Wait, what? Episode 10 of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You begins with a not-particularly-Christmasy Christmas episode, and then continues with a brand new pairing to root for (and I ship it FULLY).
On to the review!
The Shift
In Part A, Sasaki is walking the lighted streets during Christmastime, feeling a bit “left behind” by the world as he works hard and barely realizes the holiday is upon him. But as he turns toward the smoking area of the grocery store, Sasaki realizes he’s not the only troubled person this Christmas.
In Part B, Obata, introduced earlier in the episode, happens upon the unflappable manager, Goto. Except that she doesn’t seem so unflappable in the moment, as he finds her weeping! What can he do, he wonders, to help the boss that he admires so?
The Smoke Break
I was a little thrown off by episode ten—in part because the opening seconds set you up for a Christmas episode, but then doesn’t focus on Christmas at all. We’re huge on Christmas episodes here, so that was definitely disappointing.
Surely, the series is saving the real Christmas episode for later on when Sasaki and Yamada are dating or nearly so. And I cannot wait!
Instead, the episode focuses on the other part that threw me off: a brand new character. Thankfully, he’s a really good one! Sasaki stumbles upon Obata in the smoking area behind the supermarket when the latter spills a carton of tangerines after being viciously attacked by Daigorou.
Well, Obata acts as if Daigorou trying to get some pets is a vicious attack, and we discover that’s quite in character for him. As he and Sasaki bond, I quickly came to like Obata, though. Sometimes these nervous characters can be hard to endure, but Obata is quick to see the good in Sasaki. He’s a good dude. Plus, he’s voiced terrifically by Rikuya Yasuda, whom you may know from Tune In to the Midnight Heart but who is otherwise fairly new to the industry; his little shrieks and utterances for Obata are hilarious and charming!
Part B focuses even more on Obata, who admires (aka harbors a major crush on) on the manager. It’s an unexpected focus on these two characters (Yamada gets very little screen time in this episode and Sasaki isn’t in the second half at all), but their story is nice enough. Plus, we get a little time focusing on the manager’s manga addiction, which is always fun!
I would note that Part B unusually focuses on the idea of leadership. Goto usually leads with confidence and strength, which anyone who studies leadership will tell you is absolutely necessary. But there’s a balance in this episode with showing vulnerability as well. In real life, that’s a tightrope that’s difficult to walk across, but Goto’s model is pretty right now. LinkedIn-worthy content in an anime episode—who woulda thunk it?
After the Smoke Clears
Episode ten takes us a little away from the romcom setup of previous episodes and more into the realm of a workplace anime, like Working!! The past several episodes have afforded more screen time to Yamada’s co-workers, allowing for the transition to occur, but it was still a little surprising. Nonetheless, I like these characters, so I appreciate the series spending more time with them—I just wonder if part of the reason for it is that the mangaka is running out of cute ideas for Tamaya and Sasaki. If so, that isn’t a good sign.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
©Jinushi/SQUARE ENIX, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Production Committee
]]>McFarland was far more than a voice actor, though his voice alone made him an unforgettable part of many fans’ anime experiences. He was the English voice of Master Roshi and Yajirobe in Dragon Ball, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, Buggy in One Piece, and many other beloved characters. He was also an ADR director, script writer, and producer whose work helped shape the English-language experience of countless anime series and films.
Mike was gracious enough to record this little sound bite for us that we often used at the beginning of the old Tanglecast podcast.
I had the opportunity to interview Mike in 2018 at Wizard World Austin, and he was really thoughtful in his responses; it also wasn’t my only time I interacted with him. Over the years, I ran into him casually at other events. We weren’t close—I suspect I was just one of the tens of thousands of people he encountered throughout his career, and he probably wouldn’t have remembered me from one meeting to the next. But he was always gracious.
That’s a small thing, perhaps, but it has stayed with me. And I’ve consistently heard the same sort of thing from people who actually worked with Mike: He was kind, generous, and someone people enjoyed having around. Those who knew him professionally have spoken warmly about him not simply as a talented actor and director, but as a good person.
That certainly came through in our 2018 conversation. Mike spoke enthusiastically about the many different aspects of his work—acting, writing, directing, and helping bring stories to life. He clearly loved the creative process and the people who made it possible.
His body of work is enormous, and anime fans will remember him through characters like Master Roshi, Jean Kirstein, Jean Havoc, and Buggy for generations. But there’s something meaningful about knowing that behind all those voices was a person who, by all accounts, treated the people around him with kindness.
Today, we’re remembering Mike by sharing our 2018 conversation again. If you’re a fan of his work, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read about him talking about his craft, his love of storytelling, and the many hats he wore throughout his career.
