Introduction

I don’t know about you guys, but I was a complete loser in high school. I played video games and did homework. That’s it. I didn’t go to sporting events, dances, proms, etc. I was just a wee little boy that had no interest in those kinds of things. However, after reading 5-Toubun no Hanayome and seeing how much fun Futaro was able to make for himself. I would go back and redo my high school experience in a heartbeat.

Futaro is a studious high school kid who becomes a tutor for a girl at his high school. This tutor gig pays great which is something much needed for Futaro because he and his family is poor. He takes this gig thinking it’ll be easy. Little to his knowledge, he isn’t just tutoring 1 girl… he’s tutoring that girl and her 4 other identical sisters!

Story: 8/10

High school is a time for fun, growth, and exploration. You make new friends, go to places you’ve never gone before, and decide on your future. At least that is what every high schooler hopes… The story starts off with a bang and comes at you faster than Yotsuba can run. It’s like, introduce main character and his personality. Bam, introduce 1 of the quintuplets and their personality. Bam, introduce another quintuplet and their personality. So on and so forth. It can get overwhelming and feel really chaotic, but if you stick around, the series slowly settles into a nice pace. Now, am I going to say that the pacing is impeccable? No. It deals with the story’s highs very well but throws in unnecessary scenes to make the quiet parts more like the high parts, and that really affects the overall rhythm.

The series is about a harem, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. You get this elaborate experience of growth, exploration, and coming to age within the story that it almost feels like you’re reading something else. The story does not lack depth. Kind of like a teacher, it takes you and makes you focus on the story. It grabs you with a vice grip and doesn’t let you go. The way the story progresses just feels real. It doesn’t hold your hand and tell you what’s going to develop next, it just goes, and you go along with it. The mystery of who Futaro marries will keep tugging at you over the course of the series, making for a fun time reading. 5-Toubun no Hanayome does an immaculate job of blending in comedy and drama. The comedic timings during very tension filled scenes make for bouts of laughter. It never takes itself super seriously, but it also doesn’t force itself to be funny. It is a balancing act that 5-Toubun no Hanayome perfects.

Art: 7/10

I’ll try to keep this section the shortest as I have a lot to talk about. There are honestly no big faults in the art for 5-Toubun no Hanayome. The series does a fantastic job blending together traditional anime art and realistic art. When you look at the characters, you’ll be instantly reminded of anime. But if you look at the background, you’ll be instantly reminded of real life. This combination makes each panel that more immersive. Each character’s emotions are drawn very well to the point that if it were a panel of just them and no text, you’d instantly be able to understand the emotion they are feeling. Each panel is very easy for your eyes to follow and despite the start of the series, the panels are not chaotic and are clean and neat.

Characters: 9/10

What is it that drives social interaction in people? Being relatable and having things to relate to of course. Relatability is the core of human social interaction. This is the reason why the characters in 5-Toubun no Hanayome are the star of the show. God, do the characters feel real as hell. Each one of them has their own complex personality that is gradually shown throughout the series. But most importantly, each of the characters are relatable in some way. I saw myself no matter how small or large, in each of the characters. This made the characters less of characters in a novel and more representative of real people. Because of this, the character development also felt natural. It was a progression of impactful events that changed a character’s personality rather than doing a 180 with no logical growth.

The way each character plays off one another makes the story that much more compelling and the relationship between them that much more credible. Futaro makes for a great main protagonist and the quintuplet’s dad adds another facet to Futaro, as he makes for a great antagonist. 5-Toubun no Hanayome makes you truly understand the characters, it makes you love them, and makes you feel every emotion they feel.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I wasn’t really into this series in the very beginning. I was overwhelmed by all the information the series threw at you, but I kept with it. Boy am I glad I did. This series turned out to be one of the most engaging series I’ve read in a long while. I loved not only the story but the world and characters that belonged to that story. It was an exciting read until the very end. So why don’t I give it a 10/10 in that case? Well, it’s because of the ending. Not because I’m salty about who he chose but because how it developed in the last couple of chapters.

Verdict

I would give this a read no matter who you are. Just look at me, I’m a Shounen fanboy and mostly read action and adventure series. Yet, I still enjoyed this series very much even though it’s so different than those series I typically read. It’s got relatable characters and a story that piggybacks off those relatable characters to keep you engaged for all 122 chapters. Through and through, this was a very well written and entertaining series.