(Special thanks to AnimeInfo.org staffer Saffran for helping to put this section together. Most of the research and text you see here was done by him and his extensive knowledge about the culture.)

MI is anchored into real life. Most of if not every scene of the anime really depicts the way things went in Japan during that time. From Godai's job search to the idea of romance, courting, and marriage, to cultural niceties - all of these fit into a framework that accurately describes Japan and its "bubble economy" of the time. In many ways, Maison Ikkoku shows its antiquity by the mere fact that since its broadcasting and release, the Japanese culture has changed and evolved to something is different than what appears before.

One of the most common occurences of how the Japanese culture of the time presented itself in Maison Ikkoku is through the job search that Godai goes through, and the many difficulties he encounters in landing or even interviewing for a prestigious position. In Japan, the most important thing on your diplomas is the name of the university who delivered them. Ever heard of Toudai (Tokyo University) or Waseda? (there are a few others) Those are top notch universities, offering
classes for a very high price (10 million Yen nowadays for a year at Waseda), but they also offer the best chance to get a lifetime employment. Alternatively, in America, schools and degrees have become less and less important in the face of extensive experience or job potential. Not so in the Japan of Godai's time.

In the Western culture, recommendations from previous employers or by people already employed at the company are not required unless explicitly stated in the job description listing. However, in the Japan of Godai's time, recommendations were essential and acted as lifelines to ensure positions in Japanese companies. Even an interview cannot be had if someone does not vouch for your reliability and competance to perform tasks. Because the Japanese were (and still are) people who placed emphasis on efficiency in the workplace (after all, efficient workers produce efficient, quality products or services), being able to know that a person was reliable, straight from the mouth of someone with clout, means a lot. This is why you will notice that Godai sometimes cannot even get a meeting because he wasn't recommended. This is still true nowadays in various occupations ; you basically need someone trustworthy (in the eyes of the future company) to tell them to give you a chance, or they
won't even try to listen to you (nor read your CV in most cases). Which is why the whole Yagami affair (in which Godai struggled to make a good impression on her father, who was an executive), which might looking ridiculous in the eyes of some, is that important to the main plot : if Godai was going to look for a lifetime place, he had no choice but to endure it all, even Yagami's crush on him, in order to get the precious letter.

The reason that getting a job was so important to Godai was because the rest of his life litereally hinged on his ability to get one. At the time MI was made, lifetime employment was viewed as a prerequisite to any serious plans (like, say, marriage ^_^). A man with a lifetime place was much more of a man than someone with a temporary (albeit secure) place. In that insight, MI appears to be very modern. The key point is the Mist International (Kasumi Inc. in the Viz manga) company going bankrupt. At the
time when it was drawn, this wasn't something one could discuss openly. Japan had been experiencing uninterrupted economic success for 35 years! (of course, the Mist International/Kasumi Inc.never existed, but similar cases occured in real life, inciting the author to use it as a plot element). This practically forces Godai to find his own way or to create it, which wasn't exactly common at the time. Godai's elation at landing a position at Kasumi Inc. was indeed justified - surely, even at a subsidiary, he would be able to climb the corporate ladder and have a secure future in life (and therefore to prove to Kyoko that he is worthy of trying to support her in marriage).

And speaking of marriage, it was also definitely another way in which the Japanese culture of the time reflected itself in MI. The arranged marriage set up between the Mitakas and Kujos is just one example of how marriage perceptions and customs in Japan are seen in MI. An arranged marriage can occur for several reasons, ranging from the "normal" case when the single person is looking for someone, up to the case where someone intimate but socially superior to you worries so much that he has you apply. Shun Mitaka's uncle is definitely on the latter part of the cases here. In the anime, the reason behind the first arranged marriage is to please both families : the Kujos are wealthy but need a heir, and Shun's uncle just wants his dear nephew to finally start a family. Shun, being 29 at the time, starts falling into the category of "old singles". This is incentive enough for the families to start planning, and because in society's eyes they possess higher standing, etiquette says Mitaka has close to no say in this. Kyoko's mother's enthusiasm in attempting to get her daughter to remarry is another example of an attempt at a sort of "arrangement" to for her. Kyoko's mother seems to go to extremes, what with her trying to focrcibly move Kyoko out of Maison Ikkoku without her permission and other such things, but in the context of the importance of marriage at the time, this was only just a little out of the ordinary. Nowadays of course both youngsters can refuse without fearing any consequences, but
in the late eighties formalities were still a touchy topic, and one generally followed without protest.

The second arranged marriage is a tactic to get Kyoko, using the same trap. Kyoko would shame her family quite much if she were to outright refuse Shun's proposition (and not proposal). When the parents of both families have agreed on the terms of the marriage, there's not a lot one can do to prevent the marriage from taking place. Kyoko "innocently" reminds that she's already widowed and that she's 26 (meaning "past conservation time"), but unluckily for her, the Mitakas are
broad-minded people.

These are just a couple of the things one will see when reading Maison Ikkoku. It's as much of a cultural read as it is a romance or a comedy, and it makes the series even more pleasurable to read, and definitely more educational. Looking for these cultural tidbits while you read will definitely help you to understand the series better as well as the characters and their actions and motives.