Wash It All Away

Episode 6

The music in this week's episode of Wash It All Away resonated with me more than I expected it to. The twinkly sounds the anime score conjures are put to wonderful use in two particular scenes: one where Kinme is swimming underwater at the beach, and the other towards the episode's final fireworks sequence. These scenes are admittedly flawed; the underwater scene is more or less an excuse to provide more fan service (although not gratuitously), and the fireworks scene seems like a reiteration of the one we saw three episodes ago. Yet the former is saved by the soundtrack's tasteful use of arpeggios, and the latter by way of a soft F major riff that adds a tender touch to what we see onscreen. It's amazing how such musical simplicity can add so much that it makes you forgive a few shortcomings.

Now that the big festival that loomed over the first batch of episodes is over, Kinme is left with much less stress on her hands. A new client running an old inn hires Kinme to clean up the place, while also tidying up an old antique doll in the process. Admittedly, this doll doesn't really add anything new to the show's formula—a montage shows Kinme cleaning it off no differently than any other piece of laundry. It's redundant, but this is a slice of life, and therefore, such is to be expected. Except for (ahem) swallowing pills at the beginning of episode two, nothing about this show comes as a real surprise to me. Speaking of no surprises, Kinme's amnesia is brought up again in the midst of her doll cleaning, although this time it's done more subtly.

Kinme has thus far been a ditzy moeblob, but now the episode seems to revel in the fact that she really, really is, as evidenced by the constant flashbacks showing Kinme's fall from last episode's festival float. It's distracting; I don't need to be reminded of events that happened literally just one episode ago. Kinme's apparently awkward now, too. She has an awkward moment in front of Kyuushou, and later brings it up to her friend Asami, who just laughs it off. On one hand, being awkward is a very, very relatable feeling to me. On the other hand, making your moeblob main character awkward feels like another cliche to be checked off the list.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Strong character building is obviously not going to be this anime's forte. It's more about the atmosphere and the vibes than anything else. The events of this episode unfold at the usual relaxed pace, and remain chillaxed throughout its runtime. Other characters are given a few more things to do here: Kyuushou greets customers at his family's inn, while we see Kuriru working as a new part-timer at a cafe. It helps ensure Kinme's not the sole focus here, and it makes the episode feel a bit more lively that way. Further cementing that is the montage we see during the fireworks show, which shows most-to-all of the characters we've seen thus far, basking in the warm glow of the sparkly night sky. All in all, this episode might be some of the best that Wash It All Away has yet to offer us.

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Wash It All Away is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.