Maison Ikkoku Top 10 Highest Rated Episodes
By: Harley Acres & Dylan Acres
It's interesting to be able to chart the audiences following a show over its life, which shows started slow and built an audience, or which were strong out of the gate and held their audience until the end? To give context, the numbers here are a percentage of total television owning households in the Kanto region which is the largest television market in Japan. It is important to note that comparing ratings from similar days, months and years is somewhat useful, however it would be unfair to compare ratings from the 1980s to thows from the 1990s, 2000s or later due to the fragmentation of the television viewing audience (due to the addition of more and more television channels, streaming services, and video games).
When possible anime programs that aired in the time slot before
Maison Ikkoku and anime that aired against
Maison Ikkoku on other networks are cited to give further context.Here we examine the highest rated episodes of
Maison Ikkoku (and the lowest rated episode as well).
Director: Satoshi Yamamoto (山本智史)
Animation Director: Atsuko Nakajima (中島敦子)
Script: Hiroshi Konishikawa (小西川博)
Storyboards: Tamiko Kojima (小島多美子)
Two episodes actually tied with an viewership rating of 19.1, this episode and episode 65, so you can take your pick for which you might wish to count among the top ten. Director Satoshi Yamamoto also worked on storyboards for Ranma 1/2 Nettohen episode 53 and Atsuko Nakajima would go on to be strongly associated with that series as well as the character designer.
That night, Maison Ikkoku's lead in, Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール), scored a 25.9 with episode 64, "The Last of Mercenary Tao". [1]
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Director: Tomokazu Kougo (向後知一)
Animation Director: Kiichi Takaoka (高岡希一)
Script: Kazunori Ito (伊藤和典)
Storyboards: Tamiko Kojima (小島多美子)
Kazunori Ito is a name known by many for his involvement with the .hack//Sign series, Mobile Police Patlabor (機動警察パトレイバー/Kido Keisatsu Patoreibaa) and Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊/Kokaku Kidotai) the latter two involved his Urusei Yatsura colleague Mamoru Oshii. Kojima would go on to storyboard episodes of Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Oishinbo (美味しんぼ). Throughout her career she worked almost exclusively as a director and storyboard illustrator however she did write a single episode of Urusei Yatsura, episode 102.
Maison Ikkoku's lead in, Dragon Ball, scored a 25.5 with episode 44, "Master Thief, Hasky". [2]
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Director: Iku Suzuki (鈴木行)
Animation Director: Atsuko Nakajima (中島敦子)
Script: Hideo Takayashiki (高屋敷英夫)
Storyboards: Naoyuki Yoshinaga (吉永尚之)
Iku Suzuki would go on to work on Ranma 1/2 after the conclusion of Maison Ikkoku and is likely best remembered as the directed for the second film, Battle at Togenkyo! Get Back the Brides!!. He had also previously worked on storyboards for Urusei Yatsura. Suzuki designed all the eyecatches for Combat Mecha Xabungle (戦闘メカ ザブングル/Sento Mecha Zabunguru) as well.
Airing immediately prior to that night's Maison Ikkoku was Dragon Ball episode 62 "Sacred Water" which scored a 27.6. [3]
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Director: Tomokazu Kougo (向後知一)
Animation Director: Ryunosuke Otonashi (音無竜之介)
Script: Kazunori Ito (伊藤和典)
Storyboards: Tomokazu Kougo (向後知一)
Tomokazu Kougo directed episodes of both Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura before moving to other non-Rumic projects such as the 1991 Kimagure Orange Road (きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード) OVA and History's Mightiest Disciple Kenichi (史上最強の弟子 ケンイチ/Shijo Saikyo no Deshi Kenichi).
In the prior Fuji TV timeslot, Dragon Ball episode 47 "Kame House - Found!" scored a 29.5. Airing against Maison Ikkoku on rival network NTV was Ganbare, Kickers! (がんばれ！キッカーズ) which scored a 9.7 rating with its episode 13 "Blow Off Computer Soccer!". [4]
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Director: Tomokazu Kougo (向後知一)
Animation Director: Keiko Hattori (服部圭子)
Script: Michiru Shimada (島田満)
Storyboards: Tamiko Kojima (小島多美子)
Tomokazu Kougo and Tamiko Kojima both appear on this list again, alongside prolific screenwriter Michiru Shimada who worked on Dr. Slump Arale-chan (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん), the 1990s era World Masterpiece Theater, One Piece, Touch (タッチ) and Urusei Yatsura.
