List of Maison Ikkoku characters

The following is a list of characters who appear in the manga and anime series "Maison Ikkoku".

Major characters

Kyoko Otonashi

* : Kyoko is a beautiful, 21-year-old (at the beginning of the story) widow who takes on the task of managing a broken-down boarding house. She lives in the manager's room (with no room number, a reference to the 無 in her name meaning zero or null). She is sweet and polite, but she also has a violent, frightening side that emerges when she is jealous - a trait she has in common with other Rumiko Takahashi heroines, e.g., Akane Tendo (from Ranma 1/2), Lum Invader and Shinobu Miyake (from Urusei Yatsura), Sister Angela (from One-Pound Gospel), Kagome Higurashi and Sango (from InuYasha) - or dealing with her meddling parents. She soon develops affection for Yūsaku, and has a tendency to dote over him (the other tenants tease her for acting "like a good wife") and sometimes becomes jealous around him (though she denies it is jealousy). However, it is hard for her to forget about her late husband Soichiro (who died just six months after the wedding), and her memories of her husband sometimes put her in a melancholic mood. Kyoko's love for him is sometimes reflected in dialogues with her dog, who bears the same name as her late husband. While her age (21-5) is young by Western standards, the fact that she is 2 years older than Godai and a widow is one of the many worries she has later on about whether she will be accepted as his fiancée, she was born in 1959.

Yusaku Godai

* "Voiced by:" Issei Futamata (Japanese), Jason Gray-Stanford and Brad Swaile (English) : Yusaku begins as a poor 19-year-old rōnin studying for his college entrance exams after failing in the past year. He eventually gets into a third-tier college (with Kyoko's help). He is kind-hearted and handsome, but indecisive and spacey. Yusaku is often 'played' by the other tenants of Ikkoku, who habitually take advantage of him (e.g. they use his room for frequent drinking binges and steal food from his care packages). He falls in love with Kyoko at first sight, but lacks the courage to tell her how he feels. Instead, he daydreams a lot and does numerous silly things. During the course of the series Yūsaku matures into an honorable man who becomes worthy of Kyoko, as his love for her grows from an infatuation to a lasting and devoted love. He lives in Room 5 ("Go"), he was born in 1961

Other characters

hun Mitaka

* : Shun, in sharp contrast to Yusaku, is wealthy, educated, and hails from an elite family. Mitaka works as a ladies' tennis coach more out of love for the sport than any need for financial support. He would be shockingly revealed to be 31 years old (by his parents, which would mean he was about 25 at the beginning of the series), but nevertheless is remarkably handsome, and his teeth have a trademark sparkle whenever he smiles. Kyoko begins to take tennis lessons from him early in the series, and Shun begins to court her. His biggest obstacle in the beginning is his morbid fear of dogs, which makes it difficult for him to be with Kyoko when her dog, Soichiro is around. While very interested in and devoted to Kyoko, he is very popular with other women (such as Akemi: "Can I have him when you're done with him?") and has something of a reputation as a womanizer, a reputation not entirely undeserved (most of his more grievous actions have innocent explanations, but Shun has admitted to dating many women). Kyoko's mother strongly approves of him as a potential future husband of Kyoko (to Yusaku's chagrin).

: Shun recognizes Yūsaku as a rival for Kyoko's affection (and vice versa) and the two are usually antagonistic towards each other. Shun's actions towards Yūsaku are somewhere between magnanimous and condescending, depending on if Kyoko is around, and he is not above trying to position Kozue as a wedge between Yusaku and Kyoko. But while Shun and Yusaku are rivals, they both share moments where they bond over their mutual frustration over Kyoko's reluctance to fall in love with anyone.

: Kyoko generally likes Shun and regards him as a suitor, but is apprehensive about his forwardness and occasionally feels pressured by him (Shun does not want to force a relationship with her, but will often "bend the rules"). It can be unclear whether Shun is interested more in Kyoko herself or more in "saving" Kyoko from what he sees as a degrading life as a widow in Maison Ikkoku, putting him in the stereotypical role of the "knight in shining armor." Although he is one of the characters who does not live in Ikkoku-kan, his name is representative of the number three, he was born 1955

