Character Profile: Yusaku Godai

Yusaku Godai is a friendly, shy university student who, at the beginning of the story, is threatening to leave the comfortably shabby apartment house Maison Ikkoku; until the arrival of the beautiful Kyoko Otonashi, with whom he falls in love with immediately.

Throughout the anime and manga, Yusaku tries to make himself worthy of the love of the widowed Kyoko, but as with most things in life it is not easy for our hero. He must suffer the innumerable put-downs and harassments by his fellow residents of Maison Ikkoku, namely Mrs. Ichinose, Mr. Yotsuya, and Akemi, the rich, handsome playboy Shun Mitaka, and two attractive young women who latch onto him.