The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date confirmed for 2021: Gotoubun no Hanayome manga compared to the 5toubun anime

The Quintessential Quintuplets characters
Forget studying, romance will be at the heart of The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2. Pic credit: Tezuka Productions

Anime fans wanting to watch The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 immediately were are all pouting horribly since the finale in Gotoubun no Hanayome Episode 12 left fans hanging right when things were about to get spicy with sisters Itsuki, Miku, Ichika, Nino, and Yotsuba.

Thankfully, a new December 2020 trailer confirmed that the Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date is on January 7, 2021 (after midnight in Japan, so effectively January 8).

It’s also been confirmed that the second season will be a single cour with 12 episodes.

FUNimation has confirmed an English dubbed second season. FUNimation’s The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 English dub release date has not yet been confirmed, but will it be announced in the future.

Officially titled The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬ (double integral symbol), the anime was originally scheduled for October 2020, the fall 2020 anime season, but then the production was delayed to 2021 by the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus pandemic.

(See the release date section below for more details.)

The anime production studio is also changing. The first season was produced by animation studio Tezuka Productions under the direction of director Satoshi Kuwabara.

The second season will be produced by Bibury Animation Studio with director Kaori at the helm. Artist Masato Katsumata (Azur Lane) is both the character designer and chief animation director.

The returning staff includes scriptwriter Keiichiro Ochi. Also returning are the music composers Hanae Nakamura and Miki Sakurai.

On Twitter, the founder of Bibury Animation Studio, Tensho, assured fans that the second season won’t suffer from any additional delays.

“I’m sure there are some fans who are worried about the production situation due to the influence of Corona,” he wrote. “Please be assured that the production of all of the episodes [for The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2] is scheduled to be completed before the broadcast, so it is proceeding smoothly!”

The The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 OP (opening) will be “Gotoubun no Katchi” as performed by all of the voice actresses for the Nakano girls. The ED (ending) “Hatsukoi” is similarly sung by all the voice actresses.

Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2 Anime
A new key visual for The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 anime released in September 2020. There is a slight difference in character design in comparison to the first season, which shouldn’t be surprising since the anime switched studios. Pic credit: Bibury Animation Studio

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It’s not too surprising that The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 anime is switching studios. Best known for its popular Astro Boy anime series, Tezuka Productions had a long history of creating sequels for the Black Jack anime series, but they haven’t been known for sequels in recent years.

The studio produced Dagashi Kashi Season 2 in 2018 and they also co-produced with MAPPA the two-cour Dororo anime, which has been very popular in 2019.

Tezuka Productions hasn’t announced any future projects except for the Astro Boy Reboot anime, which was initially announced way back in 2014. Astro Boy Reboot will be co-produced with French studios Caribara Productions and Shibuya Productions.

Astro Boy Reboot only has relevance to The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 because the Astro Boy Reboot project will likely keep the studio busy in the short term since the anime is scheduled to be 51 episodes.

There’s a good reason the second season was greenlit for production so quickly. The first volume for The Quintessential Quintuplets Blu-Ray/DVD box sets was released in the second half of March and thus far sales have been pretty brisk. According to the Oricon charts, the first Blu-Ray sold 5,508 copies in its first week.

In comparison, the latest seasons of popular anime like Attack On Titan and My Hero Academia sold less in their first weeks (4,297 and 2,631, respectively). Dropkick On My Devil! Season 2 was greenlit for production after only selling 2,000 copies over several months.

The Quintessential Quintuplets anime was also often in the top 20 on Crunchyroll’s popular anime list while competing with the likes of The Rising Of The Shield Hero, Mob Psycho 100, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Sword Art Online: Alicization, and The Promised Neverland (many of which were renewed for new seasons).

Of course, there were more direct competitors like Domestic Girlfriend or perhaps even the battle harem Date A Live.

That’s the most important factor since streaming revenue has become the biggest source of income for anime production companies. Even though the project has been greenlit already, the question remains: is there enough source material for creating a well-paced Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2?

The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬Season 2 Anime Teaser Key Visual
The official key visual for The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬(Season 2) anime. Pic credit: Bibury Animation Studio
  • Updated December 23, 2020: FUNimation’s The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 dub confirmed.
  • Updated December 14, 2020: The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 number of episodes confirmed.
  • Updated December 10, 2020: Exact The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date confirmed! Added the new trailer.
  • Updated October 1, 2020: Added Bibury’s confirmation that the second season won’t be delayed again. Added Bibury staff details.
  • Updated September 28, 2020: Added new The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 anime key visual.
  • Updated May 6, 2020: The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date delayed!
  • Updated February 17, 2020: Time frame for Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2 confirmed!
  • Updated February 6, 2020: Added The Quintessential Quintuplets S2 opening trailer.
  • Updated December 4, 2019: Added news of manga ending and how that affects Season 2.
  • Updated July 6, 2019: Added year for The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date.
  • Updated May 5, 2019: The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 confirmed! Added video and related artwork.

