Maison Ikkoku is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from November 1980 to April 1987, with the chapters collected into 15 tankōbon volumes. Maison Ikkoku is a romantic comedy involving a group of eccentric people who live in a boarding house in 1980s Tokyo. The story focuses primarily on the gradually developing relationships between Yusaku Godai, a poor student down on his luck, and Kyoko Otonashi, a young, recently widowed boarding house manager.
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Yusaku Godai (front) and Kyoko Otonashi (back)
Big Comic Spirits is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan. The first issue was published on October 14, 1980. Food, sports, romance and business are recurring themes in the magazine, and the stories often question conventional values. The magazine is published every Monday. Circulation in 2008 averaged over 300,000 copies, but by 2015 had dropped to 168,250. In 2009, Shogakukan launched a sister magazine, Monthly Big Comic Spirits.
June 25, 2007 issue of Big Comic Spirits featuring model Aki Hoshino