Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. So, when did teacher/tutor animes become a thing? These kinds of animes aren’t anything new, they’ve been around for a number of years. Probably the most well-known is Great Teacher Onizuka which was a big hit in the 90s, but after that anime got done airing these kinds of animes died out only to reappear in recent years with shows like Assassination Classroom and We Never Learn being seen as successes in the eyes of others. However, there are a few of these kinds of animes that were seen as bad or somewhere down the middle. One of these animes is Gotoubun no Hanayome. Better known by its English title: The Quintessential Quintuplets, this was a series that was liked by fans and newcomers, but only seen as okay in the grand scheme of things. The series is based off a manga written by Negi Haruba from 2017-2020. While the series didn’t really do anything special, it managed to win people over with its romantic comedy and doing the basic things well and correctly. At the start of 2019, Tezuka Productions (Astro Boy) turned the series into an anime and with the second season set to come next year, I think now is a good time to watch the anime and remind myself what I’m getting myself into. This is Gotoubun no Hanayome.
Opening and Ending Theme
Our opening is “Gotoubun no Kimochi” by Nakanoke no Itsuzugo. I liked this opening. It was cute, energetic and had good visuals. The best-selling point for this opening was 5 VAs who all sing will and are in good harmony with each other.
The ending is “Sign” by Aya Uchida. Kind of split with this song. I really did like the first 20 seconds of the song, but the rest of the song is okay. It’s not bad it just didn’t live up to what I was expecting the rest of the song to sound like.
Episodes 1-4
We start the anime off with our main character Futarou voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Kirito from SAO), a high school loner who has a bland appearance and a rather rude personality (which makes him perfect for a main lead). His only redeeming quality is that he gets good grades in school (nobody understands a genius). One day at lunch, he sits with a girl named Itsuki voiced by Inori Minase (Hestia from Danmachi), a new transfer student who’s obviously rich (look at her lunch. She’s a girl who doesn’t understand the value of a dollar). The two bump heads with each other (their relationship will be like water and oil) and just can’t seem to get along (scene here: https://youtu.be/3KBvcXuv4rI). Later on, Futarou receives a call from his sister about a tutoring job that’s paying good money and he accepts the job only to find out that the person he has tutor is Itsuki (the Lord works in funny ways). The next day, Futarou tries to approach Itsuki and get back on her good side, but there are other girls who keep getting in his way. He follows Itsuki home where we see she’s loaded (cute, rich, stubborn. She’s obviously a tsundere in the making or my ex-European girlfriend. (Yume): Hey Nitsuj, Lana’s on the phone again. (Nitsuj): Tell her I’m not here) and finally makes it to her penthouse apartment where he finds out the girls who were getting in his way all this time are actually Itsuki’s sisters and they’re all quintuplets (scene here: https://youtu.be/V43PR5U5aug. This is new, usually it’s twins. Not that I’m complaining, 5 times the fun). The oldest of the sisters is Ichika voiced by Kana Hanazawa (Mikan from To Love Ru). She’s messy and enjoys teasing people. The second sister is Nino voiced by Ayana Taketatsu (Koneko from Highschool DxD). She loves her sisters, likes fashion, and can cook. The third sister is Miku voiced by Miku Ito. She’s emotionless and seems to be the smartest out of the sisters (given this group, you’ll find out that doesn’t mean much). The fourth sister is Yotsuba voiced by Ayane Sakura (Gasper from Highschool DxD). The energetic one of the group and sadly the dumbest of the bunch. It turns out that Futarou will be tutoring all 5 of these girls but they don’t want him as their tutor (scene here: https://youtu.be/lk0jWXmkssI). In fact, Nino actually spikes Futarou’s drink which knocks him out (Nino. . .the fuck?). Itsuki takes him home in the cab where we get to meet his sister Raiha and dad (who looks nothing like him. Clearly Futarou and Raiha take after their mother who we won’t see because she’s obviously dead). We see that Futarou and his family are poor which is why Futarou is so determined to get this job. Itsuki decides to let him have the job but says she won’t rely on him (scene here: https://youtu.be/i_RJiT-C8zo). Futarou believes that all he has to do is just focus on the girls who are failing, but little does he know, they’re all failing and the reason they transferred is because they were in danger of repeating the same grade because of their low scores (well. . .time to channel your inner Koro-Sensei).
