Super Sentai drink caused debate after a Japanese shop owner complained about shelf order

A Super Sentai drink ended up sparking an unexpected discussion on social media after the owner of a liquor store in Japan publicly complained about how his employees organized the products on the shelf. The case drew attention because, in the end, the employees were right — and the shop owner simply didn’t understand the reference behind the packaging.

The incident took place at a store called Sake no Deers, located in the city of Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. The owner used X to complain that his staff had changed what he believed to be the correct order of a series of drinks, which he thought should be arranged numerically from 1 to 5.

According to him, the drinks should have been displayed like this:

The problem is that this Super Sentai drink is not just an ordinary beverage. It is a collaboration product inspired by Secret Squadron Gorenger, the first series in the Super Sentai franchise, which originally aired in 1975 and is considered a landmark of Japanese pop culture.

The drink line features five different can designs, each representing one of the main members of the series. The numbers printed on the labels do not indicate a standard numerical order, but are part of a visual trick designed for fans. When the cans are arranged in the sequence 5, 3, 1, 2, and 4, the label artwork connects to recreate a famous promotional group image, exactly like in the original series — and that was how the store employees had arranged them.

Once the store owner’s post went viral, tokusatsu fans and Super Sentai followers quickly pointed out his mistake. Many mocked the complaint, saying he didn’t understand the product he was selling, while the employees showed attention to detail and knowledge of the reference.

In a follow-up post, the shop owner explained the situation in more detail. He said the store is run by five people, and among them, only one employee was arranging the cans correctly, while the other four kept placing them in numerical order.

He added that everyone now understands the reference and has left the cans in the correct order. However, despite the massive attention the post received — over 12 million views on X — sales of the Super Sentai drink at the store did not increase..