Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Maison Ikkoku
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Parsifal24
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For me and this may seems shallow one the things i don't like about a lot of Takahashi's Manga is the character design the characters all look so similar.
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Someone who's done nothing but backslide for 20 years? Really? |
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Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
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I enjoyed Maison Ikkoku quite a lot (and I'd have enjoyed it even more if it had been about 8 volumes shorter) but I don't really rate it a great classic. I mean, even as far as Takahashi's other works go, I much prefer the Rumic World Trilogy and Rumic Theatre collections.
I think part of what stops me loving it the way a lot of other people seem to is that the supporting cast were far more interesting and amusing to me than the central characters. Still, it is a solidly entertaining work - I'd certainly recommend it to anybody who hasn't given it a go yet. Those who are having trouble finding it in the US might want to give amazon.co.uk a try because the British release (from Gollancz Manga) is identical to Viz's second edition (aside from the company logo) and they sell for very little - some are as low as £0.01 each. |
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redcar
 Posts: 172 Location: Texas |
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I remember reading this some time ago and loving it. I was interested to see you compare it to Love Hina, since that actually remains my #1 favorite manga, but Maison Ikkoku is still one of my favorites for similar reasons. It just goes to show that Rumiko Takahashi can write a good story and pleasing ending if she, you know, actually ends it before it goes on forever.
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Wonderful article. Ever since I first started picking up the single issues back in high school, Maison Ikkoku has remained, hands-down, my favorite comic of all time, manga or otherwise. It came along at a perfect time in my life, released at such a schedule that I was just a couple years younger than Godai, and I experienced a life that (cultural differences aside) was frighteningly similar at times. I matured right alongside him, and the book's realism really hit home for me on a personal level. I think you did a great job of selling it, Jason, and I hope more people check it out as it really is a wonderful series.
I agree with the comments about Love Hina as well...that was the book to draw me back into reading manga after a few years of being too broke, and it was that series' "like a wackier version of Maison Ikkoku" that really drew me into it. As a side note, if anyone is interested, a few years ago I conducted an insightful interview with Gerard Jones, who adapted MI (as well as Ranma, UY, and InuYasha) into English to celebrate the completion of the second edition of the series. You can read it here. |
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PingSoni
 Subscriber Posts: 195 Location: Lansing MI |
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Maison Ikkoku is one of the series I spent considerable time and money completing, because I really, really wanted to read the entire thing. It's a great story that should appeal to a wide audience, both for its comedy and its romance aspects.
(The other Viz series I mostly bought used was Please Save My Earth, which is a particular favorite of mine.) There are so many wonderful series that are out of print! Such a shame. |
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ElectricDork
Posts: 73 |
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An interesting read. The decision to have the characters refer to Kyoko by her first name was particularly disappointing, as the subtle nuances of her relationship with Yusaku is lost. And, yeah, the whole "Kyoko-baby" thing. It wasn't until I watched the anime some years later, by which point I was more familiar with honorfics and what have you, that I realized there was any change at all. |
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jgreen
Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Same here. The world of manga was awfully different back in 1993, but the decision to go from last names to first names still strikes me as weird. In college in particular, nearly everyone in my group of friends referred to each other by last name...it's not really that unusual. It's kind of funny that just 3 years later, VIZ was okay with using last names for the anime adaptation. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