At the start of episode 2, Futarou manages to gather up all the girls willingly (I honestly think he should invest in ropes) where he gives them a test, promising to leave them alone if they score 50 or higher. They take the test where they get a 100. . .when you combine their tests together (these girls are lost causes). After that test, the episode focuses on Miku who got the highest score on the test. We discover that the girl actually has a fascination with Sengoku warlords that she’s secretly embarrassed about (nothing to be embarrassed about. Some of the best warriors in history came from this period). Futarou uses this to his advantage to establish a connection with Miku where it seems to work until he messes up on one of her questions. Not wanting to mess this up, he brushes up on his history and challenges Miku again where they run all around the school doing warlord trivia (it’s ridiculous but I’m learning so much). Miku finally opens up about how she feels inferior to her sisters. Even though she’s the smartest of them, she knows that whatever she’s capable of doing, they’re just as capable of doing it as well (so?). Futarou tells her that that just means she’s just as capable of doing whatever her sisters do as well (exactly, you’re quintuplets). Futarou shows Miku everyone’s test where we see whoever got one answer right, the others got wrong. Where ever one falls short, the other is there to cover for them and with their combined skills they can learn from each other and get that 100%. At the end of the episode, Miku joins Futarou’s lessons along with Yotsuba (2 sisters down. 3 to go).
Nothing much happens in episode 3. We focus on Nino who refuses to accept Futarou as a tutor and continues to be his biggest obstacle yet. The reason for this is that Nino truly does love her sisters. To her, her sisters mean everything. Futarou is an outsider and that scares her. She doesn’t know what he’ll do to their relationship (will he tear it apart? Maybe) and that scares her. So she’ll reject him and continue to reject him until he gives up. The only real good moment comes when Futarou protects Nino from falling books while she was in a towel (scene here: https://youtu.be/aAZ18mfLuzw) and this results in harem court where Nino is the plaintiff and Futarou is the defendant. At first things seem to be going Nino’s way, but the other sisters start to analyze the evidence and side with Futarou which upsets Nino so much that she walks out and sulks outside (scene here: https://youtu.be/H5hsnrhdowc). At first Futarou ignores her, but his good conscience won’t let him leave her alone and he sits outside with her until Miku comes and gets her (don’t spoil her). Nino still refuses to accept Futarou and vows to keep rejecting him (you say that now, but you will come around. They all come around).
In episode 4 Futarou receives his first paycheck (despite barely doing anything). In order to celebrate, he takes Raiha to the arcade with Itsuki joining them (scene here: https://youtu.be/-c77jwcN6uE). After the arcade, the three meet up with the rest of the quintuplets and go to the city festival where a big fireworks show will be going on (scene here: https://youtu.be/19nGBl6raRQ). However, the girls get separated from each other in the crowd and Nino is the only person who knows where the meeting spot is (what we have here is a failure to communicate). Nino and Futarou make it to the meeting spot and Futarou goes out to find the others. He manages to find Ichika first, but she gets taken away by some mysterious mustached man (of course she’s prostituting herself. Why? You have no reason. You’ve got money for days, you can get any guy you want, you’re cute, and you’ve got sisters who love you. At the end of the day you’re just being a bitch). Futarou manages to find Miku, Itsuki, Yotsuba, and Raiha but is still searching for Ichika until she finds him and drags him into an alleyway asking Futarou not to tell the others about what he saw earlier (don’t worry, I’m sure they already know. But seriously, couldn’t you have picked a better looking sugar daddy?) and that she can’t watch the fireworks with everyone.
Episodes 5-8
Okay, so it turns out in episode 5 we find out Ichika isn’t prostituting herself. It turns out she’s an amateur actress and that mustached guy was her manager who landed her an audition for a major role in a TV show (alright. I apologize for the prostitution allegations). This of course means she has to leave for the audition and even though she knows she’s upsetting her sisters by keeping all of this a secret, Futarou agrees to support her in this role and tells her to stop wearing her fake smile and just be herself. She goes to the audition and knocks it out of the park and returns only to see that the fireworks are done and the sisters were all separated from each other that they didn’t get to see them together. However, Futarou has a backup plan. They all gather in the park and light up sparklers putting on their own fireworks show. Futarou gains the respect of Ichika who decides to show her gratitude by joining his tutoring sessions.
