Regain Energy Drink

Posted on July 2, 2014 | Last updated February 21, 2025

A review of Regain Energy Drink, which is the energy drink version of the traditional Japanese nutritional drink brand, Regain.

Regain Energy Drink

Manufacturer	Suntory
Country of Origin	Japan
Price	200 JPY
Flavor	classic flavor
Total rating	★★☆☆☆

Author information Author: Energy Drink-kun

In 2001, while living in the United States, I encountered energy drinks through the dance scene and was deeply impressed. After returning to Japan, I found that energy drinks were considered novelty beverages, so I established a comprehensive website in 2013 to share the true appeal of energy drinks. As an energy drink enthusiast, I began drinking them seriously again, collecting over 7,000 varieties of energy drinks from various countries. I am also active as a critic and expert, receiving media interviews.

Regain Energy Drink, I was initially underestimating it...

I thought Regain would just make a mediocre energy drink, but this is actually pretty delicious. It's a classic, with a strong citrus flavor and a well-balanced, refreshing taste.

The sweetness is subtle, and while it has a slightly perfume-like scent at room temperature, when chilled, the acidity becomes crisp and the fragrance is pleasant as it wafts through the nose. The perfume-like scent completely disappears.

Regain Energy Drink
The Mogu-Mogu texture isn't particularly strong, but the drink is still satisfying. When closer to room temperature, there's a slight bitterness—I'm not sure what causes that. Could it be the inclusion of black ginger extract?

Japanese energy drinks really love ginger!

From Raijin (Taisho Pharmaceutical) with its extreme spiciness, Samurai Do (House Foods) with its odd ginger addition, and now this Regain (Suntory) with black ginger? Why do they all add ginger?

Personally, I'm tired of ginger. I’m one of those energy drink fans who craves sweetness but not spiciness (；´∀｀). Fortunately, Regain Energy Drink doesn’t have much of the spicy ginger kick!

I just had to write this because I don’t understand why Japanese energy drinks love adding ginger. That said, I actually really like the taste. It’s delicious! (´∀｀*)

Regain Energy Drink Ingredients

As written on the can, it contains 1000mg of arginine in a 190ml can. This is quite high, especially when you consider it on a per 100ml basis. It's one of the highest in Japan.

In the Japanese energy drink scene, it's becoming more common to replace taurine with arginine, and Regain has included the same amount of arginine as taurine in their nutritional drinks. The caffeine content is on the lower side, but I don't think caffeine is something we need to over-focus on. Personally, I think there’s a bit of a problem with the caffeine obsession.

Wouldn’t this be fine as a nutritional drink?

The can has a message from Regain Energy Drink: “Before you get into work mode.” This doesn’t really say much, but it feels like it could be a bit of a trigger...

It also says, “A drink to support people who work energetically,” which made me think, "Well, couldn't you just go with the original Regain for this?"

It kind of bummed me out(´・ω・｀).

Since energy drinks don’t actually have much effect due to their form, and since the companies that make things like Regain don’t advertise any specific effects for their carbonated drinks, this just feels like a halfway product that’s marketed like a business person’s juice. The commercial even changed the lyrics from “24 hours” to “3 or 4 hours” (；´∀｀).

However, the black text on the can says, “Regain has evolved into an energy drink thanks to Suntory,” and now I’m confused about what’s going on here.