Yotsuya

* "Voiced by": Shigeru Chiba (Japanese), Gerard Plunkett and Ron Halder (English) : A mysterious man who finds enjoyment in mooching, voyeurism, and generally tormenting his next-door neighbor Yusaku; he is famous for breaking a hole through the adjoining wall in order to be with "young Godai" (and to use Yusaku's room to look into Akemi's). He is usually seen dressed in a business suit, a yukata or similarly formal attire and tends to speak in a very formal manner (even while drinking and partying with Akemi and Mrs. Ichinose), but what life he may have outside of Maison Ikkoku is a complete mystery to everyone. Yotsuya claims to have a job (but is not above stealing Yusaku's food) and comes and goes at odd and changing hours, keeping a schedule known only to himself. He torments Yusaku directly and Kyoko indirectly, as it is her job to repair the damage done by him. He lives in Room 4 ("Yon"). His given name in unknown. He provided more than one given name, including Tamezo and Goro. His true name, like his profession, remains a mystery. "Yotsuya", which means "four valleys" and is the name of a district in Tokyo associated with a famous ghost story."

Akemi Roppongi

* : A boozy bar hostess who is usually known to lounge around wearing skimpy lingerie while hanging around Ikkoku; Mrs. Ichinose occasionally complains when strangers are around, but generally the tenants have gotten used to her ways. She lives in Room 6 ("Roku") and works a short distance away in a bar named Cha-Cha Maru, where the tenants gather to drink when not in Yusaku's room. She is known to let some of the bar's male patrons buy her too many drinks, and often comes home from work drunk. Because she works the late-night shift at the Cha-Cha Maru, and because she spends the rest of the night drinking, she has a constant sleepy look on her face. She is generally aloof towards both Yūsaku and Kyoko, but she is not above joining Mr. Yotsuya in tormenting Yusaku. She will often display a blatant sexual interest in Shun Mitaka when he is around, even though she is fully aware of his interest in Kyoko. Her family name (which means "six trees") is also the name of a Tokyo district infamous for expensive hostess bars Roppongi."

Hanae Ichinose

* "Voiced by:" Kazuyo Aoki (Japanese), Daphne Goldrick and Kathy Morse (English): A short, middle-aged woman who is rarely seen sober. Her wage-slave husband seldom appears in the manga and is completely unknown to the other tenants until he gets temporarily laid off. She enjoys joining in with the other tenants to stir up trouble for Yusaku and Kyoko, but she occasionally acts with good intentions for the two, especially Kyoko, whom she sees as a "younger sister" (willfully ignoring the difference in their ages, as the other tenants point out). However, even when she is acting with the best of intentions, her way of doing things often leave Yūsaku, Kyoko, or both in worse situations than if she had not gotten involved. Mrs. Ichinose is also an incurable gossip who relishes her room's proximity to the communal telephone. She lives with her husband and her son Kentaro in Room 1 ("Ichi").

Kentaro Ichinose

* "Voiced by:" Chika Sakamoto (Japanese), Saffron Henderson and Sharon Alexander (English) : Kentaro begins the story as grade-school-aged brat, generally seen trying to get between his mother and her bottle. Initially, he is antagonistic towards Yusaku, but events soon see him to look upon Yusaku as an "alright guy." He is also very fond of Kyoko, especially because he sees her as the only sane person in the building other than himself. He develops a crush on Kyoko's niece Ikuko, reminding Yusaku of himself, although Kentaro resents the comparison.

Kozue Nanao

* "Voiced by:" Miina Tominaga (Japanese), Rochelle Greenwood and Anna Cummer (English): Kozue is Yusaku's steady date ("girlfriend" may be too strong a word, at least in Yusaku's view) and generally serves as an obstacle for him in his pursuit of Kyoko. Cute, sweet, and a little scatter-brained, she's oblivious to the fact that she is more interested in Yusaku than he is in her, and she does not recognize Kyoko (or later, Ibuki) as competition for his affection. Their relationship starts after Kozue finds Yusaku with a spare movie ticket (originally intended for Kyoko, who had just started dating Shun) and she invites herself along, setting the general tone for their relationship. Yusaku would like to come forward and break things off with Kozue, however he either cannot find the right opportunity to do so without hurting Kozue's feelings deeply (Yusaku's view) or he is unwilling to "be a man" and stand up for himself (Kyoko's view). The situation becomes more complicated after Kozue introduces Yusaku to her family (Yusaku did not know Kozue's plan until they had already arrived at her home), who approve of him and are all too willing to feed the perpetually starving college student.