Not much happens in episode 6. With midterms only a week away, Futarou gets a call from the quintuplets’ dad who tells them that if any of the girls fail he’s fired (well. . .he’s gone). While Miku, Ichika, and Yotsuba are willing to study it’s Itsuki and Nino who continue to be stubborn. Itsuki because she and Futarou got into a heated argument and Nino because she’s kind of a bitch and would like nothing more than to see him gone. He stays the night and does a study group with the girls where Ichika bestows upon Futarou the head pat technique (use it wisely) and gives Futarou some sisterly advice about patching things up with Itsuki. Miku gives her room to Futarou and bunks with Ichika only to go back to her room in a state of half-sleep and sleeps with Futarou. We also find out what type of girl Futarou likes (scene here: https://youtu.be/64J5-JT8BYI, he just basically described Asuna. Damn it Yoshi-chan, you’re getting your harems mixed up. . .again).
Still nothing much to say about episode 7. Futarou manages to dodge a bullet and avoids getting found out that he and Miku slept in the same room. After that the studying continues where even Itsuki joins after making up with Futarou in the most awkward of situations (so many ships to sail, so little time to develop all of them). On the day of mid-terms, they arrive late but Futarou is able to sneak them all in so that they’re in time for the exams (scene here: https://youtu.be/inQcBRv4bp0). In the end they each pass one subject and Nino is able to trick her dad into allowing Futarou to remain as their tutor for a little while longer (hey they each passed one subject. It’s an improvement).
Again, nothing much to say about episode 8. Aside from a few good scenes with Yotsuba (scenes here: https://youtu.be/L7PlbARgFnY and https://youtu.be/e5M4mEmtxmg) the only thing of value we learn from this episode is that Futarou used to be somewhat of a delinquent (he had bleached hair and an earring as well) when he was a kid but all of that changed when he met a girl he liked. Who was the girl you ask? One of the quintuplets. That’s right, apparently their paths have unknowingly crossed in the past, but the question is which sister was it? Back then they actually did all look identical to each other (scene here: https://youtu.be/8E5D3N6j0GU).
Episodes 9-12
Moving on to episode 9, the school camping trip is around the corner and everyone is excited for it. While posing as Ichika, Miku receives a love confession from a boy who wants to dance with her on the final day of the school’s camping trip. Futarou comes in to save her and Miku (still posing as Ichika) says that she’s going to dance with Futarou (scene here: https://youtu.be/G_56Za8fvX8, well this will complicate things in the future). On the night before the trip, Raiha gets sick and Futarou being the caring big brother that he is looks after her where it seems like he’ll miss the bus because he was looking after her. Luckily, the girls swing by to pick him up in their limousine (oh yeah. I keep forgetting they’re rich) and they head off to the school camp together. Unfortunately, they get stuck in the middle of a snowstorm and have to stay at an inn together in the same room. Futarou has no problems with this but the girls are afraid he might try to do something (scene here: https://youtu.be/NRS0RCC59kY. Oh please, if anybody’s gonna do something it’s gonna be one of you. I already know 2 of you are thirsty and the other 3 aren’t far behind). They all get some rest and the next morning Itsuki sees one of her sisters (Ichika) hoovering over Futarou while he’s asleep and begins to worry about their relationship with him (are they teacher and students or something more?). Itsuki then runs into a teacher from her school and we find out that the bus also got caught in the snowstorm and everyone stayed at the inn as well for the night (what are the odds?). So, they all join up with the rest of the school and the bus heads out for the camping site.
In episode 10 the camping trip is in full swing where Futarou and Yotsuba are in charge of the test of courage and are scaring the living daylights out of people (I’m sure for Futarou it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood). When it’s time for Itsuki and Nino’s turn, Itsuki runs away scared as she hates scary things and Nino follows behind her trying to calm her down (scene here: https://youtu.be/PsXDROzVbM8). Itsuki and Nino run off in the wrong direction so Futarou goes chasing after them where he finds Nino who mistakes him as someone else because of his blonde wig. Since Nino has a thing for the wild boy type (scene here: https://youtu.be/9-s5zLyeWB0, that’s usually the sign for she likes it rough) she instantly falls for the blonde Futarou and after he saves her from falling off a cliff, she asks him to dance with her at the festival (so now he has two girls to dance with at the festival). After this, the girls seem to be keeping their distance from Futarou as he’s acting strange around them. While helping prepare the logs for tomorrow’s dance, he gets advice from Ichika who’s happy to help him out. When they go to pick up the logs, Futarou asks her if she wants to call off the dance for tomorrow and she’s actually hurt by this as a part of her knows that this opens up the door for Miku who obviously has developed feelings for Futarou but at the same time it seems like Ichika might be developing feelings herself. Tears soon start to flow from Ichika’s eyes (asshole move Futarou. Making a girl cry) and the two accidently get locked up inside the barn by the other students to end the episode (scene here: https://youtu.be/NyVPMDcNcXc).
