Wholesome is a
word that is rarely used to describe a harem anime. Usually, this subgenre is an ecchi fest. However, that’s why The Quintessential Quintuplets stood out when I picked it up at the beginning of the winter 2019 season: it’s incredibly wholesome. It doesn’t, for the purpose of comedy or titillation, blatantly put the male protagonist
in random, sexually-charged situations with the various girls surrounding him. Rather, it just concerns itself with entertaining
through its quirky story and delightful characters in a genuinely sweet way. The result is a thoroughly funny, heartwarming, investing, and enjoyable anime series.
The male
protagonist is Fuutarou Uesugi, a high school student who has fully dedicated
himself to excelling academically. However,
outside of studying and his family, he doesn’t have much of a life – not that
he really cares, as he has no time for socializing or hobbies. In addition, he has a grumpy, snobbish
personality, which usually wards off potential friends – like Itsuki Nakano,
someone he will later regret he has upset.
One day, Fuutarou
gets some good news: his father lands him a part-time job as a tutor. Through this, he would be able to help his
family, which is in deep financial trouble.
Unfortunately, to his horror, he discovers that his charge is Itsuki, who
refuses to accept his apology. Worse,
she’s not the only one he needs to tutor but her sisters – Ichika, Yotsuba,
Miku and Nino – as well. And they happen
to be identical quintuplets whose only distinctions are their personalities and
hairstyles. Moreover, they are similar in
two critical details that are relevant to Fuutarou’s work: a.) they are on
their way of flunking all their subjects; and b.) they have no interest on him becoming
their mentor.
Thus, the task
ahead of Fuutarou is twofold: first, he must gain their trust; and second, he
must motivate them to study. Gradually
over time, he wins them over. One by one,
as they begin seeing his positive qualities, the Nakano quintuplets begin to
warm up to him, and they eventually consider him as their tutor and friend. And as they are further exposed to his
presence and know him more as a person, their admiration for him grows – to the
point that each one starts falling for him.
Actually, the endgame
is already revealed at the very beginning of the series, and that is, the wedding
of Fuutarou and one of the quintuplets.
The mystery of the bride’s identity undeniably enhances the experience
of following the show. Moreover, what
makes it more fun is that the narrative effectively gives the impression that
the odds for each of them are equal. When it’s seemingly leaning toward a particular
quintuplet – especially in the 12th and final episode of the season
– the narrative smoothly pulls back, revealing that it’s just teasing (trolling?)
the audience and that it still could be anyone of them.
Anyway, the Nakano
quintuplets are all adorable, well-realized characters. Each one is an easy Best Girl. Of course, the audience will have their own
respective favorites, but one can’t really go wrong with whom he chooses to
root for.
In the end, regardless
of who Fuutarou ends up with, the most important thing is a worthwhile journey towards the
eventual revelation. And at that front, The Quintessential Quintuplets is sheer glee.
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