It really has been a while since I felt this much reminiscent over a franchise where one could imagine and illustrate the perfect ending for a series, especially given the fact that is on a romance genre series, it almost gave of the same vibe and feel as the Saekano movie in terms of the way it ended. But I would have to say that 5-toubun no Hanayome Movie has the edge over the other franchise I have mentioned, at least for me.
To give a brief overview on this franchise as a whole, the manga started its serialization on the Weekly-Shounen Magazine back in 2017 with the author behind its beautiful crafted story and character design, Negi Haruba.
With the rise of popularity towards the manga series as a whole, it received an anime adaption in 2019. Truth to be told, the first season of the art style of the anime wasn't as consistent as the upcoming adaption of it, but still it has some great moment when it matter the most.
The first season of the anime ended as any generic romance show one could imagine, it was not super extraordinary or a bad series to be watch, it is something you would watch day and day on any luxury time you had, or so that's what I thought initially. Despite there's some flaws on the anime first season, it remained a very pure romance story and enjoyable to watch for me.
Coming into the sequel, the second season definitely offered more than what we could have imagine it to be. Just when I thought a "harem" show couldn't take it onto the next level, it truly proved me wrong, and I'm really glad that it did that.
Never have I thought a show where it consist of all girls that gets to shine most of the time, each and every individual character in that series gets to tell their own story as well the love affection towards the same person. In most case, we would just thought it is another generic harem troupe, but that's really not the case on this franchise, one thing I really appreciate about is amazing how Negi-sensei is able to craft a story where it doesn't really felt like a harem shenanigans for once in the entire series.
The good-old classic harem troupe on most harem anime is where most girls would throw away their dignity and just act all lovely-dovely towards the mc, kinda like the immature act over how thing played out, yeah is mesmerizing to see girls has love affection towards the mc of the show to a certain degree where one could say it as the "anime-poi style", but sometimes is not all fun and games really when your taking into serious consideration on the way you look things.
And this is exactly what I felt the entire time when I'm watching the second season of the anime. Every single girls are there to support their own feelings for one and another, despite having to fight over the mc they all have love affection towards to, not once where I felt that the harem troupe is there to play things out, is just full of moment that was being romanticize in the most cohesive way where I could never imagine on a harem show to be. The mix of drama is also a very welcome touch to the series, I really like the way it was really portray as what a true romance series is suppose to look like when all girls are dead-serious on winning over the person they love the most.
Whether is jealousy, envious, joyful, sense of relieve, each and every girl is there to play things out with their own way of setting their own stage that one would dream of standing on side by side with the mc.
Gotoubun no Hanayome ∬ has truly solidified as what a harem genre series has to offer if is done on the most enticeable way we could ever ask for, I would say it has set a bar on what a true romance series is suppose to be.
Before I mentioned anything about the movie, I must say that as a manga reader myself, I have zero expectation of hope as well as how this film could ever peak as what season 2 of the anime has to offered, because I myself knew everything that could possibly happen beforehand
The final arc of the manga really kinda left me disappointed with the way it was progressed, so many potential of being solidified as the best harem series has to offer in this day of age, fall short apart with the way things ended. I really hate to say this myself, but the final arc of the series was really lackluster, it felt rushed and things feel like it wasn't going anywhere at all. Although the last few chapters of the series did reelevate on its flaw, it could never recover how a perfect series it was meant to be for me.
Before I start watching the movie, my initial thought would be: "ah screw it, ain't gonna bother much about the final arc, who cares about it anymore? Let's gladly enjoy this movie as the last moment where I could finally conclude this franchise as a whole that means a lot to me over the past years".
And man, man oh man, what a great movie they had to offered. I never would have thought that they could revive the manga only flaws, the pacing of the way things is being progressed.
This could be me only, but I really felt that the anime film has done an amazing job on executing those moment than what I felt more on the manga itself. They really did a phenomenal job on the film, it was so beautifully made, the characters that was being illustrated into bringing it alive in the last few chapters of the manga was something I really felt heart-warming to it. When all hope felt in vain, they really manage to bounced back and make it into the most perfect ending to the franchise they could ever done.
Although the first half of movie is what I expected it to be just like how it was in the manga with the sudden drastic pace of the story being progressed on the final arc, the second half of the movie is what revived those few moments where I truly felt more impacted than I was reading the manga itself.
This movie has reminded me again why I truly adored this series since the beginning of the journey with all the characters played out their part at, the sense of relieve and enjoyment is all I have felt on the entirety of the film.
As the ending credit rolling through, with the ending song being played, I really did shed some manly tears. It truly surpass what I could have imagine it to be. Even on the end credit, the author did gave tribute towards the film by redrawing some of the most amazing moment in the series. The way it was ended, one could say it ended in the most Gotoubun no Hanayome way where one would imagine it to be.
What a masterpiece this series has given to me, a remarkable ending to the note, as one of my favorite franchise has beautifully closed its chapter. What a ride it has been.
May we bless to have such a beautiful series we got to experience upon our lives.
Peace out- - ~~~~~~
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