Maison Ikkoku

Yusaku Godai is fed-up with life as a ronin and his horrible housemates, namely loud and brash Mrs. Ichinose, her bratty son Kentaro, sexy Akemi Roppongi, and the mysterious Yotsuya. As he finally packs his bags and heads for the door he meets Maison Ikkoku's new manager...Kyoko Otonashi. Its love at first sight for Godai, so he toughs it out in order to get to meet the gorgeous new manager a bit better.

Godai decides that since its Kyoko's first Christmas at Maison Ikkoku, this would be a great opportunity to buy her a present and tell her how he feels. As will become the norm, he chickens out when the Ichinose's arrive. Meanwhile, he learns from Akemi that Kyoko is already seeing someone and these suspicions are confirmed when he finds a sleeping Kyoko mention someone named ""Soichiro"" on the roof.

With his entrance exams bearing down on him, Godai just can't seem to focus. Kyoko decides its up to her to stop the other tenants from interrupting his studies, but what she doesn't know is that Godai's thoughts slip everytime she's in the room. And just as things are about to settle down...the power goes out. Kyoko's determined to fix the problem and Godai offers his help, but is he really trying to be a good tenant, or does he want Kyoko all alone in the attic?

Test time has finally arrived for Godai. As he does all the last minute cramming he can get away with Yotsuya, Ichinose, and Akemi take bets on which school's will reject him. Kyoko does her best to keep them out of Godai's way, but it doesn't do any good. As Godai heads off to take his tests, he misinterprets Kyoko's words of encouragement as a sign of affection, and can't stop thinking about it long enough to do well on a single test. With only one school left, Godai faces another year as a ronin, or overcoming all his distractions to become a full-fleged college student.

Godai's grandmother arrives to inform Godai that if he doesn't get into a college, his family will no longer let him stay in Tokyo. Godai does his best to hide from her, but with Kyoko's help they finally track him down, just in time to realize he's going to get to go to college.

The secret sadness that Kyoko has kept hidden for so long is finally revealed as Godai realizes that Kyoko is a widow. Visiting Soichiro's grave, Godai asks for whom he is offering incense ad realizes that it is Kyoko's late husband. Afterwards, as the two of them walk home, Godai can't help but feel that he has no chance to win Kyoko's heart from a dead man.

Kentaro offers to walk Soichiro for Kyoko, but ends up losing him. Kyoko tries her best to reassure Kentaro that Soichiro will find his way home, but in reality she is terrified of never seeing him again. She remembers the day that she and her husband first brought Soichiro home, and how he wouldn't answer to any other name. All the tenants do their best to find the missing dog, and after many false hopes, begin to give up. Finally, Godai finds him at the house of a family a few blocks away and returns him to a greatful and shocked Kyoko.

The tenants are shocked when they begin seeing a mystery man leaving Maison Ikkoku. Soon enough they realize that he is none other than Kentaro's father, Mr. Ichinose! After losing his job, Mr. Ichinose begins having trouble finding a new one, meanwhile Kentaro has a parent/child sports meet at his elementary school, but is too embarassed to ask his overweight, alcoholic mother, and recently unemployed father to come, so instead he asks Godai and Kyoko to come as his sister and her husband. Godai is all to happy to accept, but Kyoko feels guilty. Yotsuya finally tells Mr. Ichinose what Kentaro has planned, and the Ichinose's decide to not only compete, but win the three-legged race.

All the Maison Ikkoku tenants visit a local Fall Festival and Godai and Kyoko even decide to take part in it. A misunderstanding leads to Kyoko falling down a very deep well. Before long Godai realizes that Yotsuya was mainly responsible for the mishap, but when he goes to save her, he gets pulled in as well. Soon Yotsuya drops by but instead of helping, he uses the well in order to partake of his favorite hobby, voyeurism. After he leaves Yotsuya brings Mitaka to the well, but for reasons only known to him, he decides to push him in with Godai and Kyoko. Now a new problem has risen its ugly head...who will help Kyoko get out, and who will stay stuck at the bottom of the well? Soon enough a frightened Kozue climbs down into the well to hide from some locals dressed as monsters, Akemi jumps in to visit with Mitaka, Sakamoto hops in for a visit, Yotsuya returns to join in the fun, and Ichinose drunkenly dives in too! Can Kentaro save everyone else?

