Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
At this point, I think maybe this wasn’t the best anime to review episode by episode, since it’s an easygoing slice-of-life tale about two strangers bonding over smoke breaks. One is a cheery supermarket cashier, the other a much older, overworked, lonely salesman. There isn’t much to break down and critique. Although the anime continues to be low-key comedic how Sasaki still has zero clue that his crush, Yamada, the cute cashier, is also Tayama, the edgy smoker chick he has been sharing cigarettes with.
Also Read: Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 of the show introduces a new character, Yamada’s senior, Goto, who learns that the cashier has been smoking with a customer. But does that lead to serious consequences? You’ll have to watch the episode to find out. But this is definitely another relaxed, laid-back chapter where Sasaki encounters some criticism from his boss at work and receives surprising advice from Tayama.
This chapter of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You more firmly establishes Yamada/Tayama’s perceptive and thoughtful personality, despite her playful and flirty side. She enjoys teasing the older man during their smoke breaks, but at the same time seems to have grown genuinely fond of him. Sasaki, on the other hand, is bumbling, awkward, and unsure of how to react to Tayama, but enjoys her company, while remaining respectful of her space.
Goto, the newest addition to the anime, gives off strong “older sister” energy. In fact, when she first appeared, I briefly got confused and thought she was just Yamada sporting a new hairstyle or a wig. She’s older, sharp, loves reading manga, and almost like a mentor figure for Yamada. In a comic turn of events, Goto is already convinced there’s a romance brewing between Yamada and Sasaki.
However at this point of ‘Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You’, the two protagonists are barely friends, just smoking buddies making polite small talk. Since I haven’t read the original manga, I honestly have no idea whether romance is even on the cards for the cashier and the salesman.
In one scene, though, Tayama compares Sasaki to a “golden retriever,” which totally cracked me up because, with his permanently gloomy expression, he looks absolutely nothing like the adorable, squishy dog. A German Shepherd, maybe. That said, the moment can also be read as Tayama admitting she finds Sasaki cute and likable, and perhaps she’s already developing a tiny crush on him.
Watch Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is on Netflix/ Crunchyroll.
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