We miss you, Mike. Thank you for the stories, the characters, and the kindness you showed along the way.
Mike McFarland (July 14, 1970 – September 9, 2026)
]]>As part of a Crunchyroll press junket, I had the chance to speak with Madeleine Morris, the voice of Rudeus Greyrat, about the second season, Rudeus’s complicated journey, and what it’s like to portray such a divisive character.
We also talk about what makes Mushoku Tensei so deeply human, the way its characters grow and regress, and how stories can challenge us to think about our own reactions and experiences.
It’s a short conversation, but there’s some good stuff here—including Madeleine’s thoughts on Rudeus’s humanity, the unique challenge of voicing him as he grows older, and the difficult conversations the series can prompt.
Watch the interview above, and stay tuned for the final part of our Season 2 finale next week!
And please follow Madeleine Morris to support her work! Find her on her website, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 is available to stream on Crunchyroll every Sunday at 8:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM ET. The series is produced by Studio Bind.
Something Genuine is a series of conversations exploring the stories behind people in anime, gaming, entertainment, sports, and beyond. Rather than focusing on promotion, we seek to learn about the experiences, challenges, and moments that have shaped our guests into who they are today. Please subscribe and watch!
]]>The Amazing Digital Circus • Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow (Vol. 6) • Blood-Crawling Princess of a Ruined Country • Golden Man (Vol. 1) • Issak (Vol. 14) • RuriDragon (Vol. 4) • SAO Unital Ring (Vol. 2)
RuriDragon, Manga Vol. 4
It’s time for the sports festival, and as part of the committee for it, Ruri seems to be enjoying school life. Of course, nothing goes as planned for Ruri, who’s introverted nature makes her the worst person to become the absolute center of attention when her dragon characteristics, like being set fully aflame, suddenly pop up. Volume four continues to be an emphathetic and authentic look at being an adolescent. Ruri would be considered obnoxious for how she reacts around her friends, except that, well, she’s a dragon. But that reason actually helps the reader feel for her as just a normal girl, and makes up empathetic for adolescents in general who are terribly uncomfortable in their skin at this age. But Ruri’s transformation can also be symbolic for all sorts of changes that we undergo, or, as I really felt strongly in this volume, for people who must reveal their natures when they’re not yet ready for it. Being “outed” automatically comes to mind, but I can think of something more typical—showing an aspect of your personality to those around you when you are, like Ruri, an introvert. RuriDragon presents this with thoughtfulness and characterization that’s absolutely authentic for this age group, without ever feeling preachy and keeping its humor and fun. This is a really good series—and the kind, too, that might encourage you to be kinder to those around you, particularly teenagers who may be obnoxious, but ar really just in that strange phase known as adolescence. ~ Twwk
RuriDragon is published by VIZ Media.
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Manga Vol. 6
Yabuki Joe has strange effects on the men around him: Ordinary nobodies blow him off as a loudmouthed poser, but the strongest of the strong can’t get him out of their heads. That inexplicable magnetism has somehow landed him the comeback chance of a lifetime: a primetime televised fight with internationally-ranked Carlos Rivera in front of a sold-out stadium. Just weeks ago, he was a carnival sideshow fighter trying to claw his way back into any sort of legitimate boxing. Now all of Japan is watching him carry their hopes into battle. But does Joe even have a prayer against a world-class boxer? And win, lose, or draw, what is he going to do with his second chance at life in the boxing ring? There are two things you need to know about this volume of Ashita no Joe: First, Joe drops THE LINE. If you’ve ever read Bakuman you know exactly which line it is. And if not, you’ve probably heard it elsewhere too: the Homeric line that sums up the entire male fantasy in a single manga panel. Second, as great as the first half of this volume is, its most compelling material is in the back half, where Joe doesn’t simply meet his next opponent—he meets his Accuser: a clean-cut, soft-spoken, well-dressed, and self-disciplined terror of a man, all but scientifically engineered to destroy Joe not just tactically but psychologically. A boxer who can throw Joe’s whole life story back in his face with a dismissive “give me a break” as casually as he can throw a freight train punch. This series is peak MANga. ~ WacOtaku
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow is published by Kodansha.
