Maison Ikkoku

is a manga by Rumiko Takahashi which ran in the manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1980 through 1987. Maison Ikkoku is a bitter-sweet comedic romance involving a group of madcap people who live in a boarding house in 80s Tokyo. The story focuses primarily on the blossoming relationship between Yusaku Godai�"a poor student down on his luck�"and Kyoko Otonashi, the young, recently-widowed boarding house manager. The manga has been translated into English and fifteen volumes spanning the series are available from Viz Communications.

The manga was adapted into a 96-episode TV anime series which ran on Fuji TV from March 26, 1986 to March 2, 1988. The anime included some story arcs not covered in the manga, and is notable for being the only one of Rumiko Takahashi's four long-running series wherein the television series ending corresponds to the manga ending. A Final Chapter movie, three OVAs (one original story and two summaries), and a music special were also produced.

The relationship between Godai and Kyoko was meant to be resolved a lot sooner, therefore, having later stories focus on the other tenants, but the former was more popular.[1]

A live action movie was also made by Toei in 1986, though it deviates strongly from the story in the manga and anime.

Characters

Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name. All of the tenants' names involve a pun on the character's room number. With the exceptions of Mr. Yotsuya and Mrs. Ichinose, main characters tend to refer to and address each other informally with their given names; however Yūsaku, while usually referring to her by her given name, almost always addresses Kyōko with her job title of "manager." The anime seiyū, or voice actor, is listed directly after the name of the character.

