The Summer 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You

Sasaki was an overworked salaryman who went through an average stressful workday like any other salaryman. Upon finishing a long day, the only thing Sasaki enjoys is visiting his favorite convenience store to have a friendly chat with the always cheerful clerk, Yamada. This was a regular routine for Sasaki, but one day, he ended up working slightly longer at his job, and by the time he visited the convenience store, Yamada had already clocked out. Sasaki was about to leave the store when he noticed a young woman with piercings smoking behind the store.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is based on the manga series by Jinushi. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Wednesdays.

Note: The reviews below are based on the early, shortened airing. The full-length episode version will premiere on July 9.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, or Behind the supermarket, smoking with you., according to the title card presented in this episode, is a slice-of-life anime that feels revelatory by daring to comfort thirty- and forty-somethings with a cozy take on their current life rather than an idyllic version of a childhood they never had. Focusing on Sasaki, a middle-aged, burnt-out salaryman, who gets through his exhausting daily life with little treats like mochi chips, smoking, and the pleasant exchanges he has with his favorite cashier at his local supermarket, Yamada. The plot thickens, though, when he meets Tayama, a cool and intimidating baddie, behind the supermarket, and begins forming a relationship with her during her smoke breaks.

While the cynic in me wants to chastise Supermarket Smoking for framing the solution to life's woes as an age-gap relationship with a woman young enough to be the lead's daughter, that's an uncharitable reading of this work. The appeal of this anime isn't the fantasy of a middle-aged man hooking up with a twenty-something, but rather in how thoroughly it understands the malaise of being an adult in a life that isn't bad but also not really what you wanted it to be. While I don't necessarily see myself in Sasaki, I do recognize how my own burnout symptoms manifest in him, and it feels uplifting to see him cope with these frustrations in a similar way to how I deal with them. As a (hopefully not needed) disclaimer, smoking is extremely bad for you, and you shouldn't do it! However, I'd be lying if I said having some kind of vice hasn't been incredibly helpful to me in the middle of crunching on something for work, and I just need to focus on anything else for five to ten minutes to take the edge off.

Also, while Sasaki being uplifted by the retail-framed kindness of a cashier at his grocery store is deeply sad, I also know where he's coming from! While I was depressed after being laid off from my last job, one of the cashiers at my local grocery store said, “Oh! You must be the nice man that the other cashiers told me about!” while I was buying discounted pork tenderloins, which genuinely made my week! Even in just this first episode, Supermarket Smoking understands how impactful small wins can be when you really need them, and I feel that more than ever now that I'm in my thirties and have confronted my fair share of personal and professional disappointments.

Supermarket Smoking is also way funnier and cuter than it has any right to be. The gag of Sasaki being too zonked after a long day at work to realize that Yamada and Tamaya are the same woman, and that she's just dressed and presented differently in different social contexts, is subtly hilarious. The little ways in which she teases him and keeps this bit going between her two personas are also a lot of fun, in a way that feels more good-natured than other anime that focus on a girl teasing and/or bullying a boy. I don't think Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You will ever rise above comfort-show status over the course of its season, but this first episode makes me want to snuggle in for more!

With a focus on Sasaki and Yamada/Tayama helping each other through their workplace hardships and frustrations, the second episode of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is as validating as it is wholesome. The first episode definitely gave me the impression that the dynamic between these two leads would make-or-break the show in the long run, and I'm happy to see the pair fall into a cute or funny rhythm. I'm still not entirely convinced that this will-they-won't-they scenario (that Sasaki doesn't even realize he's in) has the staying power to entertain for an entire season,but after two episodes I'm still digging it and want to see more of the both of them!

The first half of this episode centers on Sasaki beating himself up after his feedback to a new employee at his company accidentally brought her to tears. After failing to perk him up with her Yamada persona, she uses her Tayama persona to let him vent and manages to cheer him up. In the back half of the episode Tayama is miffed that she (as Yamada) received her first complaint in a long time for smelling like smoke while working the cash register. Here, Sasaki reassures her that she's great at her job (even if he's never seen her do it as Tayama) and the two later connect and manage to have a casual and romance building conversation while the leading lady is in Yamada-mode.

With how much these characters care about their jobs, I can't help but like them. Even as Sasaki's job burns him out and Yamada/Tayama's gig seems to be less than a career, the fact that either of them care enough about their work and work ethic to be hit this hard by professional shortcomings, makes them incredibly endearing to me. I also care a lot about my job and work ethic and have been in both of these characters' shoes in my adult career and the gigs I worked just to make rent and spending money! The validation of a friend or partner means the world to me when I'm going through it at a job, and this episode of Supermarket Smoking captures that uplifting feeling perfectly.

