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Wash It All Away #1
Wash It All Away 01
With an endearing protagonist and luscious art, this seaside slice-of-life story offers tranquility in the chaos of the modern world.
For two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort town of Atami. Kinme Cleaning is a well-loved business, and Atami residents admire Wakana's devotion to her trade. She builds a fulfilling life making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana has no knowledge of her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers' precious items.
For two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort town of Atami. Kinme Cleaning is a well-loved business, and Atami residents admire Wakana's devotion to her trade. She builds a fulfilling life making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana has no knowledge of her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers' precious items.
Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 17, 2025
Wow, I just loved this! I loved it so much in fact that I’ve also ordered the next two in paperback (Kindle is no way to read a manga as far as I’m concerned) and pre-ordered the coming volumes. Yes it’s light and insubstantial when it comes to story, but this gentle slice of life manga is restful and soothing, and it has a “nice” feel and vibe to it.
I know some have complained that the story doesn’t really go anywhere, but there are hints that it will eventually. And after all, the chilled atmosphere of Mitsuru Hattori’s story is the entire point. It’s relaxing as the reader follows Kinme around, seeing visually the day to day life of this sweet, attractive and nice girl living in a lovely seaside town in Japan.
Kinme has an upbeat nature and a smile for everyone. She runs a cleaning establishment which seems more a calling than a business, such is the enjoyment she derives from it. How to clean is in fact the only part of the past two years she can recall, because she has amnesia. Real tips for cleaning are scattered throughout the narrative.
Yes, as some have noted, Kinme is pretty, and some of the lovely artwork and narrative situations — she loves to visit hot springs and bath houses in her time off — occasionally take advantage of that, but in a tasteful, really quite innocent way that seems natural within the flow of Kinme’s life in the lovely town of Atami. There’s nothing crude or trashy here in any way, period.
I’ve been tackling some Japanese light novels with poignant and somberly resonating themes as of late (notably Summer Ghost, and In a World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love). Because of that I had been on the lookout for something lighter and more airy, a manga series perhaps that was enjoyable but not draining. I didn’t want something that would rip my heart out but rather something I could smile with between reads like the aforementioned, and my regular reading of detective and crime, etc. Wash It All Away is simply perfect for that. It obviously wasn’t conceived to be some grandiose multi-layered saga. It was meant to be fun, something that soothes the soul and relaxes, allowing us to unwind. And in that regard, Wash It All Away exceeds all expectations.
The artwork in Wash It All Away is gorgeously done; not just the characters, but background and tiny details that give you ambiance, and real sense of setting. Kinme’s interactions with her customers and people in the seaside town is a delight. The half-brat-half-sweetness little girl named Nairo who takes a shine to Kinme, and the high school boy slowly falling under her charming spell are of particular note. There are small hints at Kinme’s forgotten past, so there is surely much to look forward too in coming issues.
This manga is an analgesic ointment meant to make you feel better, and it does. If you’re looking for something dark or complex, a manga with a subtext which requires pondering, Wash It All Away may not be for you. But if you’re looking for something that’s enjoyable without taxing an already overworked brain, give it a shot. Highly recommended. I can’t wait to receive the next one!
I know some have complained that the story doesn’t really go anywhere, but there are hints that it will eventually. And after all, the chilled atmosphere of Mitsuru Hattori’s story is the entire point. It’s relaxing as the reader follows Kinme around, seeing visually the day to day life of this sweet, attractive and nice girl living in a lovely seaside town in Japan.
Kinme has an upbeat nature and a smile for everyone. She runs a cleaning establishment which seems more a calling than a business, such is the enjoyment she derives from it. How to clean is in fact the only part of the past two years she can recall, because she has amnesia. Real tips for cleaning are scattered throughout the narrative.
