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Days had passed and I didn’t blog anything for several days. I have a perfect excuse anyway. 
Guess what, I spent 4 days watching Maison Ikkoku, an anime originally created by Rumiko Takahashi. I’m so absorbed with it that I temporarily shut myself from the outside world in order to enjoy this series to the fullest. (It’s really great to have a very long vacation isn’t it?) It has 96 episodes, about 26 minutes each. That’s about 41 hours of continuous playback filled with bitter sweet romantic comedy. It’s an epitome of romantic-comedy genre in anime. Seriously, this is an anime that I wanted to watch as early as 2002 but I didn’t have any resource to get it. Even when I was studying in Singapore, I was not able to find this vintage anime. After all I’m only a year older than this series. It was produced in 1986 and was concluded in 1988.
I’m not going to discuss what Maison Ikkoku is all about. Even if you don’t watch anime, consider Maison Ikkoku as a drama and you’ll probably like it too. I can’t even call myself a die-hard fan of anime. I just love watching something Japanese and learn more about Japanese culture. Some background: I’ve been interested in Japanese culture since my father went in Japan for 6 months training when I was still 6 years old. Since then, I really wanted to read and write Japanese since most of my toys had Japanese symbols and writings on them.
So after a long intro, let’s get into business. I really want to express how this series endeared to me so much. I really enjoyed watching it. I’ve watched about 60-70 anime (I didn’t finish all) but Maison Ikkoku is the most I’ve enjoyed among them. First of all, Maison Ikkoku means “The House of One-Moment” where “Maison” (めぞん) is a French word meaning house and Ikkoku (一刻) which means one moment, one minute or an instant. It’s a shabby apartment where the romance of Yusaku Godai and Kyoko Otonashi developed. I must emphasize: I’m not really into anime romance or anything along that line. Actually I prefer action and science fiction like Ghost in the Shell or Gundam but Maison Ikkoku is one of those very few anime that captures true human emotions. It’s a very moving anime, IMHO.
I’ll quote one of the most memorable lines in Maison Ikkoku by Kyoko Otonashi: Please, even if it’s just one day, live longer than me… Because… I don’t think I could live alone again…. Kyoko is just a fictitious lead female character of Maison Ikkoku yet Rumiko Takahashi had developed her emotional depth that viewers can relate very well. There’s even a full-pledged website dedicated to Kyoko — Kyoko.org. Too bad she’s just a two dimensional character.
Rumiko Takahashi is also well-known for her other works like Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
Read for more info:
WARNING: A LOT OF SPOILERS
Kyoko.org
Maison Ikkoku fan site
Wikipedia: Maison Ikkoku
7 Responses to The House of One-Moment
gLenn
March 29th, 2006 at 6:23 PM
Is it better than Kare Kano (his and her circumstances)? I’m not a sucker for romantic comedies but if it’s as good as that, It’s prolly worth watching.
MV
March 29th, 2006 at 10:43 PM
In terms of animation, Kare Kano has an upper hand because Maison Ikkoku (MI) is quite aged. Think of Ranma 1/2 when watching MI. Personally I find the story of MI more interesting than Kare Kano, but take note: the plot of Kare Kano takes place in High School wereas Maison Ikkoku’s plot circles around a ronin (a college applicant that failed in first try) who has an eye for the new apartment’s manager. (no, it’s not naughty, but playful) So, it’s more mature than Kare Kano’s lovey-dovey story. It’s like an apple-orange comparison but many consider MI as the “grandfather” of all romantic comedy animes. ^_^
P4
March 31st, 2006 at 5:45 PM
how I wish I can watch them… Maybe I’ll try to download them using a dial-up connection.
gLenn
March 31st, 2006 at 7:13 PM
dreams are free… even p4 is entitled to one . hehe
MV
March 31st, 2006 at 8:05 PM
I’m not going to sell this to strangers or any passers-by but I’m willing to share this to close friends.
Kris
June 12th, 2006 at 5:07 PM
Hi. I checked out your blog and found it nice (also seeing that the munsci.net link directed me here). I’ve watched maison ikkoku but didn’t finish it (sadly). I loved the story too! ^_^ it’s pretty hard finding these things in the philippnes, dontcha think? i also would like to learn more about jap culture (mostly because i dream of studying there in the future). where can i start? thanks. I’ll be checking out your blog if ever you reply.
MV
June 17th, 2006 at 10:02 PM
Hello Kris, if you are going to learn more about Japanese culture it’s best if you start with the language IMHO. The culture of the Japanese is embedded within their language and I think it’s very true to almost any language. If you learn to read the basic japanese and understand at least the common phrases you’ll get more familiar with the daily life routine of the people. If you have NHK channel you can also tune in to their variety show (there are some repeat shows with subtitles). Listening to J-pop / J-rock or any Japanese music can also help. Btw, I’m busy right because of my requirements at school. I’m graduating this July (hopefully) so I rarely update this blog… for now.