Kyouko Otonashi
OTO'NASHI:
OTO (Kanji): "sound"
NASHI (Kanji): "there isn't, doesn't have, without"
The meaning of the term is "obedient, docile, quiet"
KYOU'KO:
KYOU (Kanji): "echo, sound, reverberation, noise"
KO (Kanji): "child"

Janitor of Ikkoku-kan, widow of the late Souichiro Otonashi. Since her wedded life didn't last long, the time she spent with Souichiro is beautified, making her feel that she must be virtuous to her late husband. So, when she first moved into Ikkoku-kan, she almost instinctively repelled any approaches by men, mostly Godai and Mitaka (Yotsuya doesn't count). But gradually she felt attached to Godai who is such a sad case that she felt motherly love towards him. Even though Ichinoce and others insisted that she should admit that she loves Godai, it took a long time for her to do so.

Kyoko's teacher once told Yagami that Kyoko is too straight and can't see that there is more than one truth, so if she admits that she loves Godai, then everything about Souichiro would be a lie. When Kozue kisses Godai, Kyoko finally actually shows her true feeling to Godai by countering Kozue's kiss. Afterwards, she admits that she's relieved that she finally made up her mind. Though Souichiro's ``ghost'' hangs around her, she bids farewell to her late husband when she overhears what Godai said to Shouichiro's grave, a few days before the wedding of the two: ``To be honest, I'm jealous of you. Even if she does return your belongings, Kyoko-san would never forget about you... It's not exactly forget or something like that. You're part of Kyoko-san's heart already. But anyway I'll do my best. Ever since I've met her, you were a part of her, and I fell in love with her, who was that way. So, I'm marrying Kyoko-san including you...''
At the end of the series, Kyoko became the happy mother of a girl, Haruka (meaning ``the scent of spring'').

(The scary thing about the artist, Rumiko Takahasi, is that she didn't wait for other artists to parody her work; she did it by herself. In one of the Urusei Yatsura episodes, there was a widow whose only comfort was her dog after her husband passed away. The dog dies tragically (by surfing)... Just then, she happens to meet Ryunosuke's old man, who has the same eyes that her lost dog did. So she starts going after him, giving him the merchandise that her store handles (dog food) which he happily consumed.)

Note on japan character voice: Sumi Shimamoto did Nausicaa , Clarisse and Ooyamada Maki in Lupin III, Sue Zombie in The Super Gal, Mei Satsuki's mother in Tonari no Totoro, and Leo's (Kimba's) mother in Junguru Taitei. In Urusei Yatsura, she did the voice of Asuna Mizunokouji, an armour-clad super-powered (as Onsen Mark said, ``living mobile suit'') hyper-male-phobic girl whose famous line is ``ARRRRGGGGHHHH! MALES!!'' I hope any Urusei Yatsura fans who saw episode #8 of the Maison Ikkoku TV version did not laugh themselves to death.

Scheda di Kyouko Otonashi
Nata 1960
Segno zodiacale Topo
Varianti alla pronuncia Kyoko
Chiamata 'Kanrinin-san' dai membri della Ikkoku-kan
'Kyoko-san' da Godai, Mitaka, e qualcun'altro
'Otonashi-san' da Mitaka e qualcun'altro
'Chigusa-san' per errore dalla Kamiogi-sensei e da tutti gli altri quando frequentava le superiori
'Chigusa-kun' da Souichiro quando andava alle superiori
'Obasama' da Ikuko
'Kyoko' dai suoi genitori
'Juliette Rosier' in Francia
'Juliette Anthony' in Francia
Prima apparizione Episodio 1 nell'anime
Volume 1-1 nel manga