Maison Ikkoku
めぞん一刻Maison Ikkoku is an old boarding house in the town of Clock Hill. It is relatively comfortable to live in, but unfortunately, it doesn’t provide its tenants with the excitement and modernity that normal college students prefer. So... they improvise. One of the students is 20-year-old Yusaku Godai, a calm and good-natured young man, who is doing his best to make friends and enjoy life. But being a typical introvert, he is often teased and taken advantage of by his other, more assertive roommates. Too stressed to continue living this way, he makes a decision to move out to a more peaceful residence. However, just as he is about to leave the house, he bumps into the beautiful Kyoko Otonashi, who introduces herself as the new manager. For Godai, this is love at first sight, and even though he was set on finding a new place, her charm allows him to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, despite her youth and kind nature, Kyoko is actually a widow who lost her husband in a tragic accident. This has left her scarred and very vulnerable, and even though she does her best to be positive, it is evident that depression is taking over her. Godai and Kyoko quickly become very close, and he makes it his ultimate goal in life to make her happy, no matter what.
Reviews
violette.wuckert - 2015-10-06 14:56:12
when i watched it i could not stop myself untill series stopped. all the character development and the side characters are beautiful.
eswaniawski - 2014-01-23 15:38:05
Maison Ikkoku is a complete anime adaption of Takahashi's manga, infact it is the only complete adaption of Takahashi's longer works. On to the review...
Story
The premise of the series is Godai's pursuit of Kyoko (as you might have guessed) but this also runs parallel to the real core which is Godai's (and Kyoko's) personal development. Godai must develop himself from a ronan into a man while Kyoko must release herself of her emotional baggage and become ready for new romantic commitments. This usually takes the form of comedic and romantic slice of life pieces which are dotted with the shenanigans of the rest of the Maison Ikkoku building.
Maison Ikkoku's story is absolutely wonderful. As I have already stated, it is a complete adaption and the anime is fully rounded (you will not be left wanting afterwards, only despondent that it is over) but it is a case of "two steps forward, one step back" romance. The show's peak is from about halfway and onwards, earlier episodes are slower paced but nonetheless are enjoyable, light, slice of life pieces. There are twists in the road throughout the story that are emotionally gut-wrenching and heartwarming, as well as funny.
Maison Ikkoku is also distinguishable form other slice of life pieces by its age... The 1980s setting makes for a refreshing setting for character interactions.
Animation
Fans of hand drawn animation will love Maison Ikkoku, the quality of animation is consistently excellent and the setting is oozing romance and wonder (as can be expected from Studio DEEN). If a representative were chosen to defend hand-drawn TV anime, Maison Ikkoku would be the ideal candidate.
Sound
The OP of the first 2 seasons is one of my favorites. Other than that, the OPs and EDs are slow paced and romantic affairs which suits the setting well. The theme of the anime is an excellent slow paced harmonica tune, which illuminates the romantic setting perfectly and is rather memorable. The seiyuus are also perfect; none are lacking in any manner. The English dub is great. At about Ep. 37 (the license was dropped and picked up later), one or two VAs changed, including Godai, but the dub is still of considerable quality.
Characters
The heart and soul of the anime - as a truly complete love story the main characters develop marvelously and are truly relate-able. What makes the anime so emotional to watch is the realism of the characters: they really feel like normal people who have been animated on screen. The side characters offer good comic relief from the romance part of the story and almost act as the comical villains of the piece, revelling and aiding in Godai's misery!
Enjoyment
Some episodes will be gut-wrenching, others will be heartwarming, others lightly comical but it should also be noted that many, particularly during the early half of the show, will be filler. Of course this is important in offering a break in-between the emotionally charged episodes (and you do learn more about the characters) but the show can only be enjoyed with a fair amount of patience. The anime is best enjoyed over a long period, just to savor the intense and brief periods of romantic tension.
Overall
I struggle to be critical of Maison Ikkoku's long winded story when it is so true to real life romance. You will know straight from episode 1 that it will require a fair investment to watch Maison Ikkoku... but the payoff is enormous - and eternal.
Getting a hold of Maison ikkoku
A quick word on the the releases for this anime. The DVD release of this anime is pretty collectible. When it was re-licensed for DVD by Viz Media in 2002, they only released it in fairly limited counts and the last volume was cut off early - Making the DVDs astronomically expensive. The new Blu-Ray release isn't any cheaper either. So unless your Richie Rich, reside yourself to the fact that the Fan-sub will be your only option. (By the time you read this, an HD fansub could also be available).