Maison Ikkoku, Volume 14: Welcome Home

by Rumiko Takahashi

Coach Mitaka has gone into seclusion to cure himself of his fear of dogs, promising he'll return as a new man. Will he return in time to win Kyoko's heart? This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569314934
• ISBN13: 9781569314937
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A great conclusion

You know, I'm sure everybody eventually gets to the point where the overdone robo-mecha and fantasy crap gets old and unrealistic. Enter Maison Ikkoku, a truly realistic novel in which there are no sex changes, time travel or anything like that; just a manga about life for a group of average people. In this final volume, everything is brought to a close; people get married, resentments are cast aside, and a child is born. By the way, don't read this volume if you haven't read the others. Go through the entire series; it's worth it. Welcome Home will take you on a wide range of emotions, and unless you're made of stone, you'll feel something, and perhaps even cry. I love this series, and you will not regret buying this book.

I cried.

Well, it had to happen, Maison Ikkoku is at its heart a story about two people, and there's only one way it could end. That said it doesn't end without a fight, there's quite a bit of wrangling and in-fighting to be done before Kyoko Otonashi and Yusaku Godai get their happy ending. It's a real weepy this one, with Yusaku's honest description of his love for Kyoko, the resolution of Kyoko's love for Soichiro, a wedding and quite a few babies all coming before the end. Still it's a classic of manga and indeed of global literature. Takahashi-sensei has done it again. "...You see this is the place where mummy and daddy first met" Buy this book.

THE END

Well, it had to happen someday. Unlike Lum, and Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku has alway's been a story about Love and personal growth. Which meant that someday we'd have to see the end. When We first met Godai and Kyoko, he was an immature, irresponsible, college flunkout, who had as much luck with women as he did on his first college entrance test. She was an uptight, somewhat introverted, yet gentle women recovering from the recent death of her husband. Here they are today, by the stories time, eight years later, finally where we all knew they were meant to go. In eachother's arms. This issue tosses asside MOST of the series trademark wackiness to make room for all of the moments that we all know are coming. The confessions and consumations of love. The blessings of the parents. Godai finally finding his career. The end of an old ache for kyoko. The wedding. A reunion with old friends, and the the birth of Thier first child. As I said, Most of the wackiness has been tossed aside, yet thier are plenty of laugh's to be found and anyone who enjoy's a good laugh and a good cry will find themselves doing both at the same time while reading this story. I hope all of us who enjoy the story of Maison Ikkoku are lucky enough to find such fulfilling mate's one day.

At long last ...

...the moment we readers have awaited so long. The big fights have been had, the truths told, the many rivals for Godai's and Kyoko's respective affections have withdrawn from the field, and our hero and his beloved even manage a night to themselves to make everything okay. Our long-awaited happy ending is in plain sight ahead, so it should be all smooth sailing from here on ... right?Well, no, that'd be too easy, and if anything about this love story were easy, it just wouldn't be Maison Ikkoku. There are still some pent-up feelings to vent, years worth of misunderstandings and resentments to clear away; and now that the news is out, more frequent and raucous interference from the usual gang of drunken housemates and hard-headed family members. No fear of spoilers, there aren't any big shocks plotwise; but the slapstick is dialed way down in this volume to make way for the tear-jerkers to come out in full force. By the time it's all over, it's safe to say that Godai and Kyoko are stronger and more tightly bound for everything they've gone through to finally be together. No worries, friends - they'll be fine. And so will everyone else too. Three loud cheers for Rumiko Takahashi - who else can make us laugh so loud and cry so hard all at once, and still carry it all through to such a sweet ending? Nobody on God's Earth, that's who.

The wonderful conclusion to Maison Ikkoku

This is the conclusion to the Maison Ikkoku series. It can be very tense at spots, which especially holds for this book. Everything is now resolved at Ikkoku, and Rumiko's masterpiece draws to a close. This is the best series I've ever read.