Major characters

* Kyoko Otonashi (音無 響子 Otonashi Kyōko), voiced by Sumi Shimamoto. A beautiful young widow who takes on the task of managing a broken-down boarding house, Kyoko lives in the manager's room (with no room number). She is generally friendly and likable, but may easily become very rude and hostile when influenced by her parents. She soon develops affection for Yusaku, and has a tendency to dote over Yusaku (the other tentants ridicule her for acting "like a good wife") and sometimes becomes "inexplicably" jealous around him (though she denies it is jealousy). However, it is hard for Kyoko to forget about her late husband (who died 6 months after the wedding). The dead guy occasionally reminds Kyoko of the good old days. Kyoko's love for him is sometimes reflected in a dialogue with her ugly dog, which bears the same name of her late husband.
* Yusaku Godai (�"代 裕作 Godai Yūsaku), voiced by Issei Futamata. Yusaku begins as a poor ronin studying for his college entrance exams after failing in the past year. He eventually gets into a third-tier college (with Kyoko's help). Kind-hearted, handsome but foolish and indecisive, he is often 'played' by the other tenants of Ikkoku, who habitually take advantage of him, such as using his room as a communal gathering place for frequent drinking binges. Yusaku falls in love with Kyoko at first sight, but he lacks the courage to show her how he feels. Instead, he daydreams a lot and does numerous silly things. During the course of the series Yusaku matures into an honorable man, who becomes worthy of Kyoko, just as his love for her grows from an infatuation to a lasting and devoted love. He lives in Room 5 (Go)
* Hanae Ichinose (一の瀬 花枝 Ichinose Hanae), voiced by Kazuyo Aoki. A short, middle-aged woman who is rarely seen sober. Her wage-slave husband seldom appears in the manga and is completely unknown to the other tenants until he gets temporarily laid off. She enjoys joining in with the other tenants to stir up trouble for Yusaku and Kyoko, but she occasionally acts with good intentions for the two, especially Kyoko, whom she sees as a "younger sister" (willfully ignoring the difference in their ages, as the other tenants point out). However, even when she is acting with the best of intentions, her way of doing things often leave Yusaku, Kyoko or both in worse situations than if she hadn't gotten involved. Mrs. Ichinose is also an incurable gossip who relishes her room's proximity to the communal telephone. She lives with her husband and her son Kentaro in Room 1 (Ichi)
* Kentaro Ichinose (一の瀬 賢太郎 Ichinose Kentarō), voiced by Chika Sakamoto. Kentaro begins the story as grade-school-aged brat, generally seen trying to get between his mother and her bottle. Initially, he is antagonistic towards Yusaku, but events soon see him to look upon Yusaku as an "alright guy." He is also very fond of Kyoko, especially because he sees her as the only sane person in the building other than himself. He develops a crush on Kyoko's niece Ikuko, reminding Yusaku of himself (although Kentaro resents the comparison).
* Yotsuya (四谷), voiced by Shigeru Chiba. A mysterious man who finds enjoyment in mooching, voyeurism, and generally tormenting his next-door neighbor Yusaku; he is famous for breaking a hole through the adjoining wall in order to be with "young Godai" (and to use Yusaku's room to peep into Akemi's). He is usually seen dressed in a business suit or similarly formal attire and tends to speak in a very formal manner (even while drinking and partying with Akemi and Mrs. Ichinose), but what life he may have outside of Maison Ikkoku is a complete mystery to everyone. Mr. Yotsuya claims to have a job (but is not above stealing Yusaku's food) and comes and goes at odd and changing hours, keeping a schedule known only to himself. He torments Yusaku directly and Kyoko indirectly, as it is her job to repair the damage done by Mr. Yotsuya. He lives in Room 4 (Yon). His given name in unknown. He provided more than one given name, including Tamezo and Goro. His true name, like his profession, remains a mystery. Yotsuya, which means "four valleys", is the name of a district in Tokyo associated with a famous ghost story.
* Akemi Roppongi (六本木 朱美 Roppongi Akemi), voiced by Yūko Mita. A boozy bar hostess who is usually known to lounge around wearing skimpy lingerie while hanging around Ikkoku; Mrs. Ichinose occasionally complains when strangers are around, but generally the tenants have gotten used to her ways. She lives in Room 6 (Roku) and works a short distance away in a bar named Cha-Cha Maru, where the tenants gather to drink when not in Yusaku's room. She is known to let some of the bar's male patrons buy her too many drinks, and often comes home from work drunk. Because she works the late-night shift at the Cha-Cha Maru, and because she spends the rest of the night drinking, she has a constant sleepy look on her face. She is generally aloof towards both Yusaku and Kyoko, but she is not above joining Mr. Yotsuya in tormenting Yusaku. Her surname (which means "six trees") is also the name of a famous red light district in Tokyo, Roppongi.
* Soichiro. This name properly belongs to two characters, Soichiro the dog (惣一郎さ�", Sōichirō-san), and Soichiro Otonashi (音無 惣一郎 Otonashi Sōichirō), Kyoko's late husband.
** The dog, voiced by Shigeru Chiba. A large, white, "mangy" dog, found as a stray by Soichiro Otonashi. He was originally named "Shiro" ("Whitey"), but he only responded to the name "Soichiro" and so Kyōko insists on calling him "Soichiro-san" in memory of her husband. Other than providing comic relief, he serves to remind both Kyoko and Yusaku of the man he was named after, and serves as a foil to Shun Mitaka. Kentaro enjoys playing with him and considers him his pet.
** The husband, voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka. Kyoko and Soichiro met during high school when she was a student there and he was a temporary teacher. They eventually married, albeit with great opposition from Kyoko's family. Soichiro died of an unspecified cause (accident is implied), leaving Kyoko a very young widow. As a running gag, his face is never shown in the series (usually to Yusaku's frustration), always either in shadow or otherwise obscured in photographs. Soichiro's family, especially his father, is still very close to Kyoko, who still holds on to the Otonashi family name.
* Shun Mitaka (三鷹 瞬 Mitaka Shun), voiced by Akira Kamiya. Shun, in sharp contrast to Yūsaku, is wealthy, educated, and hails from an elite family. Mitaka works as a ladies' tennis coach more out of love for the sport than any need for financial support. He is young (though older than both Yusaku and Kyoko), handsome, and his teeth have a trademark sparkle whenever he smiles. Kyoko begins to take tennis lessons from him early in the series, and Shun begins to court her. His biggest obstacle in the beginning is his morbid fear of dogs, which makes it difficult for him to be with Kyoko when Soichiro is around. While very interested in and devoted to Kyoko, he is very popular with other women (such as Akemi: "Can I have him when you're done with him?") and has something of a reputation as a womanizer, a reputation not entirely undeserved (most of his more grievous actions have innocent explanations, but Shun has admitted to dating many women). However Kyoko's mother strongly approves of him as a potential future husband of Kyoko (to Yusaku's chagrin).
**Shun recognizes Yusaku as a rival for Kyoko's affection (and vice versa) and the two are usually antagonistic towards each other. Shun's actions towards Yusaku are somewhere between magnanimous and condescending, depending on if Kyoko is around, and he is not above trying to position Kozue as a wedge between Yūsaku and Kyoko. But while Shun and Yusaku are rivals, they both share moments where they bond over their mutual frustration over Kyoko's reluctance to fall in love with anyone.
**Kyoko generally likes Shun and regards him as a suitor, but is apprehensive about his forwardness and occasionally feels pressured by him (Shun doesn't want to force a relationship with her, but will often "bend the rules"). It can be unclear whether Shun is interested more in Kyoko herself or more in "saving" Kyoko from what he sees as a degrading life as a widow in Maison Ikkoku, putting him in the stereotypical role of the "knight in shining armor." Although he is one of the characters who does not live in Ikkoku-kan, his name is representative of the number three.
* Kozue Nanao (七尾 �"ずえ Nanao Kozue), voiced by Miina Tominaga. Kozue is Godai's steady date ("girlfriend" may be too strong a word, at least in Yusaku's view) and generally serves as an obstacle for Yusaku in his pursuit of Kyoko. Cute, sweet, and a little scatter-brained, she's oblivious to the fact that she is more interested in Yusaku than he is in her, and she doesn't recognize Kyoko (or later, Ibuki) as competition for Yusaku's affection. Their relationship starts after Kozue finds Yusaku with a spare movie ticket (originally intended for Kyoko, who had just started dating Shun) and she invites herself along, setting the general theme for their relationship. Yusaku would like to come forward and break things off Kozue, however he either cannot find the right opportunity to do so without hurting Kozue's feelings deeply (Yūsaku's view) or he is unwilling to "be a man" and stand up for himself (Kyoko's view). The situation becomes more complicated after Kozue introduces Yusaku to her family (Yusaku didn't know Kozue's plan until they had already arrived at her home), who approves of Yusaku and is all too willing to feed the perpetually starving college student.
**Kyoko doesn't dislike Kozue and always responds to Kozue's genuine friendliness in kind, but Kozue's relationship with Yusaku does trigger Kyoko's jealousy (which she won't admit as such) and as a result Yusaku always takes pains to keep all mention of Kozue away from Kyoko. Yusaku finds Kozue attractive, and admits to himself that he would have fallen for her if Kyoko weren't in the picture, but because of his feelings for Kyoko he strives to maintain some sort of distance from Kozue; his naivete (both feigned and genuine) keeps their relationship platonic.
**Kozue's surname means "seven tails."
* Ibuki Yagami (八神 いぶき Yagami Ibuki), voiced by Yuriko Fuchizaki. As a part of his studies, Yusaku was a student-teacher briefly in the high school Ibuki was attending (which was the same school Kyoko attended, where she met Soichiro). Ibuki was at first unimpressed with "that mope" (1st edition of English manga) or "that dork" (2nd edition), ridiculing one of her classmates for her short-lived crush on Yusaku. But Ibuki developed her own crush on Yusaku after misinterpreting him as a sort of tragic romantic hero. Even after she spends more time around Yusaku (and possibly learns that her first impression was more accurate), her feelings for Yusaku persist even after his tenure at her school ends. Ibuki tends to hatch devious plots that put her together with Yusaku, usually putting him into a compromising situation. Yusaku wants nothing to do with her but she refuses to be denied.
**Kyoko at first lets Ibuki play out what Kyoko sees as a simple schoolgirl crush, even acting on occasion to "protect Ibuki from Yusaku," but eventually sides with Yusaku when it becomes clear that he is the one that needs protection. But Kyoko is continually frustrated with what she perceives as Yusaku's unwillingness to stand up for himself, as with Kozue. Ibuki, on the other hand, initially sees Kyoko as a role model for getting married to her own high school teacher, but later comes to recognize "that widow" as a rival for Yusaku's affections and often confronts her, even pushing Kyoko to admit that she loves Yusaku, and calling her a coward when she won't. It can be difficult to determine whether Ibuki is more interested in Yusaku himself or in what she perceives as the tragic romance of their (her) situation.
**Ibuki's surname means "eight gods." She is voiced by Alexandra Carter in English translations.