: Kyoko does not dislike Kozue and always responds to Kozue's genuine friendliness in kind, but Kozue's relationship with Yūsaku does trigger her jealousy (which she would not admit as such) and as a result he always takes pains to keep all mention of Kozue away from Kyoko. Yusaku does find Kozue attractive, and admits to himself that he would have fallen for her if Kyoko was not in the picture, but because of his feelings for Kyoko he strives to maintain some sort of distance from Kozue; his naivety (both feigned and genuine) keeps their relationship platonic. Kozue's family name means "seven tails."

: Another running gag in the series is Yusaku's many attempts to break off with his relationship with Kozue. He imagines putting himself in many degrading situations to make her hate him and break up with him. Ironically, this does happen when Kozue sees Yusaku escorting a very drunk Akemi out of a hotel although it was not Yusaku's intention at the time. Later on, she finds out what really happened and the two of them part ways peacefully, she was born on 1962.

Asuna Kujo

* : A classically demure Japanese maiden from a wealthy family (Kujō family implied), Asuna is pretty, kind-hearted, shy around people and innocent to a fault. Her family and Shun's uncle has arranged a traditional Japanese marriage between she and Shun (against Shun's wishes). In contrast to Shun, Asuna is a dog lover and she is initially attracted to Shun (approving of their engagement) because her many dogs seem to approve of him. Shun would like to end their arranged engagement, but often finds himself unable to, either because of his fear of her dogs or his fear of hurting her feelings (mirroring the situation between Yūsaku and Kozue). Asuna is initially unaware of Shun's feelings for Kyoko, but she is not above pursuing Shun, albeit in her own fashion. :: "Note: Her family name, Kujo, means "Ninth Avenue" in Kyoto, as well as being a homophone for "Cujo", Stephen King's infamous demon dog." She was born in 1964

Ibuki Yagami

* : As a part of his studies, Yusaku was a student-teacher briefly in the high school Ibuki was attending (which was the same school Kyoko attended, where she met Soichiro). Ibuki was at first unimpressed with "that mope" (1st edition of English manga) or "that " (2nd edition), even ridiculing one of her classmates for her short-lived crush on Yusaku. But Ibuki developed her own crush after misinterpreting him as a sort of tragic romantic hero. Even after she spends more time around Yusaku (and possibly learns that her first impression was more accurate), her feelings for him persist even after his tenure at her school ends. Ibuki tends to hatch devious plots that put her together with Yusaku, usually putting him into a compromising situation. Yusaku is not interested in her, but is a pushover about it as always, and Ibuki refuses to be denied.

:Kyōko at first lets Ibuki play out what Kyoko sees as a simple schoolgirl crush, even acting on occasion to "protect Ibuki from Yusaku," but eventually sides with him when it becomes clear that he is the one that needs protection. After getting to know Ibuki, Kyoko realizes that Ibuki is much more brazen about her feelings than she ever was with Soichiro. But Kyoko is continually frustrated with what she perceives as Yūsaku's unwillingness to assert himself, as with Kozue. Also, she cannot help but feel jealous, but then feels mortified for being jealous of a high school girl.

:Ibuki, on the other hand, initially sees Kyoko as a role model for getting married to her own high school teacher, but later comes to recognize "that widow" as a rival for Yusaku's affections and often confronts her, she even pushes Kyoko to admit her love for Yūsaku, and calls her a coward when she refuses to do so.

:It can be difficult to determine whether Ibuki is more interested in Yusaku himself or in what she perceives as the tragic romance of their situation. In some ways, Ibuki's affection for Yusaku is similar to Shun's affection for Kyoko - Ibuki, like Shun, hails from a wealthy, elite family, and seems motivated in part by a romantic notion of rescuing Yusaku from a lower-class life. Ibuki's family name means "eight gods." She was born in 1967

Minor characters

oichiro Otonashi

*: Kyoko's late husband. Kyoko and Soichiro met during high school when she was a student there and he was a temporary teacher. They eventually married, albeit with great opposition from Kyoko's family. Soichiro died of an unspecified cause (accident is implied), leaving Kyoko a very young widow. As a running gag, his face is never shown in the series (usually to Yūsaku's frustration), always either in shadow or otherwise obscured in photographs. Soichiro's family, especially his father, is still very close to Kyoko, who still holds on to the Otonashi family name. Kyoko named her pet dog "Soichiro" after her late husband. The name Otonashi translates literally as "Without sound", and Sōichirō literally, as "All one", and means "most important", he was born in 1952.