Read Reviews of Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow: Vol. 1 // Vol.2 // Vol.3 // Vol. 4// Vol.5
Issak, Manga Vol. 14
Issak and Prince Heinrich continue their campaign against Viscount Sabella in a series of bloody skirmishes across the canals and pastures of the Dutch countryside. The long term goal remains to subdue Heusden Fortress and fully reopen the supply route to the besieged city of Breda. The short term goal, however, is now to escort a powerful new piece of artillery to the city’s defenders over the fiercely contested backroads. But Issak sees in this dangerous mission an incredible opportunity: use the cannon convoy to lure Sabella and his troops out of position and give a small band of men the chance to storm Huesden in the confusion. Sabella, however, is no fool to be conveniently duped by any common ruse de guerre, so making this plan actually work is going to be a dicey business… Well, this volume of Issak turned out to be a slightly odd reading experience. Not because of anything in the book itself, but because Kodansha stopped the release of new English digital volumes for over a year to give the physical releases time to catch up (for perspective on how extended of a pause this series has had, my review of Issak volume thirteen released alongside my review of Ashita no Joe volume one—shameless plug). Picking the series back up in the middle of a story arc after such a long time away meant that I had to put in more effort than usual in order to pull my memories of the series up from deep storage. Perhaps I should have reread volume thirteen first, but that’s an expenditure of time and energy too. So the volume itself is perfectly fine historical fiction/action manga fare, but the real world release schedule means there’s a re-onboarding cost attached in addition to the sticker price. The series is worth it, but the cost is still there.~ WacOtaku
Issak is published by Kodansha.
READ Reviews of Issak: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol.6 // Vol.7 // Vol.8 // Vol.9 // Vol.10 // Vol.11//Vol.12// Vol.13
Blood-Crawling Princess of a Ruined Country, Manga Vol. 1
Sometimes, folks, it falls upon the good people here at Beneath the Tangles to take one for the team (i.e. you, dear reader). Blood-Crawling Princess is one such situation: There may be a good point buried somewhere in here—probably “Don’t treat women like objects”—but it almost completely vanishes under the lurid grotesquerie, both sexual and bloody. “Priscilla the Princess” is the alias of the most desirable prostitute in the autonomous region of Sanmisa, a place set aside by the Kingdom of Hari as a sort of national red-light district. Unbeknownst to most, however, Priscilla is in fact the surviving actual princess of the fallen land of Batalia, and her work in the brothels is itself a cover for her plans for revenge. These include castrating and torturing the heir to the throne of Hari (who is himself absolute scum, to be sure) and slaughtering every man in the autonomous region in a single night, then fleeing with her followers (also women from Batalia who have been working in the brothels) toward a nearby country where they have been promised asylum. The story ends on a cliff-hanger, with the betrayal of Priscilla’s efforts, but it’s not enough to keep me coming back. There is no sensitive treatment of sex workers here, no promise of redemption or healing for those who seek revenge (as in, say, Vinland Saga), no great themes or ideals set forth even to be deconstructed. There are better stories of strong women out there, whether you prefer gritty (like Claymore, an oldie but goldie) or more idealistic (Apothecary Diaries, which also comes with a much better depiction of sex workers). Don’t waste your time here. ~ Dr. Steve
Blood-Crawling Princess of a Ruined Country is published by Yen Press.
SAO Unital Ring, Manga Vol. 2
In my review of volume one, I dubbed Unital Ring “SAO: The Ark: Survival Evolved Edition,” and volume two only convinces me of the accuracy of this description all the more. The first part of the volume covers Kirito and his friends as they try to gather materials and repair their house, accidentally taming a giant ferocious-cute platypus with teeth along the way. Before long, though, other players show up and ask to trade goods and services; this being SAO, however, a sudden ambush is a given. (“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”) For a voice from the heavens has promised something to whomever is “first” to reach a certain goal, and while no one knows what that something is, the newcomers recognize Kirito and know that he will be a formidable rival in any case. As Kirito & co. face off against humans, NPCs, dinosaurs monsters, and the relentless falling survival meters (did I mention how much this story reminds me of Ark?), they also realize that over time, their skills and levels ported from SAO/ALO are disappearing! And as if that weren’t enough to contend with, they discover that this new world has an additional harsh penalty: If you die in the game, you…can’t log into it ever again! Okay, so maybe the stakes aren’t quite as high as in the original “Aincrad” arc, but there are enough twists here to keep readers on their toes. And the final pages reintroduce an old character in the real world—though if I’m being honest, I had to look up who this person was on the wiki! In any case, author Rekie Kawahara is clearly gearing up for another saga of numerous twists, plotlines, and characters. So if you like SAO, you know where to come to get your next fix! ~ NegativePrimes
SAO Unital Ring is published by Yen Press.
