Crunchyroll has never seen anything like this. A quiet, understated slice-of-life romance about two strangers sharing cigarette breaks behind a convenience store has somehow become the first anime in the platform’s history to earn a perfect 5-star rating — and it did it with over 14,000 reviews in just three days. That’s more ratings than many anime collect over their entire broadcast runs.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You (Japanese: スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり, Super no Ura de Yani Suu Futari) didn’t arrive with flashy trailers, a famous studio pedigree, or a battle-shonen pedigree. It arrived quietly — Crunchyroll even dropped the first 12 mini-episodes weeks before the official July premiere as a surprise early release — and the internet immediately lost its mind.
How a Twitter Webcomic Became Crunchyroll’s Highest-Rated Anime Ever
The story of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You starts where most modern anime success stories begin: on social media. Creator Jinushi first posted the series as a webcomic on Twitter in March 2022, where it quickly amassed a devoted following. The combination of relatable workplace exhaustion, deadpan humor, and genuine emotional warmth struck a nerve with readers who were tired of over-the-top shonen battles and wanted something real.
By August 2022, Square Enix picked up the series for serialization in Monthly Big Gangan, and it has been steadily building momentum ever since. Multiple collected volumes have been published, and the fandom has only grown with each release. But nothing could have prepared anyone for what happened when the anime adaptation premiered.
The Plot — Why This Anime Resonates So Deeply
The premise is deceptively simple. Sasaki is a burned-out salaryman working himself to the bone at a soul-crushing office job. His only daily moment of peace? The cigarette breaks he takes behind the supermarket near his workplace. That’s where he meets Yamada, a part-time store clerk who shares the same habit and the same need for a quiet moment away from the world.
What starts as awkward, wordless smoke breaks slowly blossoms into something meaningful. Their conversations — sparse, honest, and often hilariously understated — become the emotional anchor of each other’s increasingly difficult lives. It’s a story about the small connections that keep us going when everything else feels overwhelming.
And that’s exactly why it’s resonating so hard with audiences in 2026. In a year dominated by high-octane action anime like Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War‘s final arc and Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Shinjuku Showdown, viewers are craving something different. Something real. Something that understands what it feels like to just need a minute to breathe behind a supermarket at midnight.
The Numbers Are Absolutely Insane
Let’s put this in perspective. Here’s what happened in the first three days after Crunchyroll’s early mini-episode release:
- Perfect 5.0/5.0 rating — the first anime ever to achieve this on Crunchyroll
- 14,000+ user ratings in just 72 hours — more than many completed series accumulate
- 8.6/10 on IMDb with nearly 500 ratings already
- Trending #1 on multiple anime social media platforms worldwide
For context, beloved series like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Demon Slayer, and Solo Leveling — all massive hits with huge fanbases — have never achieved a perfect rating on the platform. This quiet little rom-com just outscored them all.
Studio Asahi Production Nailed the Adaptation
Directed by Masato Suzuki and Aoi Mori at Studio Asahi Production, the anime adaptation has been praised for its atmospheric direction and faithful tone. The series captures the manga’s muted, late-night aesthetic perfectly — the dim fluorescent lighting of the supermarket parking lot, the curling smoke against a dark sky, the uncomfortable silences that somehow feel more honest than words.
The voice cast brings incredible depth to the two leads: Takuya Satou (known for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) voices Sasaki with a weary, understated delivery that makes every rare smile feel earned. Seena Hoshiki (Eternity Memories) brings Yamada to life with a perfect balance of guarded warmth and dry humor.
The second main trailer also unveiled the opening theme, giving fans their first taste of the music that will accompany this deeply atmospheric series. Early reactions to the OP have been overwhelmingly positive, with many calling it one of the best anime opening songs of 2026 so far.
Why the Mini-Episode Strategy Was Genius
Crunchyroll’s decision to release the first 12 mini-episodes ahead of the July 9 TV premiere was a masterstroke. These short-format episodes gave viewers a concentrated burst of the story’s emotional core without asking for a huge time commitment. Each mini-episode is just a few minutes long — perfect for sharing on social media, perfect for recommending to friends, and perfect for hooking viewers who might not normally watch slice-of-life anime.
The strategy worked brilliantly. Viewers who started with the mini-episodes became instant evangelists, flooding social media with reactions, screenshots, and emotional testimonials. By the time the full series premieres on July 9, the show already has a massive built-in audience that can’t wait for more.
What This Means for Anime in 2026
The success of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You sends a clear message: anime audiences are hungry for mature, grounded storytelling. Not every series needs world-ending stakes or tournament arcs. Sometimes the most powerful stories are about two exhausted people finding comfort in each other’s company during a five-minute smoke break.
This could be the beginning of a wave. After seeing a quiet rom-com outperform established franchises on the biggest anime streaming platform, studios and publishers may start investing more in the kind of intimate, character-driven stories that have historically been overlooked in favor of spectacle-driven blockbusters.
When and Where to Watch
The full TV series of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You premieres on July 9, 2026 on TBS in Japan, with Crunchyroll handling the international streaming. The first 12 mini-episodes are already available on Crunchyroll for anyone who wants to catch up before the main broadcast begins.
If you haven’t watched them yet, you’re about to find out why 14,000 people gave a perfect score to an anime about smoking behind a supermarket. And honestly? They might be onto something.
Have you watched the mini-episodes yet? What do you think made this anime resonate so deeply with viewers? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
