Mezon Ikkoku

I am just being selfish by keeping it underrated it is the perfect rom com and an overall mature anime I have ever scene. It is the best the way the romance blooms and the hardships they go through and it is not just about the romance but also about the overall character development it is just perfect anime I have ever seen in romance and slice of life.

The anime version of Maison Ikkoku doesn't have quite so much of the sexual humor as the original comics by Rumiko Takahashi, and for some reason the actor who plays Godai tries to hard to be funny and ends up overplaying him sometimes. Actually, a lot; but there are times when he nails the character. Sumi Shimamoto (one of my favorite voice actresses) as Kyoko Otonashi is just too perfect. She doesn't come across sounding like her strong Nausicaa voice or her soft Clarice-from-LupinIII voice--she sounds like a young woman who is trying to live on.

The animation, while it seems crude, was actually pretty good for back them (I think the Guyver came out about the same time--Maison Ikkoku is better). And every once in a while, the writers stretch a passing joke of Takahashi's well past the breaking point, until your willing to do anything if they would only stop for a minute so you can stop laughing.

This is my favourite cult 80's series.

Of course, the anime has dated, but it's still timeless thanks to the work of Rumiko Takahashi (manga), Yamazaki Kazuo (director) and Akemi Takada (anime).

Any idea of an up-to-date remake would be frightening, since the work has been so horrible with series such as Saint Seiya, Bishoujo Sailor Mon, Dragon Quest Dai no Daiboken or Urusei Yatsura... In other words, beautiful but polished and without soul.

This series, like its mangaka, is subversive, dealing with taboo subjects, goofy, ironic and mature in the subjects it touches on (divorce, mourning, the world of business, single parenthood, desires...).

It's got it all : Humour, drama, comedy, romance, love, sexy with parodic episodes and a real reflection on the feelings of love while keeping an unconventional tone.

96 episodes, 2 specials, 2 OVAs and 2 movies by Deen studio.

Considering the disasters we've seen with the remakes, I hope this series stays as it is.

It just gets better and better in each episode! I can't stop watching it. Romantic stories which are plain and not surprising is so dull and this is the opposite.

A student who came to the city to get admission to the university was leaving his current apartment and at that time a new apartament manager jonined in. So the story begins...

It came before Please Teacher, before Love Hina, even before Kimagure Orange Road. I might be too young to say for sure, but I'll bet this is the series that started the whole romantic comedy movement. It's also one of the few with a mature enough storyline to keep post-teenagers interested.

Yeah, it's the same plot that exists in every anime of the type: boy meets girl, boy and girl deny their feelings for the entire series (but hook up every few episodes), boy and girl finally get together in the end. As a consequence, the plot moves a bit slowly and is a bit too one-track-minded; more fun plot diversions would have been welcome. Still, it's a pretty funny series, and the characters are colorful enough to care about for 96 straight episodes. If you're into Rumiko Takahashi's stuff, Maison Ikkoku's probably the best place to start.