In case y’all missed it, McDonald’s branch in Akihabara, Tokyo had already closed its business last Friday (31st January). As pointed by Sora News 24, the case is rather unusual for a leading fast food franchise to shut down their operation.
For those who don’t know, Akihabara is known as the centre of electronic and anime goods for over 22 years. When this happened, it was speculated that McDonald’s might not be able to withstand the pressure of competing with rival franchise, Burger King, separated by just 2 stores away.
Burger King initially put up a sign thanking McDonald’s for satisfying customer’s hungry tummy for over 2 decades. However, it was reported that the notice contained a hidden snarky text to celebrate the downfall of its arch-enemy. If the sign is read in reverse, the text can be translated as “Victory Is Ours”.
Most recently, a local Twitter user pointed that the notice has been replaced with a new one. As seen in the image below, the latest poster shows a Burger King staff respectfully bowing, along with a message that reads:
“Thank you for 22 happy years. Us being next to each other, like steel sharpening steel, what we did was compete as good rivals and good friends. The end of that history is something that makes us incredibly sad. Up until now, you were an unchanging presence nearby [unreadable]. Thank you for 22 years of smiles! Good [unreadable], and we’ll keep doing our best again tomorrow.”
あーあ、秋葉原のバーガーキングの縦読み差し替えになっちゃった。
ユーモア通じない人多いのかな・・・
差し替えも含めたバーキンの考えならクレバー過ぎる。 pic.twitter.com/MJyTRzHium— 団長＠萌え様P 4/20TDC (@ESP_Believe_777) February 1, 2020
Unfortunately, a patch of lighting obscures a few words. However, observers pointed that there’s actually a hidden text behind the message! In this case, the 1st Japanese character reads, “Wasurenai yo”, which means, “We won’t forget you,” assuming it is interpreted in vertical order.
It can be argued that the message this time around is seen as a more proper sendoff to its rival. Despite being fast food competitors over the years, both of them have actually been supportive of each other.
What are your thoughts on this?
Source: Sora News 24.
