Original subtitles

Bad idea, bad idea. Ramen's a bad idea.

Why do think so?

In the first place, no one would want it.

The ramen Manpei-san wants to make

- must be overnight pickles. - Overnight pickles?

Cut some carrots, rub with salt, put some weight on it,

let it sit one night, and there, it's ready to eat.

That's right, Fukuko. In terms of pickles, the ramen I want to make is overnight pickles.

Overnight pickled ramen.

Manpuku

♫Marumatteru senakani ni morai naki ♫I get infectious weeping looking at your stooped shoulders

It's Ramen! Fukuko!

Week 17

♫Haji datte issho ni ♫We'll share the humiliation too

♫Hikoukigumo bonyari nagamu ♫Gazing absentmindedly at contrails

♫Kokoro kokoni arazu ♫Here in body, but not in spirit

♫Nenkan totaru moshi shitara ♫If I was to calculate an annual total

♫Tsukiau watashi sugoi? ♫Aren't I amazing for keeping you company?

♫Toboketeru mayuge ni morai warai ♫ I get infectious laughter looking at your comical eyebrows

♫Tere datta nandatte ♫Be it embarrassment or whatever

♫Morai naki morai warai morai ikari ♫Infectious weeping, infectious laughter, infectious anger

♫Moraippaji don to koi! ♫Infectious embarrassment. Bring them on!

♫Seiten mo donten mo hekireki mo ♫Sunny days, cloudy days, thunderous days too

Overnight pickled ramen?

So I said that's speaking figuratively.

It's not the kind of ramen

you put weight on and it's ready to eat after sitting overnight.

- That's right. - But that phrase is misleading, you know, Fuku-chan.

The only thing that comes to mind is overnight pickled cucumbers.

Mom and everyone else told me the same thing.

Overnight pickled ramen?

You rub it with salt and it's ready to eat after letting it sit overnight?

- Wrong. - Does it have a cucumber in it?

- There's no cucumber, probably. - Is an eggplant in it?

Probably not.

- There's no way that ramen can be good. - That's why I told you...

I'm starting to feel nauseated.

Just forget about overnight pickled ramen, okay? What Manpei-san's thinking about

is ramen that can be made at home easily.

I was just speaking figuratively when I said overnight pickles.

I'm sorry for the confusion.

What's with that defiant attitude?

Yes, the phrase overnight pickles

would be better if it was used just between you and Manpei-san.

Even then, can a ramen like that really be made?

That's why I told you it was a man's adventure.

- Who did? - I did.

- A man's? - Adventure.

- Whose? - Mine.

It's Manpei-san's!

She's totally playing me for a fool.

But you guys have to go on eating too.

And send the kids to school.

Since Manpei-san won't be earning any money until he makes his ramen,

I'll have to work until then.

Say...

We can't raise your pay that much, you know.

I'll cut down on household expense, so we'll be fine.

Don't overexert yourself. You have to take care of yourself, Fuku-chan.

Thanks, Toshi-chan.

- Say... - What?

Around that time, Manpei-san was making his round at Chinese restaurants and stalls

eating as many kinds of ramen as he could.

Does this soup have bonito stock in it?

Yup.

Bonito stock, huh?

- Is it not to your liking? - No, it's very good.

Shigeru-san.

- Yoshino-chan. Are you done with work? - Yes.

- Me too. Let's go home together. - Okay.

Is that so. I guess you're at that age already.

Mom says I should hurry up and get married, but Dad says it's still too early.

But there's nothing I can do if I don't have a partner.

Grandma tells us everyday how she wants to see her great-grandchild.

But there's not much we can do since a child is a gift from heaven.

- We're home. - We're home.

Overnight pickled ramen?

It means ramen that can be made easily.

I wonder if the idea's already finalized in Manpei-san's mind.

But when I first heard about it,

- I got nauseous. - I wonder when he's going to start making it.

At first, I thought it was because the overnight pickled ramen sounded disgusting, but

the nausea didn't go away, so I went to the hospital.

- Oh... - Then...

I'm going out for a bit! To see Manpei-san.

Listen to me!

- What kind of ramen? - That's what I heard.

What is overnight pickled ramen?

That's why I told everyone to forget I said overnight pickles. Seriously.

- Go take a bath. - Okay.

You ask what kind of ramen, but... Actually, I'm not so sure myself.

But I'm beginning to see the requirements.

First of all, as long as it's food, it has to be tasty.

- It has to be tasty. - That goes without saying.

Being good to a certain degree, but not enough to go out of your way to go buy it.

