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The misadventures of a young student and his landlady's romance.The misadventures of a young student and his landlady's romance.The misadventures of a young student and his landlady's romance.
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Maison Ikkoku is one of my favorite rom-com stories ever.
Everything starts with Godai, who is a boy that is studying for important exams, the ones that will lead him to a great or a bad japanese university, that will define his future. His hostel neighbors make his task even more difficult as they keep bothering him. Suddenly, everybody's lives begin to change, essentialy Godai's, as the new manager (kanrinin), Kyoko, starts working in the hostel.
The past of the "kanrinin" is really well thought out and is a perfect obstacle to prevent her from loving Godai. Due to this important fact plus many smart obstacles created by Rumiko, the 96 episodes of the series are amazing.
Kyoko and Godai are very relatable and real. We get to know their thoughts so we know them deep inside and can't help but love them and cheer for them to be together.
The support characters are great and well developed too. The way Takahashi mixed their stories with the main characters one is perfect.
What stands out for me is how well the narrative navigates between drama, comedy and romance. This has everything to do with the lines, sometimes very deep.
About the technical aspects I have only good things to say.
The animation is beautiful and it aged very well to me. The expressions are marvelous and the landscapes are breathtaking.
To end this, something that helps a lot with the genre navigation I mentioned are the scores. They give the perfect feeling of each scene, making the atmosphere more comic, romantic or dramatic. Also, I love the 1980s style in the scores and in the openings and endings, it's perfect for the anime theme, very passionate.
Everything starts with Godai, who is a boy that is studying for important exams, the ones that will lead him to a great or a bad japanese university, that will define his future. His hostel neighbors make his task even more difficult as they keep bothering him. Suddenly, everybody's lives begin to change, essentialy Godai's, as the new manager (kanrinin), Kyoko, starts working in the hostel.
The past of the "kanrinin" is really well thought out and is a perfect obstacle to prevent her from loving Godai. Due to this important fact plus many smart obstacles created by Rumiko, the 96 episodes of the series are amazing.
Kyoko and Godai are very relatable and real. We get to know their thoughts so we know them deep inside and can't help but love them and cheer for them to be together.
The support characters are great and well developed too. The way Takahashi mixed their stories with the main characters one is perfect.
What stands out for me is how well the narrative navigates between drama, comedy and romance. This has everything to do with the lines, sometimes very deep.
About the technical aspects I have only good things to say.
The animation is beautiful and it aged very well to me. The expressions are marvelous and the landscapes are breathtaking.
To end this, something that helps a lot with the genre navigation I mentioned are the scores. They give the perfect feeling of each scene, making the atmosphere more comic, romantic or dramatic. Also, I love the 1980s style in the scores and in the openings and endings, it's perfect for the anime theme, very passionate.
After watching the series in small bits it will take some time to digest it all. Watch it in slow pace.
Beauty, solid argument and characters, deep emotions, funny and laughable at times, you will also have to wipe away tears. This story will be forever in you.
Beauty, solid argument and characters, deep emotions, funny and laughable at times, you will also have to wipe away tears. This story will be forever in you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaOriginally, Kyoko and Godai's romance wasn't going to be the main arc of the story. Rather, comic writer Rumiko Takahashi had planned to conclude the storyline early on and continue with a series of other storylines centering around the building's other occupants. However, the romance storyline proved so popular to fans and Takahashi herself that it became the basis for the entire series in both comic and television form.
- Alternate versionsThe original opening and ending for ep. 26 ("Alone Again, Naturally" and "Get Down," both by Gilbert O' Sullivan) are not included in the US release of the TV series. This is because Viz was unable to secure clearances for the two songs.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Envoyé spécial: Terre brûlée / Silence on Double / Premier Combat (1991)
- SoundtracksKanashimi yo Konnichiwa
[Opening Theme]
Music by Kôji Tamaki
Arranged by Satoshi Takebe
Lyrics by Yukinojô Mori
Performed by Yuki Saitô
- How many seasons does Maison Ikkoku have?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Maison Ikkoku
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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