Learning to Love -The Epic Romance of Maison Ikkoku- Gerard Jones Interview

As the story progresses through its 15 volumes, the final of which ships this month, we follow Godai as he grows into manhood, learning how to love as Kyoko learns how to love again.

It’s February, the season of jewelry, chocolates, and chick flicks, of taking the ideal of love and mass-marketing the life out of it. Thankfully, no amount of Matthew McConaughey vehicles could ever choke the magic out of real, honest romance, the overwhelming passion that occupies your thoughts every second of every day, the kind of romance captured beautifully in Maison Ikkoku.

Crafted by master manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha and the best-selling female comics artist in the world, Maison Ikkoku tells the story of Yusaku Godai, a young man struggling to pass his college entrance exams in spite of the noisy neighbors whose constant partying would drive anyone insane. Just as Godai is ready to pull up stakes and move out, the ratty apartment building that is the series’ namesake gets a new manager, the beautiful Kyoko Otonashi. Godai, smitten at first sight, decides he’s not going anywhere, but Kyoko carries a painful secret: she’s a widow whose husband died shortly after the pair’s marriage. With memories of her husband at the front of her mind, Kyoko initially rebuffs Godai’s advances, but soon finds herself another suitor in the handsome tennis coach Shun Mitaka, a ladykiller who won’t take no for an answer.

As the story progresses through its 15 volumes, the final of which ships this month, we follow Godai as he grows into manhood, learning how to love as Kyoko learns how to love again. “It’s rare to find a comic book, or any popular entertainment, built on so many believable, endearing characters that then actually lets them evolve,” says Gerard Jones, who adapted Maison Ikkoku into English. ^[1] “Takahashi was so deft at moving the story forward, giving us faith that things would actually change and come to a conclusion, letting Godai grow, and at the same time keeping us solidly and comfortingly grounded in the familiar, in what we wanted to see every episode. She took her time with it, too: The changes were often imperceptible, like they are in real life, stealing over us gradually, so we weren’t as conscious of the storyteller’s pace, the pushing that we’re so used to from other entertainment.”

Takahashi’s deft writing fills the book with comedy and romance in equal measure, but it is Maison Ikkoku’s uncannily honest portrayal of young love that leaves those who discover the series hopelessly obsessed with it, even though it has never had the sales success of Takahashi’s other works in the United States. “It doesn’t whack you instantly with its high-concept or exotic worlds,” Jones reasons. “You have to make a commitment to it and give it time in order to really enjoy it.”

Maison Ikkoku was first translated to English by Viz Comics in the much less manga-informed early ’90s, where many of the series uniquely Japanese elements were softened and whole storylines were initially cut to accelerate the Godai-Kyoko-Mitaka love triangle. ^[2] “Everyone at Viz was very insecure about the response the American market would have to these odd foreign comics,” Jones explains, “so the philosophy of the company was to keep the material as accessible as possible to the average American comics reader. In retrospect, that was a mistake, but I think it was a pretty understandable mistake for a new company in a new market.” The new edition recently released by Viz reprints the series in its original Japanese order and original right-to-left orientation, but keeps the same flawed adaptation. ^[3] Despite the small details lost in translation, Takahashi’s masterwork still stands as a towering achievement, and the most magical romance ever captured on the comics page.

With Maison Ikkoku’s second edition drawing to a close and Inuyasha still enjoying massive popularity, where does that leave Takahashi’s first major series Urusei Yatsura, the wacky boy-meets-alien comedy that Viz published a small chunk of in the 1990s? “I’d love to work on more Urusei Yatsura,” Jones enthuses, “and I make sure the management of Viz knows that. ^[4] Maybe if Takahashi enjoys another wave of popularity in America we’ll be so blessed!”

The Complete Gerard Jones Interview

Where does Maison Ikkoku rate for you among the other manga series you’ve worked on?

It and Ranma were unquestionably my favorites. Ranma was easier and breezier, but Maison Ikkoku was the more rewarding. No other manga I've worked on has given me so much opportunity to work with characters and the subtleties of the ways people talk. And I was caught up in the plot, in wondering what was going to happen, as with no other adaptation job.

Why do you think the series engenders such passion in its fans? It seems that almost everyone who reads the story declares it their favorite series of all time.

It's rare to find a comic book, or any popular entertainment, built on so many believable, endearing characters that then actually lets them evolve. Takahashi was so deft at moving the story forward, giving us faith that things would actually change and come to a conclusion, letting Godai grow, and at the same time keeping us solidly and comfortingly grounded in the familiar, in what we wanted to see every episode. She took her time with it, too: the changes were often imperceptible, like they are in real life, stealing over us gradually, so we weren't as conscious of the storyteller's pace, the pushing that we're so used to from other entertainment.

Why do you think Maison Ikkoku has never achieved the widespread success of Takahashi’s other works, like Ranma 1/2 or Inuyasha?

It doesn't whack you instantly with its high concept or exotic worlds. You have to make a commitment to it and give it time in order to really enjoy it. Most people, zipping around for something to read, don't give a series that time.

Were there any characters you found more fun to write than others?

The weirdoes, like Mrs. Ichinose, were always fun to spin lines for us. But helping make Godai's character and evolution clear was ultimately the most intriguing and satisfying part of the process.

Does any particular story arc stick out as a favorite?

I thought the whole ending sequence, from Kyoko almost marrying the wrong guy through Godai's finally figuring how to say what he wanted to say, was just lovely.

Early on in the series’ English publication, a lot of translation decisions were made to make the series more palatable to an American comics audience who was not intimately familiar with Japanese society and customs, such as downplaying the early ronin storyline, referring to Kyoko’s dog as “Mr. Soichiro”, and referring to characters by first name instead of last name (such as “Yusaku” instead of “Godai”). I was wondering if you could shed some light on why these decisions were made initially, and why these changes remained in Viz’s newest editions now that the series’ more uniquely Japanese elements are more widely understood by American manga fandom.