- That won't do. - Absolutely.

But no matter how tasty it is, you can't get tired of it right away.

That's right. It's the kind of ramen that you'd want again the next day even after eating it every day.

- This is getting exciting. - The second criteria is...

- Yes? - That it's cheap.

- Cheap. - That's important too.

With the end of the war, a large amount of wheat came in from America.

It was to provide food aid to Japan which was suffering from rice shortage.

Most of that wheat turned into ingredient for bread. They started serving bread for school lunches too.

- That's continuing on to this day. - Yes.

But in Asia, there's this thing called tradition of noodles.

- Like udon? - Yes.

- Like soba? - Yes.

- Like ramen. - Yes.

Wheat is cheap, so ramen can be made cheaply too.

The ramen that I make will have to be sold cheaply to the public.

- You're absolutely right. - And the third criteria.

He says this is the most important thing.

- What would that be? - That it can be made easily.

- Overnight pickles! - Seriously, I asked you to forget about that already.

- That's the problem. I don't know

what it would take to be able to make ramen easily at home.

For instance, pour the bottled soup in a pot,

put noodles in there, simmer for a while, and it's ready.

- That requires too much time and effort. - That won't work?

- Something that's easier. - Then...

Oh! Put the whole ramen in a can, empty it in a pot, simmer it, and it's ready to eat.

Kanbe-kun. We thought of that already.

The noodles will get too soggy and soft in the can.

- I see... - We need a completely new idea.

We're trying to make something that hasn't existed in this world.

I'll help too. Please let me help you.

I had my mind made up to help you no matter what

when you started making something new.

I appreciate your thought, Kanbe-kun, but you work for a company, don't you?

- That's right. - I'll rush over every day as soon as I'm done with work.

- Will Taka-chan be all right with that? - Taka knows how much I like Manpei-san.

- How much you like me? - Kanbe-san.

But it's true. I really do like you a lot!

Please, let me help you. Please.

Okay, okay. All right.

Then please give me a hand. Thanks, Kanbe-kun.

I'd love to!

This is going to be fun.

I'm home~!

I'm sorry I'm late...

What's the matter?

You went to see Manpei-san, didn't you, Shigeru-san?

We know how much you like Manpei-san, but...

- You shouldn't have gone today. - What are we going to do with you? Shigeru-san.

What happened?

Taka was trying to tell you something important,

but you just rushed out, she said.

We ended up hearing about it first.

What is it?

Taka Nee-chan is going to have a baby.

- What? - She's in her third month now.

A baby?!

- Is...is that true, Taka? - It's true.

- You'll be a father by the end of summer, Shigeru-san. - I'm happy for you.

- Taka! - Shigeru-san.

Taka's going to be a mother, huh?

It's like a child having a child.

Yoshino.

- I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma. - I'm going to be a great-grandma.

Shigeru-kun, you've got to work even harder at your job at Kitahama Foods.

Huh?

You have to come straight home every day, you hear?

- Every day? - But of course.

Okay...

This reminds me of the time you were making salt and Daneihon.

- Kanbe-san's all fired up too. - Yeah.

I'll feel reassured to know that he's helping.

Was...

- It's nothing. - What is it? Go ahead and say it.

Was the work of an executive director not your cup of tea?

When you were involved with the multipurpose food processor at Odajima Manufacturing,

you were so lively.

I felt making something was what you really wanted to do after all.

If it wasn't my cup of tea, I wouldn't have stayed with the credit union for 8 years.

It was a good experience for me.

But...

what you said is absolutely right, Fukuko.

When I saw that multipurpose food processor for the first time, how do I say...

it set me on fire, or should I say it got me all excited

that I felt thrilled like a child.

You're a maker of things after all, Manpei-san.

I guess so.

Then you must be happy now?

Yes.

I'm happy too.

Onii-chan.

What?

I...

What's wrong, Sachi?

Promise you won't ever tell Mom or Dad.

- Promise. - I promise.

I...

don't want to go to school.

How come?

Why?

Because the kids pick on me.

Is it about Dad?

Don't they pick on you, Onii-chan?

Just ignore those kids.

I don't let them bother me.

I can't stand it. I don't want to go to school.

When they start picking on you, come find me.

I'll protect you.

I promise to protect you, so let's go to school together.

Okay? Sachi.

Okay.

Don't tell Mom and Dad.

You have to promise.

Okay.

Let's go to sleep.

Not even in their dream did Fuku-chan or Manpei-san

imagine what the kids were talking about.

Is the problem more with the noodles?