Maison Ikkoku, Vol. 15 [Paperback]

Rumiko Takahashi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

From the creator of RANMA 1/2 and INUYASHA comes one of Rumiko Takahashi's most beloved series, the romantic (sort of) comedy MAISON IKKOKU, re-presented in a second edition in its original episodic order, with a "missing" episode! Take a trip down memory lane back into Japan's nuttiest apartment house and meet its volatile inhabitants: Kyoko, the beautiful and mysterious new apartment manager; Yusaku, the exam-addled college student; Mrs. Ichinose, the drunken gossip; Kentaro, her bratty son; Akemi, the boozy bar hostess who runs around the house in flimsy lingerie; and the mooching and peeping Mr. Yotsuya.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author and artist Rumiko Takahashi, the world's most popular and prolific female manga creator, has a large, devoted international fan base. Over 100 million copies of her work, such as URUSEI YATSURA, MAISON IKKOKU, RANMA 1/2 and MERMAID SCAR, have been sold worldwide. Takahashi's works have been the basis for four long-running animated series and over eight animated movies.

Other Rumiko Takahashi series available from VIZ

· Inuyasha - anime, manga and ani-manga

· Maison Ikkoku - anime and manga

· Mermaid Scar - manga

· Ranma 1/2 - anime and manga

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 2nd edition (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421502798
• ISBN-13: 978-1421502793
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > By Creator > Takahashi, Rumiko

More About the Author

The spotlight on Rumiko Takahashi's career began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan's annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another--Maison Ikkoku ran from 1980 to 1987, Ranma 1/2 from 1987 to 1996, and Inuyasha from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include Mermaid Saga, Rumic Theater, and One-Pound Gospel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all comes to a close..., February 27, 2006

By 

N. S. Michael (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maison Ikkoku, Vol. 15 (Paperback)

Well, this it it, folks... the last volume of Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku, 2nd Edition. It's kind of odd to think of it as "finally" happening since the volumes were released in the 1990's in the then-standard American printing of left to right, but there's something special about the Editor's Choice editions that release the series in Japanese standard right to left... I don't know quite how to explain it.

Anyways, Volume 14 left us with Yusaku standing face to face with a forlorn looking Kozue, himself just having come from a semi-sucessful, mostly depressing visit to a love hotel with Kyoko. Misunderstandings put a damper on the conversation until Yusaku finally admits CLEARLY what and for whom his true feelings are for.

From there, all that's left is for him to convince Kyoko of his feelings, convince her parents, etc., etc..... Basically wrapping up mostly all the lose ends with various cameos and brief conversations leading to the penulitmate event in his live (and I say "penultimate" for a reason given in the last pages), marriage.

Really, there are no surprises here, just some well-loved closure and peeks at Japanese marriage customs. Buy it, cry a little at the more poignant spots, and enjoy the conclusion to a much beloved Romance-Comedy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Need some warmth? Read this rom-com classic., June 18, 2009

By 

Aion (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maison Ikkoku, Vol. 15 (Paperback)

Maison Ikkoku. The name of the popular romantic comedy (rom-com) that started its serialization back in 1980. Its success caused there to be a flood of manga out there about a college loser falling in love with the girl of his dreams and, after many oh-so-comical hardships, getting his girl. By todays standards, if it were to be released it would be something that nearly everyone has seen already, but you have to go into the series understanding that Maison Ikkoku is the reason all those college romantic comedies were created in the first place.

The story is about a group of individuals who live at a boarding house, the boarding house being called Maison Ikkoku. Kyoko Otonashi, a 22 year old widow still trying to come to terms with the death of her husband, moves into Maison Ikkoku as the manager in an attempt to take her mind off her problems. One of her the tenants, Yusaku Godai, was just about to leave in order to find a more peaceful study environment when she walked into the building. He was quick to change his mind about escaping once he looked at her and fell in love at first sight. But, as Godai soon discovered, winning the heart of a woman still in love with her dead husband isn't an easy task...

How to a rate a series that's so heart-warming yet has many bothersome flaws. Reading the series filled me with a warmth I haven't felt since I read Love Hina, another rom-com that copied a lot from Maison and improved a lot. But, during the middle sections of the story in particular, nothing advanced at all in 80% of the chapters. In fact, because the main characters were so indecisive, it took six years for four people to sort out relationship issues that could, and should, have been sorted out in under half the time.

...But I'm not going to get into the negative right from the get-go. That would give readers the wrong impression about the series. I have a habit of going on forever about the negative when something irks me, even when I actually like what I'm talking about. And as you'll see as you read on, that's true in the case of Maison Ikkoku.

Even though Maison Ikkoku may appear to be more of the same to fairly experienced manga readers because many people have seen a rom-com involving college by now, before going into the series you have to understand that it started its serialization back in 1980 - we're now in 2009 and it has been copied to death. And even by todays standards, Maison Ikkoku is still a worthy rival for any other rom-com in existence, it being far more funny and touching than a lot of attempts that have been made at copying it.

Mainson Ikkoku, despite its age, has something many rom-com stories lack: charm and respectability. In this day and age, it's rare to see a comedy manga that doesn't involve much nudity/panty shots - it's almost a requirement these days. But, to its credit, Maison Ikkoku isn't like that, and that adds a mature feel to the relationships of the character that just isn't there in most of the perverse rubbish that's out there. That's why it felt so special when, after over 130 chapters, Godai and Kyoko finally did the deed, touching each other and being intimate for the first time. It's difficult to feel the same way in other rom-coms where the male lead has already felt up and seen the female lead naked in every other chapter.

