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Wash It All Away #5
Wash It All Away 05
With an endearing protagonist and luscious art, this seaside slice-of-life story offers tranquility in the chaos of the modern world.
Remy, a woman from Canada, moves to Atami after her grandfather, a respected Japanese pottery artist, passes away. When Wakana reunites Remy's grandmother with the stuffed toy she'd previously cleaned, she learns the name of Kinme Cleaning's previous owner. Then, Kyusho seems to be moving away, but things get awkward when she bids him farewell...
Remy, a woman from Canada, moves to Atami after her grandfather, a respected Japanese pottery artist, passes away. When Wakana reunites Remy's grandmother with the stuffed toy she'd previously cleaned, she learns the name of Kinme Cleaning's previous owner. Then, Kyusho seems to be moving away, but things get awkward when she bids him farewell...
- GenresMangaContemporary
192 pages, Paperback
Published December 16, 2025
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 10, 2026
This gentle, feel-good slice of life manga boasts an endearing protagonist in Wakana Kinme, a feather-lite touch of mystery, and a warm and restful vibe. It all plays out in the vivid seaside setting of Atami, Japan, making it wonderful to relax with, soothing to the spirit and calming to the soul.
Issue #5 tis a bit more free-wheeling. The well-established cast of Kyusho, Nairo, Asami, Uka, and siblings Kuriru and Moruya have moments scattered naturally throughout the story. In this installment, Kinme meets and befriends a young woman artist who has been living in a tent while her pottery study is fixed up for business. Kinme’s sweet and trusting soul, so charming in its love of cleaning, appears to have found a friend to hang out with, adding not only a new presence to the lovely world depicted so lushly in full and elegant illustrations, but a bit of mystery too.
Kinme becomes Remy Shira’s “first ever” customer and student at her pottery house. The two new friends have a day out in Atami together, exploring Atami Castle. In an adventurous turn, the last remaining Showa-era adult museum in Japan is also explored. The latter of course makes Kinme blush, but Remy can’t even bear to look, leading to a charming scene where they flee the rather campy place. As with the depiction of the bath houses and hot springs in Atami which Kinme loves, this segment is tastefully rendered; it is more a device to show how sweet and endearing Kinme is, and establish Remy’s character. Nothing is “really” shown.
Like the sweet and pretty Kinme, Remy has a strong connection to Atami. But unlike Kinme, who cannot recall anything farther back than the two years she’s been running her beloved cleaning service in Atami, Remy recalls her youth and her family. But there is some mystery involving her grandfather’s pottery, and that plushie Kinme found buried beneath the floor in a prior issue may in fact be connected to Remy’s grandmother!
Who is Kinu? Is Kyusho really leaving Atami to work at his father’s hotel in Tokyo? Why is everyone charmingly giving Kinme mandarins? We don’t get the answer to the first question, as the gentle mystery of Kinme’s unknown and unremembered past in Atami is only incrementally brought to light. But it’s more than enough for fans of this restful slice of lice manga which is like a sanctuary from the harsh world.
Wash It All Away is wonderful, radiant and smile-inducing, always leaving the reader with a good feeling — and a visceral desire to forge on as quickly as possible, and get another fix of Kinme and Atami and all the friends she interacts with as she finds happiness in helping others through her cleaning service.
As with Mitsuru Hattori’s previous entries of Wash It All Away, the Christina Gómez designed cover is lovely, and the translation from Japanese into English by Sawa Matsueda Savage is really solid. Adnazeer Macalangcom’s lettering never becomes confusing as to who was speaking, or thinking their thoughts. Jennifer Sherman’s editing was again invisible, as all good editing should be.
Wash It All Away has no agenda other than to soothe away the chaos of the modern world, as stated on the back cover. It succeeds mightily, a pleasant and welcome respite for those who remember manga before it began pandering to trends and pushing agendas in order to placate the crass western world market. Wash It All Away is something to embrace and cherish. This manga series is tantamount to finding a lone piece of delicious fresh fruit among rotted ones which have fallen beneath a now nearly barren manga tree.
I love everything about this restful slice of life manga, and so do most manga lovers. I highly recommend picking up issue #1 and following Kinme’s story as it slowly unfolds. It’s good for both the spirit and the soul.
Issue #5 tis a bit more free-wheeling. The well-established cast of Kyusho, Nairo, Asami, Uka, and siblings Kuriru and Moruya have moments scattered naturally throughout the story. In this installment, Kinme meets and befriends a young woman artist who has been living in a tent while her pottery study is fixed up for business. Kinme’s sweet and trusting soul, so charming in its love of cleaning, appears to have found a friend to hang out with, adding not only a new presence to the lovely world depicted so lushly in full and elegant illustrations, but a bit of mystery too.
