The end of the year is nigh, and that means subtle Japanese greetings packed full of (possibly) romantic meaning, returning home and visiting shrines, and of course, smoking behind the supermarket with you.
Onto the new year’s goodness in episode 11!
The Shift
With only a few days left in the year, Sasaki is given some time off from work. Before the year turns, he would like to see Yamada one more time, and Tamaya as well, to convey end-of-the-year wishes. But neither seems to be anywhere in sight…
Once the new year arrives, Sasaki visits Mie to see family, while Yamada goes to see her mother and father as well. Before long, though, the two are back behind the supermarket once again.
The Smoke Break
After taking a left turn recently to introduce and focus on other characters, the series returns to its central couple in this warm, holiday episode. The high point is in the first half, when Yamada has taken sick—she’s drawn super cute in her sickness (not quite like real life!), but that’s the primary highlight. The conversation she has with Sasaki over the phone is both lovely and a little romantic.
I’ve noted the score in this series before, but it does particularly heavy work in the phone call scene, helping to convey a tenderness during a conversation in which Yamda is particularly vulnerable. The piano is particularly beautiful.
It’s also important to point out that once again, there’s a flashback to Sasaki and Yamada’s initial meeting at the former store, this time from the latter’s perspective. I wonder what the series plans to do with it. Because it comes up time and time again, I’m assuming they’ll make the connection at some point, but memory doesn’t tend to work in such a way that blurry faces from the past suddenly come into sight. What trick will the series use to help them make the connection?
The B-side is fun, too. We get to see Yamada mom! And dad! They don’t, however, receive the full treatment (no faces!), and neither do Sasaki’s sister and niece (the former making a return in this episode, along with Sasaki’s accent). Fun moments both, though! Even better is when our protagonists come back together after the New Year. There’s a really 80s anime vibe to this scene with flirty jokes, overreactions from Sasaki, and, of course, sexy sax music.
After the Smoke Clears
There are a few “pre-confessions” that Sasaki gives in this episode, and while he remains Slow-sa-ki even to his own chatter, there’s a sense now that Sasaki is starting to fall for Tamaya. He already cares about her, but she’s becoming a more vital part of his life, a constant companion.
There’s also a separation here, too, between Tamaya and Yamada; when he tries to greet each for the new year—the latter through the front end of the store and the former through the back—he’s unsuccessful. He ultimately only talks to Tamaya; it’s almost coincidentally his choice, but is it really? And this is important, because there’s a love triangle in this series—it’s just that two of the corners are the same person, though there are increasing signs that Tamaya is becoming jealous of Yamada.
Then again, how does that even work?
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
©Jinushi/SQUARE ENIX, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Production Committee
