YMMV / The Quintessential Quintuplets

• Abandon Shipping: Originally one of the most popular factions, many fans of Fuutarou/Ichika gave up on her after she pretended to be Miku in order to convince Fuutarou that Miku wasn't interested in him, then went on to not care when Miku learned about it and broke down crying from the betrayal, and then smugly criticizing Nino for having a problem with it. On top of that, Nino's What the Hell, Hero? speech towards her appears to have a negligible effect on her, and she still sees no issue with her methods.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Maruo, the quintuplets' father, just throwing obstacles in the way of Fuutarou and the girls out of petty jealousy, or is he secretly testing them? Could his issues with Fuutarou's father, Isanari, possibly be a factor? Or is he being overprotective because Rena's first husband ran off on her when she got pregnant with the quintuplets, and he doesn't want to see it happen again?
  • Nino's Irrational Hatred towards Fuutarou. Is it due to her seeing him as an outsider that threatened the bond between her and her sisters? Or is she taking her frustration and resentment towards her absentee, neglectful father out on him? Not helping that Fuutarou looks a lot like him.
  • Is Ichika genuinely attracted to Fuutarou, or just to the idea of being in love with someone? Could that have played a part in her trying to sabotage her sisters' efforts to confess to him?
  • Is Itsuki trying to keep Fuutarou away from her sisters due to her concern that he may be unintentionally causing problems between them, or is it, due to her growing feelings for him, she wants to keep him for herself? The actions she takes to prevent Fuutarou from meeting up with them supports the latter.
  • By the end of the series, is Yotsuba being the bride an example of fate giving her a break from all she has suffered, or is it giving her what she wants on a silver platter without working for it compared to her sisters? Also, her actions in regards to her feelings towards Fuutarou: Were they as a result of repressing her own feelings for the sake of her sisters from guilt of the sacrifice they made for her, or did they make her no different from Ichika?
• Americans Hate Tingle: Ichika's impersonation of Miku in Chapter 74 to both deliver a Love Confession to Fuutarou and sabotage the latter's chances with him, has gained her several detractors among western readers, who saw the move as incredibly scummy and a deep betrayal of Miku's trust, as the latter had confided to the former in the past about being in love with Fuutarou. However, among Japanese readers, this development seemed to create more interest in Ichika's character and future development, with some readers now pledging to buy all the manga volumes physically because of it.
• Audience-Alienating Ending: The series disappointed a number of fans with its ending, as the quintuplet that Fuutaro ultimately chose and married was Yotsuba, the girl with the least amount of development, instead of any of the more popular girls, drawing accusations of the pairing being Strangled by the Red String.
• Awesome Art: Negi's art, whether it be for Costume Porn regarding the Nakano sisters (such as them in yukatas during Chapters 7 and 51), Fanservice elements being used very sparingly, and sometimes for romantic scenes.
• Awesome Music: The opening themes, "Quintuplet Feelings" for Season 1 and "The Shape of the Quintuplets". Both themes are pretty decent on their own, but the fact that the lyrics are performed by the combined immense talents of Kana Hanazawa, Ayana Taketatsu, Miku Itō, Ayane Sakura, and Inori Minase automatically make them this.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Come Chapter 74, Ichika appears to have garnered this status among fans due to the way she disguised herself as Miku in order to confess her feelings to him. Some fans, especially her shipping faction, see this as an understandable move on her part, given her character and her lack of ability to be more assertive like Nino was. Such fans have also expressed interest in this plot development, as it would considerably advance Ichika's progress in vying for Fuutarou's heart. Those fans also acknowledge that Ichika is behind Nino and Miku in expressing her feelings for Fuutarou and note that she may have been driven to confess in this manner out of desperation at not wanting to be left in her sisters' dust. On the other hand, other fans, especially those who support Miku, see Ichika's actions as incredibly scummy and underhanded, and a deep violation of Miku's trust in her. To wit, she is taking advantage of Miku's identity to confess to Fuutarou and knowingly sabotaging Miku's chances of hooking up with him, given that she falsely claimed Miku was a Shipper on Deck for Ichika and Fuutarou. It is much harsher to these fans as Ichika did this despite knowing full well that Miku has feelings for him, and also having previously pledged to support Miku in her pursuit of Fuutarou. And then there are those who decide to Take a Third Option and blame the writing for Ichika's actions, accusing them of Derailing Love Interests.
