Wash It All Away Manga Builds Up a Community

In many cases, slice of life anime and manga series are as much about setting the stage and building up our notion of what life would be like in a place as they are about the actual characters. It happened with Aria, for example. The same happens in Wash It All Away, the Mitsuru Hattori manga Square Enix picked up. By the time the first volume is finished, we not only get a sense of who heroine Wakana Kinme is, but also the town of Atami and its residents too. Editor’s Note: There will be some minor spoilers for the first volume of the Wash It All Away manga below. Hattori sets up the manga Wash It All Away both as a slice-of-life series and mystery from the very start. Wakana Kinme runes Kinme Cleaning, a wet laundry service that is quaint, takes on smaller and specialized orders, and offers the sorts of personal touches like pick-up and delivery and preservation. However, while she’s incredibly experienced and acquired the necessary requisites to offer those services, she doesn’t remember who she is. She doesn’t remember anything past the last two years. However, that doesn’t stop her from getting absorbed in things she loves (laundry and hot springs) and connecting with people around her. As a result, we also get a chance to see what the community is like as well. Image via Square Enix Because of Wakana’s openness and range, we get to peek in at the lives at quite a few different people. While her first two customers in the series are two elderly ladies, Asami Yagara is a fashionable younger woman about the same age as her who brought in her husband’s suits. There’s also a sense of friendship there, as she brought a souvenir with for Wakana. High schooler Kyu Ishimochi and his mom Koshimi bring not only their own laundry, but that from their small inn. Nairo and her mother are clearly travelers and seem to not be from around Atami, with the grade schooler Nairo initially being hesitant about going into Kinme, but she quickly becomes fascinated by Wakana’s processes and as enthusiastic about it as the young woman. So we’re seeing people of different ages and from different groups and getting peeks at what their lives are like in Atami as well. The background art is also quite helpful in setting the stage and helping us understand Atami. As Wakana runs around town performing deliveries, Hattori shares a lot of art that sets the scene. We know exactly what the town looks like, as well as get some glimpses of the sea and shore. An impression of it being bustling is given, seeing as how groups will talk to her as she exercises and she’s giving folks from out of town directions in another shot. In one of the earliest sections, as she’s heading back to Kinme Cleaning, fireworks are going on in the background, highlighting the sorts of festivals happening during warmer seasons. It’s immersive, in its own way. I also love the balance between showcasing Atami as a place where people generally live and as a possible tourist hotspot. We see how popular Nairo’s grandmother’s store, which sells local specialties and fish to tourists, is. However, it retains its personality and history, as evidenced by Wakana’s task there being to clean and help preserve Nairo’s grandfather’s flag. We catch glimpses of how important the Atami Marine Firework Festival is to the town, both via the business it brings to Kyu’s family’s inn and when Wakana actually watches the show from the roof of Kinme Cleaning. But even with the crowds and scenes that show this is clearly a busy place, people like Wakana still work at their own pace and make time for each other and simple pleasures like hot springs and baths. As a result, I feel like there are two reasons I’d keep reading the Wash It All Away manga, and finding out the mystery behind Wakana’s past and amnesia is only a small part of it. I love the setting. Atami seems like a quaint, peaceful town that, despite being a tourist attraction, retains its sense of community and personality. The people around Wakana, their lives, and the pace of life in this place feels just as important as the star. Volume 1 of Wash It All Away is available via Square Enix now, and volume 2 of the manga will debut on June 17, 2025. The post Wash It All Away Manga Builds Up a Community appeared first on Siliconera.

May 3, 2025 - 20:02

Wash It All Away Manga Builds Up a Community

In many cases, slice of life anime and manga series are as much about setting the stage and building up our notion of what life would be like in a place as they are about the actual characters. It happened with Aria, for example. The same happens in Wash It All Away, the Mitsuru Hattori manga Square Enix picked up. By the time the first volume is finished, we not only get a sense of who heroine Wakana Kinme is, but also the town of Atami and its residents too.

Editor’s Note: There will be some minor spoilers for the first volume of the Wash It All Away manga below.

Hattori sets up the manga Wash It All Away both as a slice-of-life series and mystery from the very start. Wakana Kinme runes Kinme Cleaning, a wet laundry service that is quaint, takes on smaller and specialized orders, and offers the sorts of personal touches like pick-up and delivery and preservation. However, while she’s incredibly experienced and acquired the necessary requisites to offer those services, she doesn’t remember who she is. She doesn’t remember anything past the last two years. However, that doesn’t stop her from getting absorbed in things she loves (laundry and hot springs) and connecting with people around her. As a result, we also get a chance to see what the community is like as well.

Because of Wakana’s openness and range, we get to peek in at the lives at quite a few different people. While her first two customers in the series are two elderly ladies, Asami Yagara is a fashionable younger woman about the same age as her who brought in her husband’s suits. There’s also a sense of friendship there, as she brought a souvenir with for Wakana. High schooler Kyu Ishimochi and his mom Koshimi bring not only their own laundry, but that from their small inn. Nairo and her mother are clearly travelers and seem to not be from around Atami, with the grade schooler Nairo initially being hesitant about going into Kinme, but she quickly becomes fascinated by Wakana’s processes and as enthusiastic about it as the young woman. So we’re seeing people of different ages and from different groups and getting peeks at what their lives are like in Atami as well.

The background art is also quite helpful in setting the stage and helping us understand Atami. As Wakana runs around town performing deliveries, Hattori shares a lot of art that sets the scene. We know exactly what the town looks like, as well as get some glimpses of the sea and shore. An impression of it being bustling is given, seeing as how groups will talk to her as she exercises and she’s giving folks from out of town directions in another shot. In one of the earliest sections, as she’s heading back to Kinme Cleaning, fireworks are going on in the background, highlighting the sorts of festivals happening during warmer seasons. It’s immersive, in its own way.

I also love the balance between showcasing Atami as a place where people generally live and as a possible tourist hotspot. We see how popular Nairo’s grandmother’s store, which sells local specialties and fish to tourists, is. However, it retains its personality and history, as evidenced by Wakana’s task there being to clean and help preserve Nairo’s grandfather’s flag. We catch glimpses of how important the Atami Marine Firework Festival is to the town, both via the business it brings to Kyu’s family’s inn and when Wakana actually watches the show from the roof of Kinme Cleaning. But even with the crowds and scenes that show this is clearly a busy place, people like Wakana still work at their own pace and make time for each other and simple pleasures like hot springs and baths.

As a result, I feel like there are two reasons I’d keep reading the Wash It All Away manga, and finding out the mystery behind Wakana’s past and amnesia is only a small part of it. I love the setting. Atami seems like a quaint, peaceful town that, despite being a tourist attraction, retains its sense of community and personality. The people around Wakana, their lives, and the pace of life in this place feels just as important as the star.

Volume 1 of Wash It All Away is available via Square Enix now, and volume 2 of the manga will debut on June 17, 2025.

The post Wash It All Away Manga Builds Up a Community appeared first on Siliconera.