Yes, as some have noted, Kinme is pretty, and some of the lovely artwork and narrative situations — she loves to visit hot springs and bath houses in her time off — occasionally take advantage of that, but in a tasteful, really quite innocent way that seems natural within the flow of Kinme’s life in the lovely town of Atami. There’s nothing crude or trashy here in any way, period.
I’ve been tackling some Japanese light novels with poignant and somberly resonating themes as of late (notably Summer Ghost, and In a World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love). Because of that I had been on the lookout for something lighter and more airy, a manga series perhaps that was enjoyable but not draining. I didn’t want something that would rip my heart out but rather something I could smile with between reads like the aforementioned, and my regular reading of detective and crime, etc. Wash It All Away is simply perfect for that. It obviously wasn’t conceived to be some grandiose multi-layered saga. It was meant to be fun, something that soothes the soul and relaxes, allowing us to unwind. And in that regard, Wash It All Away exceeds all expectations.
The artwork in Wash It All Away is gorgeously done; not just the characters, but background and tiny details that give you ambiance, and real sense of setting. Kinme’s interactions with her customers and people in the seaside town is a delight. The half-brat-half-sweetness little girl named Nairo who takes a shine to Kinme, and the high school boy slowly falling under her charming spell are of particular note. There are small hints at Kinme’s forgotten past, so there is surely much to look forward too in coming issues.
This manga is an analgesic ointment meant to make you feel better, and it does. If you’re looking for something dark or complex, a manga with a subtext which requires pondering, Wash It All Away may not be for you. But if you’re looking for something that’s enjoyable without taxing an already overworked brain, give it a shot. Highly recommended. I can’t wait to receive the next one!
May 23, 2025
cute first volume in a slice of life, but the plot feels disjointed.
April 28, 2025
Slice of life, but now with tips for getting stains out. I mean, that basically gives it more heft than others of its ilk. Also there’s a really shoehorned in amnesia subplot that hints at something darker.
Hints being the operative word; this has fewer stakes than a vampire convention at a Ramada. Wakana runs a dry cleaning service (maybe her amnesia is a result of brainwashing, har har) and bounces off the locals and lives a life. She’s also easily lured by the things she likes, which is good; she needs a character trait a bit more than just ‘nice’.
It has a welcoming locale and a decent protagonist of indeterminate age and some okay side characters. If you’re looking for something that just enjoys life, this does a perfectly satisfactory job of it. Very little is surprising - you can tell that one teenager is going to have a crush the second he enters the story.
There is, admittedly, a certain satisfaction to seeing Wakana tackle the toughest stains, probably the same primordial twinge of obsessive-compulsive behaviour that keeps people playing Powerwash Simulator. There just isn’t much else.
Wakana is lovingly drawn, attractively so, without being a total sexpot, which was a nice touch. Even better, she actively works to keep herself in shape, one of those unnecessary touches I always appreciate. The art in general is very satisfying.
Everything sounds good, but I was really getting a little bored of this by the end. There’s minimal variation to the daily routine, even with digressions, and that one moment where she catches a sliver of memory from before is welcome, but not enough.
I can’t stop thinking of The Coppersmith’s Bride when I reflect on this book. This has a similar vibe, but the theme, focus, and little bit extra in terms of a plot makes me wish I was reading the former. That one never had me wonder when the story was going to wrap up, which did happen here.
Still, it’s got some merit and I’ll see what happens next time out. Despite finding it overlong, a couple of the moments are really good. I especially liked the part about an old flag plus its aftermath and the comedy that surrounds the otherwise serious topic.
If you love slice-of-life, I think you could do worse than give this a chance. Not much happens, but that’s as much a feature as it is a bug and it didn’t get bad as it went, I just felt it was diminishing returns. It has charm, but said charm is not enough to recommend it.
3 stars - still, I’ll give it the old second volume try, I enjoyed it enough for that. Just know what you’re getting into - it won’t change your mind on manga of this nature.
