The set-up: Yusaku Godai is a ronin who lives in a boarding house called Maison Ikkoku. Surrounded by other tenants who live to interfere in his life, he is on the verge of moving out when a new manager arrives - beautiful Kyoko Otonashi, a young woman with a complicated past beyond anything Godai is prepared for. He falls in love with her and from then on devotes himself to proving to Kyoko that he is a responsible man, capable of taking care of her. Unfortunately, Godai is actually too weak-willed to be considered responsible; he's consistently taken advantage of by nearly everyone, from the other tenants in Ikkoku, to Kyoko's family members, to his sweetly insistent would-be girlfriend Kozue.

Adding to the situation is the introduction of the romantic rival, Shun Mitaka, who is everything Godai is not: suave, charming, well-off, and dependable, though something of a ladies man. Both men vie as aggressively as they can for Kyoko's affections, and find her to be kind-hearted, sensible, and intelligent - as well as irrational, jealous, and capable of holding a grudge longer than anyone reasonably should.

So begins a romantic comedy of errors, misunderstanding, farce, and some of the best character development and angst you could hope for in a manga series.