Mr. Ichinose

* : Hanae Ichinose's husband. He only appears occasionally in the series. He is a hard-working salaryman.

Ikuko Otonashi

* : Kyoko's young niece from her marriage to Soichiro. On a visit to Maison Ikkoku, Ikuko meets Yusaku and quickly becomes fond of him. Ikuko insists that Yusaku becomes her tutor as she approaches entry into high school, though it seems she is more interested in goofing off with him rather than actually studying. Kyoko initially tries to dissuade Ikuko and later tends to hover when the two are together, hoping to keep Yusaku from corrupting Ikuko with his lazy habits, although it is usually Ikuko who steers conversation away from her studies and more towards gossip. Tutoring Ikuko becomes Yusaku's first steady source of income as well as his first major attempt to demonstrate his maturity and reliability to Kyoko. Ikuko's mother, voiced by Atsuko Mine, makes several appearances throughout the series.

Nozomu Nikaido

* : Originally intending to move into an upscale establishment called "Rikkoku-kan" ("Rikkoku" in the Viz translation), a typographical error on the lease papers brings him to Maison Ikkoku relatively late into the story as an accidental tenant. He led a relatively sheltered life before entering the story, and he moved into Maison Ikkoku as he started college against the wishes of his protective mother. Nozomu initially strikes Kyoko as a very well-mannered boy, while most other tenants see him as a "sheltered mama's boy." Aside from his long-running vendetta against Yotsuya (Nozomu retaliates to Yotsuya's invasions, in contrast to Yusaku), he is known for being incredibly dense ("I don't get it") and is totally oblivious to the situation between Yusaku, Kyoko, and their respective love triangles. He moves into the long-empty apartment 2. He was born in 1966:: "Note: Nozomu only appears in the manga and the movie. His lines are largely given to Yotsuya or Kentaro in the TV series."

Master of Cha-Cha Maru

* : Akemi's boss (no name is given other than "Master"). Initially an incidental character when the tenants of Maison Ikkoku go someplace other than Yusaku's room to drink, he is often seen complaining when the tenants are trashing the furniture, scaring away other patrons, or specifically when Akemi seems to be taking her own drinks rather than serving them to others. Later, the owner occasionally acts as the voice of reason, all too often being the only sober person in the room when something important happens, whether the other characters are either drunk on alcohol (Akemi, Mrs. Ichinose, Yotsuya), their own strong emotions (Kyoko and Yusaku), or a mixture of the two. He tolerates Akemi's obvious incompetence as a waitress because his feelings for her are more than just that of a boss to an employee. At the end of the series, he tells Akemi that he has just gotten divorced and proposes to her, thus finally marrying Akemi.

akamoto

* : Yusaku's friend and drinking buddy (usually at Sakamoto's insistence) from school. Sakamoto has his own woman troubles, though in contrast to Yūsaku his difficulty is finding the right one. Sakamoto occasionally offers Yūsaku a roof to live under when situations temporarily force him out of Maison Ikkoku, and even has a word or two of insight on love for Yūsaku, but more often than not the nights the two spend drinking together (often to lament that Sakamoto got dumped again) get Yusaku in trouble with Kyoko for one reason or another.

Yukari Godai

* : Yusaku's grandmother. She usually lives with Yūsaku's parents out in the country in the Godai family restaurant, but she occasionally comes to visit her favorite grandson in Tokyo (though Yusaku would rather prefer she didn't). Akemi, Mrs. Ichinose and Yotsuya love when she visits as she always joins them in their drinking, however "Grandma" Godai does not torment Yusaku in quite the same way. She truly cares for her grandson, recognizes his situation with Kyoko, and her schemes are ultimately constructive for the two of them (and, in contrast to Mrs. Ichinose, she's far more successful at it).

