I Watched This Anime (And You Should Too) | Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You

[00:00] So, Crunchyroll quietly dropped the

[00:02] first half of a new anime series not too

[00:04] long ago. 12 mini episodes, no fanfare,

[00:08] and it's already got a score of what,

[00:10] 8.46 on Mal or did when I wrote this.

[00:13] Who knows what it is now. The show is

[00:15] called Smoking Behind the Supermarket

[00:17] with You. It's got a reasonably sized

[00:19] following behind it, and everybody is

[00:21] looking at it right now and calling it

[00:23] the best new romance of what will be the

[00:25] upcoming season. But, you know, now

[00:27] having watched this mini episode series,

[00:31] which is really just like half of what

[00:33] the actual series is going to have, it's

[00:35] slightly complicated. This is new

[00:36] territory here. Having watched it, I

[00:39] almost don't want to call it a romance,

[00:42] and I think it would be better if it

[00:43] wasn't. So, here's the general premise.

[00:46] You got this guy, Sasuki. He's like 45

[00:48] years old. He works at one of those

[00:50] Japanese companies that you may have

[00:51] heard of, black companies, the kind of

[00:53] place that like grinds you into the dust

[00:55] and overworks you to death. But the

[00:58] thing that gets him through the day,

[00:59] that gets him to survive this grind and

[01:02] working in this environment, is that

[01:04] almost every day on his way home, he

[01:06] stops by the supermarket and he gets to

[01:08] see the wonderful smile of one of the

[01:10] employees there, a young woman named

[01:13] Yamada. and she's always there, always

[01:16] smiling, and it just brightens his day.

[01:18] But on one particular night, he goes to

[01:20] the supermarket and she's not there.

[01:23] He's feeling terrible. He's not doing so

[01:25] well. And he's trying to find a place to

[01:28] smoke because there's not many public

[01:30] places to smoke in Japan. It's a thing.

[01:32] And he runs into this woman, Tayama.

[01:34] She's got a leather jacket. She's got

[01:36] piercings. And she goes to him and is

[01:37] like, "Hey, want to share this spot

[01:39] behind the supermarket where the

[01:41] employees smoke?" And so he does and

[01:43] they talk. And I would say that that's

[01:46] the show except it's kind of missing the

[01:48] key important part in that Yamada and

[01:51] Tayyama are the same person. Yamada is

[01:55] her customer service face. She's very

[01:57] polite. She is sweet. She's

[01:59] professional. But as soon as she's off

[02:01] the clock, she's back to her more quote

[02:03] unquote real self. She's sharp. She's

[02:06] teasing. She doesn't give a about a

[02:08] lot of things. And Sasuki

[02:11] doesn't realize this. It's basically the

[02:14] whole Clark Kent is actually Superman,

[02:15] but Lois Lane doesn't realize it sort of

[02:18] shindig. All of the clues that they are

[02:20] the same person are right there.

[02:22] Sometimes it feels like he clocks it,

[02:24] but it's all part of the humor that he

[02:27] never will. That's the whole bit, right?

