Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Volume 3 Review

In the world of retail, the end of the year is the busiest time for the staff and we rejoin Miss Yamada and her co-workers as they go out for drinks before the onslaught begins. After a glass or two, it’s inevitable that the others can’t resist teasing the youngest member of the group and her habit of smoking behind the supermarket with regular customer Mr. Sasaki (in her ‘other’ guise of Miss Tayama). But it’s when Register Chief Maezawa merrily tells her that Sasaki is married because she saw him at the tills with a younger woman – and he was wearing a wedding ring – that her mood alters. Sasaki – married?

When they’re back at work, Maezawa observes that she seems to be taking the news rather well until Manager Goto says darkly, “The worse her mood… the cheerier she acts on the register.” A conversation between Yamada and Mr. Sasaki at the till only adds to the confusion. Sensing that he’s being avoided at the usual smoking place, it’s time for a showdown. Mr. Sasaki surprises Miss Tayama and tells her he wants to apologize. “Hurry up and go home,” she tells him bluntly. “Your wife’s waiting for you.” But then she’s genuinely surprised (and relieved) to hear his answer. He’s single. The young woman seen by Maezawa was his younger sister and he was wearing her husband’s old wedding ring because the couple had recently replaced the original ones… It’s all been a horrible misunderstanding. Miss Yamada/Tayama, torn between relief and embarrassment, can only mutter, “That’s so pathetic…of me” before switching back to full-on Tayama mode and grabbing hold of Sasaki as he turns to go, insisting, “Get your ass back here… and smoke!”

So, has this incident made Mr. Sasaki realize that Miss Tayama might regard him as more than just an occasional smoking companion? The Christmas/New Year season is underway before either party can react and the store-workers are rushed off their feet. Mr. Sasaki, resigned to not having any special plans for Christmas, heads to the supermarket… where he spots a mandarin orange rolling along the ground and hears a young man loudly bewailing having to work at Christmas. Assailed by big friendly dog Daigoro (Volume 2) he’s dropped the box of mandarins he was carrying and some of them have spilled out. Mr. Sasaki helps him pick them up and then they sit and smoke together. The young man introduces himself as Obata, the chief of the produce department. He seems to have a crushing inferiority complex about his own abilities but Mr. Sasaki, ever the friendly, supportive guy, quietly gives him reassurance and encouragement. But the pressures of working over the holiday season take their toll and Mr. Sasaki doesn’t see Miss Yamada in the store as he had hoped to wish her a Happy New Year. Miss Tayama is not out the back of the store, either, but Manager Goto is – and she’s the one who tells him (through her mask) that Miss ‘Tayama’ is off work sick, having fainted with a fever. Mr. Sasaki is understandably concerned.

It’s Volume 3 of the quirky and charming slice-of-life Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You and that nice Mr. Sasaki still hasn’t realized that Miss Yamada on the tills and her colleague Miss Tayama whom he meets up with round the back of the supermarket for a smoke and a chat are one and the same. Sooner or later… if we can put aside our concerns about the long-term health aspects of smoking… we’ll be rooting for Mr. Sasaki and Miss Yamada/Tayama to realize how much they’ve come to mean to each other.

This volume also introduces us to Mr. Sasaki’s younger sister and the fact that they come from Mie Prefecture. This nugget fascinates Miss Tayama, who persuades Mr. Sasaki to give her some examples of the Mie local dialect. He’s become almost comfortable with her teasing manner so he’s secretly happy to oblige. Another theme that subtly wends its way through these chapters is that of the watch Mr. Sasaki was given by his senpai (which is also partly the cause for the misunderstandings about his marital status). His attitude toward the gift and what it means to him (and therefore the original donor) again reveal what a thoughtful and self-effacing man he’s come to be. When he learns that his senpai is retiring, he confesses to Miss Tayama that he feels unable to meet up with him because he screwed up the big chance his senpai gave him. Miss Tayama gives him a piece of her mind and then some! But is this just the nudge he’s needed to resolve an issue that’s been bothering him for a long, long time?

There’s an afterword from the mangaka recommending a couple of songs to accompany reading a couple of chapters, a back-page cosplay image, and a two-panel of the supermarket manager’s dream as extras, as well as a sneak preview of Volume 4.

The excellent translation for Square Enix Manga is again by Amanda Haley who deals convincingly with Mr. Sasaki’s Mie dialect as well as all the other conversations, delineating the different characters very well (especially the differences between Miss Yamada and her assumed alter ego Tayama). This is reinforced by the lettering of Arbash Mughal which makes for an entertaining reading experience. There’s a bit of a wait for Volume 4 which is not due out until March 2025 (we’ve almost caught up with Japan which is up to Volume 5).

Jinushi’s manga continues to entertain and to deliver some heart-warming (as well as humorous) moments. It’s impossible not to root for this May-September couple to confess that they like each other – and watch out for the moment when Miss Yamada almost gives the game away!

A free preview can be found at the publisher’s website here.

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).