The Amazing Digital Circus, Manga Vol. 1
I’ve never watched The Amazing Digital Circus, but having spent as much time on social media as I do, I haven’t been able to get away from the series. And that’s not a bad thing—its distinct, manic style reminds me of other Glitch Productions pieces, of course, but also Beetlejuice (complete with a sandworm-like creature) and Alice in Wonderland. And like those works, this series is caught between fantasy and reality, and involves some level of madness. A jester awakes in a world that the ringmaster, Caine, calls the “Amazing Digital Circus,” not knowing how she got there or even remembering her name. She’s told that she must take part in a game of sorts and that there is no escape, and is joined by even more unusually designed comrades who all seem to have loss hope of escape. The cutecore design allows the series to explore dark themes and imagery while remaining palatable, while the feeling of dread at both Pomni’s (the newly named protagonist) inability to escape and the possibility of being tortured or killed adds to the off-kilter feeling of the series. Frankly, it’s not my usual cup of tea, though I do like Sakura’s adaptation; her drawings are simple but layered, and I can feel the characters and hear their voices as I read. She’s given them life. The story is a little hard to follow, however, though I don’t know yet if that’s purposeful for this series as a whole or a challenge in the adaptation. Regardless, my curiosity is piqued, and I’m interested to know what themes this series ultimately means to express, and what the mysteries of its world are. ~ Twwk
The Amazing Digital Circus is published by VIZ Media.
Golden Man, Manga Vol. 1
At the center of Golden Man, the new superhero manga from Yen Press, is one central question: Who exactly is this Golden Man? Yes, “this,” as in this particular version. You see, as the action begins, it’s revealed that the man donning the costume of this nigh-invincible hero is an amnesiac, but further, a man whom the entire team who supports the superhero doesn’t recognize. That intriguing story is more than enough to carry this initial volume, setting up a mystery that had me immediately hooked. This new hero is possibly a great threat to Neo York, rather than its savior, though his personality is described at once point as being like a faithful dog. I detect really painful moments ahead, but for now, the opening volume is mostly filled with both that mystery and a good amount of humor. It also features some fanservice. There’s a deeper discussion to be had about this element of manga, but in this case, I was thrown off because it didn’t really fit into either the corny humor or more serious moments of the volume. Other than that—and despite it—I’m eager to see how this story progresses; I think we’re in for quite a ride. ~ Twwk
Golden Man is published by Yen Press.
“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.
Well, spoiler alert, it doesn’t. In episode 9, the “stupidly honest” protagonist, Nao Kanzaki, lies.
The End. Thank you for reading my post.
Just kidding! Although on one level I was disappointed that Nao resorts to deception during the Losers’ Revival round of the Liar Game Tournament (LGT), the way it comes about and what it represents completely defies my simplistic litmus test and instead begs a more nuanced exploration of the moral dynamics at play here. You see, Nao’s actions give us a picture of what it looks like to be shrewd, to be wise as a serpent, and yet to be so in precisely the way that Jesus exhorts us: that is, while remaining innocent as a dove.
Nao is the very embodiment of innocence. She is honest and sweet and always believes the best in people. But she’s also very naive, to the point of gullibility, making her easy to manipulate. That’s how she ends up trapped in the LGT, where, during those first couple of rounds, she is pretty much helpless, surviving thanks solely to the benevolence of the savior-like Akiyama.
In the revival round, though, Nao is on her own and pretty soon, her naiveté sets her up to be the sole loser in a game that was supposed to be a guaranteed win for her. Nao hits rock bottom as she is crushed by the betrayal and the anticipated weight of debt that will soon settle on her shoulders, unless she can somehow turn things around. No wonder honest Nao finally lies, right? It’s called the Liar Game for a reason, after all, and a girl’s gotta survive. And wouldn’t you know it, lying works! Nao ends up winning the round and enough prize money to buy her way out of the tournament and still enjoy a little profit!
It reminds me of Jesus’s parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16. In it, a dishonest manager who is about to be fired schemes up a way to provide himself with a cushy retirement by being crafty with his employer’s resources while he still has access to them. (Read the whole thing here.) In the grand finale (16:8a), Jesus says that, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly…” Wait, what?! This is definitely the most mystifying of Jesus’s parables, right?
