Summary
WithUrusei Yatsuraand nowRanma 1/2getting rebootsthese past few years, Rumiko Takahashi’sMaison Ikkokuremains the sole story yet to get a fresh adaptation. With the industry seemingly eager to revive the author’s catalog, it feels inevitable that Takahashi’s remaining manga gets a new anime - and also incongruous that it still hasn’t since 1986. But perhaps it may finally only be a matter of time now.
Takahashi’s works tend to be remembered as a quartet:Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha,andMaison Ikkoku.While the former three have seen reboots and sequels in the past decade,Maisonstands out for remaining untouched since its first anime adaptation decades ago.
While there has been no explanation for such apprehension, it will be hard to ignore when evenRanma 1/2is returning to TV later this year.
It’s Time for a Maison Ikkoku Reboot
“Ordinary” Romance Is No Excuse To Skip Adaptation
Maison Ikkoku’splot is relatively grounded, focusing on Yusaku Godai’s budding relationship with Kyoko Otonashi, manager of the titular boarding house, along with other misadventures per chapter. Of Takahashi’s catalog,Maison Ikkokucan be considered the odd duck with its down-to-earth locale, whereas the author’s other stories inject some supernatural element to shake up how the boy meets the girl.
Yet withInuyasha’s2020 sequel,Yashahime: Half-Demon Princess, along with MAPPA’s upcomingRanmaadaptation,Maisonfeels oddly missing now with only its 1986 anime. Even Takahashi’s latter manga received more recent adaptations, likeMermaid Sagain 2003 andRin-nein 2015. The possibility exists that Takahashi has become inextricably associated with “supernatural” rom-coms, which would makeMaisonout of character, or somehow even “boring” to adapt.
Nonetheless,it remains one of Takahashi’s most popular manga. With her other three most famous stories seeing fresh adaptations this decade, any “Rumiko Takahashi fever” gripping the industry wouldn’t be complete without revisitingMaison Ikkoku.Now couldn’t be any better timing:UruseiandRanma’s revivals bank hard on bringing back series from the 1980s, andMaison Ikkokuwould fit perfectly with this sort of marketing push. The same can be said for its genre in today’s landscape.
Maison Ikkoku Is Right at Home With Today’s Love of the Ordinary
Whileshonenand battle anime were popular in the early 2000s, the last two decades have proven the staying power ofslice-of-life seriesand domestic rom-coms.Maison Ikkokuis a veritable grandmaster in this field, with its setting arguably setting the standard for “wacky boarding house romances” that has even been revisited this year withAstro Note.
Yusaku and Kyoko are right at home with all the other mundane dramas that are popular today; as is,Maison Ikkoku’sonly remaining quirk is a missing 2020 adaptation - something that can be easily rectified, and withRanma 1/2’s impending premiere, should even be expected.
