Smoking Behind the
Supermarket with You
Short Synopsis: A middle aged salaryman crushes on a cute supermarket cashier and ends up smoking in the back with a punk cashier who is most definitely a different person.
Amun: To be perfectly honest, I’m not watching nearly as much anime as I was a few years ago (I think I was averaging like 18-20 seasonals per season). I only watched a handful of sequels last season (plus a few meh freshmen outings) and caught up on some heavy hitters like Re:Zero and Apothecary Diaries. I wasn’t looking for anything serious – I just happened to read some hype about “Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You” and saw it on Crunchyroll (more on the weird release schedule in a minute). The first episode was alright, alright, I’d like to see another. Second mini episode, hey this is pretty good! Then you’ll finish the released episodes and start counting the day until the next release. Coming into this blind and a little burned out on anime – this is a breath of fresh air (well, full of responsible tobacco smoke I guess). This is a simple story, nothing insane, just with fantastic execution and character building. These are the lowest stakes possible – the world isn’t ending, the amounts of money at stake is minimal, the biggest drama is putting on the silliest charade you could imagine (this man is dense!). But the story is so endearing and engaging, I can’t help but be sad that we have to wait so long for the second half to come out. While this isn’t enough to bring me out of retirement, “Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You” definitely reminded me why I love anime – and why there are still some surprises left in the most unlikely of genres and gimmicks.
Potential: 99%
The World is Dancing
Short Synopsis: The son of a dance troupe leader in 14th century Japan searches for the reason why people dance.
Mario: Woah, you have to see this episode just for the dance sequence that rightfully takes our boy Oniyasha’s breath away. We certainly don’t see this level of crazy and loose animation in TV anime, if at all, but it fits the show’s theme like a glove. Apart from that though, I am not that invested in the narrative, or in any of the characters so far. Viewers will likely compare this show with works like Inu-Oh or Heike Monogatari as they are from the same era, but The World is Dancing reminds me strongly of The Exclusive Samurai (which also airs this season), especially the main character and the tone of trying to mix serious moments with goofy ones. His comedic side especially doesn’t work for me, but as far as the theme goes, questioning the very concept of dancing is interesting and I do want to see how the show goes from here.
Potential: 40%
Wooper: The shirabyoshi scene that Mario alludes above to is indeed this episode’s climax, but I can’t help but feel that it could have used more time in the oven. It runs for a little over a minute, so not every cut will be created equal, but there are some moments where it feels less like a moving watercolor painting and more like a series of sketches. This is the moment that’s meant to inspire the show’s young protagonist to reexamine his hatred of dance, but if I were him I might be more bewildered than inspired at what I’d just seen. Anyway, that’s enough raining on everybody’s sakuga parade – World is Dancing’s visual ambition is certainly cause for celebration, and that goes for the entire episode. The early introduction of the yet-unnamed Ashikaga Yoshimitsu on a rainy battlefield has a nice blotchiness to it, and the initial performance of Oniyasha’s stern-faced father was clearly labored over to create its necessary rigidity. Where the show comes up wanting is the story, so it doesn’t earn high marks just yet – hopefully that will come once Yoshimitsu gets some proper face time and the worlds of politics and dance begin to intersect.
Potential: 50%
The Cat and the Dragon
Short Synopsis: A dragon raised by a Cait Sith negotiates peace between humans and his extended feline family.
Wooper: The premiere of The Cat and the Dragon (Neko to Ryuu) uses its half hour to tell a complete story. A dragon is born, imprints on a magical cat who happens to be raising her litter nearby, and eventually uses his adult strength to force the nearby human population to discontinue hunting cats. All three species end up coexisting happily, roll credits. Without a major (or even minor) hook, it’s hard to recommend the show, even though the key visual makes it clear that the friendship between the human king’s descendents and their cat companions will be the forthcoming focus. Granted, the cats are cute, and while the animation for them and their winged uncle is less than stellar, the pronounced line art helps keep everything solid. Unfortunately, the boilerplate human settlement (walled off in a massive circle like 70% of all fantasy anime) will likely be the primary setting for future episodes, which I can’t say I’m excited about. Perhaps the titular dragon’s maturation ought to have remained the focus for more than two-thirds of a single episode. That way the shift of humans from predators to collaborators could have come later, and we could’ve had more fun in the forest leading up to that event.
Potential: 25%
The post Summer 2026 Impressions: Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, The World is Dancing, The Cat and the Dragon appeared first on Star Crossed Anime.
