Yusaku Godai is a "ronin", a student waiting for his next chance to pass university entrance exams. To make things worse, he lives in a shared rundown apartment called the "Ikkoku Apartment" with a group of inconsiderate and strange neighbours. Despite his best efforts to study and pass, they constantly harass and use his room for partying. With such a horrible place to live in, Godai tries to put in as much determination to leave again but on the same day, a pretty and refined smiling young woman named Kyoko Otononashi moves in as the new manager. Captivated by her beauty he changes his mind and stays. Will twenty-two year old Kyoko be able to manage the the apartment full of troublesome tenants and will she move on from her life as a widow?

This is another series I watched because of the hype but also because it was another show based on one of Rumiko Takahashi's popular Manga of the same name. I really enjoyed Ranma 1/2 so I thought I might like this even though they're of completely different genres. Again it's a mammoth TV series spanning over 90 episodes and, just like another one of her works Urusei Yatsura she used a lot of word play with names too. All the character's names are derived from certain words that matches their personalities such as Godai meaning "five generations" which could be mocking how many years he's been a ronin while, Otonashi can both mean "without a sound" or sound the same as "otto nashi" meaning "without a husband". Then there's always some odd brand name that appears in scenes to mock what's happening.

While most Anime is set in high school, this show has a more mature setting taking place during adulthood. With some of the characters it kind of feels like they were taken out from Urusei Yatsura and placed into Ikkoku-kan. You've got a kid playing grown up, an alcoholic nosy mother who loves gossip and spreading rumours, a scantily-clad woman that can casually walk around in a transparent babydoll top and a mysterious sneaky man that literally breaks into Yukaku's room and constantly exploits him. It's fun watching them mess around but despite being inconsiderate, their indiscriminate stance plays quite a role in spurring the relations on in the show. The only exception is Kyoko who has your "onee-chan (big sister)" personality - a refined older woman who's kind to everyone, takes care of others and finds it hard to say no. She kind of reminds me of Kasumi from Ranma 1/2.

Apart from the tenants the story is quite down to earth and is mostly a slice-of-life. It's told over several years and I feel it does a good job of touching on a variety of emotions other than romance such as loss and fear. The show makes you root for Godai as he falls for Kyoko, learns more about her and works hard to become a better more respectable man so that he can prove his worth to her. However, he often gets sidetracked and that tendancy often costs him when Kyoko joins a tennis club and the smooth talking, rich and charismatic (but cynophobic) Shun Mitaka appears as a rival with his assertive nature. Kyoko on the other hand may seem like a cheery happy woman but dwells on the memories of her late husband and struggles between being honest with her own feelings and moving on from her life as a widow.

The show may start off as a fun romcom but as it goes on, it quite quickly takes on quite a more serious tone. You also start to appreciate the characters more as you see them grow by overcoming challenges while the indecisiveness of Godai and Kyoko leads to many dramatic situations. Some episodes can be quite intense with chains of misunderstandings and missed opportunities occurring (especially once you're half way through the series) where some scenarios are spread out multiple episodes and can leave you thinking, "Nooooo! That can't happen!" It's like tearing hearts apart and then gluing them back together. The show doesn't forget it's supposed to be a romcom so the more bitter scenarios always wrap up with some silliness but they can last so long, it can feel like this show is more a bitter romance sometimes. At the same time, you can also appreciate the reason why the relations are so strong between characters as a result of these trialing moments and it keeps you watching to see how they progress even though it happens at a very slow but natural rate.

Like other shows based on Takahashi's Manga there's partial nudity such as Akemi's revealing outfits and the odd accidents such as groping and barging into a room while a lady's changing but it's extremely rare. Even then, reactions are quite mature instead of your common Anime girl screaming "pervert" and then lashing out or throwing things in a comical way. There's pretty much little to no fan service unlike Ranma 1/2 or Urusei Yatsura (although there are a lot of cameos though). There's your usual hotsprings/beach episodes but they feel a natural part of the changing seasons in the story. While the show is mostly faithful to the original 1980 young adult Manga, it's actually been toned down a lot already. Some scenes were cut or slightly changed as with most Manga based shows so that it was more suitable for broadcasting on prime time TV. In this case there was quite a major change in the build-up towards the ending of the show but the ending is the same and still good.