Kinme becomes Remy Shira’s “first ever” customer and student at her pottery house. The two new friends have a day out in Atami together, exploring Atami Castle. In an adventurous turn, the last remaining Showa-era adult museum in Japan is also explored. The latter of course makes Kinme blush, but Remy can’t even bear to look, leading to a charming scene where they flee the rather campy place. As with the depiction of the bath houses and hot springs in Atami which Kinme loves, this segment is tastefully rendered; it is more a device to show how sweet and endearing Kinme is, and establish Remy’s character. Nothing is “really” shown.
Like the sweet and pretty Kinme, Remy has a strong connection to Atami. But unlike Kinme, who cannot recall anything farther back than the two years she’s been running her beloved cleaning service in Atami, Remy recalls her youth and her family. But there is some mystery involving her grandfather’s pottery, and that plushie Kinme found buried beneath the floor in a prior issue may in fact be connected to Remy’s grandmother!
Who is Kinu? Is Kyusho really leaving Atami to work at his father’s hotel in Tokyo? Why is everyone charmingly giving Kinme mandarins? We don’t get the answer to the first question, as the gentle mystery of Kinme’s unknown and unremembered past in Atami is only incrementally brought to light. But it’s more than enough for fans of this restful slice of lice manga which is like a sanctuary from the harsh world.
Wash It All Away is wonderful, radiant and smile-inducing, always leaving the reader with a good feeling — and a visceral desire to forge on as quickly as possible, and get another fix of Kinme and Atami and all the friends she interacts with as she finds happiness in helping others through her cleaning service.
As with Mitsuru Hattori’s previous entries of Wash It All Away, the Christina Gómez designed cover is lovely, and the translation from Japanese into English by Sawa Matsueda Savage is really solid. Adnazeer Macalangcom’s lettering never becomes confusing as to who was speaking, or thinking their thoughts. Jennifer Sherman’s editing was again invisible, as all good editing should be.
Wash It All Away has no agenda other than to soothe away the chaos of the modern world, as stated on the back cover. It succeeds mightily, a pleasant and welcome respite for those who remember manga before it began pandering to trends and pushing agendas in order to placate the crass western world market. Wash It All Away is something to embrace and cherish. This manga series is tantamount to finding a lone piece of delicious fresh fruit among rotted ones which have fallen beneath a now nearly barren manga tree.
I love everything about this restful slice of life manga, and so do most manga lovers. I highly recommend picking up issue #1 and following Kinme’s story as it slowly unfolds. It’s good for both the spirit and the soul.
December 21, 2025
Vague hints of the past, a new character to wear various amounts of fan service, main character fan service, check-ins with all the cast, and some cleaning tutorials. Did I just describe this volume? Or every volume?
You know by now if you like this series and I am… aggressively tolerant of it. I think it means well, but it revels in showing off its female characters in ways that are half flattering, half demeaning.
So, you know, this is also the same review I have been writing for five volumes now. I’m aware of my failings.
The big change this volume is the addition of Remy, a free-spirited Japanese-Canadian. If anything, Remy’s casual undressing/underdressing is actually more palatable than Wakana’s just because Remy seems super comfortable in her sexuality.
We often see Wakana very abashed or flustered if she shows something off, yet the story persists with it, which feels a little mean. It’s the real fly in the ointment of an otherwise cozy series.
Nothing here stands out besides Remy, honestly, as everything else feels very ‘business as usual’. That’s either a strength or a weakness depending on where you sit. I will admit that the warmth of the community forming around Wakana does help.
3.5 stars - it’s got admittedly good art, no matter what end it is being put to (or focused on) and functions as a pretty simple pleasure with my usual caveats.
You know by now if you like this series and I am… aggressively tolerant of it. I think it means well, but it revels in showing off its female characters in ways that are half flattering, half demeaning.
So, you know, this is also the same review I have been writing for five volumes now. I’m aware of my failings.
The big change this volume is the addition of Remy, a free-spirited Japanese-Canadian. If anything, Remy’s casual undressing/underdressing is actually more palatable than Wakana’s just because Remy seems super comfortable in her sexuality.
We often see Wakana very abashed or flustered if she shows something off, yet the story persists with it, which feels a little mean. It’s the real fly in the ointment of an otherwise cozy series.
Nothing here stands out besides Remy, honestly, as everything else feels very ‘business as usual’. That’s either a strength or a weakness depending on where you sit. I will admit that the warmth of the community forming around Wakana does help.
3.5 stars - it’s got admittedly good art, no matter what end it is being put to (or focused on) and functions as a pretty simple pleasure with my usual caveats.
January 31, 2026
Absolutely love this sweet series!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews