Maison Ikkoku - Television Tropes & Idioms

Yusaku Godai is a lovable, somewhat serious, but hopelessly inept 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 manager has not been seen in some time. Godai finally has enough and is walking out the door, bags in hand....

... and in walks Kyoko Otonashi, a beautiful, sweet-tempered woman who announces herself as the new manager.

In order, Godai's suitcase, jaw, and heart hit the floor, and from then on, it's a roller coaster ride of strangeness, complications, botched courting, miscommunicated feelings, and every so often, achingly sweet, poignant moments.

Maison Ikkoku (pronounced "Mezon Ikkoku," for those of you used to thinking in Japanese phonemes) is a lengthy series, clocking in at 96 episodes. It is very true to life, at least the life of the time period in which it was set, and rarely departs heavily from real life scenarios, without the Love Dodecahedron, supernatural hijinks, convoluted logic or any of the trappings of Rumiko Takahashi's other series.

It has inspired many similar series, among them Love Hina and Mahoraba.

This show has examples of:

Accidental Pervert- Happens to many of Kyoko's suitors.
Aspect Montage
Babies Ever After - Haruka, Godai and Kyouko's baby daughter.
- Don't forget Mitaka and Asuna's twins and other baby.
Baseball Episode: In chapter 49 of the manga.
Beach Episode: Episode 10.
Belligerent Sexual Tension - Godai and Kyoko.
Big Breasts, Big Deal - Kyoko is generally a Type 3 (but occasionally shows Type 5 tendencies) while Akemi is a definite Type 4 though.
Bottle Fairy - Akemi and, in a way, Mrs. Ichinose.
Broke Episode - Many... Godai was trying to balance study, work, and life on a regular basis.
Buttmonkey - Godai
Can Not Spit It Out: Which makes it a Crowning Moment of Awesome when Godai finally learns to spit it out in the final chapters, dumping Kozue and proposing to Kyoko. Kyoko as well, when she finally tells Godai not only that she loves him but that she has for a very long time.
Chekhov's Gun: Godai buys a brooch for Kyoko as a Christmas present in Episode 2; but, through a series of pratfalls, never manages to give to her. Sixteen episodes later, a year has gone by in canon and Godai, broke and desperate to get Kyoko a gift, manages to find the brooch behind his desk and give it to Kyoko.
Close Knit Community
Cloud Cuckoo Lander - Yotsuya, easily one of the strangest characters created by Rumiko Takahashi despite being in a "real-world" setting.
Cock Fight - Mitaka and Godai often engage in this when Kyoko is around.
Comedic Sociopathy - 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 Godai and Kyoko finally get together, and the tenants congratulate them, this simple act of kindness shocks Godai and Kyoko speechless.
Coming of Age Story - Godai is very clearly a boy at the beginning of the series. As time goes on, he — slowly but surely — grows into a (somewhat) mature, responsible man.
Corner of Woe: the puppeteer club's president does this after scaring a child he was trying to offer candy.
Contrived Coincidence - Quite a few occasions.
Character Development - What makes it so enjoyable
The Ditz - Nozomu, when it comes social situations. The other characters take pity on him and give him hints. He finally figures out that Godai and Otonashi have feelings for each other... after one hundred and twenty six hints from the other tenants. Godai and Otonashi then deny it, and he believes them.
Demoted to Extra: Kozue. By the middle of the series when Ibuki came in, Kozue pretty much disappeared for the most part only making occasional appearances with Baseball Episode 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 until she and Godai actually break up.
Drives Like Crazy - Kyoko, mostly because she only gets behind the wheel once every few years.
Shun: Nothing would make me happier than to die at your hands.
Drunken Song - PAAARTY PAAARTY PAAARTY!
Earn Your Happy Ending - Godai definitely earned his.
Egg Sitting - Yotsuya leaves an egg with Godai for safekeeping in a dream. Only it wasn't a dream...
Everyone Calls Him Barkeep - Master
The First Cut Is the Deepest: Kyoko
Foe Yay: Godai and Mitaka lightly played around with in episode 37 where they end up wrestling each-other as payback for the dirty tricks that both have used against each other earlier. While it is a It Makes Sense in Context moment it does slightly go into Ho Yay territory here.
For the Evulz: 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)
Gossipy Hens - Mrs. Ichinose and her neighbors, big time!
Grand Finale - Reputedly the first of the long-running animes from Rumiko Takahashi that had a definitive ending. (Inu Yasha being the sole other, to this point)
He Is Not My Boyfriend: Kyoko does this all the time towards Godai.
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, and she does not use his first name, thus keeping a certain distance between the two characters despite their closeness.
Hot for Student - Kyoko's deceased husband was a guest lecturer at her school. Later, when Godai works as a teacher, a schoolgirl named Ibuki Yagami pursues him.
Hot Springs Episode - Episode 41 and 62.
Idealism vs. Cynicism - A good old fashioned case of a story that shows plenty of Cynicism but with Idealism winning out in the end.
Imagine Spot - Godai often imagines himself getting intimate with Kyoko.
I Want Grandkids: Kyoko's mother.
Jerkass - Many characters. A huge portion of the supporting cast acts this way, including Yotsuya, Mrs. Ichinose and Akemi — the three others at Ikkoku, with Kyoko and Godai being among the rare exceptions. Yotsuya tops the list, though, almost treading over the Complete Monster line sometimes with his callousness. Most of the Jerkasses have a few kind moments, however, and some of them (like Mitaka's Uncle) are genuinely cheerful.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold- Hanae Ichinose, out of the drunkard trio she is most likely to do a Pet the Dog scene. Hanae's son Kentaro is like this as well since he can go from Bratty Half-Pint to Cute Shotaro Boy. 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.
The Kanrinin - Kyoko.
Last Minute Hook Up - Averted with Mitaka Played straight with Kozue and Akemi though.
Keigo - Mildly subverted. Yotsuya speaks in a very polite, formal, and proper manner at all times, in addition to always dressing in either business or traditional clothes. This is in contrast to being possibly the most impolite, informal, and improper character in the series.
Live-Action Adaptation - The live-action film Apartment Fantasy and the television drama.
Look Behind You: Godai pulls this on Kozue in episode 24, when she tried to kiss him.
Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: The residents of Maison Ikkoku spend most of their time driving Yusaku Godai insane with their alcohol-induced insanity, but also end up somehow making him the man he needs to be for Kyoko, as well as get Kyoko to reflect on her feelings for him.
Meaningful Name: Not obvious in English, but the last name of every character who lives in the complex starts with the number of their apartment. Kyoko, who is the manager and thus has no number on her door, has the last name essentially meaning "No number".
Miniature Senior Citizens - Grandma Godai.
Mistaken for Cheating - Akemi invokes this as she uses this trope to get Kozue to dump Godai by tricking her into thinking that Godai and Akemi were at a Love Hotel.
- Happens earlier in this series when Kyoko once saw Mitaka with another woman, however this was just another misunderstanding.
Mood Whiplash
The Movie - The live-action film Apartment Fantasy and the anime film The Final Chapter.
My Beloved Smother - Kyoko's mother Ritsuko Chigusa is a definite case of this at first but she does slightly mellow out later on in the series.
Names to Know in Anime:
- Sumi Shimamoto (Kyouko)
- Akira Kamiya (Mitaka)
- Issei Futamata (Godai)
- Shigeru Chiba (Yotsuya)
- Mina Tominaga (Kozue)
- Yuriko Fuchizaki (Ibuki)
- Hiromi Tsuru (Asuna)
- Chika Sakamoto (Kentaro)
- Hideyuki Tanaka (Soichirou)
- Norio Wakamoto (Master, the bartender at Cha-Cha Maru)
- Megumi Hayashibara (A background character, notable for being her very first role)
  - And as for the English dub of the series with The Ocean Group
- Brad Swaile (Godai, well ever since the 37th episode)
- Janyse Jaud (Akemi)
- Ron Halder (Yotsuya, well ever since the 37th episode)
- Saffron Henderson (Kentaro Ichinose, before the cast change)
- David Kaye (Soichiro and Master)
- Nicole Bouma (Ikuko Otonashi, after the 37th episode)
- Anna Cummer (Kozue, after the 37th episode)
Nice Guy - Godai, where the entire concept is played with in great detail, and with great skill. The story does not shy away from the common (and often Real Life) faults of this character type, such as indecisiveness, spinelessness, and mediocrity, but it also suggests that Godai's innate kindness and decency, combined with his willingness to grow, more than compensates in the long run.
Not What It Looks Like: Many, many, many of these.
Once per Episode: Godai daydreaming of Kyoko, and ending up in embarrassing and painful situations while distracted, at least the first 20 or so episodes.
OVA - There are three: Through the Passing Seasons, Shipwrecked on Ikkoku Island, and Prelude: When the Cherry Blossoms Return in the Spring.
Panty Shot - Kyoko is revealed to be wearing "pure white panties" when she's playing tennis.
Passive Aggressive Kombat: Pretty much how Mikata and Godai communicate. Especially visible in episode 10.
Pet the Dog- Many of the characters such as Yotsuya, Mrs. Ichinose and Ibuki do this every now & then some more than others though.
Poor Communication Kills - The source of many misunderstanding of the series. While not as bad as Three's Company or anything, horrible misunderstandings are common. Though at least it's played realistically enough that sometimes things are explained — it's just that the situations Godai ends up in are so bizarre that Kyoko disbelieves it anyways.
Rape as Comedy - While it maybe Accidental Innuendo but the 2nd eye-catches of the show where Soichiro the dog jumps on Mitaka's backside have been seen as this. Though this is not the only case of it though on this show (such as the Les Yay example above).
Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor:
- Mitaka has enough to go to an expensive resort for the weekend on a whim, whereas Godai barely manages to keep himself stocked with ramen, let alone buy gifts for Kyoko. By the time Godai and Kyoko actually get together, though, he has a steady job as a preschool teacher.
- Grandma Godai had two of these many years ago and chose the poor one. Which is why she tells Kyoko to take the rich guy.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: McEnroe, the tiny little fluffy dog that Mitaka adopts to overcome his fear of dogs. Just try looking at it without Squeeing.
The Rival - Many.
Romancing The Widow - Pretty much the driving force of the whole plot.
Romantic False Lead - Mitaka for Kyoko and Kozue for Godai, both designed as appealing alternatives to the Official Couple, though Your Mileage May Vary (and for some, the attempt to make them appealing worked a little too well). Ibuki is a less-appealing one, both to the audience and to Godai himself.
Romantic Runner Up - Kozue is a definite and occasionally Lampshaded case while Mitaka can be a case of this (but not always).
Ronin
Rugby Is Slaughter - Godai plays rugby with his old high school team- he ends up with two black eyes.
Shrinking Violet - Asuna
Sick Episode: Episode 16 has Kyoko spraining her ankle. Godai is terribly worried, but, as happens so often in this series, constantly gets blocked by circumstances, neighbours and Mitaka when he tries to take care of her.
- Episode 42 has Godai breaking his leg, and Kyoko taking care of him in the hospital. At the end of the episode, Mitaka managed to break his leg as well, and would share a room with Godai.
Silk Hiding Steel: Though she's not as traditionally Japanese about it, Kyoko is much more independent-minded and tempermental than her sweet, proper demeanor suggests, as Godai soon discovers. Her resolve is probably the only thing that keeps Maison Ikkoku from descending into complete chaos.
Single Mom Stripper - This trope is the reason that Godai's job at the strip joint ended up not being so bad after all. He ended up as the babysitter for the strippers' young children, gaining tons of job experience for his intended field of early childhood education.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man
Sitting on the Roof
Slow Motion Pass By
Stalker with a Crush - Ibuki Yagami.
Starving Student - Godai works to pay for his studies, but he never has money for anything. And when he has some money, he spends it on presents for Kyoko.
Stealth Hi/Bye - Yotsuya seems to have perfected this, especially when Godai has something to hide and is vulnerable to blackmail.
Strawman Has a Point - In-universe subversion - Hanae Ichinose tries to convince Kyoko that Kyoko's mother might not be so bad, since Hanae did somewhat sympathize as she is a mother as well. However, Hanae changed her tune when it was revealed that Kyoko's mother deceived her into thinking that Kyoko's father was sick to get to get Hanae on her side.
