Overview:
Futaro has done his best tutoring the Nakano quintuplets and now it’s time for the final school festival. With so many things left unsaid and no time left to sort out his feelings who will Futaro choose to eventually be his bride?
Our Take(Spoilers):
I remember reading the manga for this like it was yesterday. The foreshadowing and mystery reveal were some of the best I have ever read in anything ever. This is not something you would expect from a harem rom-com but it was a great journey and I was excited to see how the movie would wrap things up. Make no mistake it does end things, there is nothing left after this so get ready.
As is the case with most adaptations there are some things that get skipped but I was pretty impressed with how this one went. To really go into this review I am going to have to spoil who the winner is because I really think it was well-earned and looking back with all the information we have was always going to be the outcome.
Spoilers below!!!
Still here? So when I first read the story I thought I could write off two of the quints. One was Itsuki and the other was Yotsuba. As you have probably guessed one of these two is the bride and that is………….. Yotsuba! There came a point in the story when we learn just how much Yotsuba has sacrificed for her sisters and Futaro because she feels she still needs to redeem herself for past mistakes. What you start to piece together from everything is just how much she has been there for Futaro. He worded it best when he called Yotsuba his anchor, she has been one of his best friends. Which in my opinion is one of the biggest and most important building blocks for a strong relationship.
I know some people aren’t a fan of how this ends and who he ends up with. But after spending a lot of time re-reading and analyzing I really love how this went. Honestly, my biggest gripes with the story are that the ending is dumb to me. Not in the way you think though, all of the quints join Futaro and Yotsuba on their honeymoon. This is just stupid to me, coupled with the fact that we hardly get to see them interact as a couple at all and it leads to some frustrations. This is a series that I think would definitely benefit from some sort of afterword or something.
All of the VAs return for their roles and put in fantastic performances. I would have to say the two standout performances are the harem king himself, Josh Grelle. Futaro had to come to grips with some emotions he wasn’t used to and someone had to voice those emotions. Josh was fantastic in this regard.
The other was Brynn Apprill, who voices Yotsuba. Yotsuba is a little more nuanced and complicated than we were led to believe way back in season one. Brynn has had to change and grow with the character as well and her performance was one of the standouts in the film. But to be honest, everyone was great. Tia Ballard, Felecia Angelle, Lindsay Seidel, and Jill Harris bring the quints to life. It wouldn’t be the same without them.
This movie was a bit flawed but it did what a lot of anime doesn’t. It completed a story and that is pretty impressive. I feel like this series has a bit of a niche audience. You need to either be into romance, harem, or maybe some light mystery elements. I can see how the first few episodes would disinterest some people but I promise if you stick it out you are in for a heartwarming ride.