The gag of Sasaki not being able to tell that Yamada and Tayama are the same person also has not gotten old. These two characters are also nothing shy of adorable together when they're on screen together, and I appreciate that this anime manages to capture the appeal of a character that's a bit intimidating and teasing without turning Tayama into a bully-brat like so many other anime.

I turned 31 the week I wrote the review for the episodes and now see myself equally in both of these characters, and think that anyone within five years of my age will get a lot of fun and comfort out of Supermarket Smoking too.

I'm not sure why this didn't speak to me. Perhaps it's because smoking grosses me out, although I loved Kowloon Generic Romance, and goodness knows there's a lot of smoking in there. Maybe it's that I'm unlikely to see a person as my pick-me-up; after a long day at work, I just want a book, my cats, and my dog. But I think it's probably that I found Yamada/Tayama's teasing of Sasaki less “light and flirty” and more “kind of mean.” She knows that he relies on her checkout line as a source of comfort, and she's well aware that he's a tired, awkward man. Choosing to hide her true identity from him while embarrassing him just feels a little much.

Still, it's hard to deny that Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You absolutely captures the way a bad job – or one that has more bad days than good – can wear you down. Poor Sasaki looks like he hasn't slept in a year, and every fiber of his being radiates exhaustion. He's the downtrodden salaryman trapped in amber: he's been this way for so long that he doesn't appear to remember a different time or to hope for things to get better. He's very self-aware – he knows that relying on the much younger woman at the grocery store who speaks only a set of scripted lines isn't healthy and could be seen as more than a little creepy. He's just reached the point where he can't quite bring himself to care enough to change his routine, down to always buying the same snack, day after day after day.

Yamada/Tayama is a little more opaque, but it looks like playing a role is starting to wear on her, too – or maybe that playing the part of “Yamada” is the only relief “Tayama” gets, or vice versa. As Sasaki sticks to his routine, Yamada uses her two faces to keep herself above water emotionally. They're both clear-cut examples of someone approaching burnout or just stuck in a rut, unable to find a way out. The smoking is a symptom of their malaise, shorthand for how they have to rely on unhealthy habits to cope.

None of that kept me from continually checking how much time was left on the episode. It felt like a slog from beginning to end, despite some excellent storytelling techniques. That could very well be a me problem, though, and if you're in the mood for some slice of life that doesn't involve high school girls, I think you'll find something to enjoy here.

It is one of the great truths of anime viewing that one person's iyashikei is another's swamp of boredom. I think we know which is true for me of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You. While I continue to appreciate little details like the petal in Sasaki's hair being visible the entire time he's talking to Yamada in the second half of episode two (or mini-episode four, if you prefer), I also found that my mind was wandering the entire time. I had to stop and rewind twice because I realized I was thinking about something else and not paying attention. Although at one point I caught myself wondering why they were using 1980s sitcom background music for the show, so I suppose that's a bit more valid.

Still, little as this held my interest, I can see why someone else might find it soothing. Even if Sasaki's (possibly deliberate) ignorance of the fact that Tayama and Yamada are obviously the same person – she even keeps giving him more and more obvious hints – there's a lot this gets right about being a working adult. The new employee Sasaki inadvertently makes cry, for example, is a perfect snapshot of how overwhelming it can be to start a new job and how that can unintentionally make other people's jobs harder when you can't quite cope with your new reality. Sasaki didn't do anything wrong, and neither did the woman (apart from what he gently corrected). But her reaction set off a chain of events that upset everyone in a scene that could happen in any workplace at any time. Similarly, Tayama being upset that a customer complained about her smelling like cigarette smoke is an excellent encapsulation of how there are always people who will find fault with your work. While my dislike of that particular aroma makes me side with the complainer, I also understand how infuriating it was to Tayama, who prides herself on her perfect Yamada performance. And really, sometimes the customer just needs to accept that clerks are people and move on.

After two (or four) episodes of this show, I stand by my previous assessment: it does a good job portraying something that I just don't care about. But if you're tired of iyashikei revolving around cute girls doing cute things, there's a good chance you'll feel differently.

The strange paradox of smoking has always fascinated me as a critic who grew up just long ago enough to remember the days before public smoking was banned across almost every state in the U.S. I was surrounded by pack-a-day smokers for my entire childhood, and let me tell you that it sucked pretty bad for little ol' asthmatic James to be constantly inhaling second-hand Marlboro fumes from every direction. Sure, I have been known to enjoy an occasional cigar and whiskey from time to time, not to mention some of the recreational aids that I am allowed to partake in since my state had the good sense to legalize marijuana, but the habitual smoking of plain old mass-market tobacco sticks is just gross.