Chigusa family

* "Mr. Chigusa voiced by:" Kosei Tomita (Japanese), Robert O. Smith (English)
* "Ritsuko Chigusa voiced by:" Minori Matsushima (Japanese), Kathleen Barr (English) : Kyōko's parents. Initially against Kyoko's marriage to Soichiro, they (especially her mother, Ritsuko) wish to see their daughter continue her life, preferably remarrying. Ritsuko is quite taken with Shun and sees him as a suitable husband for her daughter, while Kyoko's father sees the handsome Shun as a potential womanizer who will only break his "little girl's" heart. Neither of them seem to notice Yūsaku's existence (their inability to remember his name is used as a running gag), let alone the bond both he and Kyoko share, and their obsession with Shun only frustrates Yūsaku. However, later on Ritsuko showed some support for Godai since she just wanted Kyoko to re-marry, and that at the time Shun was no longer an option to Kyoko (Shun had married Asuna). Both Ritsuko and Kyoko tend to address Mr. Chigusa as "Daddy" or "Father."

Mr. Otonashi

* :The owner of Maison Ikkoku, Soichiro's father and Kyoko's former father-in-law. A kind-hearted man who loves Kyoko like a daughter and later helps Yūsaku get a temporary teaching job. Although very little is known about Soichiro, one can get a sense of his warm personality by his father.

ayako Kuroki

* "Voiced by:" Saeko Shimazu (TV) and Yoshiko Sakakibara (movie). : One of Yusaku's college classmates, Sayako recruits him to join the schools puppet theater club. Sayako becomes more important later in the series when she helps Yūsaku get a part-time job at the pre-school she works at, setting him towards his final career goal. (In the anime, it is Kozue who gets Yūsaku the pre-school job.) Sayako eventually marries the former president of the puppet theater club, who she was involved with for a long time, although it is never mentioned until she becomes engaged.

Iioka

*"Voiced by:" Kei Tomiyama:The manager at Bunny Cabaret, and one of Sakamoto's friends. He is introduced when Sakamoto and Godai have a party at the cabaret and don't have enough money to pay off their tab. Iioka lets them work it off, and later offers Godai the "Welfare Director" job taking care of the children of the bunny girls at the cabaret. He looks like a tough guy, and gives Godai a lot of (questionable) advice regarding his relationships with Kyoko, Kozue, and Yagami.

Zenzaburo Mitsukoshi

* : An original character for the anime (does not appear in the manga). His exact intentions are left vague, but he appears to have been investigating Maison Ikkoku for a real estate development company wanting to buy it and build a new apartment complex on the ground. He decides that he likes the people living there, and ends his relationship with the development company. He stays in room 3 while living at Maison Ikkoku, and his name is the same as the large department store chain Mitsukoshi. The "Mitsu" in his name means "three".

Mrs. Kamiogi

*"Voiced by:" Toshiko Sawada:Godai's mentor while he's teaching at Yagami's school. She was also one of Kyoko's teachers when she attended the school, and is the current principal of the school.

Haruka Godai

: The daughter of Yusaku and Kyoko. Seen at the very end of the series when they have returned from the hospital and Kyoko shows Haruka Maison Ikkoku, the place "where Mommy and Daddy first met." She was born in 1987.

Moe and Mei Mitaka

: The twin daughters of Shun and Asuna. They are seen at the very end of the series. In the manga they are shown having just grown in their first teeth, which sparkle just like their father's. In the anime they are gathered with their parents for a family photo.

oichiro

*: A large, white, "mangy" dog, found as a stray by Soichiro Otonashi. He was originally named "Shiro" ("Whitey"), but he only responds to the name "Soichiro" and so Kyoko insists on calling him "Soichiro" in memory of her husband. Other than providing comic relief, he serves to remind both Kyoko and Yusaku of the man he was named after, and serves as a foil to Shun Mitaka. Kentaro enjoys playing with him and considers him his pet. In Ranma ½, volume 7, page 158, Soichiro's name appears on a box saying "Please take me home. My name is Soichiro" while Happosai is hiding under it.

McEnroe

nihongo|マッケンロー|"Makkenrō". : Shun's Pomeranian, which he bought to help himself get over his fear of dogs. His name refers to tennis legend John McEnroe.

alad

nihongo|サラダ|"Sarada". : Asuna's Pomeranian, one of her many pet dogs. Salad later gave birth to a litter of puppies after being impregnated by McEnroe. A misunderstanding takes place, prompting Shun to propose to Asuna.

Minor roles note

Megumi Hayashibara made her seiyū debut playing many different minor roles throughout the series.