This article provides everything that is known about The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.

The Quintessential Quintuplets manga’s ending and how that affects  the anime

The story for the anime is based on The Quintessential Quintuplets manga by Negi Haruba (it also goes by the names 5-Toubun no Hanayome and The Five Wedded Brides).

Serialized weekly since August 2017, the Gotoubun no Hanayome manga’s ending was released in Volume 14 on April 17, 2020.

The official English translation is being published digitally by Kodansha Comics. Thankfully, the English manga is not too far behind the Japanese release, with Volume 12 having released on April 21, 2020. Paperback book volumes are also being released in English.

In early December 2019, Haruba revealed on Twitter that the 5-Toubun no Hanayome manga series is ending with Chapter 123 of Volume 14. Apparently, the manga creator originally had not planned on ending the series so soon, but then the reality of manga creation hit home.

“I remembered talking to my friend a while ago back before I decided to serialize and I seemed enthusiastic about drawing a manga that would keep going on and on,” the 5-Toubun author reminisced in a second message. “I found out when I first started that it’s hard to keep it going. The senseis [manga creators] who have been drawing for dozens of volumes are really amazing.”

Fans of the anime have been praising the TV show for being charming and heartwarming. The 5Toubun anime may be a harem romcom, but there’s little to no degrading fan service and the girls move beyond the initial stereotypes and become fleshed-out characters that create a fun dynamic with the main character, Futaro Uesugi.

Audiences are tired of watching a lucky everyman stumble his way through unlikely scenarios. Instead, Futaro’s no-nonsense attitude wins the day, with that last zinger in Episode 12 being at least worth a chuckle.

Fans of the Gotoubun no Hanayome manga were especially pleased that the anime was mostly a straight one-to-one adaptation of the manga’s story. Overall, the anime adapted Chapters 1 through 31 and created an ending by adapting parts of Chapters 30, 31, and 32 (the ending of Volume 4).

The biggest exception to the straight adaptation was the anime’s ending. The final scene on the bridge was completely an anime original ending, but it wasn’t completely out of context since it allowed the anime to have a conclusive ending that ended on a high note whereas the manga immediately set up the conditions for the next major story arc in Volume 5 (see the spoilers section below for more details).

Ending at this stopping point only created a greater desire for knowing what happens next in The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2. Futaro has gone from being a stranger to friends with Itsuki, Miku, Ichika, Nino, and Yotsuba, but when it comes to moving forward the romance only Miku has acknowledged her feelings while Ichika is struggling.

Therefore, on the romantic front, it could be argued that the anime left audiences hanging. The good news is that English-only fans can immediately read ahead online in the digital manga.

Better yet, there are plenty of manga chapters currently available for creating The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 sooner rather than later. Without getting into spoilers, the ending of Volume 8 (Chapter 68) also provides a very good stopping point for the anime that also happens to give a major hint about the identity of Futaro’s future bride.

However, another option is finishing the second season with Chapter 77 of Volume 9. While not nearly as dramatic an ending, concluding on that note would slice the remaining source material neatly in half and leave room for finishing the Gotoubun no Hanayome manga’s ending with The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 3.

Another possibility is that the second season could adapt up through Volume 11. That would mean The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 3 could finish off the final school festival story arc, which is three volumes by itself.

Finally, it’s possible that Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 3 won’t be necessary if the second season is two cours. If that’s the case, it’s possible the second season could adapt the ending of Volume 14.

Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2 release date was delayed

The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date is set for January 7, 2021, the winter 2021 anime season.

The Gotoubun no Hanayome Season 2 release date was originally scheduled for October 2020, but the official website announced the postponement.

Thank you for your continued support of the TV anime The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬.

Broadcasting of The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬ was originally scheduled to start in October 2020. The broadcasting is now being postponed to January 2021 due to the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19.

We are very sorry for the fans who are looking forward to the work, but we kindly ask for your understanding.

We will do our best to deliver even better works while taking the safety of the staff and cast into consideration, so we look forward to your continued support.

May 7, 2020
The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬ Production Committee

Considering that the manga is ending with Volume 14, the second season will be 12 episodes in order to cover five volumes worth of source material. That means the manga’s final chapter will be adapted by The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 3.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)

Note: It’s possible some of the spoilers cover manga story events that will be adapted by The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 3.

The last time audiences watched the anime, they were once again treated to the flash-forward wedding scene which teased in further detail that Futaro would end up marrying one of the quints. Both the anime and the manga show the bride, but she’s never named outright.

So, who did Futaro end up with? Answer: her last name is Nakano. Maybe it’s the secret sixth sister named Mutsumi that lives in a hidden room (see Chapter 35)? Or maybe the wedding is called off and the sisters all marry Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu?

Joking aside, even manga readers did not know the identity of The Quintessential Quintuplets’ bride until near the manga’s ending. Revealing details slowly from the beginning is the entire setup of the manga’s story and the second season will end by providing another hint.

