History Manga / MaisonIkkoku

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maison_ikkoku_24617_45714_wd_800x500.jpg]]

* BelligerentSexualTension: Godai and Kyoko.

* ButtMonkey: Godai.

* CharacterDevelopment: What makes it so enjoyable.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Quite a few occasions.

* DisappearedDad: Mr.Ichinose, husband to Mrs.Ichinose and father to Kentaro. He works long hours, leaving in the early morning and not coming home until after dark, and only meets the other tenents when he is laid-off, and thus home during the day. Much is made over how none of the other characters have ever seen him, and most imagined he was dead (when Kentaro introduces him to Godai, Godai promptly responds with "You have a ''dad?!?'').

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Godai definitely earned his.]]

%%* GossipyHens: Mrs. Ichinose and her neighbors.

* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Akemi and, in a way, Mrs. Ichinose.

* {{Honorifics}}: A strong element in setting the tone of relationships in the series. For example, in most of the series, Godai does not refer to Kyoko as anything but ''Kanrinin-san'' ("Miss Manager"), and she does not use his first name, thus keeping a certain distance between the two characters despite their closeness.

* LastMinuteHookUp: Averted with Mitaka. [[spoiler:Played straight with Kozue and Akemi though.]]

* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Grandma Godai.

* ShrinkingViolet: Asuna.

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Several.

* StalkerWithACrush: Ibuki Yagami.
* StarvingStudent: Godai.

* {{Tsundere}}: Tybe B: Kyoko appears nice but has a much quicker temper than you'd imagine.

[[AcclaimedFlop The series has a history of struggling in North America.]] An English dub of the anime was started in the mid-90's, but cancelled after 36 episodes due to low VHS sales. The subtitled tapes stopped at Episode 64 for the same reason. Years later, Creator/VizMedia gave ''Maison'' another chance after ''Manga/InuYasha'' exploded in popularity – they miraculously managed to put the entire series out on DVD and ''finally'' finish the dub ([[TheOtherDarrin albeit with several cast changes due to the long hiatus]]), but sales were never strong; it got so bad that the only reason the final boxset came out at all was because retailer [=RightStuf.com=] offered to buy the entire print run. The manga was released twice –- once in "flipped" collections with a few chapters cut away to get the story going quicker, and then again a few years later in "unflipped" volumes that included the cut-away chapters and that matched the Japanese books… but quickly fell out of print afterwards.

* DemotedToExtra: Kozue. By the middle of the series when Ibuki came in, Kozue pretty much disappeared for the most part only making occasional appearances with BaseballEpisode being a remote exception. Kozue did start to have a bit more of a presence late in the series in which it even got {{Lampshaded}} [[spoiler:until she and Godai actually break up.]]

* ForTheEvulz: In the beginning, this is pretty much the reason why Akemi, Hanae, and Yotsuya torment Godai on a regular basis through their frequent binge drinking. Though later on their motives seem to be more about "If you want us to stop then man up and talk to the manager!" (not that this justifies it)

%%* GossipyHens: Mrs. Ichinose and her neighbors

* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Pretty much how Mitaka and Godai communicate. Especially visible in episode 10. Though they sometimes drops this act when it comes to serious situation. Like how are they going to drive a car with Soichiro inside.

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: [=McEnroe=], the tiny little fluffy dog that Mitaka adopts to overcome his fear of dogs. Just try looking at it without {{Squee}}ing.

* RomancingTheWidow: Pretty much the driving force of the whole plot.

** Pretty much spelled out in story the first time Mitaka and Godai get drunk together (things repeat in this story, a LOT). They lay into Kyoko for her jealousy and stringing along and much else, in total agreement with each other. Then she comes to pick them up, and they shut up and take it (and give each other dirty looks for being spineless).

* OverprotectiveDad: Unlike his wife, Kyoko's father is in no hurry for her to remarry. He's established as having been a DotingParent when she was a child, and can even be a bit indulgent to his now-adult daughter when he shouldn't. [[spoiler:Godai's proposal to Kyoko even happens while he's carrying Kyoko's father on his back while they're on their way to Kyoko's home!]] It's strongly suggested that his overprotective streak stems from how much pain being widowed brought to Kyoko.

* TheyDo: Not only the main couple but also many side ships [[TyingUpRomanticLooseEnds end up being resolved]].

* TheThingThatGoesDoink: Asuna's family has one of these, as befits their traditional, aristocratic status.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Master of the Chachamaru bar.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: Kyoko.

* GossipyHens: Mrs. Ichinose and her neighbors, big time!

* ShoutOut: The anime occasionally features as incidental/background characters a group of what look like kindergarten students who all bear striking resemblances to the main cast of creator Rumiko Takahashi's first manga series ''Urusei Yatsura.''

* LicensedGame: Two visual novels / adventure games were created in the eighties for Japanese computers and consoles. The [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine version]] of Micro Cabin's game ''Omoide no Photograph'' was translated by fans in 2008. ''Kanketsu Hen ~Sayonara, Soshite...~'' remains untranslated.

* ForeignLanguageTheme: The anime uses two songs by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan as themes; "Alone Again (Naturally") for the second opening, and "Get Down" for the third ending.

Nonetheless, the series received great reception among those who did see/read it, and it enjoys a passionate cult following in the States among anime fans, especially Takahashi fans, who often claim it to be her masterpiece.

* PantyShot: Kyoko is revealed to be wearing "pure white panties" when she's playing tennis.

* ForeignLanguageTheme: The anime uses two songs by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan; "Alone Again (Naturally") for the second opening, and "Get Down" for the third ending.

* NumericalThemeNaming: Most of the characters' family names have kanji relating to numbers; for the Maison Ikkoku residents, their names also correspond with their room numbers.

Running from 1980 to 1987 in the {{seinen}} magazine''Big Comic Spirits'', ''Maison Ikkoku'' clocks in at 15 volumes – lengthy, but actually the shortest of Creator/RumikoTakahashi's major works. Compared to her other series, it is very true-to-life, at least of the time period in which it's set, and rarely strays into fantastical scenarios – very little LoveDodecahedron, no supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic, or most of the standard trappings of Takahashi's [[Manga/UruseiYatsura better]]-[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf known]] [[Manga/InuYasha series]]. The anime adaptation by Creator/StudioDeen aired for 96 episodes from 1986 to 1988, which is also short compared to the lengths of other anime series based on Takahashi's works.

Running from 1980 to 1987 in the {{seinen}} magazine''Big Comic Spirits'', ''Maison Ikkoku'' clocks in at 15 volumes – lengthy, but actually the shortest of Creator/RumikoTakahashi's major works. Compared to her other series, it is very true-to-life, at least of the time period in which it's set, and rarely strays into fantastical scenarios – very little LoveDodecahedron, no supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic, or most of the standard trappings of Takahashi's [[Manga/UruseiYatsura better]]-[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf known]] [[Manga/InuYasha series]]. The anime adaptaion by Creator/StudioDeen aired for 96 episodes from 1986 to 1988, which is also short compared to the lengths of other anime series based on Takahashi's works.

Running from 1980 to 1987 in the {{seinen}} magazine''Big Comic Spirits'', ''Maison Ikkoku'' clocks in at 15 volumes – lengthy, but actually the shortest of Creator/RumikoTakahashi's major works. Compared to her other series, it is very true-to-life, at least of the time period in which it's set, and rarely strays into fantastical scenarios – very little LoveDodecahedron, no supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic, or most of the standard trappings of Takahashi's [[Manga/UruseiYatsura better]]-[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf known]] [[Manga/InuYasha series]]. The anime adaptaion by Creator/StudioDeen aired from 1986 to 1988, which is also short compared to the lengths of other anime series based on Takahashi's works.

Running from 1980 to 1987 in the {{seinen}} magazine''Big Comic Spirits'', ''Maison Ikkoku'' clocks in at 15 volumes/96 episodes – lengthy, but actually the shortest of Creator/RumikoTakahashi's major works. Compared to her other series, it is very true-to-life… at least of the time period in which it's set, and rarely strays into fantastical scenarios – very little LoveDodecahedron, no supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic, or most of the standard trappings of Takahashi's [[Manga/UruseiYatsura better]]-[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf known]] [[Manga/InuYasha series]].

Running from 1980 to 1987, ''Maison Ikkoku'' clocks in at 15 volumes/96 episodes – lengthy, but actually the shortest of Creator/RumikoTakahashi's major works. Compared to her other series, it is very true-to-life… at least of the time period in which it's set, and rarely strays into fantastical scenarios – very little LoveDodecahedron, no supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic, or most of the standard trappings of Takahashi's [[Manga/UruseiYatsura better]]-[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf known]] [[Manga/InuYasha series]].

* RomanticFalseLead: [[spoiler:Mitaka]] for Kyoko and [[spoiler:Kozue]] for Godai, both designed as appealing alternatives to the OfficialCouple (and for some, the attempt to make them appealing worked [[RelationshipWritingFumble a little]] [[FanPreferredCouple too well]]). [[spoiler:Ibuki]] is a less-appealing one, both to the audience and to Godai himself.

* ShipperOnDeck: Yotsuba, Akemi and Mrs. Ichinose all want Kyoko to end up with Shun Mitaka. They even hold a wake ([[WithFriendsLikeThese in Godai's room, of course]]) when he gets married to someone else.

Yusaku Godai is a lovable, somewhat serious, but hopelessly inept ''[[{{Ronin}} ronin]]'' who is trying to study to pass college entrance exams while living at Maison Ikkoku, a somewhat run-down boarding house. His own disorganized, gormless lifestyle does not make this an easy task. Neither do the antics of his neighbours, including a party girl, an older mom fond of the bottle, and a surreal mooch, all of whom use his room for their frequent booze-ups. The building manager has not been seen in some time. Godai finally has enough and is walking out the door, bags in hand…

* ComedicSociopathy: If watching the entire cast make one man's life a living hell for 96 episodes is your idea of fun, this is the show for you. It doesn't help that Godai has no backbone. The tenants are so terrible that when [[spoiler:Godai and Kyoko finally get together, and the tenants congratulate them,]] a simple act of kindness renders Godai and Kyoko speechless.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Hanae Ichinose, out of the drunkard trio she is most likely to do a PetTheDog scene. Hanae's son Kentaro is like this. Mitaka can be like this as well since, despite on how he may seem like a smug, rich pretty boy, he does genuinely care for Kyoko and is actually generally nice to everyone [[CockFight''but'' Godai]].

* ComedicSociopathy: If watching the entire cast make one man's life a living hell for 96 episodes is your idea of fun, this is the show for you. It doesn't help that Godai has no backbone. The tenants are so terrible that when [[spoiler:Godai and Kyoko finally get together, and the tenants congratulate them,]] a simple act of kindness render Godai and Kyoko speechless.