As I'm the first to give this review some love, I have to admit it's simple but nice. Good job.
Maison Ikkoku tv Review
Maison Ikkoku is a romantic story set in modern Tokyo. Its two main protagonists are Yusaku Godai, the classic student with many life problems and Kyoko Otonashi, a young widow and the new administrator of Ikkoku Mansion. Others are the weird but still realistic guests of Ikkoku kan (house): the mysterious Yotsuya, and Akemi Roppongi, a young girl who tends to walk around the house semi-naked. The story plays on the slowly developing love between Yusaku and Kyoko, as well as the hurdles they face along the way.
Story & Characters
This was one of the best romance animations I have ever watched and there were times where tears just rolled down my cheeks. This anime is, to me, the best romance animation I have seen so far. Consisting of 96 episodes, 2 OVA’s and a movie which they call episode 95.5, the story is very beautifully rounded up considering the animations out there today where some simply end badly or unclearly, this anime really stands out in story plot. An animation released in the early 1980’s this animation has a more 80’s feel of Japan when it was not er…so wild and sophisticated. However if you are the kind who does not like romance and humor I suggest not watching it. The story plots are quite shallow especially in the beginning and early middle but start to become very deep and serious afterwards. Unfortunately it can get quite draggy in the middle of the story since our main lead character is a gutless worm whom does not dare to confess his love. What makes the story so interesting is the many twists, turns and misunderstandings it has. The female lead character, Kyoko has been commented by many reviewers as the most realistic woman ever shown in an animation ever which, is not something to sneeze at. The story starts off with a Godai the main character falling in love at first sight for Kyoko the Inn keeper. Most of the characters are developed fairly well but the focus is really on about four to five characters since some of the people who stay in the Inn are…pretty mysterious. If you are the kind of person who likes deep plots, romances like pure love and light humor, WATCH THIS ANIMATION. You won’t regret it. After I watched it I told myself “Thank God I watched this animation while I was still alive� How wrong can you go with a comment like that?
Rating:
Art
Being quite an old animation, the graphics were not too great and animation was simple and sometimes quite horrendous. Especially during the beginning of the animation. However as the episodes progressed, the graphics also improved little by little. This is also true for the comic. Please also take note that there are a few slight changes between the animation and the comic. However I recommend you to watch this animation for the story not the graphics. The graphics are normal and in this kind of age can be considered mediocre. The backgrounds are simple and the drawing style is not very good considering the age of the animation. It is however acceptable to say that it was pretty good for the 1980’s.
Rating:
Sound
While sound may not be very good again due to the fact that this animation is as old as me which is about 21 years old, the amount of songs this animation has is overwhelming. I do not know how many there are but the entire soundtrack is about 8 discs long has several openings and ending themes which are pretty old fashioned but give a very comfortable feel. The music simply fits the animation like pen and paper. As preference my favorite opening is the first one ‘Kanashimi yo konnichiwa’ which means hello sadness. I have watched this animation since I was twelve years old and I still like it today. It’s old fashioned catchy tune still rings in my head today.
Rating:
Presentation
The animation was quite original with the female lead character starting the animation as a young widow with a tragic past and the male lead character as a retainee living in an Inn with a bunch of crazy alcoholics who party everynight IN HIS ROOM. The anime gives a very warm and family feel and I really enjoyed watching the main character, Godai try to chase his alcoholic Inn mates out of his room in his pursuit to win the woman of his dreams. The humor is very good too since his Inn mates always use him as a scapegoat and ‘torture’ him whenever they have the opportunity and the fact that there are so many misunderstandings give the humor and romance a very friendly but yet fresh touch to the story. Also his next door roommate actually has a ‘Special Entrance’ into Godai’s room making this animation extremely hilarious at the beginning. With a aggressive high schooler falling in love with Godai, this animation is pretty original for it’s era. The characters in this animation go through many different ‘trials’ and activities making this animation’s enjoyability level considerably high. For example the heart broken travel around Japan. The story gets more enjoyable to watch when a strong love rival appears in the story to give Godai a little push. It also gets more interesting when viewers find out that Godai seems to already have a girlfriend… I will not say more. It will spoil the story. Again for reminders, watch it if you love romance animations. You won’t regret it.
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.8333 (good)
Reviewed by riceblade, Feb 23, 2005
Comments
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UberDog Mar 23, 2015
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