The Quintessential Quintuplets has been a staple of the RomCom genre in anime since the first season landed on our screens in 2019, based on the manga of the same name written by Negi Haruba that began serialisation in 2017. As the name The Quintessential Quintuplets suggests, our story follows five identical sisters as they are struggling to succeed in school, all underachieving in different subjects and at risk of flunking out of high school. In steps model student Fuutaro Uesugi to help tutor our Nakano sisters. Fuutaro is known for gaining near-perfect scores on every test, but due to his studious nature, he appears reclusive and introverted and has very few friends.
Taking on the job to tutor the five sisters in order to clear his family’s debt, Fuutaro appears to have taken on more than he can handle, but doesn’t realise he has set his course for the rest of his life with these quintuplets. This is a RomCom anime, but also a harem, meaning love abounds and for Fuutaro it’s with the five identical quintuplets, Miku, Itsuki, Ichika, Nino, and Yotsuba.
The Story So Far
This movie is set up to be a conclusion for all the plot points throughout seasons one and two of The Quintessential Quintuplets, meaning that Fuutaro finally makes a decision on which of the five sisters to finally confess to after all this time. Throughout the first two seasons, Fuutaro has grown to know the quintuplets and their distinctive personalities, seeing the likes of the distant Nino grow fonder and become one of the first to confess their love for him, or the mature Ichika distance herself from the love-fuelled battle royal to pursue her acting career despite her intense feelings for her tutor.
Those that have not watched the first two seasons will feel lost watching this movie as it skips a lot of exposition in favour of giving long-term fans the time they deserve with each of the five sisters. Centering around the school festival in their final year, we get to watch Fuutaro’s final interactions with each of the five sisters before having to confess to the one he has chosen by the end, bringing a conclusion to a three-year-long love hexagon.
A Cramped Sprint to the Finish
Not to take anything away from the enjoyment of the movie, especially for long-term fans of The Quintessential Quintuplets series, the movie felt like it tried to cram too much into the two hours and sixteen minutes of runtime. There was definitely enough material here to make another twelve-episode season of the anime, but there would have had to have been a bit of filler or more exploration of the quintuplets’ life after high school.
Towards the middle section of the movie there is a small plot arc around the quintuplets father coming back to the school he was a teacher at, and where he met their mother Rena Nakano. After leaving their mother, and subsequently remarrying Maruo Nakano, the sisters still have not forgiven their biological father for leaving and Itsuki takes it upon herself to confront him. The twist is that Miku actually confronts him wearing Itsuki’s signature star hair clips, and Mudou’s failure to distinguish them illustrates his lack of attention to his daughters, meaning they resolve to leave him out of their lives. This entire plot point feels rushed and unexplored with very little put into the resolution for time's sake, lacking in a lot of detail around Mudou’s motivations for returning to the quintuplets’ lives, now of all times.
A Fitting Finale
The movie may have a bit of rushed storytelling in the middle, but the plot moves along at a good pace the rest of the time and gives a nice ending for Fuutaro’s story. Seeing all five of the quintuplets sharing heartwarming moments with Fuutaro throughout the school festival, like his park trip with Ichika or his conflict resolution involving Miku’s food stall. Each sister also gets to share a kiss with our main man, giving fans of all the girls a moment to cherish despite only one winning out with his final confession.
Fans will also love the wedding sequence, seeing Fuutaro finally make a connection with Maruo Nakano and then go on to list out the best parts of each sister when they all dress up the same in matching wedding dresses, proving he can tell them apart no matter what they pull. Some fans may be disappointed with the choice of Fuutaro to confess to Yotsuba, but having watched the series and learning that she is the sister he met on his trip to Kyoto as a child it was almost a forgone conclusion. However, the journey is as important as the destination as they say, and this journey has been wonderful, watching Fuutaro help the five sisters understand their place in the world, their own aspirations, and most importantly help Yotsuba get over her fear of not standing out as seen when she gives up her trademark green bow.
Final Thoughts
The Quintessential Quintuplets movie is a must-watch for any fans of the series just to see the confession and wedding scenes alone, but even for RomCom anime fans, this movie is a good example of how to round out a long beloved series. The movie feels like a perfect conclusion to the Nakano sister’s story, and seeing each go down their own paths after Fuutaro’s tutoring is lovely, especially Nino and Miku running their own cafe or Itsuki following her mother’s career path into teaching.
Although we will not get to see any more of the Quintessential Quintuplets, thankfully, this movie rounds out all the outstanding plot points that had been raised throughout the two seasons. What did you think of The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie? Did you expect the ending that Fuutaro went for or were you hoping one of the other sisters would get their confession? Let us know in the comments!
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