5-toubun no Hanayome ∬ | Episode 9 and 10 Review

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One moment you dislike Nino; the next, you love her because she’s so straightforward. Seeing her openly express her affection for Futaro at work was something I didn’t see coming. It was honestly very entertaining because it was so unexpected and because the Nino in episode nine is the complete opposite of Nino in the first four episodes.

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Nino is definitely the alpha-female. It’s because she’s so direct and is unrelenting in her quest to get what she wants, in this case, make Futaro like her back. That she isn’t willing to take ‘no’ for an answer nor is willing to concede to her other sisters and their desires. I really like this version of Nino.

Overall, I like the approach taken over episodes nine and ten, unlike the first season where it felt like they just threw everyone in together in the same scene all the time, every time, with everyone talking over each other. Episodes nine and ten felt a lot more sensible. Instead of cramming in everyone each episode, a pair or three would be the feature of that episode. In episode nine, it was predominantly Nino and Miku. Episode ten felt like it was predominately Ichika and Yotsuba, even though all sisters were present.

I especially liked how both episodes took the time to give each of the five sisters their time to shine. Meaning we got to see and hear what they were thinking uninterrupted, and that was something I loved. Also, like I mentioned, we got to see what Nino and Miku thought, and we got to see what Ichika and Yotsuba thought.

Ichika, in particular, was a character of interest for me because I feel like she has taken a few steps back. Instead, I think she’s too overly cautious. In the first season and in the first couple of episodes, Ichika could express herself freely around Futaro. However, over the past few episodes, as her feelings for Futaro go, the more cautious and nervous she is around him. As a result, she cannot express herself freely around Futaro without all her self-doubt creeping to the surface. Which is understandable.

Yotsuba, the sister that I think gets the least attention out of the five sisters, got the most attention, and I loved it. I enjoyed that she got to go on her little date with Futaro (whether he was fully aware of that or not). There we got to see what she was truly thinking, and I loved that. Yotsuba, I believe, is one of the more selfless out of the bunch because she’s always quick to support her sisters and do what’s best for them.

I am going to gloss over the fact that Itsuki was Rena. The person who Futaro saw that one episode (forgot which one it was). I mean, anyone who can put two and two together can figure out that if Rena looked like one of the sisters, then it must have been one of them. Especially since the two biggest hints were dropped in episode eight when the grandfather mentions, “…Now that I’ve lost Rena”. Then in episode ten, when we see what looked to be a wig and hat won by Rena (Itsuki) in a box when she met Futaro by the riverbank, one episode (accompanied by the picture of Futaro and one of the twins).

If I were to pick between episode nine or ten, I would pick episode ten because we had all these subtle hint drops that I loved. We also got to see the more sensitive side of the sisters. Episode ten was the episode where they made it abundantly clear that they all like Futaro. So I give it a thumbs up, 9/10 A.