Already a hit in Japan, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You makes its English print debut this month from Square Enix. At age forty-five, office worker Sasaki has had enough of the corporate grind. His only solace is smoking – and the friendly smile of supermarket cashier Yamada. When Sasaki can’t find Yamada after a particularly trying day, a striking woman invites him to smoke with her. The despondent man thinks he’s made a new smoking buddy in the cool, teasing Tayama, but Sasaki doesn’t realize he already knows her!
Originally beginning in 2022, JINUSHI’s deceptively sweet comedy has gathered a big following amongst Japanese readers. With several award nominations not to mention winning 2022 Next Manga Award in the web category along with strong sales, it was only a matter of time before the series hit English speaking shores.
Cosy comedies have seen somewhat of a renaissance in manga in recent years with hits such as My Senpai is Annoying and My Dress-Up Darling. Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You manages to hit a lot of those beats whilst bringing in elements from series focusing on working life like Aggretsuko and Wotakoi. There is just the right balance of sweetness and snark which makes this series click.
Sasaki is the perfect everyman who is stuck in a rut when it comes to work with him being regularly on edge and finding it difficult to relax. Yamada/Tayama is a strong contrast in both her cheerful performance of customer service as a supermarket cashier and her cool/cheeky true persona she reverts to when on her smoking break. This contrast provides the majority of the entertainment, but the real joy is Tayama’s bonding with Sasaki over gently teasing him whilst they smoke. She is clearly touched by his sincerity and consideration, but at the same time perturbed that he cannot see that Tayama and Yamada are the same person. It is a fun dynamic that JINUSHI gets down perfectly.
JINUSHI is also strong on the illustration front. The contrast between the friendly Yamada and the edgier Tayama is greatly enhanced by the art and JINUSHI has a natural flair for comedy in both their writing and their facial reactions which brings even more humour to the work.
This is a top notch feel-good manga comedy that will appeal to a wide section of the manga fandom. It’s easy to see why it has already got such a big following.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You 01 is out 20 February from Square Enix Manga (9781646092864, p/b, £12.99)
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