Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You
Japanese manga series by Jinushi
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Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You (Japanese: スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり, Hepburn: Sūpā no Ura de Yani Sū Futari) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jinushi. It began as a webcomic published on Twitter in March 2022, before it was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine in August 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by Asahi Production premiered in July 2026.
| Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Tayama (right) and Sasaki (left) | |
| スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり (Sūpā no Ura de Yani Sū Futari) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy, slice of life[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Jinushi |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |
|
| Imprint | Big Gangan Comics |
| Magazine | Monthly Big Gangan |
| Original run | March 9, 2022 – present |
| Volumes | 9 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Written by | Mio Inoue |
| Music by |
|
| Studio | Asahi Production |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll Asia: Netflix |
| Original network | JNN (TBS), AT-X |
| Original run | July 9, 2026 – present |
| Episodes | 12 |
The manga won the 2022 Next Manga Award in the web category.
Story
Sasaki, an overworked salaryman, finds a release of his daily tensions in the customer service of Yamada, a winsome, cheery supermarket cashier. One day he finds himself working late, and finding Yamada already done with work for the day, goes for a smoke, he finds a mysterious woman, "Tayama", who invites him to the smoking area behind the store. Yamada has a one-sided crush on Sasaki, and enjoys teasing him.
Characters
- Sasaki (佐々木)
- Voiced by: Takuya Satō[2] (Japanese); Giles Panton[3] (English)
- The male protagonist, a tired 45-year-old businessman working in sales at what Tayama describes as a "black company". He is often refreshed by visiting Yamada's checkout because of her friendly customer service and does not realize that his favorite cashier and his new smoking friend, Tayama, are the same person. He has very low self-esteem, constantly apologizing and trying to be considerate of everyone. As a result, despite liking Yamada/Tayama, he doesn't want to pursue a relationship, holding both of them in extremely high regard.
- Yamada/Tayama (山田 / 田山)
- Voiced by: Seena Hoshiki[2] (Japanese); Caitlyn Bairstow[3] (English)
- The female protagonist; a 24-year-old employee of Super S who started as a part-timer eight years ago. As Yamada, she is demure and the perfect customer handler, while her true self – whom she introduces to Sasaki as "Tayama" – is much cooler, wearing a leather jacket and sporting several ear piercings. She invites Sasaki to the smoking area behind the store, which he then begins visiting regularly. She is both amused and slightly frustrated that Sasaki cannot tell Yamada and Tayama are the same person, and is also bothered by how he places Yamada on a pedestal while treating "Tayama" with extreme respect and consideration. She has a crush on Sasaki because of his kindness and acceptance of her true personality as Tayama, and she loves teasing him. She is also unaware that Sasaki is the person who once helped her when she was still a part-timer.
- Goto (後藤)
- Voiced by: Toa Yukinari[4]
- The lady Manager of Super S, a supporter of Yamada (and what she observes of her relationship with Sasaki). Enjoys romance novels, and real-life approximations thereof. She's supportive of Yamada and Sasaki's relationship, though frustrated at the slow progress.
- Sasaki's boss
- Voiced by: (Japanese); Brian Dobson[3] (English)
- A bald man who repeatedly critiques and gives extra work to Sasaki as well as creates a harsh work environment for his employees.
- Maezawa (前澤)
- Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa[4]
- Another senior of Yamada's at Super S—addressed as "Chief Maezawa", in charge of the cashiers—who recounts the story of a ghost in the store's smoking area to Yamada. Good with "lost" kids who need to find their parents.
- Ohno (大野)
- Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi[4] (Japanese); Ruth Alexander[3] (English)
- A mild-mannered middle-aged assistant manager at Super S.
- Obata (小畑)
- Voiced by: Rikuya Yasuda[4]
- The head of the Produce Department and a tall but shy and reserved man.
- Suzuki (鈴木)
- Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi[5] (Japanese); Andrew Francis[3] (English)
- Sasaki's sympathetic blond co-worker; father of Megumi.
Production
At the time, Jinushi was serializing Rokurei — Tenseishi Rinne Kuyakusho Dairokkanbu Joreika Katsudouki in Monthly Big Gangan. He received advice from his editor to draw a short manga as an exercise in creative writing, which led him to creating the series.[6] Since Rokurei was a supernatural story, the manga was drawn to be more realistic, and since the author had a background in customer service sales, the story was set in a supermarket.[7]
Media
Manga
When the first chapter was posted on Twitter, the tweet received more than 190,000 likes (as of June 2, 2022), creating a huge response.[6] As of June 25th of that same year, the total number of likes for the series had surpassed 2.5 million.[8]
On August 25, 2022, the serialization in the magazine began in Monthly Big Gangan.[8] In this issue, it appeared on the cover and in the opening color.[9] On the same day, the first volume of the book with newly written chapters was also released.[8][9] As a result of this, the title was changed from Super no Ura de Yani Sū Hanashi (スーパーの裏でヤニ吸う話; "A Story About Smoking at the Back of the Supermarket") to Super no Ura de Yani Sū Futari (スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり; "Behind the Supermarket, Smoking With You"), with chapters 4 to 16 that were posted on Twitter deleted, but announced that it will still continue on Twitter without change.[10][11]
The manga is licensed by Square Enix's Manga UP! Global app and website.[12][13] At Anime Expo 2023, Square Enix Manga & Books announced that they licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume being released on February 20, 2024.[14]
Volumes
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 25, 2022[15] | 978-4-7575-8094-7 | February 20, 2024[16] | 978-1-64609-286-4 | ||
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| 2 | January 25, 2023[17] | 978-4-7575-8362-7 | May 21, 2024[18] | 978-1-64609-287-1 | ||
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| 3 | July 25, 2023[19][20] | 978-4-7575-8694-9 978-4-7575-8695-6 (SE) | September 3, 2024[21] | 978-1-64609-305-2 | ||
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| 4 | January 25, 2024[22][23] | 978-4-7575-8709-0 978-4-7575-8710-6 (SE) | March 18, 2025[24] | 978-1-64609-345-8 | ||
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| 5 | July 25, 2024[25] | 978-4-7575-9314-5 | August 12, 2025[26] | 978-1-64609-393-9 | ||
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| 6 | January 24, 2025[27][28] | 978-4-7575-9542-2 978-4-7575-9543-9 (SE) | January 20, 2026[29] | 978-1-64609-448-6 | ||
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| 7 | July 25, 2025[30] | 978-4-7575-9975-8 | July 7, 2026[31] | 979-8-89910-002-4 | ||
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| 8 | January 23, 2026[32][33] | 978-4-301-00201-7 978-4-301-00202-4 (SE) | November 17, 2026[34] | 979-8-89910-037-6 | ||
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| 9 | July 24, 2026[35] | 978-4-3010-0656-5 | — | — | ||
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Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 18, 2025.[36] It is produced by Asahi Production and directed by Masato Suzuki and Aoi Mori, with Mio Inoue handling series composition, Yasuka Ōtaki designing the characters, and Shin Kono and Sayaka Aoki composing the music.[37] The series premiered on July 9, 2026, on TBS and its affiliates.[37][38] For the television broadcast, the opening theme song is "Ichijiku Kemuri" (イチジク煙; 'Fig Smoke'), performed by Zutomayo,[39] while the ending theme song is "Fiction", performed by Imase.[40] For the Abema streaming broadcast, the opening theme song is "Kuzurinen" (クズリ念), performed by Zutomayo, while the ending theme song is "Night Dancer", performed by Imase.[41] Crunchyroll is streaming the series.[42][43] Netflix is also streaming it in select regions of Asia.[44]
Episodes
| No. | Title [45][46] | Directed by [45] | Written by [45] | Storyboarded by [45] | Original release date [47][a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura de Yani Sū Futari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり) | Masato Suzuki | Mio Inoue | Masato Suzuki | July 10, 2026[a][b] |
| 2 | "Cheering Up Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura de Soeru Futari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏で添えるふたり) | Aoi Mori | Mio Inoue | Aoi Mori | July 17, 2026[a][c] |
| 3 | "Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You and More" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura de Okuru Futari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏で贈るふたり) | Tomio Yamauchi | Mio Inoue | Masato Suzuki | July 23, 2026[a] |
| 4 | "Learning Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura de Manabu Hitori" (Japanese: スーパーの裏で学ぶひとり) | Aoi Mori & Masato Suzuki | Misaki Morie | Aoi Mori | July 30, 2026[a] |
| 5 | "Hanging Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura de Kakeru Futari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏でかけるふたり) | Yūsuke Onoda | Misaki Morie | Masato Suzuki | August 6, 2026[a] |
| 6 | "Lingering Scent Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura ni Nokoru Nioi" (Japanese: スーパーの裏に残る匂い) | Aoi Mori | Mio Inoue | Aoi Mori | August 13, 2026[a] |
| 7 | "The End of Summer Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura to Natsu no Owari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏と夏の終わり) | Harume Kosaka | Misaki Morie | Masato Suzuki | August 20, 2026 |
| 8 | "Searching Behind the Supermarket with You" Transliteration: "Sūpā no Ura kara Mitsukeru Futari" (Japanese: スーパーの裏から見つけるふたり) | Tomio Yamauchi | Mio Inoue | Naoki Matsuura | August 27, 2026 |
Reception
By January 2026, the manga had over 3 million copies in circulation.[51] Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You won the 2022 Next Manga Award in the web category.[52][53] The series ranked seventh in the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers.[54] It also ranked eighth in the 16th Manga Taishō.[55] The series was ranked fourth in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2023 and first in the Nationwide Publishers' Recommended Comics of 2023.[56] In 2026, the series has been nominated in Daruma for Best Manga at the Japan Expo Awards.[57] It has over 200,000 copies in circulation as of volume 1.[citation needed]
Notes
- Due to the broadcast of the 2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League, this episode aired at 12:41 a.m. JST, 45 minutes after the regular air time on JNN.[49]