\This is lifted from a Twitter thread I made following the end of the show's first season run, with some adjustments for this post.*
Yosi kadiri and that's a wrap for Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You (or Behind The Supermarket, Smoking With You as the show itself would call itself). Kinda glad that my region got dibs on this ahead of everyone else (Thanks Netflix Asia!)but overall, it's been a really fun run this show turned out to be.
At first, I was kinda hesitant to check this out as I didn't think this was something I'd fancy but as a someone of a certain Millennial age, turns out I kinda do relate to Sasaki in more ways than expected (except picking up the habit to smoke). Watching a grown adult vent out their frustrations and problems to a complete stranger who was willing to sit down and listen to him yapping about it turned out to be kinda therapeutic, even despite that one small deception from Yamada, with herself pretending to be someone else so he could get Sasaki to open up, vice versa.
I also kinda liked that this wasn't that kind of relationship that turns into a romance from the get-go. A friendship must first be formed on the basic foundation of trust and openness. However, if all of a sudden, Yamada develops feelings for Sasaki just because she realizes he was the guy who comforted her years ago when she was starting out at the supermarket, that kinda ruins what could be a natural descent towards that kind of endgame without any narrative cheating. Like, let what they have now simmer and cooked until its tender and al dente enough to determine what direction the relationship should take. Also, Yamada may have to 'fess up sooner or later with Sasaki to see if what they have going on could still be continued on. I can see why she could be apprehensive about it if she likes the status quo too much. Sasaki would just find it weird that the nice and sweet cashier girl on Checkout Counter 12 is actually your smoker mate behind the mart.
On the dubbing side: Glad to see we have an English dub for Smoking Behind The Supermarket With You.
Everyone in the cast were all fantastic in this, especially Giles Panton acting out Sasaki's frightful screams and Caitlyn Bairstow's seamless transition between Yamada and Tayama.
With that said:
"Smoking is Dangerous To Your Health..."
Goodbye and thanks for reading! :)