Yet, when it comes to characters lighting up a cig on screen, even when those characters are just drawings on digital paper, I get it, man. Smoking is cool. Smoking is relaxing. Smoking is the perfect vice to enjoy when you've only got a few minutes of free time and “fresh” air to enjoy when it's been a long-ass day at work, and you've still got the commute back home to worry about. Thus, the appeal of an anime titled Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You should be self-evident. When you have two well-realized romantic leads who forge a bond through those precious moments shared before your smoke burns down to the butt, I mean, come on, now. It's a premise that basically sells itself.

Thankfully, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You backs up the strength of its premise with decent fundamentals and solid execution. This is far from the prettiest-looking anime to debut this summer, but its visuals and direction have a consistently cozy and expressive vibe that works well with the tone that we're operating in. Sasaki is a believably beleaguered middle-aged office worker who manages to ooze with exhaustion without coming across as a sad sack or an energy vampire, and his connection with Yamada (aka “Tayama”) represents a genuinely good execution of the touchy age-gap pairing trope. When she's bonding with Sasaki as her “Tayama” persona, “Yamada” doesn't come across as just another youthful pixie that represents pure male wish-fulfillment because she's always putting on a conscious act of idealized femininity when she's in customer-service mode, while being “Tayama” allows her to express the conflicted desires and attitudes that she can't get away with behind the counter. It's the sort of crisis of identity that means a lot more when you're in your twenties and still trying to scrape by with whatever job you can manage, so it makes sense that she would connect with an older guy who can mingle with the “real” her.

Now, whether you can get behind Sasaki's utter obliviousness about the identity of the girl he's spending his smoke breaks with is maybe going to be the factor that determines how much you dig Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You. It's definitely a silly gimmick for the show to run with, but it does play up just how differently Yamada and Tayama present themselves, and it's the kind of theatrical running gag that can probably only work in the realm of 2D comics and animation. Plus, Sasaki is a forty-something salaryman who has been smoking for decades, so he's probably got some brain damage going on from all that oxygen deprivation.

Based on its premiere, I'm fully on board with this cute and charming little rom-com. Sasaki and Yamada make for an exceedingly likable pair of protagonists, and their laid-back breaks together are perfectly calibrated to appeal to my jaded, increasingly middle-aged brain. I guess watching a couple of grown-adults indulge in some chemical vices together so they can make it through their nine-to-fives is just my particular flavor of iyashikei.

We're two episodes in (or four of the mini-episodes, depending on how you are counting), and Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is continuing to be an exceedingly charming and cozy little romantic comedy about two beleaguered working-class adults who will surely end up as life-long partners (at least until the lung cancer claims one or both of them).

Something I appreciate about the structure of this show is how it captures the quintessential experience of adults finding whatever meager bits of socialization they are allowed between the drudgery of the day-to-day routines. It is a resonance that isn't even limited to the more romantically inclined. When my day job is in session outside of the summer months, my favorite part of the day is almost always the lunch break I take in our school's English Dept. office with my colleagues. We get to shoot the shit, trade juicy gossip, and generally just feel like real people in between the hours of performative instruction we must undertake between the daily bells. It's a real “in the trenches together” sort of camaraderie that anyone who has ever worked a regular job can probably relate to, and I think that is what makes Sasaki and “Tayama”'s little hang-out sessions so endearing.

We're also getting to the point where Sasaki and Tayama can get to know each other on a more intimate level, or at least as intimate as one can be when the cute but exhausted middle-aged man sitting next to her can't even recognize that she's the same girl at the register that he's so obviously falling for. Then again, the whole Yamada/Tayama dichotomy probably allows Tayama to get more brazen than she might otherwise be, since she can pass along all of “Yamada's” messages to Sasaki while holding onto some plausible deniability. The point is, even though the double-identity bit strains credulity, I like the way the show plays with it to highlight the romantic tension between our protagonists. If you will allow me a bit of frankness, there is a scene where Tayama lets her hair fall a bit messily just inches from Sasaki's face that is just unbelievably hot. Somebody needs to warn Sasaki about the increasing risk of erectile dysfunction that comes from sustained nicotine addiction, because Tayama is not here to play. Well, she is playing with him, but you know what I mean.

In addition to hearing out Sasaki's woes, the show also allows Tayama to express more sides of herself and vent some of her own workplace frustrations. It's nothing exceptionally dramatic—we haven't reached the point where Sasaki has to, like, intervene in an attempted supermarket robbery—but Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You understands that little tribulations like crappy managers and bullcrap complaints from customers are the major dramatic beats for most work-a-day folks. I've spent so much of my adult life as an anime fan wishing for more relatable stories about people that aren't just preternaturally talented and possibly magical teenagers, and Smoking Behind the Supermarket is delivering just the sort of down-to-Earth exploration of adult relationships that we need more of in anime (and every other medium, for that matter). If you need more romance in your life, but you're tired of all the high school melodrama and teen angst, then this cartoon might just offer the cure for what ails you.