Hints being the operative word; this has fewer stakes than a vampire convention at a Ramada. Wakana runs a dry cleaning service (maybe her amnesia is a result of brainwashing, har har) and bounces off the locals and lives a life. She’s also easily lured by the things she likes, which is good; she needs a character trait a bit more than just ‘nice’.
It has a welcoming locale and a decent protagonist of indeterminate age and some okay side characters. If you’re looking for something that just enjoys life, this does a perfectly satisfactory job of it. Very little is surprising - you can tell that one teenager is going to have a crush the second he enters the story.
There is, admittedly, a certain satisfaction to seeing Wakana tackle the toughest stains, probably the same primordial twinge of obsessive-compulsive behaviour that keeps people playing Powerwash Simulator. There just isn’t much else.
Wakana is lovingly drawn, attractively so, without being a total sexpot, which was a nice touch. Even better, she actively works to keep herself in shape, one of those unnecessary touches I always appreciate. The art in general is very satisfying.
Everything sounds good, but I was really getting a little bored of this by the end. There’s minimal variation to the daily routine, even with digressions, and that one moment where she catches a sliver of memory from before is welcome, but not enough.
I can’t stop thinking of The Coppersmith’s Bride when I reflect on this book. This has a similar vibe, but the theme, focus, and little bit extra in terms of a plot makes me wish I was reading the former. That one never had me wonder when the story was going to wrap up, which did happen here.
Still, it’s got some merit and I’ll see what happens next time out. Despite finding it overlong, a couple of the moments are really good. I especially liked the part about an old flag plus its aftermath and the comedy that surrounds the otherwise serious topic.
If you love slice-of-life, I think you could do worse than give this a chance. Not much happens, but that’s as much a feature as it is a bug and it didn’t get bad as it went, I just felt it was diminishing returns. It has charm, but said charm is not enough to recommend it.
3 stars - still, I’ll give it the old second volume try, I enjoyed it enough for that. Just know what you’re getting into - it won’t change your mind on manga of this nature.
May 10, 2025
Mildly okay, but waaay too fan servicey for the mellow story, jarringly outta place.
April 29, 2025
So, this is a lovely slice-of-life story that revolves around a quaint little laundry shop in a Japanese seaside town.
Our main character is Wakana Kinme—a charming young woman who lost her memory two years ago. Working in the laundry shop, she’s made a job of helping others preserve the memories their precious items hold.
For the most part, I guess I liked this story?
Personally, I could do without the fan service.
Whenever a young male character appears, Wakana’s “assets” suddenly become more pronounced and she finds herself in the most suggestive of poses. Not cool.
(Especially when the male character is underage?????)
Anyway.
If you can look beyond that, it’s a fine story for the genre. I like the slight mystery surrounding Wakana’s amnesia.
I’ll definitely give the series another volume~
Our main character is Wakana Kinme—a charming young woman who lost her memory two years ago. Working in the laundry shop, she’s made a job of helping others preserve the memories their precious items hold.
For the most part, I guess I liked this story?
Personally, I could do without the fan service.
Whenever a young male character appears, Wakana’s “assets” suddenly become more pronounced and she finds herself in the most suggestive of poses. Not cool.
(Especially when the male character is underage?????)
Anyway.
If you can look beyond that, it’s a fine story for the genre. I like the slight mystery surrounding Wakana’s amnesia.
I’ll definitely give the series another volume~
June 10, 2025
Very cute and a fun slice of life manga about a girl that owns a washing business. She likes what she does but there's also a sad aspect because she can't remember anything past 2 years ago. Doesn't know what happened to her parents and why she's alone now. all she's knows is the washing business. It's interesting I hope that we get to find out what happened. There's other characters that are come into her life that I hope to see more of as well.
November 14, 2025
A sweet story that just barely gets up and running. Apparently it began as a short series of three chapters and was later expanded, and it kinda shows. This isn't the type of manga to have a plot per se, at least not at first. The main focus is really the main character, Kinme, and her personality. She is sweet and charming, though also over-sexualized, which kinda works against the innocent vibe she otherwise has. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series, but I may pick it up if I saw it on a shelf.
