From classic novels like those by Jane Austen to modern film, the romantic comedy has relied on miscommunication to generate angst, humor, and suspense. Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You has played with that idea from a distance throughout its nine episodes thus far, with Slow-sa-ki never being able to tell Tamaya apart from her superhero cashier alter ego, Yamada. But episode nine spends an entire story on miscommunication, serving to do what tales in memoriam have—show what one’s true feelings are through moments of possible loss.
Onto the episode!
The Shift
Is Sasaki actually…married? The chief, Maezawa, seems to think so—and her evidence is pretty solid. Is it true? And how will Yamada take this news?
On the B-side, Tamaya and Sasaki talk about his Mie dialect while thinking about the past.
The Smoke Break
It’s just a ring on your finger
When there’s time on your hands
Has Sasaki been playing Tamaya this whole time? Or more specifically, has he just failed to tell her that he’s married? Part A of episode nine goes all out to try to convince Yamada and the audience both of the possibility that Sasaki isn’t single. It’s a fun episode, though I would say it’s probably one of the weakest in the series so far.
What I liked most about episode nine, actually, was the discussion about smoking. When the four supermarket girls get together for drinks, there’s some talk about smoking, and even more when Yamada considers that Sasaki likes to smoke with her but feels their relationship is 100% platonic.
On the B-side, there’s lots more talk about the act of smoking, and it’s heavily romanticized (more so than the show typically romanticizes it), particularly in the emphasis about winter smoking, which reminded me of the feels I got about wanting to try winter camping while watching Laid-Back Camp, but, uh, with emphysema.
I kid, but there is certainly a certain uncomfortable feeling attached to this series because it’s airing in 2026 and not 1996. I cringe a bit when, like in this episode, Sasaki notes that his health is fine so he’s continuing to smoke (as if the damage he’s doing now might not lead to suffering later).
But can I say I’m also glad for this series and how it revolves around smoking? Cigarettes have become a bad word in modern culture (Western culture, at least); with smoking prohibited or outlawed in so many public spaces, and whole generations having grown up realizing the health effects of tobacco (and how skeavy tobacco companies are), the public has turned on smokers. There’s an outright disdain for them.
Over the weekend, I listened to The Andy Richter Call-In Show. Richter and his guest, Kristen Johnson, spoke about how gross smoking is, but how they both used to be smokers and at times, still enjoy the smell of smoke. I feel somewhat similarly; my parents smoked until I was an adolescent before quitting; it’s been so many years that while I still have some nostalgia for smoking, I’ve more or less adopted that cultural feeling of disdain for smoking.
More importantly, I realize that I now intrinsically have passed that attitude about smoking to smokers. I appreciate shows like Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, which reset my attitude and help me remember to both be gracious to others and to recognize hypocrisy and unkindness in myself.
Thank you, Tamaya and Sasaki. Y’all are changing lives!
After the Smoke Clears
Yamada is now starting to fear that she’ll lose Sasaki, who meanwhile may be feeling the ache of being single permanently. From what I understand, the manga goes on far past what this season will cover, but even so, I detect that romance is really just a few more packs away.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
©Jinushi/SQUARE ENIX, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Production Committee
