The Maison Ikkoku manga series features characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. Many of the characters live in the series' titular boarding house, including the protagonists Yusaku Godai and Kyoko Otonashi. The boarding house setting and its tenants were inspired from Takahashi's college years; the apartment house behind her own was occupied by many "strange people."

Creation and conception Takahashi stated that she had wanted to draw a story about an apartment complex for some time, inspired by the one she lived in in Nakano, Tokyo during college and the odd actions of the people living in the one next door. She originally only wanted to start the series focusing on Kyoko and Godai's relationship before moving on to include the other tenants to have a "human drama," but said the love story attracted her more and took over.

She said that she adds new characters when she needs new story ideas, but remarked that the apartment setting of Maison Ikkoku limited her from adding too many. Takahashi said that when creating characters she roughly knows their "nature" while designing them, but not the details.

The characters' names involve puns on numbers, with those of the Maison Ikkoku tenants utilizing their room numbers.

NumberCharacterKanji of family name and meaningKyoko Otonashi (née Chigusa) (soundless)The Ichinose Family (first ford)Nozomi Nikaido (two-story temple)Shun Mitaka * (three hawks)Mr. Yotsuya (four valleys)Yusaku Godai (five generations)Akemi Roppongi (six trees)Kozue Nanao * (seven ridges; the second character is "tail" but "Nanao" itself is a name from Ishikawa Prefecture)Ibuki Yagami * (eight gods)Asuna Kujo * (ninth avenue; the name is an old Japanese aristocratic name)Mr. & Mrs. Chigusa * (thousand grasses) (* Not residents of Maison Ikkoku.)

Maison Ikkoku residents

Yusaku Godai is the main character of the series. He 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 support). He is kindhearted and handsome, but indecisive and spacey. Godai 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 initially lacks the courage (when sober at least) to tell her how he feels. Instead, he daydreams a lot and does several silly things (for example, he runs into road posts). But Godai is an honorable man who is worthy of Kyoko, as his love for her is a lasting and devoted love. He has, several times, tried making a move on Kyoko, but could not bring himself to do so; such actions make Kyoko think of him as a perfect gentleman. At the end, he marries her, and Godai and Kyoko finally found happiness and have a daughter, which they give the name . He is voiced by Issei Futamata in the Japanese anime, and by Jason Gray-Stanford (eps. 1–36) and Brad Swaile (eps. 37–96) in the English version. He is portrayed by Ken Ishiguro in the 1986 film and Taiki Nakabayashi in a 2007 TV film.

Kyoko Otonashi is the heroine of the series. She is a beautiful widow who takes on the task of managing a broken-down boarding house. She is sweet and polite, but also has a violent, frightening side that emerges when she is jealous or angry, or dealing with her meddling and equally stubborn parents. She soon develops affection for Godai, and has a tendency to dote over him (with the other tenants teasing her for acting like a "good wife") and becomes jealous over him (though she lies to herself and denies that it is jealousy). However, it is hard for her to forget about her late husband Soichiro (who died just six months after their wedding), and her memories of her husband sometimes put her in a melancholy mood. Kyoko's love for him is sometimes reflected in dialogues with her dog, who bears the same name as her late husband. She believes Godai to be pure-hearted and not a pervert, unlike the other tenants, who try warning her about him. At the end, she is happily married to Godai and a new mother to their daughter Haruka. She is voiced by Sumi Shimamoto in the Japanese anime, and by Ellen Kennedy in the English version. She is played by Mariko Ishihara in the 1986 film and Misaki Ito in the 2007 TV film. Otonashi literally means "without a sound," but is also a pun on , or "without a husband," in reference to her status as a widow.

Hanae Ichinose is a short, middle-aged woman who is rarely seen sober and who loves gossip, relishing her room's proximity to the communal telephone. Her wage-slave husband seldom appears 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 leaves Yūsaku, Kyoko, or both in a worse situations than if she had not gotten involved. She is voiced by Kazuyo Aoki in the Japanese anime, and by Daphne Goldrick (eps. 1–36) and Kathy Morse (eps. 37–96) in the English version. She is portrayed by Yumiko Fujita in the 1986 film and Kayoko Kishimoto in the 2007 TV film.

Yotsuya is 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 (and to use a smaller hole in the wall of Yusaku's room to peep 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. Yotsuya is willing to reveal the secrets of others if it benefits him, such as telling Kyoko what Godai does at night, in order to prevent the hole from being repaired. He is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in the Japanese anime, and by Gerard Plunkett (eps. 1–36) and Ron Halder (eps. 37–96) in the English version. He is portrayed by Masatō Ibu in the 1986 film and Ittoku Kishibe in the 2007 TV film. Yotsuya means "four valleys" and is the name of a district in Tokyo associated with a famous ghost story. It has been speculated among fans that Yotsuya is one and the same as the character Sekoi in another Rumiko Takahashi manga titled Dust-spurt. In it, Sekoi is a secret agent working for the HCIA ("Hinomaru Central Intelligence Agency").

Akemi Roppongi is a boozy bar hostess who is known to lounge around wearing skimpy lingerie while hanging around Ikkoku. Akemi 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 spends the rest of the night drinking, Akemi always seems to have a sleepy look on her face. She is generally aloof towards both Yusaku and Kyoko, but she is not above joining Yotsuya in tormenting Yusaku. Akemi 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. At the end of the series, she ends up marrying her boss and lives with him on the second floor of the Cha-Cha Maru. Her family name, which means "six trees," is also the name of a Tokyo district, infamous for expensive hostess bars. She is voiced by Yūko Mita in the Japanese anime, and by Janyse Jaud in the English version. She is portrayed by Yoshiko Miyazaki in the 1986 film and Yumiko Takahashi in the 2007 TV film.

Kentaro Ichinose begins the story as grade-school-aged brat, generally seen trying to get between his mother and her alcohol. 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. He is voiced by Chika Sakamoto in the Japanese anime, and by Saffron Henderson (eps. 1–36) and Sharon Alexander (eps. 37–96) in the English version. He is portrayed by Katsuhasa Nakagaki in the 1986 film and Shinosuke Matsukawa, Ren Nibori (younger) in the 2007 TV film.

Mr. Ichinose is Hanae Ichinose's husband that only appears occasionally in the series. He is a hard-working salaryman and unlike his wife, he is polite and does not get out of hand when he drinks. He is voiced by Minoru Yada in the Japanese anime, and by Campbell Lane (eps. 1–36) and Robert O. Smith (eps. 37–96) in the English version.

Nozomi Nikaido originally intended to move into an upscale establishment called "Rikkoku-kan", but a typographical error on the lease papers brings him to Maison Ikkoku relatively late into the story as an accidental tenant. He had led a rather sheltered life and moves into Maison Ikkoku, as he starts college, against the wishes of his protective mother. Nozomi 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 (Nozomi retaliates to Yotsuya's invasions, in contrast to Yusaku), he is known for being incredibly dense and is totally oblivious to the situation between Yusaku, Kyoko, and their respective love triangles. At the end of the series, Nozomi graduates from college and moves back home with his overbearing mother, but wishes to return to Maison Ikkoku. He does not appear in the television series but appears in The Final Chapter film where he is voiced by Ryō Horikawa. In the English release of the manga by Viz, the character's given name was originally translated as "Nozomu".

Zenzaburo Mitsukoshi is an anime-only character whose 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". He is voiced by Katsunosuke Hori in the Japanese anime, and by Michael Donovan in the English version.

Recurring characters

Shun Mitaka