[02:29] He puts this woman Yamada on this

[02:31] pedestal as an angelic figure that

[02:34] brightens his day and makes it worth

[02:36] living. But then also he goes behind the

[02:38] supermarket to smoke with this other

[02:40] woman. This cool stranger he's just

[02:43] happens to be lucky enough to know and

[02:45] be able to share a smoke with despite

[02:47] the fact that they are the exact same

[02:50] woman. So the whole series started

[02:51] apparently as a side project. And that's

[02:53] how I first heard of it. The author was

[02:55] working on a fantasy manga at the time

[02:57] and like his editor told him, "Hey, as a

[02:59] writing exercise, you should do just

[03:01] something completely different, a

[03:03] different genre entirely." And and so he

[03:05] did. He created this this more modern

[03:07] setting with a guy that just goes out

[03:09] and ends up having to smoke with a

[03:11] supermarket employee behind the building

[03:13] and he released it to social media on

[03:16] Twitter and then you know it got like

[03:18] close to 200,000 likes and everybody

[03:21] looked at that and it was like huh there

[03:23] may be something here and now the manga

[03:25] has like 3 million copies in circulation

[03:28] and you know now we're here with an

[03:30] anime adaptation and it's it's being

[03:32] touted as a slowburn romance and I can

[03:34] see why it would be because there is at

[03:37] least a little bit of tension there. You

[03:39] think that Yamada actually likes the

[03:42] guy. She's teasing him. She doesn't

[03:44] really She enjoys the relationship that

[03:46] they have, but she doesn't really want

[03:48] to push further. It It is that like

[03:51] almost common trope of I don't want to

[03:53] ask out my best friend despite actually

[03:56] wanting to be in a relationship with

[03:57] them because what if they say no and

[03:59] then this relationship that I have been

[04:01] enjoying just crumbles to dust. it it's

[04:03] relatable from that perspective. But the

[04:05] thing to me that shows that I would much

[04:07] rather this not be a romance is because

[04:11] Sasaki doesn't seem to actually want to

[04:14] court either of these two women. He

[04:18] doesn't look at Yamada as a oh, she is

[04:20] like out of my league. If only I were

[04:23] like a braver person or uh had my life

[04:27] together more, maybe I would propose to

[04:29] her or ask her out or do any of these

[04:32] things. But he doesn't think that way

[04:34] because he has been presented with her

[04:38] best friend as Yamada has positioned

[04:41] herself. And like if he really did want

[04:44] an inn with her, he'd only have to ask

[04:47] his new smoking buddy if a there was a

[04:51] chance, b more about her. He doesn't

[04:53] like grill her to try and find

[04:55] information about his idol. He's just

[04:58] very content in being able to come here

[05:01] and see the smiling cashier to brighten

[05:04] his day or go to the back and smoke with

[05:07] this other woman. He's perfectly fine

[05:09] with this situation and this setup. If

[05:11] there is romantic tension, it's entirely

[05:13] from her side. There is still enough

[05:16] there to have the will they won't they

[05:18] because, you know, she could confess and

[05:21] then maybe he would start thinking about

[05:23] it and deciding whether or not that's

[05:25] something that he actually wants. BUT I

[05:27] HOPE NOT. I would I actually wish that

[05:30] they got away from the will they won't

[05:31] they. Will they, won't they? One of the

[05:33] my most hated things about romance

[05:36] because as someone who says that the

[05:38] ending of any story is paramount. How

[05:40] you end a thing is very very important

[05:42] to how you perceive the entire thing as

[05:45] a whole after it is all done. The will

[05:47] they won't they only has two answers.

[05:49] They will or they won't. And that's

[05:51] really boring to imagine from an ending

[05:54] because you're like okay well they will.

[05:55] Then why don't we get there? We don't

[05:57] get there very often. We don't have a

[05:59] lot of stories that like to do the whole

[06:02] after story very much. That would be

[06:04] great if we did, but we don't. And then

[06:07] if they if they don't, if they won't, if

[06:10] the will they won't they is the won't

[06:11] they, then what are we here for? That's

[06:14] why I hate will they won't they. And I

[06:16] really hope that it's not like it

[06:18] doesn't become like the bedrock of this

[06:20] entire series. We haven't seen the whole

[06:21] series. So that's that's the other

[06:23] thing. This is a mini episode series and

[06:24] I haven't seen a show released like this

[06:26] pretty much before. So, Crunch World

[06:28] just dropped it on their service. And

[06:31] essentially what this miniseries is is

[06:33] 12 episodes, but they're all halflength.