June 6, 2025
Very slice of life. There isn't a real plot throughout, but peeks into the main characters life with her job. The author did mention it started out that way, and a plot will eventually develop. I'll see if I'll pick up volume 2, but it isn't a priority.
October 20, 2025
The cozy, quiet, and occasionally incredibly hectic life of a young specialty cleaner in a seaside town. Each chapter ends with a page of further detail about cleaning methods and the daily life of the main character, Kinme.
Ninety-five percent is this cozy, slice-of-life vibe, but the remaining five percent felt disturbing. First, we learn that Kinme has amnesia for some reason and knows nothing of her past or how she came to be a cleaning expert. She mostly shrugs this off, but at the end of the book we get some flashes of memory that hint at a darkness in her past.
Here and there were also some possibly fan-service type images that weren’t too intrusive, but I don’t know —just felt a bit odd. Combined with some weird interactions Kinme has with a high school boy, this small percentage of the volume felt at odds with the rest. Hopefully things will clear up in the next book, because most of this was really enjoyable.
Ninety-five percent is this cozy, slice-of-life vibe, but the remaining five percent felt disturbing. First, we learn that Kinme has amnesia for some reason and knows nothing of her past or how she came to be a cleaning expert. She mostly shrugs this off, but at the end of the book we get some flashes of memory that hint at a darkness in her past.
Here and there were also some possibly fan-service type images that weren’t too intrusive, but I don’t know —just felt a bit odd. Combined with some weird interactions Kinme has with a high school boy, this small percentage of the volume felt at odds with the rest. Hopefully things will clear up in the next book, because most of this was really enjoyable.
November 10, 2025
a slice of life series where nothing happens but people living their lives in a peaceful town with a tight-knit community?? sign me the heck up!!
December 31, 2025
A really sweet manga series.
February 7, 2026
A cute little slice of life and Kinme is adorable !
September 13, 2025
A nice little slice of life manga.
May 6, 2025
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
Wakana Kinme can’t remember anything about her life previous to two years ago, except how to wash clothes. She runs a local specialty cleaning service that does wet cleaning, stain removal, polishing of leather, and more. Kinme even offers to pick up or drop off items, which is a popular service for her aging clients given the hilly community in which they live. After a long day of work, nothing hits the spot more than a dip in the hot bath or a hot spring, something her small town is known for.
It’s not often you see a manga about something so specific as a cleaning service, and this one definitely gets into the details about cleaning garments. But there’s something else happening with this lost memory story that only really gets interesting, even sinister, in the last few pages of this volume. There is an excessive fixation on Kinme’s breasts and backside that mar a story that started out relatively sweet and intrigued me with the tinge of mystery lingering at the end. I'm willing to give volume two a try to see if the fan service diminishes, but also to figure out just what happened to this poor girl's memories.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12
Wakana Kinme can’t remember anything about her life previous to two years ago, except how to wash clothes. She runs a local specialty cleaning service that does wet cleaning, stain removal, polishing of leather, and more. Kinme even offers to pick up or drop off items, which is a popular service for her aging clients given the hilly community in which they live. After a long day of work, nothing hits the spot more than a dip in the hot bath or a hot spring, something her small town is known for.
It’s not often you see a manga about something so specific as a cleaning service, and this one definitely gets into the details about cleaning garments. But there’s something else happening with this lost memory story that only really gets interesting, even sinister, in the last few pages of this volume. There is an excessive fixation on Kinme’s breasts and backside that mar a story that started out relatively sweet and intrigued me with the tinge of mystery lingering at the end. I'm willing to give volume two a try to see if the fan service diminishes, but also to figure out just what happened to this poor girl's memories.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12
August 5, 2025
Fantastic slice of life. Need to find No2 in the UK now
November 8, 2025
This was a very calming reading experience. It was big chill vibes, beautiful art, and some insightful tips about cleaning. I always love finding a manga that delves into a new/different setting, especially in a contemporary setting where the stories tend to fall back on the tried and true school/office (depending on the age range). I had a good time with this and I do want to check out the next volume to see if we delve an deeper into the MC's past (or lack thereof).
