Original subtitles

Release the patent?!

I'm going to let other companies use the manufacturing method of Manpuku Ramen.

Licensing agreement? Why the heck do we have to pay you folks?

No company would sign a licensing agreement with Manpuku Foods.

So...won't you please help him out again?

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 22

Is Naive Thinking Unacceptable?

♫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

I'm Oka Kosuke.

My name is Morimoto Gen.

Do you guys like Yoshino?

- Dad. - That's too straightforward.

Do you like her?

- Yes. - I do.

Yoshino is our precious daughter.

She's always been gentle and cheerful and she grew up to be this beautiful young lady.

Dad.

He's not saying this as a doting father.

- He IS a doting father. - Taka.

- Yoshino-chan is adorable. - There's no one as beautiful as her.

Are you trying to get close to her because she's beautiful!

- Is that the only reason! - No, no. That's not it.

How do you feel, Yoshino?

It sounds like Oka-san and Morimoto-san are going to confess to you.

I think both of them are nice guys.

- Yoshino-chan. - Thank you.

Yoshino, they're not the only men, you know.

There are plenty of good men in the world.

But now that you've met these two,

you can see that they're not bad guys, right?

- Well, yes. - Then

- please give them a chance too. - Chance? What do you want me to do?

You don't have to do anything. Just let nature take its course.

Yoshino-chan will surely find a good guy for herself.

- Will you be all right, Yoshino? - I'll think about it carefully and choose the right man.

Then let's just let them be, Dear.

All right. Then

you may confess to Yoshino when the right time comes.

- Yes. - Thank you.

- When the right time comes? - They've already confessed.

It was 5 days later that a phone call came from Sera-san

who had gone to Tokyo.

- Doigaki Sensei? - Yeah.

A Metropolitan assemblyman who I met through the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce

introduced me to a House of Representatives member, Doigaki Ryuzo Sensei.

- House of Representatives member?! - What!

- He's the former head of the Food Agency. - Head of the Food Agency?!

- Oh my! - Will someone like that see you?!

I already made an appointment.

This is a job only I can do, Tachibana-kun.

- I'll be going to Tokyo. - If I do say so myself, this ability to take action ...

- Mother, Fukuko, please take care of business while I'm gone. - Tachibana-kun.

- Certainly. - Will do.

Are you listening to me, Tachibana-kun?

Kagurazaka, Tokyo

Manpei-san left Osaka on the first train the next day

and arrived in Tokyo by evening.

Frankly, I have no idea what kind of a person Doigaki Sensei is.

We'll just have ask for his favor with our fighting spirit, Tachibana-kun.

Got it.

Excuse me.

Sorry I'm late.

The council meeting dragged on.

I'm Sera Katsuo from Sera Shoji.

I'm Tachibana Manpei from Manpuku Foods.

Thank you for setting aside some time for us out of your busy schedule today.

No, no, no. No need for a formal greeting.

- Madam, beer. - Certainly, Sir.

This sashimi's sure tasty.

What's the matter? Isn't it to your liking?

- Not at all. It's very good. - I'm enjoying it.

DOIGAKI RYUZO

House of Representatives Member

You can't be eating when we haven't gotten to the point yet, huh?

I heard a lot about it from my secretary, but just to be sure, let me hear it directly from you.

Certainly. You see, there is a product called Manpuku Ramen.

This is an epoch-making food item.

It's ramen that can be eaten by just pouring hot water over it and waiting 3 minutes.

- Oh? - And the person who invented that

is this Tachibana Manpei here.

Thankfully, Manpuku Ramen has been received well

and is being bought by an extremely large number of customers.

However, many similar products are appearing on the market.

Among them, they are inferior products that are capable of

harming the health of those who eat it.

Whereupon I decided to release the manufacturing patent.

- Release? - Yes.

From the manufacturing method of the chicken soup extract to how to make the noodles,

to the temperature of the oil and frying time, I made everything available to any company for their use.

However,

there weren't any companies that were willing to sign a licensing agreement with us.

"What's wrong with our inferior products," they'd say.

They're only concerned about their immediate profit and they're ignoring the health of the consumers.

It's come to a point where realization is impossible

without assistance from a powerful person.

Doigaki Sensei, won't you please lend us a hand?

Please.

In short, are you saying that you're working with the well being of consumers in mind?

Yes, sir.

Even if that means lowering your own profit?

Absolutely.

That's not true.

By getting rid of the inferior products, ultimately

your company will be able to reap the profit.

You're absolutely right.

But our company's profit isn't our top priority.

To have the customers acknowledge the fact that

this new product called instant ramen is safe and tasty food.

For instant ramen to infiltrate the dietary habits of the Japanese people

and for its convenience to be of help to many people,

that is what I'm hoping for.

Quite interesting.

You guys are interesting.

Then you should give proper shape to your industry.

- What did you say? - Give it a shape?

Form an association for instant ramen,

Joining it will be the condition to manufacture and sell instant ramen.

However, if they join the association, the manufacturing patent of Manpuku Ramen

may be used for free.

- For free?! - Yeah. If you don't go that far,

the industry won't come together as one.

But, uh... that means

- our profit will be... - That will be fine.

We will do as you say.

We will do as you say.

The Food Agency is going to have a lot to say, but...

Hey. There's nothing wrong with what you're thinking.

If the Food Agency makes a decision, businesses have no choice but to abide by it.

Thank you very much, Doigaki Sensei.

Thank you.

But why are you doing so much for us when we've just met?

That's because...

I love Manpuku Ramen.

That is truly delicious. And also convenient. Between campaign speeches

I can eat it quickly like that.

Thank you very much, Doigaki Sensei!

Now then...

Japan Instant Ramen Industry Association Launching Ceremony

The instant ramen association was launched 1 month after that.

And Manpei-san was appointed Chairman of the association.

I'm Tachibana Manpei.

Come on, it's bath time, bath time. It's bath time~.

- We're moving? - Yes. I heard our old house is vacant now.

8 years in this house...

The people who bought that house are moving to Tokyo.

Oh my!

We don't have to worry about money anymore so we can go back to living like before, Mom.

What's wrong?

Your husband is really something.

To be honest, when he said he's making ramen out of the blue, I thought it was all over.

All over?

Ramen that's ready to eat in 3 minutes by just pouring hot water over it.

But he really made it...

Dad, stop making ramen!

Sachi and I were getting picked on all this time! We've been enduring it all this time!

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 going to make the kind of ramen that will surprise the world.

Now, people all over Japan are enjoying eating it.

Your Manpei-san is admirable.

He's an amazing man who far exceeded my expectation.

Mom.

I'm almost 70.

Manpei-san's 50, and you're 40.

I hope I can spend my remaining life in peace like this.

Peaceful remaining days, huh?

Mom finally acknowledged you.

That makes me truly happy.

But I'm still 50.

We're just getting started, right? Fukuko.

We'll just have to come up with something that's truly new.

Week 23 "A New Product?!"

I can't believe Manpei-san and Gen are working together

to make something new.

Noodle, not ramen.

What if they're lovers?

This is chaos.