Minor characters

* Mr. Ichinose (一の瀬氏 Ichinose-shi), voiced by Minoru Yada. Hanae Ichinose's husband. He only appears occasionally in the series. He is a hard-working salaryman.
* Nozomu Nikaido (二階 堂望 Nikaidō Nozomu), voiced by Ryou Horikawa. Originally intending to move into an upscale establishment called "Rikkoku-kan" ("Rikkoku" in Viz' translation), a typographical error on the lease papers brings him to Maison Ikkoku relatively late into the story as an accidental tenant. He led a relatively sheltered life before entering the story, and he moved into Maison Ikkoku as he started college against the wishes of his protective mother. Nozomu initially strikes Kyoko as a very well-mannered boy, while most other tenants see him as a "sheltered mama's boy." Aside from his long-running vendetta against Mr. Yotsuya (Nozomu retaliates to Mr. Yotsuya's invasions, in contrast to Yusaku), he is known for being incredibly dense ("I don't get it") and is totally oblivious to the situation between Yusaku, Kyoko, and their respective love triangles. He moves into the long-empty apartment 2.
**Nozomu only appears in the manga and the movie. His lines are largely given to Yotsuya or Kentaro in the TV series.
* Asuna Kujo (九条明日菜; Kujō Asuna), voiced by Hiromi Tsuru. A classically demure Japanese maiden from a wealthy family (Kujō family implied), Asuna is pretty, kind-hearted, shy around people and innocent to a fault. Her family and Shun's uncle has arranged a traditional Japanese marriage between she and Shun (against Shun's wishes). In contrast to Shun, Asuna is a dog lover and she is initially attracted to Shun (approving of their engagement) because her many dogs seem to approve of him. Shun would like to end their arranged engagement, but often finds himself unable to, either because of his fear of her dogs or his fear of hurting her feelings (mirroring the situation between Yusaku and Kozue). Asuna is initially unaware of Shun's feelings for Kyoko, but she is not above pursuing Shun, albeit in her own fashion. Her surname Kujo means "Ninth Avenue" in Kyoto.
* Ikuko Otonashi (音無 郁子 Otonashi Ikuko), voiced by Mayumi Sho. Kyoko's young niece from her marriage to Soichiro. On a visit to Maison Ikkoku, Ikuko meets Yusaku and quickly becomes fond of him. Ikuko insists that Yusaku becomes her tutor as she approaches entry into high school, though it seems she's more interested in goofing off with him rather than actually studying. Kyoko initially tries to dissuade Ikuko and later tends to hover when the two are together, hoping to keep Yusaku from corrupting Ikuko with his lazy habits, but it is more often Ikuko who steers conversation away from her studies and more towards gossip. Tutoring Ikuko becomes Yusaku's first steady source of income as well as his first major attempt to demonstrate his maturity and reliability to Kyoko.
* Owner ("Master") of Cha-Cha Maru (茶々丸 の マスター Cha-Cha Maru no Masutā), voiced by Norio Wakamoto. Akemi's boss (no name is given other than "Master"). Initially an incidental character when the tenants of Maison Ikkoku go someplace other than Yusaku's room to drink, he is often seen complaining when the tenants are trashing the furniture, scaring away other patrons, or specifically when Akemi seems to be taking her own drinks rather than serving them to others. Later, the owner occasionally acts as the voice of reason, all too often being the only sober person in the room when something important happens, whether the other characters are either drunk on alcohol (Akemi, Mrs. Ichinose, Mr. Yotsuya), their own strong emotions (Kyoko and Yusaku), or a mixture of the two. He tolerates Akemi's obvious incompetence as a waitress because his feelings for her are more than just that of a boss to an employee. At the end of the series, he tells Akemi that he has just gotten divorced and proposed to her, thus finally making an honest woman out of Akemi.
* Mr. & Ritsuko Chigusa (響子 の 父 Kyōko no Chichi, literally "Kyoko's dad"; 千草律子 Chigusa Ritsuko), voiced by Kosei Tomita (father) and Minori Matsushima (Ritsuko). Kyoko's parents. Initially against Kyoko's marriage to Soichiro, they (especially her mother, Ritsuko) wish to see their daughter continue her life, preferably remarrying. Ritsuko is quite taken with Shun and sees him as a suitible husband for her daughter, while Kyoko's father sees the handsome Shun as a potential womanizer who will only break his "little girl's" heart. Neither of them seem to notice Yusaku's existence (their inability to remember his name is used as a running gag), let alone the bond both he and Kyoko share, and their obsession with Shun only frustrates Yusaku. Both Ritsuko and Kyoko tend to address Mr. Chigusa as "Daddy" or "Father."
*Sakamoto (坂本), voiced by Toshio Furukawa. Yusaku's friend and drinking buddy (usually at Sakamoto's insistence) from school. Sakamoto has his own woman troubles, though in contrast to Yusaku his difficulty is finding the right one. Sakamoto occasionally offers Yusaku a roof to live under when situations temporarily force him out of Maison Ikkoku, and even has a word or two of insight on love for Yusaku, but more often than not the nights the two spend drinking together (often to lament that Sakamoto got dumped again) get Yusaku in trouble with Kyoko for one reason or another.
*Yukari Godai (�"代 ゆかり Godai Yukari), voiced by Hisako Kyouda. Yusaku's grandmother. She usually lives with Yusaku's parents out in the country in the Godai family restaurant, but she occasionally comes to visit her favorite grandson in Tokyo (though Yusaku would rather she didn't). Akemi, Mrs. Ichinose and Mr. Yotsuya love when she visits as she always joins them in their drinking, however "Grandma" Godai does not torment Yusaku in quite the same way. She truly cares for her grandson, recognizes his situation with Kyoko, and her schemes are ultimately constructive for the two of them (and, in contrast to Mrs. Ichinose, she's far more successful at it).
*Zenzaburo Mitsukoshi (三越善三郎 Mitsukoshi Zenzaburō), voiced by Katsunosuke Hori. An original character for the anime (does not appear in the manga).
*Soichiro's father (音無 老人 Otonashi Rōjin, literally "the elder Otonashi"), voiced by Ryūji Saikachi. The owner of Maison Ikkoku, and Kyoko's former father-in-law.
*Sayako Kurogi (�'木小夜子 Kurogi Sayako), voiced by Saeko Shimazu (TV) and Yoshiko Sakakibara (movie). One of Yusaku's college classmates.
*McEnroe (マッケンロー Makkenrō). Shun's Pomeranian, which he bought to help himself get over his fear of dogs. His name refers to tennis legend John McEnroe.
*Salad (サラダ Sarada). Asuna's Pomeranian, one of her many pet dogs. Salad later gave birth to a litter of puppies after being impregnated by McEnroe. A misunderstanding takes place, prompting Shun to propose to Asuna.

