The Quintessential Quintuplets

The Quintessential Quintuplets
The cover of the first volume of The Quintessential Quintuplets
五等分の花嫁 (Go-Tōbun no Hanayome)
Genre	Romantic comedy[1]
Manga
Written by	Negi Haruba
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Kodansha USA
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run	August 9, 2017 – present
Volumes	5
Anime television series
Original network	TBS, STV, BS-TBS
Original run	January 2019 – scheduled

The Quintessential Quintuplets (五等分の花嫁, Go-Tōbun no Hanayome), also known as 5-Tōbun no Hanayome or roughly in English 5 Equal Brides, is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Negi Haruba. It has been serialized weekly in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since August 2017 and five tankōbon volumes of the manga have been released so far. The series has been published digitally in English by Kodansha USA under the Kodansha Comics imprint since June 26, 2018. An anime television series adaptation is set to premiere in January 2019 on TBS and other channels.

Plot

Japanese high school student Uesugi Fuutarou has achieved excellent grades but leads a difficult life otherwise: no mother, no friends, and a father struggling with large debts while Fuutarou and his younger sister Raiha often go hungry.

An opportunity presents itself when the rich Nakano family arrives in his school and Fuutarou is hired as a highly-paid tutor, but he discovers his five charges- charming identical quintuplet sisters of varied personalities- have in common zero interest in study and abysmal grades. Some of the quintuplets are against having an unknown male in their apartment, but Fuutarou's diligent tenacity gradually convinces those girls to reduce their attempts to have him poisoned or arrested, and to advance in their studies.

Characters

Fūtarō Uesugi (上杉 風太郎)

A Japanese high-school student who achieves excellent grades, but he has a bland appearance, a grumpy and rude personality, and no friends. He lives in a small apartment with his poor family: a lazy and messy father (Isanari) and a diligent younger sister (Raiha); she is the only person who strongly cares for Fuutarou and vice versa. Fuutarou is always serious and dedicated to his efforts, and occasionally pompous or mocking.

Raiha Uesugi (上杉 らいは)

Fuutarou's cheerful younger sister; being the only female and the most family-conscious she is effectively the head of the small household. Her cute facial expressions will often sway others' hearts. Appreciating the hard work Fuutarou does for their family, she sometimes delays the supper until his late return home so she can prepare his favourite meal.

Nakano quintuplet sisters

Being physically identical, they all have large blue eyes, light-reddish hair, a cute expressive face and a shapely figure.

The sisters live together in a rich high-rise apartment and, following the "go-toubun" (five portions, divided equally) philosophy given by their late mother, consider themselves five parts of one whole. While they share terrible grades and the lack of desire to study, they also are honourable and begin to appreciate the work that Fuutarou is dedicating towards them.

Despite their different hairstyles the sisters are experts at impersonating each other and often do so for pranks or convenience.

(ordered by the first character in their names, which are Kanji numbers from 1 to 5, indicating order of birth):

Ichika Nakano (中野 一花)

The first sister, she has very short hair without accessories. She has an "onee-san" older-sister personality: a combination of caring, thoughtful, wise and teasing. She enjoys sleeping and her room is incredibly messy. She aspires to become a movie actress and dedicates most of her time and resources to do so.

Nino Nakano (中野 二乃)

The second sister, she has very long hair with two butterfly-style accessories on the sides. While caring and playful with her sisters, she shows a grumpy, sometimes rude and aggressive personality to people outside of their group. She is fashionable and skilled at cooking. The sisters' unity is paramount to her; viewing Fuutarou as an interloper, she has gone to extreme, sometimes illegal lengths to attempt to ban him from their apartment.

Miku Nakano (中野 三玖)

The third sister, she has medium-length hair, "emotionless" eyes and normally a specific pair of headphones around her neck. She has a quiet and passive personality, few friends, and an interest in warriors of specific eras of Japanese history. She had abysmal skill in cooking, but after Fuutarou said that he preferred girls who can cook she coincidentally began focusing to improve that talent.

Yotsuba Nakano (中野 四葉)

The fourth sister, she has medium-length hair and a ribbon styled in two vertical "ears". Always cheerful and friendly, and good at sports, but her constantly active personality can annoy others. She has received 0% scores on school tests. Her actions usually suggest either a complete absence of thought, or unconscious intricate plans far beyond anything the other characters could imagine.

Itsuki Nakano (中野 五月)

The fifth sister, she has an expressive ahoge, long hair with two twirling "streams" and two stars besides her eyes. She has a mirroring personality: always friendly with acquaintances and classmates but the presence of Fuutarou, who had previously frustrated and insulted her, immediately puts her in attack mode. She loves to eat food and studies seriously, even though her methods need improvement.

Media

References

External links

• Official manga website (in Japanese)
• Official anime website (in Japanese)
• The Quintessential Quintuplets (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia