A 22-year-old widow named Kyoko Otonashi becomes the new manager for a broken-down boarding house called Maison Ikkoku. She is a sweet and polite woman, but she also has a frightening side that emerges when she's jealous or has to deal with her parents. She has a dog named Soichiro, whom she has named after her late husband.
Yusaku Godai is a 20-year-old ronin student and resident of Maison Ikkoku, who is studying for his college entrance exams after failing in the first year. He's a nice and handsome guy, but he can also be rather indecisive. Yusaku falls in love with Kyoko at first sight, but he has trouble telling her how he feels.
The other tenants of Maison Ikkoku are a thorn in Yusaku's side, and tend to cause misunderstandings between Kyoko and Yusaku. Yotsuya is Yusaku's mysterious neighbor, who is usually dressed in a business suit; however, no one knows what he does outside of Maison Ikkoku. Yotsuya enjoys mooching off of others, likes peeping on Akemi, and tormenting Yusaku.
Akemi Roppongi is a bar hostess at Cha-Cha Maru. Between working the late-night shift and spending the rest of her night drinking, she often has a sleepy look on her face. Like Yotsuya, she also enjoys tormenting Yusaku.
Hanae Ichinose is a short, middle-aged woman, who also seems to spend quite a bit of her time drinking. She's a gossip, and enjoys helping the tenants torment Yusaku. Her son, Kentaro Ichinose, is a bratty grade schooler. However, he is rather fond of Kyoko, because he sees her as the only other sane person (besides himself, of course).
Kyoko joins a women's tennis team, and starts taking lessons from her coach, the handsome Shun Mitaka. He's wealthy and educated, and works as a ladies' tennis coach because of a love he has for tennis. Shun, who has a reputation as a womanizer, begins courting Kyoko. Kyoko generally likes Shun, but sometimes she feels pressured by him about a relationship. Kyoko finds herself torn between Yusaku and Shun.
Maison Ikkoku is an anime with elements that are more appropriate for an older teen and adult audience. Personally, I would recommend this anime to viewers 16 or 17 years of age and older.
| Maison Ikkoku | 96 | 1986-1988 | Kazuo Yamazaki/Takashi Anno/Naoyuki Yoshinaga | Studio Deen | Viz Media |
| The Final Chapter | N/A | 1988 | Tomomi Mochizuki | Ajia-do Animation Works | N/A |
| Through the Passing Seasons | 1 | 1988 | ? | Kitty Film | N/A |
| Shipwrecked on Ikkoku Island | 1 | 1991 | Kenichi Maejima | Magic Bus/Kitty Film | N/A |
| Prelude: When the Cherry Blossoms Return in the Spring | 1 | 1992 | ? | Kitty Film | N/A |
