It’s crunch time for the Nakano sisters as they prepare for the Final Exams! Given the events from the previous episode, the stakes are at its highest. One failure from any one of them and they will have to transfer schools and it’s goodbye Futaro. This is our full review of Episode 6 of the Quintessential Quintuplets ∬.
“The Final Exam” covers the end of Chapter 54, Chapters 55-58 and a little bit of Chapter 59 of the manga.
Fair warning, spoilers ahead!
Quick Recap
Here’s what you’ve missed from the previous episode:
The Quintuplets were trying to think of a way to thank Futaro for continuing to tutor them despite not being able to pay him.
Big sister Ichika tried to support everyone by shouldering all of the household costs but that started to take a toll on her as she falls asleep during study sessions
Futaro witnessed how Ichika was growing into her acting career and had a subtly sweet moment with Futaro at the restaurant
Maruo Nakano, the stepfather of the Quints, called Itsuki to offer her and her sisters a second chance by being taught by a different tutor
Yotsuba and Itsuki made a deal with their father that if they pass everything in their final exam with their current setup, they will not have to transfer schools and be taught by a different tutor
You can read the full review of the previous episode here.
What It Means to Pass
The Nakano sisters faced such a daunting task of passing their final exams without a single failure. This is such a tall order especially for a group of academically challenged individuals. But to the girls, the exam meant a lot more than just passing. Each of them has their own purpose of why they wanted to do well and the episode did an amazing job at portraying the perspective of every single quint.
Having that sense of purpose allows one to have meaning behind what they do and that’s more than enough reason to keep pushing and reach that goal. This may sound cliché but it’s really just inspiring to see people trying their hardest and you just can’t help but to support and cheer them on.
Hopefully this is something we all get to learn from. Everyone faces different challenges in life and we all strive to overcome every single one of them. But in doing so, it’s equally important to find meaning in what we do because it adds that extra layer of motivation to succeed. However, if we continue to do things senselessly, giving-up would always look like the easier option.
This is a Race
We’d also like to touch on the heating rivalry between Miku and Ichika. Out of the five girls, these two are the ones that have been most vocal about their feelings toward Futaro but they approach it very differently. We’d consider Nino to be as vocal but she’s still hung-up on imaginary Kintaro. As for Itsuki and Yotsuba, well, we’ll give them some time.
Going back to Ichika and Miku. The latter sees it to be more personal and her actions clearly indicate she’s working towards that goal but the former has a more safe and subtle approach. But the main difference is that, Ichika takes the feelings of her siblings into consideration and is willing to put her own emotions on the side for the happiness of her sisters (in this case, Miku). Yet again, Ichika displays her maturity compared to her younger siblings.
As for Miku, she definitely has clear understanding of what she lacks as a person. Her humility in admitting that fact in the face of ridicule was definitely a sight to see. She was willing to set her own ego aside just to improve herself as a person, even if it meant seeking help from the one person she doesn't get along with the most, Now that's something most of us find very hard to do.
Both girls definitely have their own merits. It was easy to give Ichika the win for this episode because of her compassion towards her sisters but Miku stepped up her game to remind her big sister that it was a race, and it still is, so she better get a move on. A great display of respect to encourage your rival to put her feelings aside so everything is fair game.
As the central theme of the episode revolved around the Final Exam, it’s very easy to relate it to the challenges we face in life; As an exam is a good tool of self-measure. In a more literal sense, students take exams after learning and studying the lessons but in a figurative sense, exams can take many shapes or forms but they do not come scheduled. The only common denominator is that they’re all meant to challenge you one way or another and the main difference is that, in a classroom, lessons come first; but in life, most often than not, lessons come after.
The episode was filled with a lot of things we can learn from but now that the final exams are over, it'll be exciting to see how the main characters move forward especially with how determined the girls are when it comes to acting on their feelings.
The next episode of The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬, “Begin the Offensive”, comes out on February 19, 2021 at 1:25AM (JST).
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
For the Nakano sisters, it was more than just passing the final exam. Every single one of them has their own purpose of wanting to do well.
Ichika displays her maturity, befitting the role of the eldest sister, by setting her ego to the side so Miku can continue to pursue her feelings toward Futaro.
Miku displayed a great deal of respect toward Ichika by levelling the playing field and reminding her to act on her own feelings as well.
Find meaning in things we do, work towards a goal, and being considerate of other people’s feelings were key lessons in the episode in order for one to become a better person
PS.
Who do you think won in this episode:
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