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 focus on Shonen Jump’s newest JUMP START series, Gakkyu Hotei: School Judgment! Solving crimes might be easy compared to cracking the mystery that is the Japanese language!

ABAKU (アバク)   PINE (パイン)

More cool character names this week, and they are really important to the plot of the series. ABAKU means to “expose” or “uncover.” What a perfect name for a lawyer character who’s trying to discover the truth! He also has two different kanji symbols in his name that mean “dog.” Abaku seems to eat and argue like a wild dog, so it’s pretty fitting. But it goes deeper! Onigashima is the home of terrible demons in a Japanese fairy tale called Momotaro. In the story, Momotaro is aided by three talking animals, a monkey, a pheasant and a...dog! Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before rival animal name characters are revealed!

PINE is for “pineapple”! Talk about a cute name. Hanzuki means “half-moon,” so that might explain why Pine seems to be obsessed with Sailor Moon. She may try her cases in cosplay, but this prosecutor gets results!

TENTO NANAHOSHI (ななほしてんと)

NANAHOSHI literally means “seven stars,” and a NANAHOSHI TENTOMUSHI (this part means “bug”) is a seven-spotted ladybug. I’m guessing that his parents saw his spotted head and figured, “Let’s name him after a ladybug!” Hopefully he stops acting like a ladybug and fights back!

TENBIN (てんびん)

TENBIN is the name of the school this story takes place in, but it’s also a balancing scale, the type of scale held by Lady Justice, the Roman goddess of Justice. This seems to be the perfect name for the setting of a manga called School Judgment. In fact, the building even looks like a scale. I’m just wondering whether Abaku is gonna stick around Tenbin or travel from school to school. I can’t wait to find out in the next chapter!

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