[06:36] So, really what it is is they've

[06:37] released six episodes. They've just cut

[06:39] everything up into 12, added the OP and

[06:42] ED every time. And I'm assuming that

[06:45] when the new season starts proper,

[06:47] they're going to air it or release the

[06:50] proper episodes that are just combined

[06:54] in total. I don't know if it'll change

[06:56] or have any differences from the mini

[06:58] episode or if this is I don't understand

[07:00] this release schedule is basically what

[07:02] I'm saying because it's supposed to air

[07:03] on July 9th. That is when we have been

[07:05] told this show is airing. But I haven't

[07:08] been able to fully nail down whether or

[07:10] not airing means that they're going to

[07:11] be starting with episode 1 and then

[07:13] we're going to have 6 weeks of just

[07:15] essentially repeated content of what

[07:18] we've already seen. Or maybe what we're

[07:20] going to get is in July they're going to

[07:21] drop episode 7 and we're going to

[07:24] continue on from there and we're only

[07:26] going to go half the series. That

[07:28] doesn't make sense. A lot of this just

[07:29] feels really weird and off. I'm thankful

[07:32] that we've gotten all of this material

[07:34] early. It's quite nice. I feel like it's

[07:36] a nice little package of info because

[07:39] like six episodes isn't all that much in

[07:42] the grand scheme of things. And I know

[07:44] why the show is considered a romance

[07:47] because hey, you can't have a male and a

[07:49] female character interacting with one

[07:52] another and not hope or pray that it's

[07:55] going to go down the romantic route. But

[07:57] having not read the manga, and I'm sure

[07:59] the manga leans into it far more, at

[08:01] least past a certain point, cuz there's

[08:03] only so much of this particular gag that

[08:05] you can handle at once, uh, having not

[08:08] read the manga, I really hope that it

[08:10] doesn't. Sasaki isn't trying to flirt

[08:14] with either of these women. He is just

[08:16] happy to be in their lives and to have

[08:18] them in his life. And that's enough. We

[08:21] don't need romantic tension. I'm fine

[08:23] with the level of just comfort here.

[08:27] It's a very comfy series, even if it

[08:29] involves smoking, which is something

[08:31] that I just don't like. I know smokers

[08:34] say that you just get used to it after a

[08:35] time. And I mean the addiction and the

[08:37] nicotine kicks in eventually, but like

[08:39] I've never like being around smoking. So

[08:41] I just try to like not imagine that

[08:43] particular aspect of the series as I

[08:44] watch. I would much prefer if this was a

[08:48] essentially just a hangout show, just

[08:49] friends hanging out, chatting, having

[08:52] their own normal lives and then

[08:56] hopefully all of the romantic stuff was

[08:57] just stapled on for marketing purposes.

[08:59] I would find that much more interesting

[09:01] than a will they won't they. We don't

[09:02] get many uh boy girl essentially boy

[09:05] girl or manw woman relationships that

[09:08] don't have a romantic bent and I wish we

[09:10] had more of that. But I do worry that

[09:12] that's not going to be the case going

[09:14] forward because you know there's the

[09:16] Clark Kent problem. He's going to find

[09:18] out eventually but it's one of those

[09:20] questions of once he finds it out is

[09:22] that the end of the show is like the

[09:23] whole framework of the show. the fact

[09:25] that he doesn't know and he is able to

[09:27] interact with these two women and that's

[09:29] the bit and you know once he finds out

[09:32] we're done and then he's like oh well

[09:34] I've been friends with you now now let's

[09:36] go out let's go get married or something

[09:38] I don't know none of that seems like it

[09:40] fits these characters at all because

[09:41] like when he when he does find out what

[09:43] what happens then if the answer is

[09:45] romance suddenly this entire premise

[09:48] well not only does it disappear but it

[09:49] becomes less interesting cuz it's like

[09:50] oh okay then then they just get together

[09:52] and we're done or the does that just

[09:54] like somehow build their relationship

[09:57] further. Not in a romantic sense, but

[10:00] just like he's been essentially able to

[10:02] see two sides of the same person and he

[10:05] appreciates different things about them.

[10:07] And that could be interesting to look

[10:09] into. Not everything needs to be a

[10:10] romance. And I mean, there's the awkward

[10:13] part of the romance thing, too, cuz he's

[10:14] in his 40s. She's what, in her early to

[10:18] mid20s. The age gap is a is a bit of a

[10:21] thing if it's in the context of just two

[10:23] people having a smoke or and talking

[10:25] with one another back behind the

[10:26] supermarket. Like that's fine. There's

[10:28] no problem to that context. It only gets

[10:30] a bit dicey if you start wanting to

[10:32] shove the romantic context in there a

[10:34] bit. And it's also why I think like

[10:36] Sasaki doesn't seem to have that mindset

[10:38] in his mind at all. He probably

[10:40] perfectly clocks and identifies that

[10:42] this angel that smiles at him every day

[10:44] is far younger than he should be

[10:46] considering for an actual relationship.