Then Jesus does something he never does: He steps out of the story and begins to explain it to the crowd. Now, Jesus was wont to do this for his disciples, but only for them, in private after the crowds had gone home. But this time, he offers up a long commentary interpreting the parable. Well, sort of. By which I mean, it is no straightforward explanation that Jesus offers, but rather a series of insights that are themselves open to interpretation, particularly in how to connect the dots with the parable. (Which, as challenging as it may be, is in keeping with how Jesus spoke to the crowds, after all! So that “Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand…”)
Jesus’s commentary begins in the most unexpected way, as he effectively doubles down and joins the master of the story in commending the dishonest manager! “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (16:8b) The implication here is that believers should take a page from the manager’s book and learn to be shrewd. He then tells us the reason for so shocking a commission: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (16:9)
Now, this verse is open to interpretation, but I think what Jesus is getting at here—and I’ve written about this before—is that we are to use the riches of this lifetime to win people who will become friends for, and in, eternity; that is, winning them to the Kingdom. Jesus is charging us to be shrewd for the sake of eternal considerations!
The next few verses underline this emphasis: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (16:10-12) Here, Jesus presents worldly wealth as something “very little”, that is actually “someone else’s property” (namely, God’s). But it is also an important tool to test our character, and indeed, to forge and refine it.
How we handle wealth reveals the condition of our heart and therefore our trustworthiness to receive true riches. After all, wealth has a way of enslaving us, even when we think we’re in control. That’s what happens for every player in the Liar Game Tournament, including, initially, our sweet, innocent Nao, who spends those first couple of rounds concentrating on her own bank balance. It’s what Jesus warns about at the close of this passage, too: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (16:13)
I think what’s going on here is that Jesus is calling us to be shrewd like the manager, but also to be better than him. More specifically, we are to be shrewd—not with a self-centered mindset that is only concerned with the here and now and our own personal outcome, but for the sake of the kingdom, with eternity in mind. In other words, we are to be shrewd with the mind of Christ—which we receive as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds—to the purpose of anticipating eternity and acting accordingly. We see this same emphasis when we consider the other occasions in which Jesus discusses shrewdness.
But before we look at these, what exactly is shrewdness? To be literal about it, in the New Testament, it’s the Greek word phronimos, which the NIV (quoted earlier) translates as ”shrewd,” but which other translations render as “wise.” It’s a specific type of wisdom, though; one that, according to Strong’s biblical dictionary, carries the sense of being prudent, or wise to one’s own interests. The equivalent Hebrew term in the Old Testament, arum—which likewise is translated as both “wise” and “shrewd” and has a sense of prudence and cunning—is used most frequently in the book of Proverbs, including:
“A naive person will believe anything, but the shrewd person discerns his steps.” (14:15)
“A shrewd person saw danger and hid himself, but the naive passed on by and paid for it.” (22:3 & 27:12)
The shrewdly wise person is able to look ahead, recognize potential pitfalls, plan, and take action accordingly to safeguard their own life. In other words, shrewdness is a pretty self-centered form of wisdom, right? (In fact, arum is also used to describe the serpent in the Garden (Genesis 3:1).) This kind of shrewdness certainly applies to the manager in Luke 16! So is that what Jesus is telling us to be like?!
Perish the thought! Instead, when we look at how Jesus discusses shrewd wisdom—phronimos—elsewhere, we find a crucial nuance that completely sets it apart from both the OT precursor and the dictionary definition. The shrewdly wise, phronimos person in Jesus’s teaching sees the big picture and plays the long game; they are prepared to fight the good fight until the end, and welcome the returning Jesus, judgment and all. These phronimos people are the five wise virgins who are prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival and the faithful slave who works and leads others diligently and whom his master rewards upon his return; they are the ones who heed every word of Jesus’s in the Sermon on the Mount, and whom he likens to the man that builds his house on the rock so that it may never be shaken. The shrewdly wise person is the one who looks ahead toward eternity, and who sets their heart to living out the here and now with that glorious Kingdom in mind.
There’s one more instance of phronimos in Jesus’s teachings, and it’s the one that pulls everything together, as Jesus commissions his disciples to go out into the world, preaching the gospel and doing the things that he does: “Therefore be wise [phronimos] as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16b) Jesus brings together what seem like two opposite modes of being—innocence and shrewdness—and commissions us to embody both. I think this is also what he’s doing in the parable—plus commentary!—about the shrewd manager. But how on earth are we supposed to achieve this?
This is where Nao comes in, because this is exactly what she is doing. She is an innocent dove who becomes wise as a serpent—the very picture of innocent shrewdness.
Now, my earlier plot summary of Nao during the revival round of the LGT was a little misleading. That’s because something crucial happens between the point where Nao hits rock bottom and when she first deceives her opponents. Far from lying out of desperation to save her own skin, or bitter revenge against those who exploited her, Nao lies…to save them all! Let’s take a look!
