Maison Ikkokku is the name of a comfortably run0down boarding house in the middle of Tokyo which houses a strange assortment of tenants. There's chain-smoking, hard-drinkin' mama Mrs. Ichoinose; mysterious bachelor Mr. Yotsuya, whose coming and goings are known to no one; and Akemi, the night-shift bar hostess who spends her sleepy-eyed days in a state of deshabille.
Yusaku Godai, former would-be college student and current would-be college graduate, has fallen in love for the first time in his life. The object of his desire is Maison Ikkoku's beautiful manager, Kyoko Otonashi, a wistful widow just now learning to love again.
But the death of Kyoko's husband prevents her from opening her heart fully to anyone. As Yusaku and a handsome tennis coach vie for her affections, the other Maison Ikkoku residents can't resist meddling in their affairs...!