No stranger to energy drinks, the vaunted American energy drink Monster will finally make it to Japan in full-sized cans. To learn more about energy drinks in Japan and how this belated arrival compares to Monster’s reach heretofore, read on.
A Surprising History
Energy drinks, and health drinks more broadly, have a longer history in Japan than one might assume.
In the early Edo period, while jockeying for what seemed to be a real chance at supplanting the Tokugawa Shogun, northern daimyo Date Masamune invented inro-shu. This was a drink condensed for convenience into a powder. Easily reconstituted in water, it was capable of producing large quantities easily.
The Date armies used it for energy and as a painkiller in the battlefield. Unfortunately, although it was a pioneering drink, its recipe is lost.
Monster Energy’s history is far more recent. It debuted in 2002 as an offering from the Hansen Natural Company. The drink is now owned by the Monster Energy Corporation. Its creators originally positioned it as an alternative to Red Bull– the drink that I myself knew all too well in high school, around that time.
Monster Energy has since found runaway success and a following all its own. It is a fixture in gaming circles, of course, but anyone looking for a means to get a quick burst of energy could be in the market for Monster.
Those of us with ADHD sometimes use it to manage our symptoms, too. Among some trans folk, the drink has even attained the status of a meme.
The company bottles Monster locally in Japan, but only now has it added the full 500ml American-style can to its Japanese lineup. So, what can the fanbase expect?
A Welcome Addition
The 500ml can is visibly larger than the 355ml can, which was formerly the largest Japanese size. It debuts 6 June– today, as I write this article.
Gigazine praises its excellent cost performance. The 500ml can, at 250 yen, costs about 50 yen per 100ml. Each 100ml of Monster Energy also contains 40mg of caffeine. The drink’s ever-popular classic recipe remains unchanged for this new Japanese release.
One reviewer on the editorial staff for Gigazine commented that the new size lasted them for 5 to 6 drinks, rather than the 355ml size, which they could finish in 3 rounds. They also noted that it gave them a longer charge of energy. “This is a size where people who regularly drink Monster Energy and think ‘this drink isn’t big enough’ are sure to be thrilled.”
The company is greeting the new size’s launch with a giveaway campaign running for most of June. The first 10,000 lucky entrants to present receipts for 355 and 500ml cans and 500ml bottle cans via the BUY MONSTER, WIN GEAR campaign’s website will be eligible to receive limited-run gear commemorating the arrival of the long-awaited American size– caps, shirts, and body bags. But it’s going to take more than just one can– 7 can receipts to enter for the apparel.
For those Monster faithful who enter with 24 receipts, there is a chance for a year’s supply of Monster.
We dare say, we think Lord Masamune himself might have been pleased.
Sources
- Buy Monster, Win Gear. Accessed 7 June 2023.
- Hamano Saki. “Honba Amerika Jouban Saizu no “Monsutaa Enaajii kan 500ml” 6gatsu 6ka Hatsubai” Gurume Watch, 30 May 2023, accessed 7 June 2023.
- “Monsutaa Enajii ni Kosupaa Saikou na Honba Amerikasaizu no Daiyouryoukan 500ml ga tsui ni toujou shita no de Monenamania ga Enerugii Chaaji shimakuttemita.” Gigazine, 6 June 2023, Accessed 6 June 2023.
- Yamada Kiichi. “Sendai Bussan Enkaku.” pp. 343-389 of Sendai Sōsho Besshū Dai 2kan. (Sendai: Sendai Sōsho Kankōkai, 1922), p. 370.
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