In the beginning, everyone at Viz was very insecure about the response the American market would have to these odd foreign comics, so the philosophy of the company was to keep the material as accessible as possible to the average American comics reader. In retrospect, that was a mistake, but I think it was a pretty understandable mistake for a new company in a new market, especially when the black-and-white comics market was collapsing and a lot of small publishers were going out of business. At the time, there really wasn't any big manga-and-anime fandom as far as anyone could see, and the readers who knew the cultural context wouldn't have been enough to support any series. So decisions were made— which everyone soon regretted— to Americanize some cultural elements. ^[5]

They made a rule, for example, against using "chan" or "kun." (Editor’s Note: “Chan” and “kun” are Japanese honorifics, suffixes added to a person’s name to denote the speaker’s relationship to the person they’re addressing. “Chan” and “kun” imply a close relationship between the speakers, or are used by adults addressing children.) And we thought it might be off-putting to read all these youngish characters addressing Kyoko as "Manager" or "Ms. Manager." Unfortunately, too, I had no idea what was coming up in the series. I was really taking it episode by episode. So when I suggested (or agreed, I can't remember which) that the characters just call her "Kyoko," I thought I was just making it an easier read for Americans—I had no idea the Kyoko-chan kitten story was coming up. I don't think my first editor did either. All of a sudden it was just there, and we were faced with a classic "NOW what do we do?" We'd agreed not to use "chan." The characters were already on this very informal first-name basis. How could we make it plausible that she was so offended by whatever they were yelling when they called the cat? So we came up with "Kyoko-baby." Incredibly awkward, but I couldn't find anything else that would justify her anger. I was hoping the crassness and dopiness of the name would help explain her outrage. Unfortunately, it seemed to outrage fans just as much.

As for why the changes remain, it's just too expensive to make the corrections, the way the market is now and the way the series sells. We're probably stuck with "Kyoko-baby" forever, although it embarrasses me. ^[6]

You are more-or-less the exclusive adapter of Rumiko Takahashi’s manga works into English. What is it that draws you to her work?

Character and humor. Those are my favorite elements to work with in my own writing, and they're what Takahashi does better than anyone in Japanese comics.

Now that Maison Ikkoku’s second edition is wrapping up, what are the chances we’ll finally see more of Takahashi’s first major manga, Urusei Yatsura?

I'd love to work on more Urusei Yatsura, and I make sure the management of Viz knows that. Maybe if Takahashi enjoys another wave of popularity in America, we'll be so blessed! ^[7]

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Footnotes

• [1] Gerard Jones was in charge of the "English adaptation" of nearly all of Rumiko Takahashi's works into English from Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha. By the time of Kyokai no RINNE, Viz had essentially ceased having someone handle "adaptation" in addition to translating as they were moving to a quicker release schedule. Most of Jones' work on Takahashi's English releases is no longer available as Viz has had fresh translations done of all of the projects Jones worked on. Though this has never been commented on by Viz, it is likely due to Gerard Jones being arrested and sent to prison.
• [2] Viz originally didn't publish the following chapters: "Suit Yourself, Santa", "For Whom the Clock Tolls", "Hope Springs Eternal", "Will the Cherry Blossoms Bloom?" which all should have been in the first graphic novel, along with "Stake it on the Rink!" from the third book. These stories were translated and published in Animerica Extra (with the exception of "Stake") shortly after the manga ended. You shouldn't have any problem finding the Animerica Extra back issues they were in though (Animerica Extra Vol. 3 Number 1 and Vol. 3 Number 2). However, now that Viz has rereleased the series twice since then, all the missing chapters have been added in. The new books of Maison Ikkoku, are therefore complete, with no missing chapters.
• [3] This was written at the conclusion of the second edition printing from Viz. In 2022 and 2023 the third edition was printed and it replaced Jones' adapation likely for the reasons mentioned in note 1.
• [4] Urusei Yatsura had been partially translated by Viz until 1998 when it was abandoned. Viz did not revisit the series until 2019 when they published the series in its entirety in English for the first time, concluding in 2023. You can read more about the history of these challenges in our article "Goodbye, Urusei Yatsura".
• [5] The third edition's fresh translation addresses this. No longer is the kitten called "Kyoko-baby" (just "Kyoko" minus the "chan"). It also makes a more clear difference because Godai and other characters do not address her as "Kyoko" as in the earlier translation, but as "manager" which is more in keeping with the Japanese original's language. Jones seemed to be on the other side of this argument in his interview from 13 years prior in 1993 stating, "The manga purists don't seem to like such tricks. I guess they'd rather read the literal translation and smile to themselves in the knowledge that they're among the blessed few who know all the cultural references. I took it as my job to make Takahashi's dazzling characters and stories as accessible as possible to new readers. Her ferocious energy and acute comic eye were revelations to me. I wanted others to be able to have the same revelation I did."
• ^[6] As mentioned above, all of Jones' adaptation work for Viz that has been reprinted since his arrest has been replaced. Should the reader think that all of Takahashi's English work has been given a fresh translation just as a coincidence or to improve the translation one need only look at one of the Takahashi series that Jones was not involved in. Mermaid Saga was translated and adapted by Rachel Thorn for Viz in the 1990s and when reprinted in the 2020s it retained its original translation.
• ^[7] Please see note 4 for more details on Urusei Yatsura's complicated release history. Jones was in prison during Viz's eventual conclusive publication of Urusei Yatsura from 2019-2023 thus he had no involvement. He was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to five years in prison beginning in 2018.

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