Fans have also been arguing whether there will be a single bride or if the story will have a harem ending. After all, the more literal translation of the title is The Five Wedded Brides and all five of the quints are holding Futaro’s hand when the campfire ends as the legend demands. Even the scene involving many dresses may be a clue.

What we do know for certain (maybe?) is that the 22-year-old bride is one of the quints, she has ear piercings in both ears, and she held hands with Futaro during the bonfire at the end of the first season.

The manga has revealed one more critical detail, but since that detail will likely be the ending of The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 this article won’t spoil that event except to say that it involves a special kiss.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Bride
Everyone wants to know the identity of the bride teased at the ending of The Quintessential Quintuplets Episode 12. Pic credit: Negi Haruba

When the second season begins, it will either retcon the first season’s final scene completely or get back on track with the manga by immediately having a flashback. The quints force Futaro to go directly to the hospital after ending the school camp trip.

At the hospital, Futaro meets a doctor whose face reminds him of his past and he dreams of a girl. Itsuki sneaks in separately from her sisters and demands to know why he studies so hard, so he tells Itsuki how he encountered a girl that made him want to study hard during a school field trip to Kyoto. (This story also happens to end with an invasion by shogi-playing aliens.)

Futaro only knows her as the Girl In The Photograph since he never asked her named and all he has now is a photo. Talking about studying again, Itsuki says she pulled out an old charm that she either bought or was given five years that came from Kyoto.

Futaro recalls the girl buying five charms for some odd reason. Startled by the coincidence, they both realize it’s possible Futaro may have met one of the quints in his past.

During a holiday weekend, Ichika and Miku both try to set up a date with Futaro but he declines in order to focus on studying. However, Futaro’s younger sister Raiha convinces him that he needs to thank Yotsuba for helping him so much during the field trip (there’s a reason Yotsuba is featured on the cover of Volume 5).

At first, Futaro simply wants to purchase Yotsuba a present, but she manages to turn the occasion into a full-on date with fancy restaurants, spa massages, a movie, and shopping. But while at the shopping center they stumble across Ichika and Miku. Narrowly escaping disaster, Futaro and Yotsuba run across Raiha and Itsuki before fleeing to a park where they have a memorable moment together.

The problems being created by getting closer to the quints begin to multiply a week before final exams when Nino and Itsuki quarrel and one of the sisters slaps the other. The fight becomes so bitter that they both flee the house.

“Don’t think that I can live with that domestic violence meat bun monster over there!” yelled Nino.

Futaro does his best to help the sisters reconcile, but that effort blows up in his face. Itsuki even shows up to sleep and live in his own house! Neither will return until the other gives in first. On top of the sisterly squabble, Yotsuba is stretching herself too thin by helping the track team right before the exams.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Rena Girl Photograph
Who is this mysterious girl from Futaro’s past? Pic credit: Negi Haruba

Futaro is doubting whether he should have become their tutor in the first place when that girl from his past abruptly shows up. Dressed in the same style of clothing, the girl introduces herself as Rena (yes, that is similar to the name of the quints’ deceased mother, Reina).

Rena asks Futaro to describe his current life and he does so by describing how each of the quints are idiots in their own way. She also takes back the photo of them together, but leaves a charm with Futaro, telling him to not open the charm until he can acknowledge himself. Rena then disappears, claiming they’ll never meet again.

With that mysterious reunion ending with Futaro dumped in water, the erstwhile tutor busies himself trying to resolve the personal problems of Nino, Itsuki, and Yotsuba.

Using the blonde wig, Futaro even transforms himself into the fictional Kintarou once again. Futaro also plans on tricking the track team into thinking Yotsuba quit by having Itsuki disguise herself as the “brainless” Yotsuba. Will this subterfuge end in disaster?

The Quintessential Quintuplets Manga Girls
The sisters unite together in studying in the final days before the exams. Pic credit: Negi Haruba

Unbeknownst to the quints, Futaro decides to resign as their tutor when talking to their father. Futaro believes he is incompetent, but he also questions whether the father is paying adequate attention to his daughters.

Since he had already quit, Futaro even decides to curse out the father for being a lousy parent! This causes the father to ban Futaro from the home residence and immediately seek out a new tutor.

“Mark my words. I will never give my daughters to a guy like you,” the father said of Futaro.

The girls miss Futaro terribly and are not willing to give up. The quints find a workaround, even going so far to put themselves in mortal danger to save Futaro!

And that’s just the halfway mark. It’s not long before that looming final exam comes, but this time the father has determined that his daughters will be transferred to Kyoto if they don’t all past the exam.

The final act is not all about testing, it’s also a test of love. Three of the girls have fallen for Futaro and their mind games are driving him crazy during a family visit to a hot spring resort. Events will culminate with a confession and an accidental slip will ring in a special moment where Futaro first realized he had begun to fall in love with one of the quints.

Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 release date to see how the story plays out. Stay tuned!

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