Suggestive Collision - Yusaku accidentally kisses Kyoko when she falls from a ladder trying to replace a lightbulb.
Surrogate Soliloquy - The graveyard version is used extensively.
The Other Darrin - In the English dub after episode 36 Viz placed their dub of the show on Hiatus for a while until 2004 and while Viz still used The Ocean Group for the voice work some of the cast changed namely Godai, Hanae, Yotsuya, Kentaro, Ikuko and Kozue.
The Tell: You can tell Kyoko's angry because she becomes VERY enthusiastic while cleaning (moreso than usual). That, and her tendency to break broomhandles by squeezing them.
Theme Naming - Most of the characters have numbers in their names; the residents have numbers corresponding to their room numbers.
- Most to all of the number names are also train stations/districts in Tokyo, which sometimes adds another meaning.
- There's also the Edible Theme Naming of Asuna Kujo's dogs: Salad, Pot-au-feu, Foie Gras, Terrine, and Stroganoff.
There Are No Therapists - Rather, there is no Alcoholics Anonymous.
- On a more traditional note, Mitaka could probably have used some professional help in getting over his fear of dogs, although he eventually manages well enough on his own.
There Was a Door - Yotsuya. Log.
The Thing That Goes Doink - Asuna's family has one of these, as befits their traditional, aristocratic status.
The Unfair Sex- While not as blatant as how other Rumiko Takahashi shows can be, even this show does show some of it. For quite some time, both Kyoko and Godai have been rather indecisive about which love interest they want to go with — the former is of course more sympathetically treated than the latter. (Granted the latter has some sympathy, but still)
- Becomes more apparent in episode 12 where Godai and Kozue go on their first date, when Kyoko learns of this as she runs into Godai and Kozue in the middle of their date she gradually fumes in jealously at Godai for dating a cute girl that is younger than her. Keep in mind that is occurring while Kyoko was already having a date with Mitaka before she saw Godai with Kozue (and Kyoko's date with Mitaka is largely the reason why Godai was dating Kozue at the time.)
- Pretty much spelled out in story the first time Mitaka and Godai get drunk together (things repeat in the 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).
They Do - Not only the main couple but also many side ships end up being resolved.
Trickster Mentor - While Yotsuya, Akemi and Mrs. Ichinose all indulge in borderline (and in some cases way beyond borderline) cruelty mostly For the Evulz, some of their antics are meant to make Godai stronger or more honest about his feelings toward Kyoko.
Tsundere - Kyoko, who looks like a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, but has a much quicker temper than you'd imagine.
Twinkle Smile - Mitaka has to be the king of this trope. Seemingly hereditary, as his parents, his uncle, and even his dog share the same trait. Godai's grandmother can pull this off as well.
Umbrella Of Togetherness: featured prominently though episode 17.
Unlucky Everydude - Godai
We Named The Monkey Jack - Mr. Soichiro, Kyoko's dog, named for the other Soichiro.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Shun Mitaka is deathly afraid of dogs, making it harder than it should be for him to make passes at dog owner Kyoko. It also makes things pretty awkward when it turns out his fiancee Asuna also has loads and loads of them. Later, when he goes "training" to overcome his fear, it results in some misunderstandings, and even results in him marrying Asuna, in a very roundabout sort of way.
Wise Beyond Their Years - Subverted. Kentaro Ichinose is a perfectly normal kid who nevertheless feels like he has to play parent to his strange, heavy-drinking mother and father.
Yamato Nadeshiko - Asuna Kujo.
Yank the Dog's Chain - Many, many times. Any time Godai seems to come out ahead, he's practically guaranteed to lose it all within the next five minutes. One of the most prominent examples of this would be when Yagami's father writes Godai a recommendation for a job, only for the company to go bankrupt the day after he's hired.
Yandere - Ibuki is a saner version of this towards Godai. (However while she is not a psychopath she is still quite a case of Stalker with a Crush and is still a good reason to have a restraining order.)