At her lowest point, Nao has an epiphany. I’ve written elsewhere about how Akiyama breaks into the game site, like the Holy Spirit, comforting her but also bolstering her to persevere. We don’t get to see their subsequent discussion, but it’s clear through what happens in the rest of that round that Nao is able to think clearly in Akiyama’s presence, and as she does so, she sees something about the world she is trapped in that no one else has seen, a deep truth hidden in the foundations of the world, as it were, of the Liar Game Tournament. There is a way—a narrow and difficult way, it’s true, but a way nonetheless—to play the game so that every slate may be wiped clean and every debt ransomed.
This epiphany transforms Nao so fundamentally that it is like she is reborn, a new creation! No more is she timid and easily rattled, concerned only with her own survival and escape from the game; now she is fired up to take on the entire exploitative system and see the zero-sum game of selfish winners and desperate losers turned upside down, the valleys and hills levelled into an even playing field, where all those caught in its grasp may be saved. Just like at the foot of the cross.
It is in this context, and to these selfless aims, that she deceives her competitors for the first time. Rather than a mark of self-interest or spite like the shrewd manager, Nao’s lie is born of her newfound clarity—her ability to see the LGT for what it truly is, and the hidden truth that will upend the whole rotten structure—and her determination to lead others into the freedom she now lives in, as a result of her epiphany.
To do this, Nao must win the revival round so that she may use the authority of the victor to win other players over to her way of seeing and playing the game. This is why she lies. She does it to save everyone.
And she tells them so, sharing the good news of what she’s understood, promising to rescue all who join her, and putting her promise into action right away. In the revival round, Nao begins by saving the one player who had been kind to her, using her winnings to pay off his debt so that he is restored. She also keeps the damage to the others at a minimum, pledging to ransom them too, if they play like her in the next round. Finally, rather than using her winnings to escape the game, Nao remains in it—over and over again as the tournament proceeds, each time ransoming many.
With each subsequent round, Nao continues to grow in shrewd wisdom, winning each time. In the next round, she becomes the inspiration for her team and a valuable partner to Akiyama, even stepping in for him at the last moment when he freezes after losing his confidence. And in the round after that, she actually takes the lead for the team, determining their strategy. All the while, Nao continues to share the good news that has set her free, the truth that there is another way to play the game. She tells anyone and everyone, extending the offer even to those who previously revelled in exploiting her innocence, and those who set themselves up as enemies against her and Akiyama. When they join her, she celebrates! But when they reject her and the good news she brings, she shakes the dust off her feet, as it were (like Jesus instructed the disciples!), and presses on, playing the game to win so that many may be saved.
Nao shows us how to be better than the shrewd manager. She shows us what it looks like to be shrewd like the serpent, and yet innocent like the dove. She shows us how to use the worldly riches entrusted to us for a time, here on earth, to further the good news, making friends for eternity, and avoiding enslavement to the god of this world, money.
But we can also be better than Nao. Because, at the end of the day, she still lies. Yes, lying is permitted—even encouraged—within the Liar Game. And yes, Nao lies for the sake of a greater truth, to destroy the entire Liar Game enterprise and all it represents. But part of her is still trapped in that game, playing by its rules, lying. In contrast, Jesus died to destroy the “rules of the game” that were set by the enemy, the rules of sin and death. He died to reveal the lie that sin is not a big deal since we all do it anyway; and he rose again to forge a way for us to live differently. So now he invites us to walk a path even more radical than Nao’s. It’s the path that follows Jesus’s perfect footsteps and leads us by his side. It is the path that does not deviate into deception even in the worst of circumstances, not even for the sake of the gospel. For our God makes a way when otherwise it is impossible; and so he calls us to be perfect as he, our heavenly Father, is perfect.
We need to be shrewd like Nao. We need that higher form of shrewdness that Jesus commends to us—a more selfless iteration than what we see in Proverbs or the dictionary, where our shrewdness doesn’t just save us some trouble along the way, but actually saves others so that they may join the Way! We need shrewdness because we are playing with eternity; that is, the stakes are high—higher even than the Liar Game Tournament! Eternity is not just about our own personal outcome; it is about the fate of humanity—a burden that Jesus alone carries, to be sure, but the good news of which we get to carry with him. After all, how else will they hear if we do not tell them? And how else will they believe if they do not see us living it out?
So let us remain innocent as doves, washed clean and pure of heart by the blood and word of Jesus; and let us also become shrewdly wise as serpents, yet with the mind of Christ and for the sake of his gospel, using all the “little things,” the resources at our disposal, to ensure we have friends in eternity when the game of this life is over.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…” (1 Cor 1:18) Come on, Yokoya, there’s still time to see the light, the season isn’t over yet! Listen to Nao…
]]>★ 【Maritunes】 「 fern & stark 」
Onto the episode!
The Shift
Is Sasaki actually…married? The chief, Maezawa, seems to think so—and her evidence is pretty solid. Is it true? And how will Yamada take this news?
On the B-side, Tamaya and Sasaki talk about his Mie dialect while thinking about the past.
The Smoke Break
It’s just a ring on your finger
When there’s time on your hands
Has Sasaki been playing Tamaya this whole time? Or more specifically, has he just failed to tell her that he’s married? Part A of episode nine goes all out to try to convince Yamada and the audience both of the possibility that Sasaki isn’t single. It’s a fun episode, though I would say it’s probably one of the weakest in the series so far.
What I liked most about episode nine, actually, was the discussion about smoking. When the four supermarket girls get together for drinks, there’s some talk about smoking, and even more when Yamada considers that Sasaki likes to smoke with her but feels their relationship is 100% platonic.
On the B-side, there’s lots more talk about the act of smoking, and it’s heavily romanticized (more so than the show typically romanticizes it), particularly in the emphasis about winter smoking, which reminded me of the feels I got about wanting to try winter camping while watching Laid-Back Camp, but, uh, with emphysema.
I kid, but there is certainly a certain uncomfortable feeling attached to this series because it’s airing in 2026 and not 1996. I cringe a bit when, like in this episode, Sasaki notes that his health is fine so he’s continuing to smoke (as if the damage he’s doing now might not lead to suffering later).
But can I say I’m also glad for this series and how it revolves around smoking? Cigarettes have become a bad word in modern culture (Western culture, at least); with smoking prohibited or outlawed in so many public spaces, and whole generations having grown up realizing the health effects of tobacco (and how skeavy tobacco companies are), the public has turned on smokers. There’s an outright disdain for them.
Over the weekend, I listened to The Andy Richter Call-In Show. Richter and his guest, Kristen Johnson, spoke about how gross smoking is, but how they both used to be smokers and at times, still enjoy the smell of smoke. I feel somewhat similarly; my parents smoked until I was an adolescent before quitting; it’s been so many years that while I still have some nostalgia for smoking, I’ve more or less adopted that cultural feeling of disdain for smoking.
More importantly, I realize that I now intrinsically have passed that attitude about smoking to smokers. I appreciate shows like Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, which reset my attitude and help me remember to both be gracious to others and to recognize hypocrisy and unkindness in myself.
Thank you, Tamaya and Sasaki. Y’all are changing lives!
After the Smoke Clears
Yamada is now starting to fear that she’ll lose Sasaki, who meanwhile may be feeling the ache of being single permanently. From what I understand, the manga goes on far past what this season will cover, but even so, I detect that romance is really just a few more packs away.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
©Jinushi/SQUARE ENIX, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Production Committee
]]>San is a gentle girl who finds beauty amid any circumstance, and seeks to share it with those around her. In spite of this—or perhaps because of her sensitive nature—she struggles to share her heart and, crucially, speak her mind. She is surrounded by a delightful group of friends, though, who appreciate and support her, chief among them being Mayu, who has become her best friend, despite only joining the girls and their teacher six months ago on the lush island they call home. Rather than attending lessons, the teens spend their days laboring under the watchful eye of their teacher, who acts more like a foreman, as they build defensive earthenworks and camouflage them from enemy planes. Even under such conditions, daily life continues; they laugh and fret and play and row. But then the order to evacuate comes as the war front draws dangerously near. They are to relocate to the southern coast, where the students will serve as nurses in the makeshift hospital being set up in the caves. These are the final, most desperate days of the war, and the enemy is near. Can beauty and life persist? Will San and her friends defy the odds and grow to become moths who may fly?
Cocoon is based on the manga by Machiko Kyo and inspired by real events, namely, the mobilization of high school girls through the Himeyuri Student Corps during the Battle of Okinawa. But it also speaks more broadly to the nature of WWII as a total war, and one that, by its end, was waged by children. It’s a heavy subject, yet it is handled here so deftly that it is not burdensome to watch, but conveys instead a quietly joyful affirmation of life.
The production is modest in ambition, yet rich in execution, striking a skilful balance that belies the newcomer status of studio Sasayuri and first-time director Yukimitsu Ina. This artistic maturity can no doubt be traced back to the Ghibli training of many of the key figures at Sasayuri (including its founder, producer Hitomi Tateno), which also shows in the glorious backgrounds, reminiscent of oil paintings, the clean animation and cozily familiar character designs, and particularly the expressiveness of the faces in moments of intense emotion.