So episode 11 starts off with Futarou and Ichika locked in the barn (what would the neighbors say?). Futarou tries to start a fire to keep them warm where Ichika says she’s thinking about quitting school. It turns out her acting career has really started to take off and her manager thinks she should quit school and focus on her career (you want her to drop out of a school for a career that may or may not take off? Good coaching). Rather than reprimand her, Futarou just wishes her luck and is actually happy that she found something she’s so passionate about (he can be pretty cool sometimes). Ichika agrees to call off the dance for tomorrow but she wants to have their own small dance in the barn where Futarou tells Ichika about the legend and she figures why Miku was so distraught. Just when a big log is about to fall on her, Futarou saves her which trips the alarm and the two get discovered on top of each other in the barn (scene here: https://youtu.be/L-Vucnq16P8) with Itsuki and Miku not fully believing their story (what the hell? Where’s the trust?). The next day, Ichika catches a little cold but that doesn’t stop her from going skiing with her sisters and Futarou where they play tag. Futarou hides in an igloo with Miku where we see she’s been lost on what she wants to do and how she feels about Ichika having feelings for a guy she likes. They’re sisters, they’re supposed to be equals yet here they are at odds with each other and Miku doesn’t know what to feel. Thankfully, Futarou tells her that they should be fair, not equal. Being equal is fine and all but Futarou says they shouldn’t disregard their own efforts (such as how Yotsuba is the most athletic of the bunch. She puts in the effort to make herself physically fit). This actually helps clear Miku’s mind and she makes a call to Ichika to end the episode (scene here: https://youtu.be/5geSech6naw).
In the final episode Itsuki has gone missing and no one can find her. Futaro figures out that Ichika is Itsuki in disguise while riding the ski lift. Apparently, she was trying to figure out what kind of guy he really is (he’s a good man, he just has a hard time showing it). Futaro then collapses from a cold and thus has to miss the dance but the quintuplets sneak in to check on him where they each hold his hand to fulfill the legend that one of them will marry him in the future. That pretty much wraps up the episode. Other notable scenes are Miku and Ichika talking about their feelings for Futaro where Miku lets her know that she’s going to win (I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this).
Final Thoughts
So how is Gotoubun no Hanayome? Well, I enjoyed it. Like I said, I like the fact that it’s actually quintuplets instead of twins and how they each have different personalities, attitudes, and characteristics that separate them from the other. Yotsuba is more outgoing and energetic, Miku is quiet but more open with her emotions then the others, Nino cares about her family and wants to protect them from danger, Itsuki is stubborn but cares a lot for others, and Ichika is carefree and easy to talk to. They each have their own relationship with Futarou and all develop feelings for him in their own way whether it’s a feeling of love or dislike that will slowly become love, it’s interesting to see each girl interact with him. Futarou may come across as rude, but deep down he’s a good guy who does recognize and respect the talents of each girl. I actually did find it interesting that he was in full support of Ichika dropping out of school to pursue her career in acting. Whether or not this is right is debatable. From a teaching perspective no, but from the perspective of someone her own age who can see and admire the passion she has for acting, he can’t help but support her. The major downfall of this anime is that the story can be slow and boring. Because it’s a slice of life anime, the anime decides to take its time and focus on the day to day life of the characters which I’m all for. However, nothing really happens in their day to day life. While it’s true we’ll discover something new and interesting to the story the discoveries are so far and few between each other, and the stuff leading up to the new discovery is boring.
The animation is nice. I like the character designs, but other than that it’s nothing really all that special. At least from the animes I’ve seen in the past. The music is okay as well. While some pieces fit well within the anime, some of the other ones sound like they belong in a fantasy anime. I guess they were trying to make the scene magical, but perhaps they made it sound too magical.
Final Score
The final score for Gotoubun no Hanayome is a 6/10. It’s an okay anime. Personally, I liked We Never Learn a little more than this, but I have heard some people prefer this series over We Never Learn which I can understand why. If you want something that’s more comedic and fast then check out We Never Learn. If you want something that’s slow and more on the romantic side then check this anime out. The second season was pushed back to next year and as someone who’s read the ending I’m interested in seeing how they’ll animate what happens next. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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