English Dub Season Review: The Quintessential Quintuplets Season One

#fiveseasonsandanOVA

Harem anime is definitely not for everyone. On its face, the idea of a bunch of girls fighting over a guy (or visa versa) is gonna turn some people off, even without the copious amount of fanservice that often goes with it. And even then, there’s the catalog of cliché romantic moments that the story ends up bending over backward to make happen just for the sake of drama. So, if you’re looking for a show that challenges those aspects and takes an approach that’s easier to like for a broader audience, “The Quintessential Quintuplets” is probably not that show. However, if you’re an unabashed fan of the genre warts and all and know its ins and outs, this is probably one of the better ones out there right now, as short as it is.

The plot follows Futaro Uesugi, a prodigy student acting as a tutor to five identical quintuplet sisters, Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki, as he tries to get them smart enough to NOT flunk out of high school. Neither Futaro nor the sisters are fond of the arrangement at first but gradually come to understand and become fond of each other, particularly some more than others. With identical quintuplets in the mix, there’s a lot of impersonations and disguises that happen throughout the season, with some being played for laughs and others to develop character. And the story also has the rare quirk of telling us upfront that one of these girls is already destined to win this game of hearts in the end through flashforwards to Futaro’s wedding day, though leaving it a mystery who of the five it might be.

I recently had it explained to me that harem anime/manga basically work like sports, wherein everyone picks a team for Best Girl or Boy and goes to war in the comments about why their pick is the one who should win the prize of that protagonist booty. Shows like this live and die by their characters, specifically the ones competing, and in that regard, “Quintuplets” shines. Each of the sisters is their own fully formed character with likable and relatable personalities, making it easy to find at least one to like. And while they don’t get all get equal time in this season, there’s enough of each of them to start investing in. Whether you’re a fan of energetic types like Yotsuba, shy girls like Miku, or teases like Ichika, you’re bound to find someone to latch onto here. Even Futaro, who would usually be the flavorless audience insert character, provides enough personality and initiative to be a fun character to follow in his own right.

Sadly, the fact that the season only has twelve episodes to work with while adapting an ongoing manga means that things are bound to feel like they’ve stopped right when they’ve started. There’s certainly progress made for most of the characters, but those eager for considerable steps forward might end up feeling left high and dry by the end of the finale. This is one of the inevitable downsides of this sort of format, which seems to me more about pointing viewers towards catching up with the source material, but it’s not as convenient for people who prefer watching over reading. Though that might be a blessing in disguise, as the animation for this is pretty on the mediocre side a lot of the time and sometimes gets worse. A fun story can only distract from those things for so long.

As mentioned, in a genre as potentially alienating as harems, “Quintessential Quintuplets” is not going to change minds or break the mold, but what it does well, I think it does really well. While it’s certainly not doing the best job in terms of visuals, it balances that with a story that is determined to suck you into the drama. It actually gives me hope that the story element of these series can win over the cheesecake when it counts, and hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for it to get another installment so it can get into what I hear are the more juicier moments. Also ICHIKA BEST GIRL TILL THE DAY I DIE FUCK THE HATERS