Theme songs themselves aren't as catchy as Ranma 1/2 but the first OP "Kanashimi yo, Konnichiwa [Hello Sadness]" did grow on me and the lyrics such as "Even though memories may overflow, I won't lose my good cheer. When sadness suddenly comes around, I'll make friends with it" suits Kyoko so well. Some of the OST reminds me of Ranma 1/2 too and I'm actually quite surprised Kenji Kawai composed some of the music for both shows considering he also composed music for shows like Fate/Stay Night... Interestingly enough, Kyoko's voice actress Sumi Shimamoto also did the voice for Ghibli's Nausicaa. Mitaka's voice actor Akira Kamiya also happens to be Ryo Saeba from another popular show, City Hunter. Character designs and animation's good. I think the art is as good as it gets in the days of cel animation and it looks great as it is even though a lot of the character designs resemble Takahashi's past works. Maybe you'll notice re-used animations too such as the train running over Ikkoku-kan at night.

The TV series itself alone wraps up really well but if it's not enough, there's also a movie named "Final Chapter" which is a filler that takes place during the last episode of the series, two days before the big event. There is the introduction of a new tenant while the former ones stir up trouble once again during their pre-celebration party as an old rival returns and Kyoko is anticipating a mysterious letter. It's produced by a different studio so it looks quite different - especially the characters. Animation's quite rough. It kind of fits in but also kind of doesn't considering the atmosphere because in the TV series it felt like a trusting bond was finally forged but then here, it suggests there's still some insecurity. You won't be missing much if you didn't watch this but it might be worth a watch if you want to see some expansion on how the supporting characters ended up the way they did.

If 96 episodes is too much for you, there's always a recap OVA called, "Through The Passing Seasons" that tries to summarise the show in 1.5 hours (missing out the last episode wrap-up). As the title suggests, select scenes from the TV series were taken and divided into four seasons. The choices aren't too bad although I think it missed out a few good and major ones so I'd still recommend just sticking with the full TV series. If you're only interested in the major events you can always watch the following which boils down to around 36 episodes but again, I'd recommend watching the whole series to appreciate what lead to them. Most of these actually appear as part of the recap but there are ones that don't (highlight to see episode numbers) - 1, 8, 9, 12, 14, 23, 24, 30, 31, 39, 40, 42, 45, 48, 52 - 57, 58, 60 - 62, 66, 69, 76, 80, 83 - 86, 89 - 93+

Then there's also an OVA "Shipwrecked on Ikkoku Island" which is based on one of the side stories in a bonus Manga which returns to the show's roots as a romcom so it's simple cliche fun with no bitter drama. You won't miss much not watching it. An OVA named "Prelude: When The Cherry Blossoms Return in Spring" was also released focusing on Kyoko's life with Souichiro before she became a widow. There are live action movies too but I can't comment on those since I haven't watch them.

So the hype about Maison Ikkoku being the best romance show in Anime history is probably right. I don't think any of the other recent shows and movies I've seen such as Orange, Golden Time, Plastic Memories, Girl Who Leapt Through Time, White Album or even (dare I say it) Your Name felt so dramatic. It's not perfect because on certain occasions it feels like the show overuses cliche coincidences but there's probably only so much you can do with a slice-of-life to add drama.

If you're hoping for a pure romance comedy then you'd be better off with a show such as Nodame Cantabile. Otherwise if you're looking for a relatively mature romance/slice-of-life show where you watch characters grow and relations blossom through some heart wrenching moments then, this is it. I wouldn't watch this when you're feeling down though because it can be as viciously bitter as it can be heart warming until the very end. But with that said, there were relatable moments as someone who has been through graduation and job hunting. It kept me watching. With the way it touches on life, it might just make you reflect on your own current goals and appreciate those around you more once you finish the show.