The Quintessential Quintuplets (Season Two)

Futaro has got his work cut out for him if he is to get all five of the quintuplets to pass their exams. To make things even harder, he’s picking a fight with their father. But, will that bring him closer to the girls?
What did you watch?
I went into the first season of The Quintessential Quintuplets fully expecting to enjoy it. I wasn’t prepared for just how much I would though. It mixes the fairly absurd notion of a harem with the mystery of finding out which of the five sisters will end up with Futaro. On top of that, it’s five sisters fighting over the same guy… surely, this can’t end well for all of them. So, when the second season was announced, I instantly added it to my to-watch list and had been patiently waiting. Well, it came, I saw, how did it do? Let’s find out, and as always, there will be spoilers.

What happened?
First things first, Futaro needed to recover from the illness that took him down at the end of season one. Luckily, their father was ready to pay for the finest care so that he could get back to tutoring the girls. Of course, as with any large family, there was drama. Itsuki and Nino fell out and both left the family home. Nino went to a hotel, while Itsuki ended up at Futaro’s house… He’s still not sure how that happened.
After managing to get them back together, Futaro quit after tell their father that he needed to be more involved in their lives. That didn’t go down well and despite the quintuplets wanting Futaro to continue, he was banned from entering the building. So, the quintuplets moved out and got a place of their own, paid for by Ichika and her acting career.
Amazingly, they all managed to pass the exam thanks to Futaro utilising them each to help tutor their better subjects. With that out of the way, things could return to normal… or so Futaro thought. Each of the girls got a job and one by one realised that they had feelings for him. So, when they went on a school trip to Kyoto, it was every girl for themselves…

What did you think?
I was disappointed with how the season started. It appeared to jump from place to place and didn’t want to give things that felt important much time to develop. There was the scene with Rena that made absolutely no sense and felt like we had missed a lot of context. Thankfully, once the girls passed the exam, things seemed to settle down and the real beauty of the show emerged. We spent more time with the girls, watching them fall for Futaro and try to do something about it. We learnt about their past and discovered who the mystery girl that Futaro met in Kyoto all those years ago. It was, of course, more complicated than that though. In the end, I really enjoyed this season. It wasn’t as good as the first, but it’s got me excited for the third season which has already been announced.

What was your favourite moment?
I enjoyed the entire arc at the hot springs, but that only managed to be my second favourite moment. One of the concerns I’ve had with this season was how the girls would handle things knowing that they all like the same guy. I was worried that it would pull them apart and it was starting to look that way. Ichika was going all out and partly because of how forthright Nino was being.
However, my favourite moment was in the final episode when they all conspired to get Miku and Futaro together. She had been unable to tell him how she felt and this was the push she needed. Unfortunately, she swerved a little at the end when she realised her sister were all there, but it was a nice moment all the same. It also helped to alleviate my fears for the girls. They all still wanted him, but this helped them get some perspective and ultimately they all came together.

What was your least favourite moment?
Another of those scenes where we seemed to be dropped right in the middle of something that should have been hinted at for a much longer period. Out of nowhere, Futaro suddenly had a rival and he was making all sorts of crazy demands and challenges. Hold up, dude. We don’t even know you! It was similar to the Rena meeting and left me feeling like I’d missed something. It just felt like they skipped some things that would have been helpful.

Who was your favourite character?
So, this is far harder than I first thought. In the first season, Futaro was my favourite character because of how similar we are. As for the girls, I was pretty much team Miku after season one, but now I’m not so sure. I still love Miku, but I also really enjoyed hanging with Yotsuba and Itsuki. Even Nino managed to impress me and she’s been way off the pace until now. And surprisingly, even with her more devious attempts to get to Futaro, I still like Ichika. They all have their charms. However, if pushed, I think it’s now between Yotsuba and Itsuki… and Miku, Ichika, and Nino…

Who was your least favourite character?
This one is a much simpler decision. The quintuplet’s step-father is a piece of work and I feel like he needs to be firmly put in his place. I don’t know how it will happen, but I really hope that it does.

Would you like some more?
I did think they were going to wrap things up in this season and at the start of the season, I would have been fine with it. However, as the season went on, it got better and better and now I am delighted that it didn’t end and that we will be getting a third season. There’s still a lot to work out in this harem dating mystery sim!

What have you learnt?
As with lots of things, playing to your strengths makes a lot of sense. At the beginning of the season, it didn’t and as a result, felt a little rudderless. However, once it slowed down and started to allow the girls to show us how much fun they are to be around, it quickly picked up. Luckily, that means we’ve been left with a warm feeling at the end and I’d imagine most that finished this season will watch the third. Had it ended with the same energy as the first half, I think it would have lost some of its audience.

Other Posts in the Series
- Season One
- Season Two
- Episode 13 – Quite the Crappy Kyoto Quagmire
- Episode 14 – Seven Goodbyes Part 1
- Episode 15 – Seven Goodbyes Part 2
- Episode 16 – Seven Goodbyes Part 3
- Episode 17 – Good Work Today
- Episode 18 – The Last Exam
- Episode 19 – Begin the Offensive
- Episode 20 – Scrambled Eggs
- Episode 21 – Welcome to Class 3-1
- Episode 22 – Five Cranes in Return
- Episode 23 – Sisters War: Part 1
- Episode 24 – Sisters War: Part 2

I’m glad the second season ended better than it started. On to season three!
Thanks. It was a relief. I guess if you can only get one part of a sequel season right, it’s best to be the end. I find you can forgive more if the ending is good.