  • Given the nature of harem fandoms, whoever the bride ends up being would naturally be this. And sure enough, once Fuutarou confesses his feelings to Yotsuba, she inevitably became this with most fans calling out the revelation and its execution. Namely how Yotsuba had very little romantic buildup with Fuutarou compared to the others, including the aforementioned Itsuki, and how her feelings were only established retroactively with her being the one Fuutarou met when they were both children and putting him on his current path. Supporters argue that even despite that, Yotsuba was the only one who had no hostility towards Fuutarou from the beginning and supported him all of the way, which are the exact reasons Fuutarou cites as he confessed. It doesn't help that, due to Fridge Logic, Yotsuba's actions throughout the story have been viewed by some in a way that makes her similar to the aforementioned Ichika.
• Broken Base:
  • The revelation in Chapter 14 that Fuutarou once met one of the Nakano sisters five years ago. Detractors immediately called it a rip-off of Nisekoi due to the similarities and the overall genres of both series. However, defenders argue that compared to the former, the mystery over who this girl could be does not drive the story - instead serving as an intriguing subplot, which complements the main plot of Fuutarou bonding with the Nakano sisters, and helping them all to study until graduation. Additionally, Fuutarou willingly put it to rest after the Seven Goodbyes Arc. There's also a possibility that due to the similarity of the sisters at that time, Fuutarou might have met all 5 of them in different places but thought they are one.
  • The very quick pacing of the series. Some like it for being straight to the point and not letting the story go stale just for the sake of lengthening it, some dislike it for not devoting enough time to a lot of plotlines that could develop the characterization of Fuutarou and the quintuplets.
  • Given that this series probably had more shippers emotionally invested than any other anime/manga out there at the moment, the events of chapter 113 naturally caused a minor Internet backdraft. Not to mention that the author's reputation as a Memetic Troll led some readers to become suspicious and speculate that he was pulling another Bait-and-Switch moment.
  • With the manga now finished, how Itsuki was utilized falls into this:
    • Some fans are not pleased that Itsuki is the only one of the sisters to have not kissed Fuutarou during the festival arc as it goes against the idea of any one of the sisters can be the bride (Not helping that it was a Bait-and-Switch moment). On the other hand, others find it refreshing for one of the potential brides to have developed into a close friend rather than a(nother) love interest.
    • The ending: Many feel that Fuutarou ending up in an argument with Itsuki rather than giving a heartwarming speech towards her (As he did with her sisters) was fitting given their relationship. Others find it unfair towards Itsuki.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • Itsuki slapping Nino after she attempts one time too many times to sabotage Futaro's attempts at helping them, especially this late into the game.
  • And several chapters later, where Nino finally has a Heel Realization after falling in love with Futaro. Given just how many examples there are of Nino's particular archetype there are in anime, seeing one of them finally get called out for their treatment of another character and even changing for the better, while showing genuine remorse for their past behavior will warm many hearts.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: The identity of food blogger "May-kun". A gourmand named after the fifth month of the year with a giant ahoge sticking out of her head.
• Die for Our Ship:
  • Itsuki catches quite a bit more hate from the fandom than she deserves. Most of that hate comes from fans of the other sisters who resent her for being the first quintuplet to meet Fuutarou, viewing it as Foregone Conclusion that she'll end up being Fuutarou's bride despite the fact that she has received far less characterization (specifically, her interaction with Fuutarou) than most of the other sisters. Particularly notable is the main translation team of /a/nonymous, who make sure to slip in a joke about her Big Eater habits (usually poking fun at her weight) in the credits of almost every single chapter.
  • It should be noted that according to Negi her status as first girl was not his original plan, and he wanted to avoid ideas about First Girl Wins by introducing all the girls in the first chapter, but his editor made him introduce her first and give her focus on Volume 1's cover to make it easier for the readers. Though this would be contradicted by an interview where he stated that he originally wanted Yotsuba to be the first girl, but his editor rejected the idea, believing her character type was more suited to the role of sidekick, thus Itsuki was created instead for the heroine role (which, if he does in fact dislike her, might be the reason).
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • For the 1st popularity poll (titled akin to who's your preferred bride), the biggest of them all is probably the inclusion of Maeda ^note placed 7th with 68 votes after Fuutarou's 81, the quintuplets have a total of about 8000 votes, a character who only had speaking roles in 3 chapters at most before the poll and having sparse appearances after that.
  • Raiha is quite popular (at least among the American fanbase) for being an adorable Cheerful Child with none of the usual Bratty Half-Pint tendencies that most little sisters of male protagonists exhibit. Itsuki fans in particular like her due to the two girls' sisterly relationship being a potential shipping foothold for Fuutarou/Itsuki.
  • Takebayashi for some reason gained a lot of attention for a side character when she reappeared in chapter 100, and now there are even people that are (jokingly) rooting for her. Not bad for somebody who has had a significant role in all of two chapters thus far.
• Epileptic Trees: A certain sector of the fandom theorizes that the end of the series is actually a harem ending, with Yotsuba being the legal wife, and the other 4 sisters being the lovers, in a free relationship. Although this seems to have been denied by the author.
• Fandom Rivalry: Due to its genre and plot. For the former, it had to compete with both existing and new romcoms within its own magazine, to prove itself ^note 2017 was a year where romcoms were very trendy in Weekly Shonen Magazine. As for the latter, during its run it was up against Taishi Tsutsui's We Never Learn, a manga that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump at the same time and has a very similar premise. Amusingly, both Tsutsui and Negi get along with each other.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Itsuki is often called Eatsuki, on account of her (perceived) gluttony.
  • Some fans dubbed Fuutarou with the nickname "Fuutabro", after he formed a group with Maeda and Takeda for the Kyoto school trip in Chapter 78, instead of with any of the quintuplets. This is a reference to the Bros Before Hoes trope and fan perception that Fuutarou was invoking it by forming his group. It also is evocative of the series How I Met Your Mother, in which this trope features prominently, and to which this series is occasionally compared to.
  • The quints' father, Mauro, is sometimes called "Papakano". Similarly, Rena is called "Mamakano" and the mystery girl Fuutarou met as a child is called "Lolikano".
• Fan-Preferred Couple: In lieu of Fuutarou's actual crush:
  • A great many fans have made the Fuutarou/Miku ship monstrously popular. Among the sisters, Miku gets the most love, especially from anime-only fans. Many people like her quiet and geeky personality and it helps that she's the first of the sisters to get on good terms with Fuutarou. The Scrambled Eggs arc only solidified this ship to FuuMiku fans.
  • Post-Character Development, the popularity of Fuutarou/Nino has increased almost as much as Nino's herself (See Rescued from the Scrappy Heap). It helps that since her confession, she has become known for defying certain romance tropes, which is refreshing for many fans. It also helps that she puts in so much determination towards winning Fuutarou's heart that fans feel compelled to root for her based on that alone.
• Growing the Beard: While starting off decently, it still had some moments which didn't sit well with the audience (most notably when Fuutarou was drugged by Nino in Chapter 2), who felt that most of the Nakano sisters were too unlikable (which is why Miku got a huge following after her initial arc from Chapter 3 onwards). By the start of Volume 3, the prominence between the girls starts to become more balanced, without affecting Fuutarou's own character, and the plot itself having a structural focus that even the filler chapters explore new characterizations of the characters.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • A few moments involving Yotsuba aren't as funny come the revelations in Chapter 90:
    • Yotsuba's "fake" confession in Chapter 21. At the time she passed it off as a joke to prove to Fuutarou that she could lie, and his face makes it clear he bought it, with the narration even saying "And then, Fuutarou's heart hardened a bit". Then, when we find out she was not lying at all when she said that. One wonders if she wasn't actually Running Away to Cry.
    • The moment where Fuutarou get Yotsuba's name wrong when the numbers '428' ('Yo-Tsu-Ba') are literally right on her shirt. Even more considering that she originally wanted to stand out from her sisters to appeal to the boy she liked.
    • Even her moments with Raiha, adorable as they are, when she suggests that she wants to marry Fuutarou to have her as her little sister come off as this, when you realize that she does want to do it, yet she pretends to be just playing silly. However, it might also turn into Heartwarming in Hindsight, since she ends up becoming Fuutarou's bride after all, and thus they do become sisters-in-law.
    • Fuutarou's reaction towards the rumor of him and Yotsuba dating due to spending a lot of time together as class reps, saying there's no way that would happen (Which she repeats while addressing her suspecting classmates), was likely another harsh blow with the revelations from Chapter 90.
  • Fuutarou saying that none of the Quints could've been the Kyoto girl he met due to not being smart enough to have been her was harsh enough before it would be revealed that Yotsuba was the Kyoto girl he met and both made a promise to become super smart so that they can get good jobs in order to help their loved ones (which is why his idealized version of her is a Scholarly-type), only for her to fail to fulfill her promise (while Fuutarou has).
  • Ichika's bullying of Yotsuba when they were children. According to Yotsuba she used to be the most selfish out of the five, always taking away their stuff. Despite maturing and growing out of it after their mother died, it resurfaces in the worst manner after she falls for Fuutarou, reaching even Entitled to Have You levels. As a child, she might have done it out of amusement, but as a teenager she does so fully aware that she could hurt her sisters and without a care.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Some of the characters in The Quintessential Quintuplets and Osomatsu-san (a series about loser sextuplet boys in their early 20s) share similar traits, such as:
    • Multiple-birth siblings (all born in May with blood type A), their surnames ending with the character (野), and generally being unmotivated. Unlike the Matsunos, when the Nakanos entered on the same age as the former, they certainly didn't end up as losers as them and instead finally become successful in their chosen careers and paths.
    • Although with few exceptions, the Matsuno brothers are mindful of their arrangement (ex. Choromatsu, the third brother, calls the eldest brother Osomatsu as Osomatsu-niisan). The Nakano sisters simply address each other by their first names.
    • The siblings being color-coded with red (Itsuki and Osomatsu), blue (Miku and Karamatsu), green (Yotsuba and Choromatsu), purple (Nino and Ichimatsu), and yellow (Ichika and Jyushimatsu).
    • The eldest sibling being a teasing, lazy slob, and selfish (this trait is already established by Osomatsu, while it's a hidden facet from Ichika's seemingly caring nature towards her younger siblings). But when the situation demands it they can be reliable and smart, especially for their siblings (Ichika and Osomatsu).
    • A sibling nostalgic of the times when they were truly identical (Nino and Osomatsu).
    • The second eldest child (Nino and Karamatsu) caring quite deeply for their siblings. Unlike Karamatsu, Nino's efforts have been recognized by her sisters.
    • The middle child being shy, icy, withdrawn, having a special interest, and being constantly at odds with their sociable and confident second eldest sibling (Miku and Nino, Ichimatsu and Karamatsu). The difference is that Ichimatsu is the one who constantly antagonizes Karamatsu for no good reason, while Nino's attempts at Miku borders on The Gadfly and will always apologize if she goes too far. Meta-wise, they also happen to be the most popular sibling in their respective series. The two pairs have the same color theme as well: blue (Karamatsu and Miku) and purple (Nino and Ichimatsu).
    • The eldest sibling and the middle sibling are closest with one another (Miku and Ichika; Choromatsu, together with Ichimatsu and Osomatsu).
    • A serious sibling who tries to appear smarter than they are by sometimes wearing glasses (Itsuki and Choromatsu).
    • The second youngest child being eccentric, quite cheerful, great at sports, and being the only siblings who are engaged in a serious romance with their objects of affection, albeit they face heartbreak along the way. Unlike Jyushimatsu and the Country Girl, Yotsuba and Fuutarou get together for good. (Yotsuba and Jyushimatsu).
    • A social sibling who is often associated with bunnies (Nino and Todomatsu).
    • A sibling turning out to be a catty, selfish Bitch in Sheep's Clothing (Ichika and Todomatsu). In this series however, said bitch is the eldest sibling, as opposed to Osomatsu-san's youngest sibling.
    • The eldest and the second eldest sibling (Ichika and Nino, Osomatsu and Karamatsu) having a heated confrontation, with the second sibling defending their younger sibling (Miku and Jyushimatsu) from being hurt by their eldest sibling's actions. The difference is that Karamatsu delivers a punch at Osomatsu and continues the beating from there, while Nino dishes a scathing What the Hell, Hero? speech at Ichika. Even worse, said eldest sibling doesn't have any regrets doing it.
    • The youngest sibling being a bit of a timid crybaby (Itsuki and Todomatsu).
    • Meta-wise: A sibling associated with the color red who is considered very "plain" by fans when compared to the rest of their siblings (as well as sometimes being depicted to be gluttons), but they're the driving force of the family and constantly remind them of the bond they have. The serious moments in their respective series happen to center with them, like Itsuki finally meeting her biological father and Osomatsu's reaction and response during the last episodes of Osomatsu-san (first two seasons). (Itsuki and Osomatsu).
    • Fuutarou has a similar haircut to the Matsuno brothers', complete with two Idiot Hairs. Narrative-wise, however, he fulfills a similar role to Totoko — that being a childhood friend the siblings are in love with. Whereas the Matsunos' relationship with Totoko is one of many plot points in their lives, the Nakanos' relationship with Fuutarou is the driving force of the story.
  • The narrative structure of the series, with Fuutarou reflecting back on the events that led him to marry one of the quintuplets, has led some fans to compare it to How I Met Your Mother, where Ted Mosby recollects how he came to meet and marry his wife. The mystery of which quintuplet Fuutarou will marry is also compared to the speculation on who the eponymous Mother is during HIMYM's run.
  • Kana Hanazawa voicing Ichika becomes hilarious when you remember that one of her most famous roles is a girl that's in love with someone named Ichika. Similarly, Inori Minase voiced a girl that is childhood friends with a character named Itsuki and harbors a crush on him.
  • With the reveal that Yotsuba is the quintuplet in Fuutarou's old photo of them as children, some fans have compared it to this photo of the two characters' respective anime voice actors shortly after they debuted in the industry. Notably, in that photo, the VAs have similar facial expressions and hairstyles to their characters in Fuutarou's photo.
  • Negi's following work having the main character join with, develop in, and have several of his love interests reside in Green Battalion is funny in hindsight considering Yotsuba, who is associated with the color green, was the bride. She even represented Green Keeper in Loser Ranger's early promotions!
• I Knew It!: Yotsuba being the girl Fuutarou met five years ago and recognizing him from the start had been a major fandom theory long before it was confirmed.
• Incest Yay Shipping: There's a group of fans out there who ship the Nakano quintuplets with each other thanks to the sisters' very close and intimate relationship with one another. This rather suggestive panel from Chapter 83◊ between Miku and Nino and the fact that they run a bakery together as adults in the future fuelled it further.
• It Was His Sled: The bride's identity seems to be known by everybody remotely interested in the series by now, since it was discussed rather indiscriminately on many social media platforms.
• Memetic Molester:
  • Miku of all people gained a bit of this reputation, when chapter 106 involved her forcefully pinning Fuutarou to the ground, questioning him about his relationship with Takebayashi, then telling him that she was going to kiss him, and doing so before he could respond properly, all while sporting some rather... unusual facial expressions. And then telling him that there's a lot more she's holding back about. Even Fuutarou was rather shocked.
  • The quintuplets' biological father, Mudou-sensei, is an even worse (and less amusing) example. Between his distinct way of intruding upon Itsuki, the seemingly large age gap between him and his late wife, and his unsettling way of eating candy, many readers labeled him an Ephebophile the moment he appeared.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Ichika being associated with snakes and Snake People, thanks to her actions in Chapter 74.
  • Ichika declaring Nino to be "a runaway train of love" in Chapter 65 has often been poked fun at, and then later adopted by her fans. Moments where Nino gets progress in her relationship with Fuutarou are met with her fans rallying with "all abord the Nino train!" or the like.
  • Nino being associated with sharks because of certain comical scenes that show her with sharp teeth.
  • Yotsuba being The Chessmaster in contrast to her usual ditziness; fans often joke that she is playing 4D chess.
  • Itsuki doing nothing but eating. It's fairly common for the fandom to use images of cows, pigs, or hamburgers with her star-shaped hairclips and/or an ahoge tacked on to visually represent her.
  • "Bros before quints", a variation on "Bros Before Hoes" that comes from Fuutarou choosing to form a group with his male classmates instead of with the quintuplets.
  • "Everyday is a party!", the initial tagline for the English release, which 4chan especially had a thread almost everyday due to this.
  • Itsuki is a fan of John Wick and/or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ^note The character bios for volume 9 list each quint's favorite movie type, with Itsuki's entry being "Tear Jerkers where the dog dies at the end," an obvious reference to emotional stories like Hachiko. However, one fan translation left out the "tearjerker" part, leading to many jokes about Itsuki being a sociopath that likes to see dogs die. For those unaware, the aforementioned series feature villains that kill off dogs just to establish how vile they are.
  • Nino/Miku is baking the cake! ^{Spoilers for Nisekoi}Ever since Nino's dream was revealed to be opening a restaurant and Miku showed her determination to improve as a chef, it has been common to post the infamous scene of Kosaki Onodera baking a cake for Raku and Chitoge's wedding, replacing her with Nino or (to a lesser extent) Miku with the implication that they're baking the cake for their sister's wedding to Fuutarou. It doesn't help that Miku has been compared to Onodera.
  • "NEGI, YOU HACK," used in response to any chapter/event in the story fans tend to dislike.
  • "Yotsuba is the real snek!", in response to Yotsuba being revealed as the bell kisser as it contradicts her wanting to support her sisters in their efforts with Fuutarou, without being called out on it. Unlike Ichika, who was outright vilified for her actions.
  • "LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" ^note A panel in Chapter 110 of Itsuki declaring her intention of following her mother's footsteps has the text replaced with the aforementioned phrase. Used as a rallying cry.
  • The Spanish-speaking fandom has Yotsuba saying "¿Te arde?" (roughly an equivalent of "You mad?") ^note Similar to the above, the panel showing Yotsuba during her date with Fuutarou in Chapter 36, given that she's drawn with an expression that looks somewhat smug and naughty, has the text replaced by the aforementioned phrase. Often used as a response to her detractors.
• Misaimed Fandom: Many fans have expressed annoyance at the idea of Itsuki winning, due to her first girl status, with some claiming that having her win would be cowardly of Negi as he would be sticking to one of the most prevalent tropes in the genre. However, in a recent interview Negi stated that he did not originally intend for Itsuki to be first girl, and in fact wanted to avoid ideas about First Girl Wins by introducing all the girls in the first chapter, but his editor made him introduce her first and give her focus on Volume 1's cover in order to make it easier for the readers.
• Moe: Par for the course for a harem manga. Raiha however, deserves an honorable mention.
• Narm: Fuutarou struggling to tell the quintuplets apart at times doesn't quite work in the anime due to each of the girls being given a unique hair color, which makes it blatantly obvious to the viewers which girl is which.
• Never Live It Down:
  • Itsuki's gluttony, if you ask the fans (especially those in 4chan), despite being a trait only sparingly played up in the series itself proper. It's not uncommon, however, for the fandom to use images of cows or hamburgers as a visual shorthand to represent Itsuki.
  • Nino's drugging of Fuutarou with spiked drinks in Chapter 2 and Chapter 44, which is often brought up by detractors against her character. It doesn't help that she never apologized for pulling this stunt.
  • Ichika sabotaging Miku's efforts to win Fuutarou's heart by disguising herself as her is also brought up by detractors against her character, despite her showing remorse and apologizing for her actions.
• Nightmare Fuel: Nino's angry face WILL haunt your dreams◊.
• One True Threesome: A certain sector of the fandom seems to prefer the idea of the protagonist keeping all five sisters, even if he can only legally marry one.
• Periphery Demographic:
  • While mainly a romcom, the narrative structure creates a lot of fans favoring the mystery genre. Due to an abundance of small and big mysteries like what are the girl's strongest subject, who's the sister Fuutarou taken a photograph with in the past, which Itsuki is which during the Scrambled Eggs arc and ultimately, who's the sister Fuutarou is marrying in the future.
    • In fact, the mystery surrounding the bride got a person to write a 40, now 76, page long thesis on a certain Nakano becoming the winner. Seriously.
  • The series has also found fans among those that usually hate harems because of its strong writing, well-developed characters, and the mystery of who Fuutarou is going to marry.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • In one of the best cases in manga history, we have Nino. Despite starting out as the least popular of her sisters thanks to her insufferable and harsh antagonism towards Fuutarou (to the point that she got the lowest amount of votes out of her sisters, though not overall), many fans were taken in by how well her character development was handled throughout recent chapters, and even enjoy how well she bounces off Fuutarou in scenes they're in together. It comes to a head in Chapters 59-60 where she unashamedly becomes the first of the quints to boldly confess her feelings to Fuutarou. After that her fanbase grew exponentially.
  • There's also Yuusuke Takeda. He was introduced at an awkward time, had an irritating design and mannerisms and wrestled himself to the front despite absolutely nobody (in or out of universe) calling for his presence. He was probably intended as a foil to Fuutarou, but the latter and the quintuplets were growing just fine as characters without outside intervention, and most readers perceived him far too superficial of a character to fit in with the rest of the cast. His mere presence instead meant that he was taking away screen time from the other, more developed characters and most of the audience wished for him to just go away. And thus, he did. Only a few chapters later, his one-sided to begin with rivalry with Fuutarou was resolved in favor of a more harmless Vitriolic Best Buds relationship, and he thereafter only appeared to give Fuutarou the occasional You Are Better Than You Think You Are speech, and to provide some comic relief, which, as it turned out, he was quite competent at, especially as other comic relief characters such as Ichika or Yotsuba took on a more serious note. The readers have since become a lot more tolerant of him.
  • Itsuki was not initially among the most popular of the Quintuplets due to her First Girl status. However by the end of the manga, due to not being the bride as well as being seen as a Creator's Pest, fans have come to appreciate her development as a close friend and confidant (if not love interest) to Fuutarou. Case in point her being on MyAnimeList's top 10 Harem girls list◊.
• The Scrappy: Mudou-sensei. Fans had many of the same issues with him that they originally had with Takeda when he was introduced—just the same as Takeda was originally to Fuutarou, he was likely intended to be a Foil antagonist to Maruo, showing how much he really does care for his adopted daughters by comparison—the problem is, their relationship had already been shown developing plenty in previous chapters, and nobody thought either Maruo or Itsuki needed a surface-level Hate Sink in order to complete their development. Fans reacted negatively to Mudou coming out of nowhere to be an antagonist for the final arc, and his creepy behavior, likely intended to make him seem despicable, just made the fans uncomfortable more than anything. The fact that Itsuki is the only one of her sisters to not get a romantic resolution with Fuutarou specifically because she and her adoptive father had to deal with Mudou instead made him even more hated, specifically among her fans who were incensed that he took away her chance even to get turned down properly. To this day, he's considered the most obvious example of the Pacing Problems of the final arc and ending, and by far the most poorly written character in the entire series. While fans were hoping he would be completely Adapted Out of the anime movie thanks to his negative reception, he did still show up, only with all the buildup and context to his appearance removed, turning it into a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. Parodied in a fan-made gag translation of the final chapter, where the losing girls voice their grievances with the author:
  Itsuki: I said give me some actual development, not the worst antagonist in Kodansha history!
• Ship-to-Ship Combat: As expected, given this type of manga. Especially when knowing that Fuutarou will eventually end up marrying one of the Nakano sisters in the future. To the point some of the shipping factions have gotten names:
  • Ichika shippers are known as the Ichika Fandom/Ichika Club.
  • The Nino shippers go by the moniker Nino Gang.
  • Miku shippers are known as the Church of Miku.
  • The Yotsuba shippers go by the name Yotsuba Squadron. After Negi Haruba uploaded a special illustration of Yotsuba dressed as a mafioso, the nicknames Yokuza, Yotsubros, and Yotsuba Familia also became popular. After Chapter 90 revealed that Yotsuba always loved Fuutarou and goes to the playground to use the swings by herself to cope with her sacrificial nature, her supporters quickly adopted the nickname of Yotswingers.
  • Itsuki shippers go by the Itsuki (Eatsuki) Class.
