Yusaku Godai

edit

Yusaku Godai (五代 裕作, Godai Yūsaku) is the main character of the series. He begins as a poor 20-year-old rōnin studying for his college entrance exams after failing in the past year. He eventually gets into a third-tier college (with Kyoko's support). He is kindhearted and handsome, but indecisive and spacey. Godai is often "played" by the other tenants of Ikkoku, who habitually take advantage of him (e.g. they use his room for frequent drinking binges and steal food from his care packages). He falls in love with Kyoko at first sight, but initially lacks the courage (when sober at least) to tell her how he feels. Instead, he daydreams a lot and does several silly things (for example, he runs into road posts). But Godai is an honorable man who is worthy of Kyoko, as his love for her is a lasting and devoted love. He has, several times, tried making a move on Kyoko, but could not bring himself to do so; such actions make Kyoko think of him as a perfect gentleman. At the end, he marries her, and Godai and Kyoko finally found happiness and have a daughter, which they give the name Haruka Godai (五代春香, Godai Haruka). He is voiced by Issei Futamata in the Japanese anime, and by Jason Gray-Stanford (eps. 1–36) and Brad Swaile (eps. 37–96) in the English version. He is portrayed by Ken Ishiguro in the 1986 film and Taiki Nakabayashi in a 2007 TV film.

Kyoko Otonashi

edit

Kyoko Otonashi (音無 響子, Otonashi Kyōko; née Chigusa) is the heroine of the series. She is a beautiful, 22-year-old widow who takes on the task of managing a broken-down boarding house. She is sweet and polite, but also has a violent, frightening side that emerges when she is jealous or angry, or dealing with her meddling and equally stubborn parents. She soon develops affection for Godai, and has a tendency to dote over him (with the other tenants teasing her for acting like a "good wife") and becomes jealous over him (though she lies to herself and denies that it is jealousy). However, it is hard for her to forget about her late husband Soichiro (who died just six months after their wedding), and her memories of her husband sometimes put her in a melancholy mood. Kyoko's love for him is sometimes reflected in dialogues with her dog, who bears the same name as her late husband. She believes Godai to be pure-hearted and not a pervert, unlike the other tenants, who try warning her about him. At the end, she is happily married to Godai and a new mother to their daughter Haruka. She is voiced by Sumi Shimamoto in the Japanese anime, and by Ellen Kennedy in the English version. She is played by Mariko Ishihara in the 1986 film and Misaki Ito in the 2007 TV film. Otonashi literally means "without a sound," but is also a pun on otto-nashi (夫なし), or "without a husband," in reference to her status as a widow.