[10:48] And maybe that's fine. Maybe it's just

[10:50] the marketing people that want to push

[10:53] this forward. It's just really odd to me

[10:55] because from a writer's perspective, if

[10:57] you wanted to get them together, you

[11:00] didn't need to write Yamada as someone

[11:02] in her early 20s. You could have had her

[11:04] in her late 20s or early 30s and not

[11:06] much probably would have changed. Or you

[11:08] could have had Sasuki in his mid30 in

[11:12] his early 30s to mid-30s. you could cut

[11:14] 10 years off of his lifespan and the

[11:16] show would probably still land. So, the

[11:18] age gap's there on purpose and I have to

[11:21] question why. And and I'm really hoping

[11:24] the answer is because the romance is not

[11:26] going to be a thing. But, you know, I

[11:27] bet like 50 people in the comments have

[11:29] already told me about the manga and how

[11:30] I'm absolutely wrong. And no, this is

[11:32] fine. Actually, you just don't get it,

[11:34] old man. But that's not what I like

[11:36] about it. I'm enjoying the series. I

[11:39] mean, it's kind of cliche to say that

[11:40] it's my favorite show of the next season

[11:42] because nothing's nothing else has aired

[11:44] yet. So, of course, it is, but I like

[11:46] that it's slow. I've always loved more

[11:48] slice of life, more calm and like

[11:51] reflective, and then just just like not

[11:54] narrative driven shows, but plot and

[11:58] charact, but but character-driven shows.

[12:00] Those are some of my favorites. And

[12:02] that's what this is. It's slow. It's

[12:04] deliberately slow. Each episode has the

[12:06] same general formula and it's nice and

[12:08] comfy. They arrive, they smoke, they

[12:11] talk, they leave, and that's enough. I

[12:14] don't feel like there needs to be drama

[12:16] or tension. At least not at the moment.

[12:17] We might need to get there in some

[12:20] respects just to like keep up the keep

[12:24] the interest happening because yeah,

[12:26] yeah, there are a lot of people that

[12:27] will not like it if that's literally all

[12:30] it is. And we already have that for just

[12:32] six episodes. So, the other six probably

[12:34] need to do something before the end of

[12:36] the core, but like I feel that's the

[12:39] vibe that should be maintained. They're

[12:42] both having a smoke out back at the

[12:44] supermarket. Now, he doesn't work at the

[12:46] supermarket, but if he did, like the

[12:48] action and the fast-paced and the drama

[12:50] and the tension, that's when you're

[12:51] working at the supermarket. When you

[12:53] take your break and you go out back and

[12:55] you light up a smoke, that's supposed to

[12:57] be the downtime.

[12:59] That's the the cool down moment. And

[13:02] that's what this show is. It's a cool

[13:04] down moment. It doesn't need the other

[13:06] things. We'll probably get it because

[13:08] it'll be that's what society and and

[13:10] narratives have demanded, but we don't

[13:12] need it. It's rare in anime to have like

[13:15] the focus on that stillness that um that

[13:19] that quiet downtime. It's basically

[13:21] asking you, the viewer, to sit with them

[13:24] and just be right. You don't need to be

[13:28] carried on by the plot or the drama or

[13:32] what have you. You just need to pull up

[13:34] a crate, sit on it, and have a smoke or

[13:38] not have a smoke. Get a drink. I I have

[13:40] whiskey. That's what I was doing. You

[13:42] just need to unwind with the show.

[13:44] That's all you need. You don't need to

[13:46] It doesn't need to be more than that. I

[13:48] don't want it to be more than that. So,

[13:49] the show is basically four people. I

[13:51] want to say like me. That's the thing.

[13:53] It it just these first six episodes.

[13:56] Yes. 12 mini episodes. This first six

[13:58] episodes of what the final show is going

[14:00] to be is just so slow and comfy. And

[14:04] maybe it's because I'm getting older.

