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In Episode 3 of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, when Kintarou called Nino by her first name, she blushed. enter image description here

This blog says

Unlike many western cultures, in Japan people generally don’t call one-another by their first name. Doing so can be a mark of disrespect, unless you’re very close to the other person and in the right sort of casual environment, so you’ve read. Mental note then: first names are best avoided.

Since Kintarou wasn't in a relationship with Nino or something, it might be better for him to address Nino by her last name and using her first name was impolite. Then, why was Nino blushing?

By the way, is it rude for Uesugi to call the quintuplets by their first names?

Michael
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  • I think you should put in the title of your post, not just the 1st line, that you're talking about S02E03. Or eh...it's already tagged TQQ so maybe no need? idk – BCLC Aug 20 '22 at 11:15

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There's definitely something up with changing from last name to 1st name, but it's not necessarily about being rude. It's usually about being closer.

in Japan people generally don’t call one-another by their first name. Doing so can be a mark of disrespect, unless you’re very close to the other person

Right so, if you're around the same age and have no prior established relationship then usually you don't use 1st name when you 1st meet the person. In such case, using 1st name would be rude. Here, they're not meeting for the 1st time. And in the specific case of Nino and 'Kintarou' (I'm just going to say 'Kintarou' without quotes to mean 'Fuutarou under the disguise of imaginary relative "Kintarou"') using 1st name would imply they've gotten closer/friendlier or that Kintarou is more comfortable with Nino or something.

Also notes:

  • Note 1.1. Kintarou to Nino: Kintarou, unlike Fuutarou, hasn't exactly met any of the quints, so Kintarou doesn't quite have a reason like 'I would call you by last name, but since you're siblings, I guess I'll have to use 1st name'

  • Note 1.1.1. I don't think Kintarou has even addressed Nino by any name prior to this scene, at least in the anime. (Coincidentally, I don't think Nino has addressed Fuutarou by any name prior to this episode, at least in the anime, except in the 1st opening. I think Nino usually just addresses Fuutarou as 'anta'/'anata' and even refers to Fuutarou as just aitsu/soitsu/koitsu. The 1st time I think is just in this episode where Nino calls Fuutarou and says 'Moshi moshi Uesugi?')

  • Note 1.2. Nino to Kintarou: I don't think it's told what Kintarou's last name is clamed to be, but it's probably Uesugi i.e. Kintarou and Fuutarou are paternal relatives, probably 1st cousins. So, I don't think Nino would address Kintarou as Uesugi-kun (and a fortiori Uesugi-san).

  • Note 1.3. Kintarou to Nino again: In particular, notice that Kintarou doesn't use a honorific eg Nino-san:

In high school, among boys groups, they never use san and kun each other since they can talk casually. (...) But when they talk with girl students, they use san. ESPECIALLY when they call the girl’s first name, they use san not to be regarded as so intimate with each other.

I'm not sure if it's really expected in Japanese for Kintarou to not use honorific, but if it isn't, then I figure Nino can have the same reaction for an address of either 'Nino-san' or 'Nino' and then the use of 'Nino' instead of 'Nino-san' is a slip-up. This may be part of the bigger slip-up that Fuutarou gives away that Kintarou somehow knows that Nino is good at cooking.

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Re Fuutarou to quints: I suspect Fuutarou would've liked to call them all by last name and without honorifics the way in Kaguya-sama Miyuki Shirogane calls others by last name and without honorifics (Shinomiya, Fujiwara, Ishigami, Iino, etc). (It may or may not relate to Miyuki's lack of keigo or whatever. See here from 3:50 - 4:10.)

  • For honorifics: They're Fuutarou's tutees and are of the same age, so Fuutarou doesn't really need to call them with honorifics.

  • For last name: But since they all have the same last name, Fuutarou just goes with 1st name.

BCLC
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  • "*But when they talk with girl students, they use san*" - This isn't true. At least for my school. We always omit honorific when we talk casually. We'd use honorific when only if we're in class and have to pick someone (e.g. picking buddy of P.E., etc - in other words, only if we're in front of teacher). Perhaps this culture have been changed recently, or it was just for my school. – Skye-AT Aug 19 '22 at 12:43
  • @Skye-AT Tell that to Zyunko in the other post. But I think the bottom line is with regards to appearing intimate. Wait in your school...what age? Like the whole kindergarten to seniour high? – BCLC Aug 19 '22 at 12:45
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    Elementary school to senior high. When we're in kindergarten we don't even know when or how to use honorifics. Everyone uses -chan or -kun because adults call us -chan -kun, so we just mimic it. – Skye-AT Aug 19 '22 at 13:30
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    I'm not sure of the particular context, but regarding 1, you should be correct. It sounds like they are close - or more concretely, like they are steadies to each other. Regarding the second, I guess, of course, that they have the same surname is a factor. Another thing is that calling by first name is not exactly rude (among teens), it is an element indicating the bluntness (?) of the character. I'm not sure if *blunt* is a right word, but basically, it shows Fuutaro is not particularly friendly or outgoing guy. – sundowner Aug 20 '22 at 05:09
  • No way Nino would ever address Uesugi as あなた. あなた, when used by a female, usually means honey, husband and the like. Generally, girls and women wouldn't use such a misleading address for man other than their spouses. – Michael Aug 20 '22 at 11:18
  • @Michael or omae or whatever. anta is different from anata right? – BCLC Aug 20 '22 at 12:36