The Ghibli likeness is likewise apparent in the subtlety of the storytelling. It is astonishing just how many layers are woven together through the mere 63 minutes that comprise so seemingly simple a story. This is due in large part to the writing, and specifically, to the restrained nature of the dialogue. There are no infodumps here, no telling the viewers how to interpret the themes of the film, nor even what those themes are or what lessons to take away from them. Instead, this is a story where what is left unsaid is just as significant as what is spoken, if not more so. The sole outburst of didactic dialogue is so jarring that it serves as the exception that proves the rule, while also adding valuable complexity to the portrayal of civilian attitudes during war—something that is often smoothed over a little too tidily in anime treatments of wartime Japan.
The visual storytelling is equally accomplished, with every glance and movement adding depth, and every close-up and pan serving a purpose. Worth noting in particular is the flower motif, which is as central to the visual storytelling as the metaphor of the silkworm is to the dialogue. Significantly, the floral motif counterbalances the rather bleak imagery of the silkworm, representing the persistence of beauty amid devastation. In fact, the two sets of imagery arise together in the opening scene: first, San delights in a lovely pressed flower bookmark she has made, scrambling wildly to recapture it when a sudden gust of wind snatches it from her grasp (foreshadowing the coming planes of war); then, Mayu joins her and speaks of silkworms and their cocoons. Later, flower petals literally mask the ugliness of war and soften the shock of the most harrowing scenes in a brilliant artistic device unique to the film adaptation. The color design similarly insists on the promise of life, as the vivid palette of tropical Okinawa stands in stark contrast to the inhumanity of war.
Meanwhile, the characterization benefits from both the succinct writing and attentive visual storytelling, which together manage to flesh out the two leads and four supporting characters seemingly in no time, while also enlivening even the background characters, like the teacher and the unnamed student who delivers the propagandistic outburst. A close (re)watch of the latter, for instance, will catch how the cracks were forming in her beliefs as she struggled with honoring her upbringing in the face of the horror that life had become. Excellent performances from the English dub cast enhance the individuality of each character, with moving performances from leads Lauren Kong (San) and Anjali Kunapaneni (Mayu).
There is one more major layer to the storytelling, and that is the score by veteran anime music composer Kensuke Ushio. At no point does it sound like the score for a war film. Nor, for that matter, a melodrama. Ushio resists the urge to rely on predictable sounds and rhythms of the genre and instead creates a score so thoughtful that it draws out some of those things left unsaid in the remainder of the production. For instance, during the initial slice-of-life sequences, there is very little to indicate the underlying tension of the war and what is to come—apart from the score. But it does so in an innovative way. The action on screen demands sweeping orchestrals paired with playful comedic trills, so one might expect these to be interrupted dramatically with tense stings, sudden dissonance, or droning tones of warning. But instead, Ushio has created a delicate, tentative score, hesitant in its melancholy, to hint that what we see is not all that there is to know about San, Mayu, and their lives that summer. In short, even for the dedicated Ushio fan (ahem, guilty!), there is a fresh brilliance on display here in the score. (If only it were available for purchase!)
Cocoon is, in many ways, a simple story. It is neither an epic production nor the crowning achievement of a seasoned studio or lengthy careers. And yet, it is a work of hidden depths, displaying the kind of restraint and subtlety that makes, over time, for a classic. And having now rewatched it, I would even go so far as to name this quiet film an understated masterpiece.
So, be sure to catch it in cinemas this weekend! And then watch it again. It’ll be worth it.
All images © Machiko Kyo (AKITASHOTEN) / NHK, NEP
Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood is distributed by GKIDS and opens in US theaters on September 4.
As part of a Crunchyroll press junket, I had the chance to talk with Katie Wetch (Alicia) and Morgan Berry (Klen) about the second season of Clevatess, the growth of their characters, and the unusual relationship developing between Alicia and Klen.
We also talk about Alicia’s changing understanding of what it means to be a hero, the unexpected turns our own lives can take, and Morgan’s journey from teaching and music into voice acting.
It’s a short conversation, but there’s some good stuff here—including a surprisingly thoughtful discussion about relationships that don’t always fit neatly into a box.
Watch the interview above, and stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of our Season 2 finale!
And please follow Katie Wetch and Morgan Berry to support their work! Find Katie at katiewetch.com or on Instagram and Twitter/X, and Morgan on Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok.
Clevatess II is available to stream now on Crunchyroll every Wednesday at 5:00 AM PT / 3:00 AM ET. Episodes premiere with same-day dubs. The series is produced by studio Lay-duce.
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