Airing immediately before Maison Ikkoku's episode was Dragon Ball episode 11 "The Penalty is Pinball" scored a 24.6. Airing against Maison Ikkoku on TBS was Wonder Beat Scramble (ワンダービートS). Its episode 3 "The Phantom Music Box" scored a 3.7. [5]
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Director: Kazuyoshi Katayama (片山一良)
Animation Director: Ryunosuke Otonashi (音無竜之介)
Script: Kazunori Ito (伊藤和典)
Storyboards: Kazuyoshi Katayama (片山一良)
Kazuyoshi Katayama would go on to become the series director for The Big O (THE ビッグオー). Alongside Motosuke Takahashi he was the director of Maris the Super Gal as well.
That night's episode of Maison Ikkoku aired against TBS' Wonder Beat Scramble episode 20 "The Target is the Golden Right Hand" which scored a 2.7 and NTV which had Ganbare Kickers episode 2 "Taichi Guz Saved the Onboro Team!" which had a rating of 5.9. [6]
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Director: Yorifusa Yamaguchi (山口頼房)
Animation Director: Keizo Shimizu (清水恵蔵)
Script: Hiroshi Konishikawa (小西川博)
Storyboards: Tamiko Kojima (小島多美子)
Yorifusa Yamaguchi worked on projects such as YuYu Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書), Yaiba (ヤイバ), Mahoromatic (まほろまてぃっく) and The Quintessential Quintuplets (五等分の花嫁/Go-Tobun no Hanayome).
That night's episode of Dragon Ball was episode 58 "The Land of Korin" which scored a 27.6. [7]
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Director: Iku Suzuki (鈴木行)
Animation Director: Ryunosuke Otonashi (音無竜之介)
Script: Michiru Shimada (島田満)
Storyboards: Iku Suzuki (鈴木行)
Ryunosuke Otonashi (real name Naohito Takahashi) took his pen name from Ryunosuke Fujinami and Kyoko Otonashi. His other works include Touch (タッチ), Rainbowman (レインボーマン) and Super Dimension Century Orguss (超時空世紀オーガス/Chojiku Seiki Ogasu).
That night's episode of Dragon Ball was episode 18 "The Turtle Hermit Way" which scored a 22.8. Airing against Maison Ikkoku on TBS was Wonder Beat Scramble episode 9 "Star Story: Small Observatory" which had a rating of 2.8.[8]
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Director: Kazuyoshi Katayama (片山一良)
Animation Director: Masaaki Kannan (河南正昭)
Script: Hiroshi Konishikawa (小西川博)
Storyboards: Kazuyoshi Katayama (片山一良)
Hiroshi Konishikawa worked on a single episode of Urusei Yatsura (episode 80) but scripted 27 episodes of Maison Ikkoku making him one of the more prolific scripwriters. Masaaki Kannan worked on Urusei Yatsura at Studio Deen and found fame decades later as the character designer for Hetalia Axis Powers (ヘタリア Axis Powers).
Lead in Dragon Ball aired episode 38 "Five Murasakis" which netted a score of 28.0. Airing against Maison Ikkoku at 7:30 pm were Ganbare! Kickers with episode 5 "I Won't Give Up! I'll Definitely Get One Point!" which scored a 6.9. On TBS Wonder Beat Scramble aired episode 23 "Princess Bijula to Earth" which had a rating of 1.7. [9]
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Director: Kazuo Yamazaki (やまざきかずお)
Animation Director: Masaaki Kannan (河南正昭)
Script: Tokio Tsuchiya (土屋斗紀雄)
Storyboards: Kazuo Yamazaki (やまざきかずお)
Surprisingly the first episode of Maison Ikkoku was the high water mark in terms of viewership, no other episode was more viewed than this one. Kazuo Yamazaki hardly needs an introduction having worked on Maison Ikkoku, Please Save My Earth (ぼくの地球を守って/Boku no Chikyuu o Mamotte) as well as directing the fourth Urusei Yatsura film, Lum the Forever.
By comparison, airing immediately before that night's Maison Ikkoku episode was Dragon Ball episode 5 "Yamcha the Desert Bandit" which rated a 27.6. [10] For context, the highest rated anime of this year (1986) was the December 7th episode of Sazae-san (サザエさん) which scored a 34.4%. [11]
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Director: Iku Suzuki (鈴木行)
Animation Director: Keiko Hattori (服部圭子)
Script: Hiroshi Konishikawa (小西川博)
Storyboards: Iku Suzuki (鈴木行)
Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール) episode 32 "The Flying Fortress - Vanished!" was Maison Ikkoku's lead-in show on Fuji TV and had a 16.0 for the night, meaning this night's episode of Maison Ikkoku lost viewers. [2]
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Dylan Acres is a psychology professor at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Harley Acres is an art history professor at Pikes Peak State College. The brothers founded Rumic World in 1996.
