Original subtitles

Some kids picked on us on the way home from school.

They said Dad was fired as executive director of the credit union

and he's a bum now.

A bum?!

Dad, stop making ramen!

I hate being poor! I hate it when they pick on us!

I hate it!

No you don't! No you don't.

No you don't.

So I'm sure your friends who made fun of you

will some day eat the ramen your father made, saying how delicious it is

with a smile on their face.

I'm sure that day will come.

Manpuku

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

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

Week 17

It's Ramen! Fukuko!

♫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

Ever since that day, Manpei-san

devoted himself even more to his research of ramen.

He borrowed books that looked helpful from the library and read them all...

He went to a stall or a Chinese restaurant almost everyday

and ate ramen.

This cost of eating out was a costly expense for the current Tachibana family.

But...

Welcome.

They were managing to somehow make ends meet with the money Fuku-chan was working hard to make.

The seeds are sprouting.

- The soup stock? - Yeah.

I learned that there were all kinds of soup stock out there for ramen.

Bonito flakes, dried sardines.

The owner of the stall I ate at today is from Kyushu. He made his broth from pork bones.

- Pork bones? - Yes, pork bones. It was good.

You're thinking of the flavor for the ramen you're making, right?

A taste that everyone thinks is good, and doesn't get old even when it's eaten every day.

- What about chicken bones? - Chicken bones?

Gen happened to see a chicken getting its neck wrung in the neighborhood

and became unable to eat chicken meat.

But he loves porridge made from chicken stock.

Sachi and I love it too, and so do you.

Chicken bones...

We have all kinds of chicken bones.

Price wise, they're practically free too,.

Then let me have 1 kg to start out with.

Smells good.

It's good, but it's lacking something for ramen soup.

What's missing?

Sesame oil?

If I could borrow just a little bit. We don't have any at home.

- Okay. - Sesame oil for ramen broth.

We're trying out different things. But I figured it wasn't worth buying just for this...

- That would be a waste. - That's right.

You can borrow anything we have here.

Thank you so much.

- You can borrow this old fella too. - Call me anytime.

Thanks, but I'll pass on that.

Okay.

How is it?

What's missing?

I can't tell anymore if we should add or take out something.

Ramen isn't just about soup. Noodles are just as important.

No, fresh noodles won't do. They can't be stored.

But this third criteria is that it can be made quickly.

If that's the case, fresh noodles would be better...

Somen is dried, but it doesn't take long for it to get soft once you put it in hot water.

Are you going to make your ramen that thin?

Oh... I guess not.

Spaghetti.

- A couple packages will do. - Are you using it for ramen?

Rather than using logic, we decided to just give it a try.

Spaghetti, huh?

- Hurry up and go get it. - Okay.

We'll try making it with dried noodles for now.

The thickness is about the same as ramen but...

Boil the dried noodles in chicken broth and it's done.

This is the easiest method so far.

But no matter how you look at it...

It's not ramen.

- It tastes weird. - I can't eat it.

- I can't either. - Dad put a lot of thought into it, you know.

Do you think it's good, Mom?

Can you eat this every day?

I'm sorry.

That's okay. It really does taste nasty. You don't have to eat it anymore.

Nothing goes well at first.

It takes many failures to get to the real thing.

Right?

Manpei-san...

I can't expect things to go well from the beginning.

That's right!

- Mom. - Yes!

- Is this all we get for dinner today? - No way.

I'll make it now~.

It's all my fault. I'm sorry~.

- What should I do? - Hm~. What should you do, huh?

The ramen I want to make has to first be tasty.

That's why I'm using chicken bones.

Secondly, it has to be cheap. That's why I'm using chicken bones.

Thirdly, it has to be easy to make.

Fresh noodles are probably easier to make than dried noodles,

but if possible, I don't want to use fresh noodles.

Fourthly, it can be stored at room temperature.

Which means it has to be dried noodles.

Fifthly, it has to be safe.

But the problem is making it easy to make and nonperishable.

How can I have it both ways?

That's why I told the kids earlier too, didn't I?

It can't be done easily.

Trial and error, was it? I'm sure you'll find the answer

after trying all kinds of things.

That's how it was with the salt too, remember?

- Fukuko. - At first, the salt turned brown

and Mom said it was disgusting and she won't eat it.

- Fukuko. - Yes.

- This is it. - Hm? Kombu ?

This is the ramen I wanted to make.

Are you going to make stock from kombu instead of chicken bones?

No, that's not it.

Kombu that's all dried up becomes soft when you pour hot water over it,

and at the same time the flavor comes out as it dissolves.

- Think of kombu as noodles. - Kombu as noodles.

If we flavor the dried noodles beforehand, and then put it in a pot of boiling water...

No, no, no, no, no. Put the flavored dried noodle in a bowl

and when you pour hot water over it, the noodles soak up the water and at the same time

the hot water dissolves the flavor from the noodles, making the soup.

There's nothing easier than that.

Since all you have to do is pour hot water.

I'm sorry, Manpei, but I can't follow you.

- Why! - Is it just me?

- Would other people understand? - Of course they will!

I'm so glad~. It wasn't just me~.

What part don't you understand?

- What part? - Everything.

- Everything?! - I understand it.

Although not everything.

- So the dried noodles have flavor to start out with? - Yes.

- And it's ready to eat after pouring hot water on it? - That's right, Yoshino-chan.

- It doesn't have to be simmered? - No, it doesn't.

How can you make ramen without simmering it?

- That's what I'll have to figure out next. - How are you going to flavor it?

I'll have to figure that out too.

The fact that it's beyond anyone's imagination must mean that

it's a totally new product that's never existed in this world.

I got it, Manpei-san.

This is a huge step forward.

- Go ahead and keep going. - Fukuko...

- Please let me help too. - Shigeru-san?

Taka is pregnant with your baby, you know.

At least give it a name, Manpei-kun.

- A name? - Yes. I can't imagine it, but

but if it had a name, at least we can talk about it, like how far

- Manpei-san's such and such is progressing. - Ah, name...

It can't be overnight picked ramen, right?

That's no good. No good...

Magic ramen that can be eaten right away.

- It's too long. - Plus misleading.

How about instant ramen?

Instant?

Instant meaning it doesn't require time and effort.

Instant ramen.

I like it!

I like it too.

Then it's settled. We don't understand what it is, but

at any rate, we'll call it instant ramen.

- Good luck, Manpei-san. - Thanks!

- But can it really be made? - Mom.

- I want to help. - Shigeru-san.

I know.

Instant ramen?

It's delicious ramen that can be made easily and conveniently.

Indeed.

I tell you, that's not possible.

What instant ramen?

Then can you make rice curry that can be made by just pouring hot water?

I'm saying this for Tachibana-kun's own good. Tell him don't even try, Fuku-chan.

No. Manpei-san will make it without fail.

And when that happens, this is what Sera-san will say.

"I was wrong. Please let me sell that instant ramen!"

You will.

What are you clapping for.

I'm home.

Manpei-san. I told Sera-san off.

That instant ramen will sell for sure...

Manpei-san?

Manpei-san.

Oh, sorry, Fukuko. You'll have to give up your garden.

What is this...

I'm going to build my lab here.

Lab?!

Yeah. I'm going to develop my instant ramen here.

My garden...

The making of instant ramen by Manpei-san and Fuku-chan had finally begun.

Manpei-san, the owner of a ramen shop?!

Week 18 "It Will Be Completed Soon?!"

From here on is the challenge no one's ever done before.

It must have been a real nuisance for the mole too.

You're more interested in Uncle Manpei, aren't you?

That woman's making eyes at Tadahiko-san.

Don't worry about what other people think.