The Quintessential Quintuplets has been something I’ve obsessed over the last few months. It is a series I really enjoyed as an anime and one that I couldn’t stay away from so I picked up the manga as well.
But I was unsure about it when I first was considering taking a look at it. The big reason for that is because of the harem tag it received.
Harem is often very played out. So much so nowadays that every harem that comes around is given the stink eye. And for good reason. Most harem is way overdone and ridiculous.
But the thing Quintessential Quintuplets does is make its harem very different than most I have seen. Between the way they go about it and the dynamics it brings, this might be the best harem going in anime/manga right now, and that’s not hyperbole.
Usually in harem, the main character gets all the love interests fawning over them from almost the very moment they meet the others. This is the first hurdle this series gets over in a unique way. Instead of making all the quintuplets like Fuutarou initially for no reason, they all actually don’t like him that much, if at all, at first. Fuutarou actually has to do things that cause the quintuplets to begin to develop feelings (even if Fuutarou isn’t trying to do so).
This is actually very refreshing to see because Fuutarou isn’t some hero that gets love for no reason. He’s just a guy tutoring these five girls who are bad in school, and the five don’t want to be taught by him at first. He instead has to work his way to get the girls to trust him and like him. He’s not given any favors here. It’s a good thing to see this random, regular nerd get to the point he gets to.
Another thing that makes it very good is the dynamics of it all. These five girls are all quintuplets and they are all falling for the same guy. This is a totally different thing than we are used to seeing. The sisters getting all at war with each other over Fuutarou while also trying not to ruin the sisterly bond they share creates a different mindset and a totally different conflict that most harem don’t have.
It makes the interactions and drama between the characters way better and it drives the story along even further than it would otherwise. A lot of harem use it as a gimmick to create fan service moments. This series uses its harem to actually further things in the series in a way we aren’t used to seeing.
And it doesn’t just further the story either. The character growth for the quintuplets and Fuutarou throughout the series is great as well, and the development and realization of romantic feelings towards another person is at the core of it. It’s not as wishy washy as most harem, as it feels like these characters are actually having real feelings and having real conflicts both internally and externally. This helps creates good drama too.
It’s not just a surface-level harem that does its gimmick and moves on. It gets deeper than that, especially once you get through the beginning parts. It surprises in that way, and it’s mix of comedy, drama and romance is done beautifully to make it, in my opinion, the best harem currently out there.
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