The Quintessential Quintuplets (2019)

[五等分の花嫁]

Volume 8

Author/Artist: Negi Haruba
Publisher: Shounen Magazine Comics

Synopsis:
Nino has confessed her feelings for Fuutarou, but when he does not respond, she questions if she made the right move.

Story/Characters:
It's already been made quite clear that Miku and Ichika have fallen for Fuutarou a while back, but neither of them have been entirely up-front with him, then in comes Nino. We have some wrangling about possible miscommunication and right when you expect things to go one way, she ends up surprising us. This is what really flipped me on her and her boldness does great things for the dynamics of the love hexangle. This immediately comes into play with the ryokan arc. While the girls are trying to sort things out, we have the element of them all disguised as Itsuki and Fuutarou struggling to tell them apart (more so than usual). I do like how Fuutarou studies under the quints' grandfather's tutelage to master the mystic art of figuring out who's who. I also like the element of tension provided by Dr. Nakano being there.

Art:
There are some great two-page spreads to deliver some of the highlights of the volume. As we spend most of the time at an onsen resort, I'm sure you can imagine what that means for the fanservice level, but it's used in a fairly natural way.

Other:
Our one-page bonus features what happens when the girls share a single futon.

Conclusion:
One great thing about this series is that it takes continuous strides in character development, unlike most Japanese romcoms, and things really get kicked up a notch thanks to Nino.

Rating:
Own It