her victory more surprising though you could also argue that it ran the danger of coming across as a stretch. To be honest, Quintessential Quintuplets seems aware that Yotsuba got overshadowed as the movie briefly pauses Futaro’s confession scene with a series of flashbacks detailing Yotsuba’s past to help justify him choosing her over the other girls.
That all said, Yotsuba being the bride is actually a fine result. Again, she was in my Top 2 or 3. She is a really fun character and more importantly, she does have a great connection with Futaro. There are plenty of moments in this show where one of them supports the other, where they make each other happy, or where they just click so damn well and I wanted to root for them. All things considered, I can’t really be mad at Yotsuba getting chosen. If anything, I’m quite happy with the result.
The last minute flashbacks is a questionable move but now that I do have the whole picture, Yotsuba might actually have the best arc out of the five main girls. When they first met six years ago, Yotsuba and Futaro resolved to do well in school so that they can secure a financial future for their families. At the same time however, she had an inferiority complex to her sisters and she strived to prove she was a cut above the rest. Once her sisters started to perform better in class, she turned to her athleticism to gain recognition and she began to forget what she resolved to do in the first place. After she got expelled and her sisters transferred with her, she lost her edge and she has since prioritized her sisters’ happiness over her own, thinking she owes them. By the time Futaro re-entered her life, she’s too ashamed to bring up their shared past and she buries her feelings for Futaro once her sisters became interested in him. It’s a lot to drop towards the end of the big finale but it is a poignant backstory. And more than any of the other quintuplets, Yotsuba’s arc encompasses many of the show’s key themes: the girls’ academic performances, their relationship with one other, and their respective sense of self-worth.
Honestly, Futaro confessing to Yotsuba puts a very nice bow on the latter’s arc. Yotsuba thinks she missed her chance and yet Futaro chooses her. She thinks her sisters would be better choices but all Futaro wants to know is what she herself wants and how she feels. She tries to deny her feelings one more time and she tries to choose her sisters over herself but in the end, she finally allows herself to be selfish and honest for a change and she openly reciprocates Futaro’s feelings towards her. I could debate how someone else deserves to win but Futaro’s confession is a great way to complete Yotsuba’s arc. Also, having the two do an inverse of their scene from Season 1 Episode 8 is such a nice touch. My heart couldn’t take it.
Something to note is that it doesn’t appear that Futaro knows Yotsuba is “Rena”. There’s that earlier scene in the movie where he “mistakes” her as “Rena” but that doesn’t really count since he’s barely conscious in that moment. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t learn the truth, at least until the confession scene. I was worried that Yotsuba being “Rena” would secure her an easy win so I have to hand it to Quintessential Quintuplets in that it ultimately doesn’t matter during the big moment. It informs Yotsuba’s feelings towards Futaro but it has no real bearing on Futaro’s decision to pick her and his decision is ultimately based on how he feels about her in the present.
You would think from there that the movie would just cut to the wedding but there is actually about half an hour left to go. It’s no Return of the King but it is lengthy. After the big moment, Yotsuba seeks her sisters’ approval before she starts dating Futaro. Naturally, Nino is the most annoyed out of the four with Yotsuba’s hesitance. It’s probably the nastiest we’ve seen Nino be in some time though to be fair, if someone in this show is going to be upset with the Nino fanbase, it might as well be Nino herself. I honestly got a heart attack when Ichika realized that Futaro is technically still single. This series is well aware that Ichika fans such as myself has PTSD from Season 2 so it just had to say “sike” one more time. Just let me go of this pain already!
Eventually, Yotsuba makes peace with her sisters and she begins dating Futaro. I think including this scene is a smart move. That can help anyone who is on the fence to accept this pairing more and anyone who was Team Yotsuba will gladly take it anyway. After the big romantic confession, it’s really funny how modest the first date is. Yotsuba wouldn’t mind but it does indeed show that Futaro is dirt poor. Ending the date with the playground again is a really good callback. The first time these two visited the place is one of my favorite scenes from Season 2 and it’s definitely one of those moments where the characters’ chemistry really clicks. The date ends with Futaro proposing marriage to Yotsuba. That somehow took me by surprise, even though it’s all but confirmed that Yotsuba is the bride. Maybe the fact that it’s the first date is what got me. I would’ve preferred it if some time had passed before Futaro drops the other big question but we do know what Yotsuba’s answer will be and it’s still a very heartwarming moment.
After the date, the movie fast forwards to five years later. We get a brief look at what everyone has been up to and then we finally get to the wedding again. We’ve seen this moment a couple times already so I wasn’t sure what else could be added to it. Turns out, the series had one more trick up its sleeve as the quintuplets play one last round of guess who with Futaro. Even though Yotsuba is the only one he needs to get right, Futaro manages to identify all five sisters. That’s a good way to show how strong his relationship is with the whole gang. Yotsuba is the only one he has romantic feelings for but at the end of the day, he does love all of them in some way. While Futaro plays the quintuplets game, the movie also cuts to Yotsuba talking to her relationship with her sisters during the reception. After the wedding, we see her discard her trademark ribbon. These scenes do make the ending run even longer but I’m okay with their inclusion since we get to see Yotsuba mature from comparing herself to her sisters and the self-worth she’s gained.
With that, The Quintessential Quintuplets comes to an end. There is the two-part special to look forward to but that’s more of a bonus than a finale. For all intents and purposes, this is where the series ends. The Miku fan in me is heartbroken that she didn’t win though the Yotsuba fan in me is still elated with the end result, even if the execution could’ve been better. Putting the results aside, this series has been a joy from beginning to end. Way back in Winter 2019, I didn’t think this series is my cup of tea. It’s still outside the norm for me but I’m glad I stuck with it. Both the story and the characters grew on me and it’s been a lot of fun watching everything unfold. Quintessential Quintuplets is a silly harem show but it’s also my silly harem show.
Watch The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie on Crunchyroll
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