Wash It All Away

Episodes 1-2

Here's an anime that absolutely gets me. I obsess about doing laundry more than I should—about twice a week—so to have an anime tackle one of my favorite household chores is something I can totally get behind. The first two episodes are as soothing as the dull drone of the washing machine heard from a few rooms away.

Wakana Kinme is a young woman who takes pride in what she does. As the sole employee and owner of her laundromat, she adores cleaning other people's dirty laundry day after day. She sprays and dries, runs out on the occasional delivery, and at the end of the first episode, she gives the audience a grand tour of the workplace, along with a blow-by-blow of what a day in the life looks like. She even has a terrific pun of a slogan--“You can count on Kinme!” Personality-wise, Kinme is a bit of a blank slate. She lets herself be defined by her occupation, which, considering how so many people do the same, isn't too far off from reality.

But wait a second. The second episode reveals her to be an amnesiac who is unable to remember anything beyond two years ago. It's something that comes out of nowhere, but it does further explain why so far she hasn't had much personality. I mean, it's kind of hard to when you only have two years of cognizant memory and knowledge under your belt. Why she doesn't have any other behavioral or psychological quirks as a result of her amnesia eludes me, but then again, this is just a simple slice of life anime about doing laundry. To be hung up on the details here, especially only two episodes in, is to miss the point now, is it?

The anime starts out as slow as it should, meaning that not a hell of a lot is set up here. There's a boy whose mother operates a hot springs inn, and based on what I'm seeing, he might be poised to become the romantic interest here. There's also a little girl wearing an exaggeratedly tiny hat for moe points who takes a liking to Kinme, wanting to learn how to do laundry just like her. The lecture Kinme gives the young lass about removing stains from laundry, complete with images detailing the process and chibified versions of the characters, gives me Ruri Rocks flashbacks. Her grandmother is a frequent customer at this shop, and they both run into the same issue of staining pasta sauce on their shirts. Relatable. It reminds me of all the times pasta would dribble from my face and onto my shirts when I was a little kid, which never ceased to drive my mother crazy, especially since spaghetti was all I ate back then (what can I say, I was a VERY picky eater). With all of that said, I have to admit that the other supporting characters feel just as blank as Kinme. Maybe we'll see these characters progress throughout the show, even if only a little.

The first two episodes have their shortcomings, yet still look promising to me despite it all. The art is not amazing but immersive—the azure seaside town Kinme lives in is very tranquil and pleasant to look at, and adds wonderfully to the relaxing atmosphere. There are moments where we see Kinme go to the hot springs after work, and while it is an excuse for the show to administer fan service, it's subtle enough to avoid being too distracting here. There's nothing earthshattering to be found yet, but I don't really expect it to be. So long as it can provide the relaxing vibes a good slice of life can give me, it's all I need and want.

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Wash It All Away is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.