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Crunchyroll Mini Episodes Push Smoking Behind the Supermarket to Perfect Rating

A surprise early release of split-length episodes has accelerated word-of-mouth ahead of the show's July broadcast.

Overview

  • Crunchyroll quietly released 12 mini-episodes on June 3 that together cover the anime’s first six planned episodes.
  • The early run drew an unusually large number of user ratings, with outlets reporting totals from roughly 10,000 up to reports near 20,000 and a brief fluctuation from a 5.0 score to 4.9 before returning.
  • Those 12 segments are canonical and run about 10 to 17 minutes each, meaning they are the same story material later to be presented as standard-length weekly episodes.
  • The series follows middle-aged office worker Sasaki and supermarket clerk Yamada/Tayama in a quiet, adult-oriented slice-of-life romance that critics and fans say fills a gap for older viewers.
  • The full-length weekly broadcast is scheduled for July 2026, and the early positive reception could shape expectations and viewers’ choices about whether to watch the mini-episodes now or wait for the standard run.