I’m sure I was not alone in my enthusiasm/skepticism when Taiwanese brand Ocean Bomb launched a collaboration of flavored sparkling water with the Sailor Moon franchise. Because I am an otaku, of course it was my duty to both acquire and consume these. I found the first several at my local Mitsuwa marketplace, but the remainder were obtained online from Yami. I found them to be a perfectly fine provider of random items from Japan. The prices were fine and everything came in good time and safely packaged. I am not an affiliate, but links will lead there.

In chatting about them on the Okazu Discord, it was decided that it was likewise my obligation to review them. And here we are. As I am spending my last day at Anime NYC doing panels and selling books,  here for your enjoyment is my review of the first 6 Sailor Moon sparkling water flavors from Ocean Bomb from worst to best.  This is – obviously – in my opinion. Your tastebuds may vary.

#6 Sailor Chibi-Moon / Lychee Flavor

Of course, you’re saying. You loathe Chibi-Usa, Erica. But no!  That’s not it! I like lychee.

This was not lychee. There was maybe a lychee flavoring used, but the overwhelming flavor and scent was rose. This was straight-up like trying to drink your great-aunt’s perfume in soda form. Rose water soda. Honestly, this was the only one that was wholly undrinkable.

I guess using a rose floral scent was, like, “look how clever we are,” as a concept, but bleeeaaaarrrgh as a flavor.  It didn’t even smell that nice.

0/10

#5 Sailor Venus / Mango Flavor

What a disappointment. We are huge Minako fans in this house. She’s a got great chaotic bisexual energy that we adore. And mango! How can you ruin mango?

Friends, they ruined mango. This one tasted like laundry detergent.

When I popped it open, it instantly smelled like a new age store…you know, that sweet incensey-perfumey thing that wafts into all the books and stuff you buy there, so months later, your new Tarot bag still smells like sandalwood and…something? Mango soda should not taste like a New Age store, is all I am saying.

This was my biggest disappointment. I had hopes for mango. But you’ll see that almost all of these were ruined by a floral overtone that choked the life out of the fruit.

When we were discussing the sodas, my wife joked that Minako should be cheese flavored. By the time I finished this can, I thought it probably would have been better cheese flavored.

4/10

#4 Sailor Mars / Strawberry Flavor

So…strawberry soda. Well kind of know where that’s going. It’s a “kiddie” flavor.

And, indeed, this tasted like the kind of Captain Crunch Crunch Berries I ate as a kid, which were all pink and stained the milk pink and tasted – as I know now – of “strawberry flavor.” By the end of the can, the taste was something between Crunch Berry and strawberry syrup that goes over a Japanese strawberry parfait, with a floral scent that lost out to the strawberry.

It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t want more and it was terrible with a cheeseburger. ^_^

5/10

#3 Sailor Mercury / Pear Flavor

This was the second one I tried and while I would have liked it to be less floral and more fruity, I thought this one wasn’t bad.

Because it was pear, there was that weird flatness to the the flavor that pear flavoring has that real pears do not, unless they are a cider, and then you get that flatness, as well.

Again, this would have been better but for the floral overtone that made it hard to enjoy and the abundance of HCFS which made it too sweet, as well, something that they all shared.

This and the strawberry are pretty much tied in the middle. They could have been better, but they weren’t terrible. Except they were all kind of terrible. ^_^;

5/10

#2 Sailor Jupiter / Cucumber Flavor

Yep, you read that right. Cucumber. So, this is totally YMMV. I like cucumber water. I find it refreshing. I…well, I just really like cucumbers pretty much any way they are served to me. So I was game for this and…it might have been really good, only it wasn’t.

The floral scent and the high-fructose corn syrup were at odds with the cucumber flavor. It made for a weird, but not intolerable combo, like cream soda with a cucumber aftertaste. My wife described it as tasting like a “face mask.”

Overall, I’d say do this one again, not sweet and it might actually be pretty good.

Which brings us to the winner…

6/10

#1 Sailor Moon / Pomelo Flavor

All the things that worked against the others…the floral scent, the too-sweetness…actually worked okay for this. Pomelo is a ridiculous fruit, that is 45% pith and never worth the effort of eating it.

As a flavor, it’s a sharp, soury citrus that worked well for a sweetened sparkling water. Of all of them, I’d drink this one again…if I was required to. On the whole, I’d rather have something else.

7/10

Thank you for joining me for today’s review. There are, apparently, Sailor Uranus (pineapple) and Neptune (kiwi) sparkling waters that are available in Taiwan, so as soon as I get a hold of them, I’ll be glad to share my impressions. ^_^