Manga

Anime staff

*Producer: Hidenori Taga
*Planning: Okamasa (Fuji TV, ep.1-76), Shigekazu Ochiai (Kitty Films)
*Chief Director: Kazuo Yamazaki (ep.1-26), Takashi Annō (ep.27-52), Takayuki Yoshinaga (ep.53-96)
*Assistant Director: Takayuki Yoshinaga (ep.49-52)
*Series Organization: Tokio Tsuchiya (ep.1-26), Kazunori Itō (ep.27-52), Hideo Takayashiki (ep.53-96)
*Music: Takuo Sugiyama (ep.1-26, 38-96), Kenji Kawai (ep.27-96)
*Color Coordinator: Michiyo Yasuda (ep.27-52)
*Character Designer: Yūji Moriyama (ep.1-26), Akemi Takada (ep.27-96)
*Art Director: Chitose Asakura
*Director of Photography: Tsugio Ozawa
*Sound Director: Shigeharu Shiba
*Animation Directors: Masaaki Kanan, Keiko Hattori, Ryūnosuke Otonashi, Mamoru Dokite, Atsuko Takajima, Kiichi Takaoka, Hiroshi Ogawa, Keizō Shimizu, Junji Suzuki
*Executive Producers: Yōko Matsushita (Kitty Film), Makoto Kubo (Studio DEEN), Yūko Katō (Fuji TV, ep.1-76), Yoshinobu Nakao and Kenichi Kawano (Fuji TV, ep.77-96)
*Animation Production: Studio DEEN
*Produced by Kitty Film and Fuji TV

Anime theme songs

Anime

*96 regular episodes
*Desert Island OVA
*Through the Passing Seasons OVA (series summary)
*When the Cherry Blossoms Return in the Spring OVA (prelude summary)
*Final Movie

Live action movie

Games

Maison Ikkoku: Omoide no Photograph (1986, adventure game, Microcabin, released for PC-9801 and PC Engine)
Maison Ikkoku: Omoide no Photograph (1988, adventure game, Bothtec, released for Famicom)
Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen: Sayonara, Soshite...... (1988, adventure game, Microcabin, released for PC-9801 and )

External links

* Maison Ikkoku Manga Product Page at Viz.com
* AnimeNfo.Com page on this anime
* Maison Ikkoku Database
* Maison Ikkoku manga review at Mangareviewer.com
* Maison Ikkoku fan site
* Yusaku Godai's Life at Maison Ikkoku
* Fan Appreciation Site of Kyoko Otonashi Character
* Maison Ikkoku Anime Inn
* Rumiko No Sekai's Maison Ikkoku section French website on Maison Ikkoku featuring summaries, analysis, image galleries, downloadable goodies and many more.