Given the urgency of helping Lily, Futaro and the Nakano sisters agree to tackle that dilemma first before dealing with anything else. In fact, much of this episode is dedicated to just this plot. Futaro devises a plan in which Nino trades places with her sisters so that Nino isn’t the only one giving Lily advice and she isn’t stuck with the language barrier all the time. Since Itsuki and Ichika are the only quintuplets with any fluency in English, Futaro also has whoever is acting as Nino wear an earpiece so that he can provide some translation. Feeling responsible for getting everyone involved in this, Nino volunteers to go first before letting her sister take turns impersonating her.
You might be thinking that this is an awful lot of work to give a girl some dating advice and yeah, I concur. It would in fact be a lot easier if the gang just introduces themselves to Lily and explain that Nino needs help since she doesn’t know any English. And even if they did need someone to impersonate Nino, they really don’t need all five sisters. Really, the only justification I can think of is fanservice. If Quintessential Quintuplets is going to do one of its most recurring gags again, it might as well involve all of them. For what it’s worth however, it is a lot of fun seeing the quintuplets take turns as Nino and fumble through their varying levels of English as they try to convince Lily that they’re one and the same. Probably the highlight for me is Ichika getting recognized by her fans while she’s impersonating Nino, even though this is not the case for any of her sisters, thus forcing her to jump ship and trade places with Miku.
While mostly for laughs, this plot does end on a very heartwarming note. I really love that the hangout ends with Yotsuba assuming Nino’s place, right when Lily asks how to best confess to her crush. Given how much Yotsuba struggled to admit her feelings towards Futaro, having her give Lily the courage she needs is just perfect. I’m also glad that the gang does reveal Nino’s “secret” to Lily (and fortunately, Lily gets over the whiplash pretty quickly). Keeping her in the dark wouldn’t have sat well for me. Seeing as this is an epilogue and we probably won’t see Lily again, I’m glad that the special later reveals that Lily’s confession is a success. Lily staying in touch with Nino and Futaro and Yotsuba keeping a group photo they took with her and everyone else in their apartment are some nice touches as well.
After helping Lily, Futaro moves onto all the other problems plaguing the quintuplets. Nino and Miku have some trouble with the cafe they’ve established during the timeskip (of course Miku’s is cooking-related). Ichika is trying to get stronger for her acting gig. Itsuki has to muster the courage advocating for herself at the school she works at. Curiously, Yotsuba doesn’t mention that she just wants some quality time with Futaro. She instead tells Futaro that she’s worried about getting along with her grandparents-in-law (which admittedly is a very fair concern). Seeing as it worked before, Futaro suggests that the girls all trade places again. And yes, this includes Yotsuba’s meeting with her in-laws. I love Miku and she was the one I rooted for the most but even I have to admit the idea of her pretending to be Futaro’s wife at this point in the story is insane. Yotsuba being cool with it is pretty amazing, though.
In the end however, the girls recall how Lily is trying her best and they decide to tackle their problems on their own. Not only is it a nice message for the special to end on, it’s also a neat reversal to how the girls usually tackle things. They’ve largely succeeded by working together but in this particular case, working together would be cheating and the girls would actually be better off facing their issues alone. Futaro is shocked at first but he approves of the girls’ decision. He’s always been supportive of their growth, after all. Technically, Futaro still succeeds in being the girls’ “tutor” once again. They made have gone against his plan but had Futaro not come up with it or the one before it, I doubt the girls would’ve come to their conclusion.
I was really puzzled by Yotsuba’s decision to not tell Futaro what is actually concerning her. Admittedly, those two are married and part of marriage is figuring it all out anyway. Still, I was afraid that Yotsuba is bottling up her feelings again. How fortunate then that Futaro figured it out on his own and he makes up to Yotsuba by making new gifts exclusively for her. I figured Futaro wouldn’t be that dense at this point but still, I’m beyond relieved that he knows Yotsuba that well and he nibs this problem in the bud. As much as I enjoy seeing the whole gang again, I really wanted to see more of Futaro and Yotsuba’s relationship so at least the special ends with that.
This special is likely the last we’ll ever get from The Quintessential Quintuplets but then again, I said the same thing about the previous special and here we are. At this point, it would not surprise me if this series gets another follow-up down the line. Whatever the case may be, I’m just happy to visit the series one more time. I wouldn’t call it the highlight of the anime (I can safely say that honor belongs to Season 2 and the movie), I do it enjoy it more than the 2023 special and I think this is a fun epilogue to the story.
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