July 9, 2025
Absolutely loved this book. The art, the story and the very sweet main character!
i-bailed-dnf
July 26, 2025DNF @ 47 pages. Well now I know what it means when people talk about fan service in manga. All angles of her on her knees? lol it’s a no from me
January 6, 2026
Read about a young woman who spends all her waking hours cleaning other people’s laundry, and is really excited about removing stains from clothing? Sure. This is a cozy and easy-going book full of that seemingly typical Japanese embarrassment around casual social interactions, and being satisfied with your choice of career. The art is equally charming but what is with the sudden flashes of boob and butt? I could not make sense of why we were looking at the character that way since there’s no direct connection to the story — it’s not a saucy book. Finally, there’s a mystery about the laundress that seemed tacked on and unnecessary … but I guess, if I read the second volume, I’ll see if I still feel that way
October 11, 2025
Picked this up because I was curious, stayed for the cleaning tips, but a little unsettled with the implied dark background. I’ll give this a couple volumes before I decide to drop it or continue.
Recap: intro, slice of life, she runs a laundry service in a small hot spring town, teenage boy comes for his mom, little girl customer, restoring grandpas flag, fireworks and a flash memory, drunk and overslept.
Recap: intro, slice of life, she runs a laundry service in a small hot spring town, teenage boy comes for his mom, little girl customer, restoring grandpas flag, fireworks and a flash memory, drunk and overslept.
June 24, 2025
What in the fan service? All of these people giving this 4 or 5 star reviews have clearly never read an actually good slice-of-life manga. The plot was insubstantial in the extreme, with gratuitous body shots and sometimes pretty uncomfortable scenes (with the high school kid? ew). Would not recommend.
September 18, 2025
I liked it -- it was refreshing and relaxing -- but it lacked a certain umph for me. I needed a little bit more juice to really grab my interest.
Also, I really liked the background art, but the way the mangaka draws people/expressions/etc also didn't really grab me too much. I miiight give volume 2 a try another time.
Also, I really liked the background art, but the way the mangaka draws people/expressions/etc also didn't really grab me too much. I miiight give volume 2 a try another time.
November 13, 2025
Absolutely beautiful art but... no plot. Apparently the author admitted as much, so I would try volume 2, but otherwise I am not sure that slices of life featuring laundry are my cuppa tea. I do enough laundry on my own that I'm not exactly jumping up and down to do more, so-to-speak, in my rare and valuable pleasure reading time.
3.5 stars mainly for the art.
3.5 stars mainly for the art.
July 9, 2025
This was an OK slice of life manga but heavy on the fan service. Her daily routine got a little repetitive and slightly boring. Also, I'm not sure where they are going with the amnesia plot so that may lose me in the future volumes.
July 16, 2025
3.75 out of 5 stars: This was a sweet read but had a lot of technical jargon on the cleaning of stains and laundry. I do think this is one I'd probably enjoy if/when it gets adapted because of it's also slow pace.
December 30, 2025
Merkwürdig unausgeglichen: Charaktere und Szenen entweder zu überzeichnet oder zu merkmalslos. Handlung hat noch nicht angefangen. Trieft vor Pathos. Und außerdem breasted die Kinme viel zu oft boobily durch die Gegend...
April 26, 2025
A girl with no memory (except about cleaning) runs a laundry. It's a cute slice-of-life with her interacting with the locals. It leans too heavy on the "klutzy is cute, she's cute" factor for me.
May 18, 2025
(3.5)
June 8, 2025
4.75 stars, rounded up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews