I'm with you there. I'm hoping the manga doesn't go the route of developing the four non-winner girls and then devoting the last arc to the winner - which is to say, I hope it doesn't end-load all the development for the winner. Because then it feels even more like Shoo Out the Clowns, except with romantic rivals. "You had your turn, now here comes the important one."
Though again, so far the only indication it might be doing that is Itsuki's relative lack of focus segments so far.
Edited by RedSavant on Feb 1st 2019 at 11:33:28 AM
It's been fun.
There is also the matter of chemistry.
Like with Yotsuba its clearly more of comedic chemistry and with Itsuki as I said it feels more of friendly one after the development.
Like out of five, Uesomething(I really should remember his name, but as I said, I read through the whole thing today and I'm good at being bad with names :P) has best chemistry with Miku and Ichika, but as I said earlier, I'm skeptical abuot Ichika's chances because teasing mature characters never seem to have luck in Japanese romantic comedies :P MC does have chemistry with Nino too, but thing with that is that their relationship has been hostile for so long that it needs development to feel genuinely romantic both ways, but since Nino confession did happen she does have legit chances of doing that.
Either way, so what it comes down to is that as far as I can tell, Miku has best chemistry with MC because 1) She is first one to really open to MC(Yotsuba was never hostile but she wasn't exactly serious either) and be supportive towards them 2) MC has most often and most consistently shown affection towards her through the whole manga in random interactions. 3) She is the one who gets most focus out of sisters weirdly enough because even when its Ichika or Nino arc, she is still has important scenes in the arcs or is related to them. 4) You could honestly buy her being the one to kiss him at end of that hotel arc(like if it turns out to be Itsuki, it'd be another case of "Wait, when the heck she did start liking him that way, she has been too out of focus") especially since said arc does show she has surprisingly good poker face
Like, main thing she has against her is that she isn't Itsuki 
(But yeah, too long to read: If all five had been introduced at same time, I'd guess either Miku or Nino at this point :P Ichika is out only for meta reasons meanwhile Itsuki is in for only for meta reasons)
Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 1st 2019 at 6:46:13 PM
CHADhan Player.
Itsuki's lack of focus makes me think that's exactly what they're gonna do.
Oregairu did something similar: The main girl is out of focus through almost the entire series with the focus being on the MC and the other girl in the love triangle and it's only in the last few volumes when the main girl gets development.
This is extremely common and the series has done nothing to deter that. Plus, it's just process of elimination.
Miku developed her feelings first, but she's too weak willed to admit them to him so she remains passive. Ichika is too underhanded about the whole thing, and Nino is being way too forceful right now. Yotsuba barely gets any "serious" focus period.
Meanwhile, Itsuki has a much more casual and equal relationship with Fuutarou, they've been compared in personality, every major development Fuutarou makes is signaled by Itsuki, and Itsuki is the only one with an ongoing arc that's not about a romance between the two.
There are too many ticks.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Yeaaah, there are lot of warning signs(though I would say Nino still does have genuinely good chance because of the whole love of "Hostile relationship turns romantic" thing romantic comedies have and Miku's chance isn't ruined because she is first one to feel for them. Lot of romantic comedies have the winner be first one to have feelings for character, though admittedly most of them frame it as "they didn't realize it until later or were in denial about it"). My only sign of that maybe not being the case is that this manga hasn't been so far a cliche, while that turnabout would be 100% old and tired cliche.
Like, I can't really comment on series you mentioned because I never read it so who knows maybe that one was completely 100% original until final arc ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
That said, it would be actually kinda original if it turns out the one kissing them isn't the bride :P Since again, if that was Itsuki, I'm gonna call bull
Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 1st 2019 at 6:54:05 PM
I'll keep my flag stowed but you've all seen it enough times at this point.
I mean, even if we do get the back-loaded buildup for Futaro's relationship with Itsuki near the end, as long as the author does it well I'll be satisfied - and so far, he's handled things well. Even the beats that are standard for the genre have been subverted in one way or another, and I don't dislike Itsuki, so I'm perfectly willing to see her given as much chance as anyone else.
It's been fun.
I mean, yeah, it could be well written and all, but when series keeps hyping up "Ooh which one he ended up with" it gets annoying if its "Oh, its the first one and last arc"
CHADhan Player.
Miku or Ichika being the one who kissed him at the bell makes sense: they're the only ones who would take advantage of the situation like that.
That said, I think while Itsuki may be the bride, she's not Rena or the one who kissed him as "Itsuki".
Honestly, Nino seemed the most likely given she had the longest source of conflict with Fuutarou and had whe waited, I would have definitely said she'd be one. But now, I'm not so sure
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I mean, that's a prime case of Book Ends. Many stories do that.
Edited by BlackYakuzu94 on Feb 1st 2019 at 12:05:11 PM
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
I'm 95% certain the bell sister was Miku, since she does that same arms-up-to-chest, lean-forward thing Miku does when she's excited or pouting - and after what their grandpa said to Futaro about noticing their differences, there's no way that's a mistake or an oversight. Bell sister was Miku.
It's been fun.
CHADhan Player.
If that's the case, the Rena that Fuutarou met recently was probably Ichika.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Ya know, I'd definitely be happier about Itsuki "winning" if she is neither of them
Anyway, that wouldn't really be book ends, because book end would have to mirror the beginning scene somehow and in this case since first chapter ends with image of bride, EVERY girl would have book ending if final chapter is the marriage finally going through
Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 1st 2019 at 7:19:44 PM
CHADhan Player.
Important note: the series never confirmed that "Rena" was the bride.
So if it was Ichika, well there you go.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
I'm not convinced on Ichika being Rena, but it's been a long time since I read that part and I didn't pick up on any specific clues. It fits given that Ichika can change how she acts and carries herself very convincingly - and I don't think her being an actress was just a random choice on the author's part, either. That has to be for a reason.
^Yeah, there are four unsolved mysteries (technically) right now: Original Photo Girl, "Rena", Bell Sister, and Bride. Original Photo Girl and "Rena" are probably the same sister, and Bell Sister is probably Miku.
This is fun. It's like a mystery series!
Edited by RedSavant on Feb 1st 2019 at 12:28:11 PM
It's been fun.
CHADhan Player.
On the latest chapter though; good on Nino for wanting to show her feelings before getting an answer. Good luck girl...you're gonna need it.
What's up with Takeda tho...
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
No, the other one.
Yeah, its incredibly cliche if "Rena" is the winner because of that trope which's name I can't remember
No, the other one.
CHADhan Player.
I'd say Nino's prior behavior would have to be addressed for a relationship between them to work because...yea, drugging a guy twice because you're upset is...yea. Reverse the genders and I don't think would be as fine with it.
If she was just abrasive and aloof, she'd be a perfect partner if this wasn't a harem and Itsuki didn't have every flag known to man.
I feel like "Rena" is a device to signify Fuutarou letting go of the past, which is a theme of the story. So no matter who Rena is, Fuutarou should reject her for whichever quint he liked.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
^^I mean that thing some harem do where they base idea of "true love" interest being the one MC met before but can't remember who they are even though they remember meeting them
But yeah, if manga turns around and he ends up with Rena, it really does kinda ruin the whole letting go theme of meeting her
Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 1st 2019 at 12:48:59 PM
No, the other one.
I wouldn't have any more problems with it if the genders were reversed. It's also a bit lighter than many similar examples since she didn't actually do anything to him other than send him away. With an escort. Otherwise drugging someone is usually associated with doing questionable things to them while they're unconscious. Even a milder variant, like getting someone dead drunk and playing a prank on them, is still worse than that. Not to say it's not wrong, but comparatively speaking...
Most manga and anime have the first love as the one true love. Because everyone meets the right person the first time. It's pretty broken considering anything that isn't an ideal (which is what happens in real life), but not quite as broken as the idea of unconditional love.
Yeah, I feel like if Futaro falls in love with the sister who was "Rena", it won't be because of that. The whole point of it was to get him to step away from the connection to the past and focus on his own goals in the future, after all.
It's been fun.
New chapter's out. Yotsuba focus. Definitely starting in on her arc, I think.
It's been fun.
Baby dango
Yotsuba kinds of reminds me of Minori from Toradora!.
CHADhan Player.
Yotsuba trying to take herself out of the race
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
CHADhan Player.
Oh God. Blondie is their new tutor as per their father
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Another way to put it is that most of Itsuki's relationship with MC dude(hey I like him, but I haven't had need to memorize his surname yet considering I read through whole thing today on bit of a whim) is that it comes across mostly as friendship and "Aww, they look like parents when they hang out with Raiha." I definitely think she is Rena because Itsuki acts most like she is hiding something(and also mostly because we don't get much of her POV and thoughts on her opinion on MC. Like for example, we get her asking MC that shouldn't they all be friends by now instead of partners, but we don't get POV of what she thinks like we get with Miku, Nino and Ichika a lot in similar situations) in some scenes and I think she would have motivation to knock him off the past, but I don't think they have properly built it up so that she seems like romantic interest outside "it is cliche that first person we meet wins"
Like if manga ended in ten chapters and she is the bride, I'd think "Well this manga wasted about 90% of it to developed the three runner ups"![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]")