On Tue, 21 Apr 1998, The Eternal Lost Lurker wrote:

I have a dictionary in front of me at this very moment.  It lists
"transformation" as a definition for "hentai".

Literally, the Kanji can be taken as "strange form."  Hen means
strange or weird, "tai" is form.  I've never seen it as
"transformation," and according to a friend of mine (who is

Japanese

and lives over there), that dictionary is not correct.

This is true. You should *never* automatically assume that a
dictionary is correct, because a lot of them have clear and often
retarded errors. For instance, at one point I owned a dictionary
which listed "kane" as turtle and "kame" as metal. The defintions are
clearly reversed..."kame" is turtle and "kane" is metal. 

Point being, don't always trust a single J-E/E-J dictionary. Always
consult at least two, preferably three. 

Or just one person. People can be mistaken as well.

Kenkyusha (AKA Green Goddess): metamorphosis. transformation.
New Nelson (AKA Blue Monster): transformation, metamorphosis, abnormality.
Old Nelson (AKA Red Book):     transformation, metamorphosis, abnormality.

It begins with New Nelson 1119 (Old Nelson 306). I would guess that since
someone above indicated their Japanese friend didn't recognize that
meaning, it is an uncommon (although still valid) meaning.

I would say it _is_ a pun (although perhaps an obscure one).

-- 
Benjamin Franz