Warning: This review wont contain many spoilers there are some minor ones but its impossible to critique this without letting some things slip but you should be safe whether youre a first time reader or an animeonly thats too impatient for season . I say this as a warning because trying to not spoil this manga means that this wont be a very indepth review. Instead this will be more of a brief Should you read 5toubun? and my initial reaction to the manga as it finally comes to an end after Ive kept up with it week after week. Like I said at the beginning this will be more of a general Would I recommend this series to you? than an indepth review of the series and how everything plot points character development etc is handled. If youre a manga reader whos just completed 5toubun coming here to see a wellconstructed review that perfectly summarizes how this series disappointed you at the end this is unfortunately not that kind of review. I do eventually want to write a more indepth review of this series but Id like to reread it a few more times before I feel like I could do a more critical and more indepth analysis justice. As much as I love those kinds of wellwritten and eloquent anime reviews that say what I think about a series better than I could ever hope to I still think this site needs just more general recommendation/final impression review. That being said onto the review Art 8/10 Theres not much to say about the art. I like Negis artstyle. It wasnt amazing and super unique but it didnt need to be either. The series is good to look at from start to end and thats all that it really needs. The girls are cute Characters 8.5/10 Probably the strongest part of the story to me. This is the first harem Ive read where I legitimately liked all of the girls and Fuutarou is a pretty good MC too. Even the more minor characters like Fuutarous dad and imouto were endearing. Its just a shame some of the girls got way more love than the others from the author. A few got no development right until the end or got sidelined for a good chunk of the manga but thats more on the story than the sisters themselves. Speaking of the story.. Story 6.5/10 Ok so the ending of 5toubun is probably the most controversial part of the series. And Ill say that no its not a complete fucking disaster like Prison School or Food Wars but it is disappointing and thats why the score seems so low I actually rate on a 110 scale and not a 710 scale so 6.5 isnt god awful Anyways the premise of the bride reveal is the main twist of 5toubun. From the beginning they say Oh theres not going to be a harem ending. Only one girl wins and gets married to the main character. The reveal of the bride at the end after all the hints and flashbacks is the endgame. Theres no harem ending so no matter what one girl will win and the rest will lose. Thats pretty bold for a harem manga to say right from the start. The premise of the manga sounded kind of trashy but after reading it for myself I was pleasantly surprised by it. The author manages to play with some tropes in a way that surprise you for example the tsundere isnt actually a tsundere she just fucking hates you for her own justifiable reasons from the start and overall the story was good. The manga seemed to acknowledge some tropes and play around with them and subvert expectations. Thats one of its biggest strengths in the beginning but at times especially near the end it feels like Negi got a little too cute with Hah you thought this would happen because its typical but actually this worse thing is going to happen because it goes against what you expect even if that would have been better. The first 75 of this manga was great but unfortunately the story didnt manage to maintain that quality all the way through. If it did I probably wouldnt have even written this review but the ending is pretty much what sours the rest of the series for me. Im not sure if Negi wrote himself into a corner or he just wanted to be done with it his wife did give birth to a daughter so I assume he just wanted to wrap things up but he definitely got too ambitious. There was too much hidden for too long and the series tries to rush and answer everything in the end and wrap up all the loose ends but it doesnt feel satisfying. At the very end of the series when Fuutarou is explaining why each of the sisters is special to him and important he jokingly just brushes over the bride at the end and says Welp youre you thats tha.t and moves on. This joke hurts because thats pretty much how the series handled the winning girls arc and I cant really give my own reasons as to why the bride was more special than her sisters because Negi didnt really do anything with her. It feels like he chose the winner based on who fans would expect the least and then didnt have a plan to go from there. I would have been happy with her winning if it was actually developed more but it just feels more like a pity win than what wouldve actually happened like this was a weird branching noncanon side route in a 5toubun VN. Dont let the people whose favorite quint won tell you that the people upset about the ending are just upset because their favorite lost. I liked all of the girls and would have been fine with any of them if it was handled well which it sadly wasnt. The biggest problem of the mangas ending is in the execution not the waifu. The series ending felt so rushed boring unfinished safe and pointless that it soured the series as a whole for me. There were so many loose ends and developments that were either never answered to satisfaction or didnt end up coming back and mattering. Some of the girls received lots of development that led to nothing while others didnt get any until it got shoved in right at the end where it felt null and void BioDad arc anyone?. I found myself asking Really? This one won? Like that? Thats it?. The last couple arcs felt like they dragged on and yet at the same time they feel unfinished. I think another volume between 12 and 13 really wouldve done this series good. So should you read 5toubun? Theres a saying that goes Its not about the destination its about the journey and if you agree about that then Id say you should read this series. The first 75 of it is great but just know that it doesnt maintain that GOAT quality the whole way through. If youre fine with that then yeah give this a read. 122 chapters isnt that long. Enjoyment7.5 Overall I still enjoyed this series. It has good quality right until the end where it faceplants which makes it pretty hard to score. Before the faceplant I would give it like an 8.5/10 but the last stretch felt like the author was writing it just to troll us. It failed the romance part of a romcom at the end which gives a big mark against it for me. People can say it was a comedy/drama before it was a romance and that you shouldnt expect good romance from a harem but with how well it handled other harem tropes I still count this as a point against the series. I guess even if its relatively well done its still a harem anime at the end of the day. Despite the kindofshitty end it was still a great ride. I enjoyed the 5toubun Tuesdays where we got a new chapter every week to theorize and discuss even when a lot of us were just wondering where the fuck the series was going at the end. Overall 6.8/10 rounded to 69 I enjoyed Negis Wild Ride up until the very end where the Quintmobile got a flat tire and accidentally drifted into a crowd of pedestrians. Ok maybe its not that bad its no Prison School but the ending definitely disappointed when the quality was so good throughout most of it which soured the series as a whole. If you dont mind that youll definitely enjoy most of the ride as a romcom fan. 6.9 quints out of 10 its pretty good for a harem series