Maison Ikkoku, Vol. 8 (1st Edition): Domestic Dispute

Rumiko Takahashi is always good at giving things a little shake-up. And in the eighth chapter of her romantic dramedy "Maison Ikkoku," things get shaken up quite a bit, with the inclusion of a new character, an important talk, a near-breakup and a diamond ring. After a disastrous trip to a spa and more conflicts with Kyoko's obnoxious parents, Yusaku finds himself presented with a unique opportunity -- a chance to find out what Kyoko's mysterious late husband looked like. And Kyoko has a talk with her late husband at his gravesite, unaware that Yusaku is listening. But then a new person enters the mix: Nozomu Nikaido, a wealthy teenager who has just entered college, and whose bubble-brained mom accidently sent him to the wrong apartment building. Like Yusaku, Nikaido immediately becomes a target for the crazier tenants: the dignified pervert Mr. Yotsuya, sexy waitress Akemi, and drunken housewife Mrs. Ichinose. But unlike Yusaku, he isn't going to take it lying down -- he's going to fight back. And when Nikaido encounters Yusaku's platonic girlfriend Kozue, he throws a few more monkey wrenches into the might-be relationship between Kyoko and Yusaku. With any series like "Maison Ikkoku," there's always the chance of things getting stale. So in this volume, Takahashi gives us some new characters, complications, attractions and problems. And, fortunately, it gives this funny little comic drama a bit more of both. Takahashi doesn't take her gaze off the interlocking love triangles for long, although it is fun to see Yotsuya and Nikaido trying to one-up each other in the revenge game. And there's a new source of comedy as Nikaido naively sabotages poor Yusaku's love life, as Yusaku silently rages against the younger man's incredible denseness. Nikaido's a fun addition to the cast -- he's a weird mix of craftiness and naivete, trying to cut the apron strings from his rather annoying mom. Kyoko and Yusaku hit new snags in their possible relationship, as Kyoko remembers her late husband, and Yusaku tries to find a way to disentangle himself from Kozue without breaking her heart. His rival Shun Mitaka only makes a brief appearance, but it's a funny one -- which involves Yusaku giving Kyoko a diamond ring. New blood enters the mix in the eighth "Maison Ikkoku" volume, but things have more or less stayed the same. A fun and romantic read, with plenty more hijinks to come.

Yep. That is the main attraction to this graphic novel. The Love triangle of Godai, Mitaka, and Kyoko is not the main focus of this book. The main focus falls on two new characters: Nozomu Nikaido and Ibuki Yagami. Nozomu moves into room 2 of Maison Ikkoku, by pure accident his mother had someone else sign the lease and instead of living at the expensize Rikkoku, Nikaido ends up living in Maison Ikkoku. He is not really a bad guy, but just seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and nearly drives Godai, and everyone else nuts. He and Yotsuya end up having a minor war between each other also. The other character Ibuki Yagami is a high school student at the school where Godai gets a student-teaching job. The school just happens to be the high school where Kyoko met Soichiro, so the obvious happens Ibuki falls in love with Godai, and now Godai has another pretty, young girl interested in him. Although his affections are for Kyoko only.

With volume 8, the gang at Maison Ikkoku is introduced to Nozomu Nikkaido, a young man who has come to the city to study for college. however, due to a mix-up in the paparwork, he gets a less then classy apartment house, aka Maison Ikkoku. After seeing how beautiful the manager is though, Nikkaido ocnvinces his distraught mother that all will be ok. nikkaido seems like a nice guy, and many of the tenants(with the exception of the right-minded Kyoko and Yusaku) take to playing pranks on him. This just silently causes Nikkaido to think of how to exact his revenge on Yotsuya, Ichinose and Akemi. Yusaku also does some heavy thinking, realizing his plight in life. feeling if he wants to marry Kyoko someday, he has to have a solid form of supporting her and a family. with this securely in mind, he heads home to try and convince his family to try and see if he can one day assume control of the family restaurant. Yusaku also begins a stint as a studnet teacher, thanks to Kyoko's husband's father. There are some amazing coincidences: 1.The all-girls school is the same where Kyoko's husband taught at, and 2. It's also the place where Kyoko met him. After the first day, Yusaku realizes that he has more on his hands with the almost obsessive nature of student Ibuki Yagami. Yagami does everything from following Yusaku home, to also trying to convince Kyoko that she has company, vying for Yusaku's affections.

This is the first graphic novel of Maison Ikkoku I've read in a while and it reminded me of why I love this series. Takahashi has a very special way of looking at life's different situations and poking fun at them while at the same time being realistic. These graphic novels are more enjoyable than many of the "word only" novel I've read. I'm hooked and I must complete my collection of this series so far. A hard task for any poor, melancholic college student (ring any bells?).