The Quintessential Quintuplets (2018)

[五等分の花嫁]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Negi Haruba
Publisher: Shounen Magazine Comics

Synopsis:
The quints invite Fuutarou and Raiha over to their new apartment for New Year's.

Story/Characters:
The New Year's chapter is nice. I appreciate having Raiha's outside perspective. Also, the new apartment is an interesting change of pace. Instead of their luxurious condo, they're now crammed into a little apartment, which makes the setting far more relatable. Dr. Nakano features more prominently, unsurprising as he's not going to take his daughters' rebellion lying down. I do love that there's a personal, petty animus against Fuutarou that he tries to wrap up in practical parental concerns.

As enjoyable as the first half is, the real highlight is the second half, an interwoven narrative of the girls and their finals with each chapter told from a different girl's perspective. It opens up the door for great character moments. Even though Miku is my favorite, I have to admit that Nino's chapter is the winner of the five, closing the volume on a great cliffhanger.

Art:
There are some truly great panels this volume. I always praise the art, yes, but there are some really dramatic shots, particularly in Nino's chapter. I do love the shot from the New Year's chapter where all five of the quints are giving Fuutarou a massage and he looks absolutely miserable. It says so much about his character. The imagine spot where the girls are imagining jobs they could do to help take some of the load off Ichika is also pretty good. Because I was also reading Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid around this time, I couldn't help but think that Shimoda is a dragon in human form. With those eyes and those fangs, how can I not? For that matter, Dr. Nakano's eyes make me wonder about him.

Other:
We get the results of the character poll from August 2018 asking who the #1 wife candidate is. Maeda got 68 votes to place at #7. ^o^ We get a one page comic that puts the fear in Fuutarou. I remember a Tales from the Crypt episode that was similar.

Conclusion:
While I've been loving this series from the start, this volume is really strong. The finals chapters in particular represent some great storytelling. Also, I'm a sucker for a good cliffhanger and this one has a doozie. Definitely add this one to the collection.

Rating:
Own It