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Calling Gotoubun a finished manga is like calling Fuutarou’s lunch a proper meal. It isn’t. It needed at least two more volumes to be finished, and much more to be entertaining. Once held in the highest regard as a romance/harem manga, its journey was cut short, and with it comes a bitter taste—a taste of overwhelming amounts of salt.

It flopped because Negi tried too hard subverting tropes. The ending shouts “the childhood friend won haha you never saw it coming did ya”, when in reality it lacksed any substance. I started reading the manga when the first season aired, it was like 70 to 80 chapters long. And was a strong 7 to 8 for a while, until seeing the last 25 to 30 chapters.

It went from something interesting and unique into something like any other. The last festival arcs were especially dreadful, carrying a huge tonal shift that felt abrupt and out of place. But out of the five, Itsuki no doubt got the worst end of the stick. She was thrown into a corner until Negi was like “shit totally forgot about her” in the last arc. The biological dad, which had no impact in the story until then, felt like a convenient plot tool. It ended with melodrama trash, which was a distaste. The sharp writing was nowhere to be seen from then on.

With that, let’s talk about the other four.

Ichika, she had no chance after the school trip, but at least an interesting character. I cheered for her all the way, and I would say I am satisfied with how she ended up. Definitely has the best resolve out of the four.

Nino, the confession scene was great, her blunt nature while still loving her sisters goes the same. Though by far with the most development under her belt, her change of heart can be seen as quite shallow. For reasons I can’t mention because of spoilers.

Miku, the most generic. She later became Nino’s ally and brought the two biggest ships together. Hot take, but she ended up being a more boring Nino. Nothing much to say.

And finally Yotsuba. Her story ended five years ago. The beginning teased about something great happening in the past, and did not deliver. She has no resolve, and nothing of her felt finished once all the trouble was over. Worst character out of the five.

The art was good, Negi clearly got better the course of these two years as well. But nothing could make up for this mess of an ending.

There are times when you regret what you choose, and I regret being invested in Gotoubun. I remember the last time I became this disappointed in a series was when I finished watching Charlotte. It lacked an explanation, and Negi’s tricks to balance the chances of the five means the story lacked direction. It wasn’t like any other harem, but it certainly ended like one, with extra salt to boot.