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That is interesting to know, because looking at Ranma 1/2, I'd say she's given in on that one. Glad she ended it when it did before it started to feel incredibly dragged on to the levels of "dear lord, please END already!" Anyway, Ranma 1/2 was most certainly one of my first manga, I got into that within 6 months or so after I'd started to get into manga period. Then I decided to check out Maison Ikkoku since it was by the same author and man did they advertise that on the back to no end, and yeah, I was expecting something less grounded in reality, but then I found that I still liked it (despite being in...what, 9th, 10th grade at the time? And expecting more fantasy elements? And not being into romance at the time either?) and I faithfully bought each new volume as it came out. Good times, good times, I have that to thank for why I have volume 8 right now! The irony was that once I'd finished up Maison Ikkoku, I couldn't bear to look at Ranma 1/2 anymore, Maison Ikkoku was a shining jewel and Ranma 1/2 just wasn't up to snuff. In fact I quickly determined, probably even as the series was coming out (2nd edition, mind you) that Maison Ikkoku was my favorite manga of all time, a feat that was only triumphed within the past year and a half or so when I read Banana Fish and was further blown away by that (it's ok, Maison Ikkoku only dropped to being my second favorite manga!) Maison Ikkoku is still probably my most read manga, I started getting it pretty early in my collecting after all and when I had less stuff I know I certainly re-read them far more often. Anway, I've still yet to find any romantic comedy that lives up to Maison Ikkoku in which the comedy is actually funny and happens fairly frequently and the romance is intense and damn near heartbreaking at times. Every other romcom I've read really tends to lean towards either romance or comedy with not as good a blend between them if you ask me, but even then, none of them come close to the level of quality of Maison Ikkoku for some reason, I always recommend it to everyone so that they can see what quite possibly the greatest romcom ever is like, glad it was featured! Despite being what I would no doubt call the best of Takahashi's work, it doesn't seem like the most popular one over in America and that needs to change! |
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zrdb
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I first saw Maison Ikkoku 12 years ago and it immediately became #1 on my list of all time favorite anime series-#2 is Kimagure Orange Road. What makes it so compelling for me is the fact that it's a universal story-love happens in all cultures at all times. Godai might be a whimp and Kyoko might be temperamental-but that's what makes the story so enthralling. I did go on to read the manga just to see how closely the anime and manga tracked each other-very closely-except for the Gilligan's Island chapter. Neeldless to say it's the only Takahashi series that has a satisfying and complete ending. I am always recommending this to anime newbies. Excellent anime and manga-easily Rumiko Takahashi's best.
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kawaiibunny3
 Posts: 534 Location: Houston, Texas |
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great analysis of Maison Ikkoku :3
Before I read MI, I had never really had a favorite manga, but now whenever someone asks me "what's your favorite manga?" Maison Ikkoku is my default response. When I read the last 2 volumes, I was moved for a week. I couldn't do anything without thinking back to it and tearing up. It was weird  but in a good way.
I actually started reading it when I was a sophmore in college, even though it had been coming out since I started middle school and was obsessed with Ranma. I feel bad that I read it so late in my life, but really, maybe it wouldn't have been so powerful to me if I hadn't have read it when I was older? |
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Gilles Poitras
Posts: 476 Location: Oakland California |
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Maison Ikkoku was one of the last Viz manga to be released first as comic books then as a bound volume.
I wandered into Comic Relief in Berkeley a few days after the last issue of the comic book came out. The owner, Rory Root, told me that grown men were looking at it with tears pouring down their faces. When the final volume came out I fully understood why. By the way many of the volumes are still listed in some online shops, The Right Stuf has most of them listed. |
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alpha_beta_angel
Posts: 29 |
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Maison Ikkoku holds a special place in my heart, I'm not even a Rumiko Takahashi fan really but, I remember when I was fresh into manga and how nothing on the market at the time appealed to me, I remember how much I loved it when I read it, how I enjoyed the story again with the 2007 TV drama and how every time I go to my local comic book store I reorder the full collection of volumes that have been on the shelf since 2006, makes me feel a little sentimental to see such a nice series be ignored for the "fight-of-the-week" epically long titles that seem to be the only ones actually shifting off the shelves (I'm actually surprised to hear that Maison Ikkoku is out of print though I still see a full set in my everyday life.)
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Brutannica
Posts: 256 |
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Congratulations, I think this is my favorite 1000 Manga column so far. You really made me want to read Maison Ikkoku. Although I'm a big fan of "Ranma 1/2," not sure if "Maison" can top that.
BTW, I'm a Cal Animage Alpha alum. Good to hear our sister club helped broaden your horizons! (I'm one of the guys who came to your book signing at Comic Relief. Sorry for not responding to your e-mail!) |
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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She's been in the business for 30 years, and has created classics such as Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, and Urusei Yatsura. |
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