The charm and general fun vibe the story has carries it when the chapters come across as fillerish. I was able to keep reading without needing breaks because of this. It can become a frustrating experience if you're the sort of person who doesn't like the idea of seeing the development of a relationship stretched to the limit for comedy purposes (I fall into this category myself), but it's undeniable that Maison Ikkoku is incredibly fun to read. I think, somewhere deep inside us, we all have a part of us that wants to see two people fall in love and be happy together, and if the two in question can manage that after providing lots of laughter then all the better.

As for the art, it looks a little old by todays standards, and Rumiko Takahashi (the author/artist) did become a little sloppy during the less important sections, like just about every manga artist tends to, but Takahashi was able to express the characters emotions so well that I didn't care about the minor issues. For example, when Kyoko went into a jealous rage, giving Godai the 'evil eye' and stomping around, I felt her emotions reach out from the page and have an impact on me. It isn't often that black and white manga panels make me feel that way. Takahashi's loved as much as she is for good reason.

Now, I'm going to cover the characters. All my negative points are connected to the characters because Maison Ikkoku is a character driven story with no real main plot thread - the characters push the plot forward rather than the plot forcing the characters onwards. That's not to say there are more negative points than positive ones - that's not true at all - but I'm going to focus on the negative since the flaws annoyed me.

Godai: Quite possibly the most spineless main character ever. I liked him for being a kind-hearted guy, just like I like other male rom-com leads, but he REALLY pissed me off. How on earth can a grown man take six years to get it on with a woman when he's lived with her all that time, well aware of her feelings for him? All he needed to do was stop being such a wimp. It took another character upsetting Kyoko to FINALLY drive him to confessing all to her. If not for him being such a wimp/the author wanting more money, what happened in the last 20 chapters would've occurred around 62 chapters earlier.

The worst thing about it all was that he did nothing even though he had a serious rival in the form of Mitaka. Instead of being a man, he let Mitaka drive around with and grope Kyoko, risking losing her because he couldn't bring himself to do anything. If not for Kyoko being unlucky and later not jumping at the chance to marry Mitaka, Godai would've lost Kyoko. How pathetic does a lead character have to be for him to win the battle for his love because his rival was forced to throw the towel in due to a misunderstanding!?

I ended up feeling happy for Godai because he was a good person who had a lot go wrong for him. It was hard to hate him when, despite his lack of backbone, he truly loved Kyoko and wanted to make her happy. But I would've liked him a hell of a lot more if there had been less chapters and he'd been more of a man.

Kyoko: I'm not sure which of the two leads frustrated me off more. Godai's hard to beat in the spineless rankings but Kyoko sure gave him a run for his money.

For six years she made two men fight over her. Of course, it was their choice to do so, but she never truly rejected either and was always quick to jump at the chance of going out when Mitaka called her. At first it was understandable because she was still in love with her deceased husband and didn't know either Godai or Mitaka very well, but as the years passed the logic behind her stringing both along became less and less respectable. The truth is, she was as spineless as Godai - they were made for each other.

What really got to me about her was how jealous she got over Godai seeing other girls. How could she act how she did when she let Mitaka take her out and feel her up constantly? She was a complete hypocrite. I know human relationships and women don't always follow logic but, nonetheless, she still got to me with her mood swings sometimes. At least, in the end, she started to reject the advances of Mitaka...even if she did still let him drive her around and didn't ever completely reject him.

I must confess to feeling fond of her, despite what I said above. She's one of the few female characters I've seen in manga/anime who didn't cheapen herself by wearing revealing clothes and throwing herself at men. She valued herself and wanted to remain faithful to her dead husband. I liked how Godai described her as a woman who burned with jealousy, yet was perfect in his eyes when she smiled. It's too bad times have changed and it's almost unnatural to see a woman worth chasing after in stories these days...

Mitaka: The stud. The tennis coach. The rich guy. The rival for Kyoko's affections.

Since the story was told from Godai's perspective and, from start to finish, he was the underdog, I naturally felt some level of hostility towards him. That's what the author intended; that's why he was made so perfect. But I didn't truly dislike him. At heart he was a good guy and, in the end, he was toyed with for six years by Kyoko before circumstances forced him out of the race for her. He put his love life on hold for her and suffered because Kyoko wasn't able to be honest about her feelings - I couldn't help but feel at least a little bit sorry for him.

If there's one good thing that Mitaka injected into Maison Ikkoku it was humour. His irrational fear of dogs got the most laughs out of me, sometimes even making me laugh out loud. The image of him, a well-built guy, looking around a corner in fear at a puppy, which he'd bought in an attempt to free himself of his fear, will stay with me for a long time. I never thought something so simple could make me laugh so much.

Putting aside my feelings for the three most important characters, my main criticism lies with the heart of the supporting cast, or rather how the author wasted those three characters. Yotsuya, the snake-like voyeur who sneaks into Godai's room via a hole in the wall, stealing food most of the time, was my favourite character until he began to fade as the series went on; Akemi, the bar hostess/prostitute who enjoys walking around Maison Ikkoku in a see-through top and no bra and the sluttish character every harem type needs and... Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartwarming saga that resonates so strongly with the ups and downs with real life, April 3, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maison Ikkoku, Vol. 15 (Paperback)

Now available on in an "editor's choice" reprint edition with a new cover, the fifteenth and final volume Maison Ikkoku concludes the slice-of-life romance between Godai and Kyoko, with a thoroughly satisfying wrap-up of their story as well as that of their rambunctious, out-of-control neighbors. Though the issues of love, relationships, and responsibility take the dramatic center stage, the situation comedy elements are neither gone nor forgotten; the well-known "goddess of manga" Rumiko Takahashi pens Maison Ikkoku's finale with her usual flair for wit and insight. Maison Ikkoku carries the highest possible recommendation, as a heartwarming saga that resonates so strongly with the ups and downs with real life that it is worth rereading again and again.