[14:06] I'm in my mid30s now. So yeah, I'm much

[14:09] more likely to relate to a guy in his

[14:10] early to mid-40s than anyone in their

[14:13] younger 20s. I like having characters

[14:16] that are adult and they're dealing with

[14:19] adult exhaustion problems that teenagers

[14:22] won't have. You're not going to have

[14:24] Japanese high school students have these

[14:25] types of scenes, are able to uh relate

[14:28] in these ways. The atmosphere around how

[14:31] they act and interact with one another.

[14:33] That's the point. And it's very specific

[14:35] and we don't get it very often. Now, it

[14:37] might be frustrating to you if you don't

[14:38] like the the repetitive nature to it cuz

[14:41] again, all it is is arrive, smoke, chat,

[14:43] leave. That's kind of it for almost

[14:45] every episode. There's a little bit of

[14:47] variety there when like her manager

[14:49] finds out and is like, "What are you

[14:51] doing? Why? Why does this guy think that

[14:53] there's another employee here that

[14:56] happens to look like you do when you're

[14:57] on your time off? What What is What is

[14:59] your game here? But then she also like

[15:01] loves romance, so she's just like

[15:03] totally in for it. And maybe maybe

[15:06] that's why it's heading that way. And

[15:08] I'm like, but why though? I wanted to be

[15:10] closer to the vibe of things like

[15:11] Bartender where it's just you just have

[15:13] adult characters doing a very adult

[15:15] thing just smoking or in bartender's

[15:17] case drinking and they have lives and

[15:19] they discuss it and you're fine with

[15:21] that. You have a good evening and then

[15:24] you go home and your home can be

[15:26] whatever. That can be where you watch

[15:27] your shownen. That's fine. This is the

[15:28] anime equivalent of going out back and

[15:30] having a smoke cuz that's all it is and

[15:32] that's all I want it to be. The

[15:34] interesting thing about this show should

[15:35] not be to me it should not be whether

[15:38] these two get together. It's a question

[15:41] of does the show even need them to. Cuz

[15:44] right now we're halfway through. It's

[15:46] just a show about this quiet comfort and

[15:49] having someone to share a cigarette with

[15:51] after a bad day. That's enough. Whether

[15:54] it stays enough, well, that's a question

[15:56] for the back half of the series to

[15:58] answer. We will have to see. I've given

[16:00] you my hopes. I'm sure the manga readers

[16:03] will tell me otherwise and tell me how

[16:05] wrong and how I'm not actually enjoying

[16:07] the series properly, but that's uh

[16:10] that's for future Tristan to find out.

[16:12] So, if you want to go and watch the the

[16:13] mini episode, the 12 mini episodes,

[16:15] which will make up the first six

[16:17] episodes of the series proper, they're

[16:18] go they're over available on uh

[16:20] Crunchyroll. The manga is probably

[16:21] available from whichever app hosts

[16:23] Square Enix's content. I think it's

[16:25] Manga Up is the one that they own. So,

[16:27] you can go check that out if you want to

[16:29] read ahead. I'm not because I already am

[16:30] pretty sure I know what the answer is

[16:32] and I'm not going to be happy with it.

[16:33] Uh I I'm hopeful that I'm wrong and that

[16:36] whatever answer the show has I am happy

[16:38] with. But you know, we're going to find

[16:40] out. We're all going to find out

[16:42] together. Except not because manga

[16:44] readers already know. So So thank you

[16:46] for watching. Subscribe if you haven't.

[16:48] Click the like button if you enjoyed the

[16:50] video. Thank you to my patrons who uh

[16:52] allow me to make these videos and these

[16:54] rants and to just wish I could have more

[16:58] of this show in the way that I want. And

[17:01] a very special thank you of course to my

[17:03] patrons Rifen Bonapart Omar Showman Ross

[17:06] Emerson Hector Monttoa Aiden City Yamako

[17:11] and Geekwig. I can't do this without

[17:13] you. So however much you are able to

[17:15] help I am immensely grateful. And until

[17:18] next time, whenever that may be, ladies,

[17:20] gentlemen, and others, watch more anime,

[17:22] watch this anime, and stay frosty.