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Running for 96 episodes, an incredibly long lifespan for anime, which are usually pitched and produced in units of 26 or 52 episodes, Maison Ikkoku is now considered to be an archetype in anime. The story is told mainly from the perspective of Yusaku Godai, a "ronin" who failed his college entrance exams and is studying hard to retake them. Yusaku moves into a boarding house managed by the young recent widow Kyoko Otonashi and falls victim to love at first sight upon meeting her. What follows is a soap opera saga full of laughter, mostly at Yusaku, who is constantly studying amidst a barrage of obtrusive housemates and can never quite muster the courage to confess his feelings to Kyoko. "Maison Ikkoku" literally means "House of Movement."