Rumors of a wedding between Mitaka and Kyoko are flying, leaving the tenants depressed that they've been kept in the dark. Godai finally decides to confront Kyoko, but a passing train leaves out a key detail, its Mitaka's Sister who is getting married, not Mitaka and Kyoko. A tearful Godai quickly packs up all his things and moves out of Maison Ikkoku before Kyoko can stop him. He finds a new apartment above Galaxy Pachinko and is shocked to find an incredibly sexy girl named Ayako already living there. He finally decides that it won't be too bad living with her until she can find a new place, that is until her Yakuza boyfriend shows up and makes this comfy couple into a terrible three-some. Kyoko is of course too proud to find Godai and tell him what's really going on, but even if she wanted to she couldn't, that is until the movers arrive for Godai's furniture. Getting the address from them, Kyoko visits Godai's new apartment to deliver a package, but instead finds only a half-dresse

Kyoko learns that Godai is living with a woman, and thinks that this is the real reason he left. Godai comes back to the apartment and learns that the Yakuza has pawned all his belongings so that he can have money to gamble. After they refuse to move out, Godai hits the streets in hopes of finding a friend he can stay with. He calls Maison Ikkoku, but a dejected Kyoko lies and tells him all the rooms are full. After walking around all night and not finding a place to sleep, he begins to get really sick. Finally stumbling his way back to Maison Ikkoku, the other tenants see him and chance after him, Kyoko finally grabs him and tells him to come home.

Yotsuya entrusts a mysterious egg to Godai in the middle of the night, before mysteriously leaving Maison Ikkoku. The next morning everyone rushes in to Room 5 as they hear Godai's screams of terror. He thought the whole meeting between he and Yotsuya had been nothing more than a strange dream. When he tells everyone what happened, Kyoko and Ichinose are instantly flummoxed about what Yotsuya could possibly want Godai to do with the egg. Should he eat it, or protect it? Akemi decides to steal the egg and feed it to Soichiro, but Kyoko manages to snatch it back just in time. Over the next few days, Kentaro and Akemi both try stealing the egg, Godai worries over what to do before Yotsuya returns, a strange habit of Mrs. Ichinose's is revealed, and Kyoko becomes obessesed with trying to find out how to tell a hard-boiled egg from a raw egg without breaking it open.

This episode marks the first appearance of Ibuki Yagami. As a college co-op, Godai has entered a student teacher's program. For the next two weeks he'll be teaching at an all-girls high school which he discovers is the very same school that Kyoko attended and where she met her husband Soichiro. Godai has a rough start since he's so weak-willed that he has difficulty controlling the students. The class representative Yagami helps him out, but comes to think of him as just another wimp. During a break, Godai gets an idea to find the old yearbooks to finally discover what Soichiro looked like, but of course he has no luck. Yagami spies on him and in typical schoolgirl fashion, she romanticizes the situation and comes to believe that he's suffering over the death of an old girlfriend that attended this school. Now she's suddenly developed a crush on Godai. At the end of the day she paints her hand and slaps Godai on the back, imprinting a red heart on his shirt (an old schoolgirl prank). T

Even in the middle of a lesson, Yagami is trying her best to corner Godai and get him to reveal his feelings towards Kyoko. His supervisor Kamiogi-sensei is wise to the situation and warns Godai not take Yagami's advances seriously. Godai of course has no intention to reciprocate. Under the guise of discussing the distribution of clean-up duties, Yagami gets Godai alone and tries to kiss him. She's almost caught, so instead Yagami gives Godai a journal supposedly outlining the classroom duties. On the way home he runs into Kozue who sets his mind at ease that these high school crushes are usually just a phase. When he gets back to Ikkoku-kan Kyoko nonchalantly brings up the subject of Yagami, but Godai gets defensive, which kind of stuns Kyoko. In his room he settles in and opens the notebook Yagami handed him. Inside the words ""suki desu"" (I love you) are written on every page. Of course Yotsuya, Ichinose and Akemi all find out and tease him about it. The three of them later set up a

Ever since what happened last time, Yagami hasn't been able to get close to Godai with her homeroom teacher keeping an eye on her. With only two days left before Godai's student teaching stint ends, she's almost out of time. Yagami inquires to Kamiogi-sensei about Kyoko and learns that she too was in love with a student teacher at the school and ended up marrying him. This gives Yagami added impetus realizing that it is possible to make it work. She invites herself and her friends to Godai's place the next day as an informal good-bye. Kyoko wants to help but Yagami becomes really possessive. Kyoko starts catching on to how aggressive this girl is. In Godai's room, Yotsuya greets the high school girls wearing a white tuxedo. After a lively time, the Ikkoku-kan gang see the girls off. The realize a bit later that Yagami hasn't gone with them. Apparently she plans to sleep over. Godai tries to get her to leave but she isn't budging. She tries whatever tactic she can to stall until after t