  • It should be noted that unusually for a Harem comedy series the various shipping factions get along well with each other and that venom between them tends to be rare. This may be due to the fact that 1) the various girls look very similar to each other so no one has a noticeable advantage in terms of visual appeal; and 2) a major theme of the story is that the sisters shouldn't let their relationship with Fuutarou get in the way of their bond with each other. It's not rare to see fans supporting more than one girl and an ongoing joke is that a significant part of the fandom will switch to supporting whichever sister at the moment gets Character Focus (though part of that might also be inspired by Creator Worship).
• Shocking Moments:
  • Nino's confession to Fuutarou in Chapter 60, when her first confession is just a chapter ago.
  • Ichika's disguises herself as Miku, claiming that she's rooting for Fuutarou & Ichika together in Chapter 74.
  • Chapter 86 reveals that Yotsuba is the actual Nakano Fuutarou met in their childhood.
  • In Chapter 109, Mudou reveals himself to be the quintuplets' long-lost biological father.
  • Chapter 113 reveals Fuutarou's future bride: Yotsuba.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Fuutarou's mother. Not a single picture of her outside of concept art and artwork shared by the author is shown^note The picture shown in the Anime is a recolor of Rena. By the end of the story, all that is known about her is she made bread that was good enough to be sold in shops, and that her dying just as she was opening her restaurant is what likely led to her family's poverty status. The story ends and not even her name is known.
  • The bride, herself. Yotsuba ends up being the answer to the manga's multiple mysteries. She's the quint who met Fuutarou when they were younger, the quint who kissed him at the end of the Scrambled Eggs arc, the quint who collapsed during their third year festival, and finally the quint who marries Fuutarou at the end of the story. Despite the enormous amount of revelations, the author doesn't delve too deep into her character and strictly places her in a supporting role. This was most likely because of her upbeat personality, her "Capture Arc" was saved for later and the author wanted Yotsuba to be an underdog because the genki girl archetype was reserved for sidekicks, not heroines. Unfortunately, the author did too good of job to the point where Yotsuba feels like a glorified background character until Chapter 87 when the audience gets her backstory and characterization. Even then, Negi doesn't do anything to solve her Chronic Hero Syndrome, which might turn the ending into an Esoteric Happy Ending. The fact that we never learn Yotsuba's occupation is another telling sign.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Except for Miku, the girls' individual interest towards their strongest subjects aren't really explored if at all, as they are overshadowed by the romantic and friendship arcs between Fuutarou and the Nakanos. Could anybody reading this series answer why Ichika's, an aspiring actress, strongest subject is Mathematics instead of English? Though as it turns out, people's academic strengths are often not tied to their personal aspirations, which is one of the biggest hurdles many people face in pursuing said aspirations. We Never Learn has this as its premise.
  • In the same vein, Itsuki is the only quintuplet who is explored in-depth as to how she coped with their mother's death. The relationship is barely touched upon in the flashbacks, and all that we get to know is that Rena loved her daughters dearly and did her best to support them despite having to raise them alone.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Despite how cold she has been towards Yotsuba, some readers have expressed how understandable (If not outright agreeing with) Nino's actions are, which contradict her claim that she would've congratulated the person Fuutarou picked over her, considering how heartbroken she is over Fuutarou picking Yotsuba, despite not putting in any effort to win his heart. It doesn't help that her complaints about Yotsuba winning echo those who believe that she shouldn't have been the girl who was picked, making Nino into an Audience Surrogate at best and a Straw Character at worst.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Crunchyroll and MyAnimeList both list the series as Ecchi (although in MAL's case, the tag is no longer there.) despite actual examples of Fanservice in the series being few and far between, and certainly not over-the-top and ridiculously sexualized.
• The Woobie: Yotsuba, full stop. After having promised to Fuutarou 5 years ago in Kyoto that they would both get good grades and aim for high-paying jobs to provide for their poor families, Fuutarou succeeded while Yotsuba failed miserably, despite her best efforts. Because of this, she feels unworthy of telling him that she's the Kyoto girl. She also fully supports all of her other sisters in their efforts to romance Fuutarou themselves. She does all of this while admitting to herself that she's been in love with him ever since they met in chapter 90. The fandom's hearts pretty much all broke as one for the poor girl.

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