Welcome to the Nihongo Lesson feature. We strive to give you useful manga-based Japanese language tips and maybe even a glimpse into the translation process. This week's lesson will look at an interesting line in a recent One Piece chapter. Sometimes little things are lost in translation, so it's nice to be able to revisit them on this page when you have the chance!

ODEN (おでん)

ODEN is a Japanese dish consisting of various ingredients in a light broth. Think of it as a stew. The ingredients in the broth, such as hard-boiled eggs, daikon and tofu, are generally quite large, and this allows you to grab only your favorites. ODEN is often served from food carts. This is seen in One-Punch Man when Saitama joins Mumen Rider for a drink. Nothing brings weary heroes together like a warm bowl of ODEN! You can also find ODEN at most convenience stores in Japan if you ever want to give it a try.

When you encounter ODEN at a food cart or store, you will see that the ingredients have already been boiling in the broth for a long time. That's what gives it such great flavor. It also allows for quite the funny joke in the One Piece chapter from a few weeks ago. Momonosuke's father was named ODEN, and apparently he was a man who "boiled" with passion. Thanks to the pun, this line is both cool and funny in Japanese. Unfortunately, some of the meaning is lost in English—yet another example of the many difficult challenges that crop up when translating manga.

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