Yagami and Godai leave for school together, and arrive arm in arm, much to Godai's chagrin. The other students begin to quiz her on the previous night's activities, asking if she and Godai really slept together. But its actually Godai's last day of student teaching, and his nightmare is almost over. Yagami becomes flustered when she walks into her classroom to find a message for her and Godai on the blackboard. The constant teasing by her classmates is more than she can take, and so, while delivering the student evaluations to Godai, she tells him that she is over him. Meanwhile at the tennis club, Mitaka asks Mrs. Ichinose about Yagami and gets all the latest gossip about how angry Kyoko is with the whole situation. Suddenly, Mitaka's Uncle pulls up and begins telling him about a woman that he wants Mitaka to meet. Shun tries to quiet him down until they can have a bit more privacy, but at the nearby coffee shop, when his Uncle makes the offer again and Kyoko doesn't react, Mitaka dec

This episode introduces Asuna Kujo, daughter of an ex-noble family who are business partners with Mitaka's uncle. Mitaka meets with Asuna and her family for the omiai. Mitaka seems to like her, although is surprised to see such a meek and old-fashioned girl in this day and age. Asuna wants him to meet her ""brothers and sisters"" and so she goes to fetch them. The siblings she was referring to turn out to be her dogs. Apparently Asuna is an avid dog lover with six dogs of her own. Mitaka having a dog phobia, doesn't react well and goes into a seizure. He definitely decides to cancel the arranged marriage. He tells Kyoko that he's canceling for her sake. Around the same time Kozue calls up Godai and comes to visit. She offers Godai a part time job at a day care that opened up after her friend decided to leave. Godai seems happy to take it. Meanwhile Asuna's parents talk discuss Mitaka's sudden strange behavior during the omiai. They wonder if they should call it off, but Asuna has decided

Kyoko has three days left to decide whether she'll accept Mitaka's marriage proposal. Mitaka continues to remind her, but still gives her some distance. Asuna shows up and once tries to tell Kyoko not to go out with Mitaka anymore, but she's too reserved to say it. The following morning, as Godai is leaving early for work, Kyoko stops him and tells him to come home early. Godai agrees and heads off. Kyoko goes shopping to get food for their dinner later. On the way back she meets Asuna and her dogs yet another time, but Asuna still just chats about dogs. That evening Godai gets off work and is going to head home, but Sakamoto finds him and reminds him that they're supposed to be going to a mandatory class party that Godai can't afford to miss. Godai never gets the opportunity to cut out early. As for Kyoko she waits at home with a big meal and a bottle of wine for Godai, but he never shows up. The other tenants come to keep her company (and eat the dinner) and she finds out where Godai

Pressured by Yagami, her dad finally gives in and hands Godai a solid job offer. To everyone's astonishment, however, Godai hands the offer back saying that as much as it pains him, he wants to be more relied upon and find a job that he likes by himself.

After drinking with Sakamoto who celebrated by getting Godai's job, they wake up in debt in a cabaret. Having to pay off the debt, Godai is forced to work there in secrecy while looking for a permanent job.

Kyoko, still believing that Godai is working in daycare and looking for a job, begins to encourage Godai by making home-made lunch everyday. Having been laid off at daycare and working off his debt at the cabaret, Godai is pulled on whether to tell Kyoko the truth. To add insult to injuries, the looney gang discovers Godai's secret and decides to free load off of him at the cabaret every night and keep him in debt forever!

When Yagami finds out Godai's new line of work, she offers her services to help him pay off his debt at the cabaret. Yagami, however, is rejected because of her age and vows to settle the score with Kyoko. After a date with Mitaka, Kyoko meets Yagami in front of Ikkoku-kan and finds out the truth to Godai's newly-found employment.

As Godai tries to sort out the mess he got himself into, Mitaka takes Kyoko out on a date (to Kyoko's surprise) and vows that he will win her before Godai becomes a socially-acceptable man. Mitaka also goes to visit Asuna and finds himself in an unexpected situation in front of his and Asuna's parents.

Godai is forced to take care of Kasumi's kids (one of the cabaret's hostesses who ran away). As Godai and Kyoko search for her, they are left to wonder what they would do with her kids if they can't find her and she never comes back.