I was lured to this drink, which I found in the local 99 yen shop, by the graphic on the can. The first thing I thought was "Roy Lichtenstein" because of the style, but I'm guessing the target audience is supposed to be thinking "manga" (Japanese comics). It was next to the alcoholic beverages, but is a soft drink. Little did I know that there may have been a reason for it to be stocked next to the booze.
Incidentally, you read right that this is produced by Japan Tobacco. Who knew that the purveyors of oral carcinogens were in the beverage business as well? They've teamed up with a company called Nobel Confectionery to try and make some scratch in a manner which doesn't result in premature death. In addition to soft drinks, they sell canned and bottled coffee, water, tea, cocoa, health, vitamin and energy drinks.
The can that this soda comes in is quite small. It is only 190 ml, but trust me when I say that is "enough." The entire can has about 60 calories despite also having artificial sweeteners (Sucralose and Erythritol among them). It has sugar as the first ingredient and lemon (at 1% of the total amount) as the second.
According to the web site, the goal of this beverage is to emulate super sour candies and, boy howdy, is it a success. It smells relatively mild and doesn't look like much since it looks like modestly tinted carbonated water. The first sip though is like drinking straight out of a bottle of lemon juice. It's incredibly intense and I wonder now if the goal is to use this as a mixer for liquor rather than to drink it straight.
This isn't bad at all, and it is fortified with Vitamin C. I imagine that it might even be somewhat refreshing if you had a cold and a diminished sense of taste and smell and wanted something to pick you up. I can't recommend just drinking it straight though unless you love super, super sour and strong lemon flavors. I'm giving this an indifferent rating not because it's bad because I actually think it is good for what it is, but I don't think I'd buy it again except in very specific circumstances.
