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Thoughout the Wash It All Away manga, there are hints that there’s something up with Wakana Kinme’s past and that it might be traumatic in some way. However, typically the slice-of-life nature of the series is at the forefront. It’s rare for her past to be too much of a focus, rather than an aside that happens between other moments involving townsfolk and events. However, as a result of Kinme cleaning ending up on social media, volume 6 of the series offers the biggest hint that we’re about to get some genuine insight into her past soon.
Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the cliffhanger and last story at the end of volume 6 of the Wash It All Away manga below.
We know there are secrets to Wakana’s past in Wash It All Away that even she isn’t aware of, as there have been teasers since the very first volume. It starts by establishing that she doesn’t recall anything that happened to her as of two years ago, and she’s just been living at Kinme cleaners, working there, and going by the name “Wakana Kinme” since. In that volume, it establishes that she’s extremely fearful of thunderstorms, and there’s also a flashback that suggests she was sobbing, depressed, and at her lowest point when she first came to Atami. In the third volume, there’s a suggestion that her past might also be connected to Hatsushima.
But all of these moments are fleeting. They suggest past trauma via over-the-top responses and panic to certain triggers. We see dissociating when it comes to a place that might be familiar to her, even though she doesn’t recognize it. There was never any interaction with anyone who might prompt memories of that past. That changes with volume 6, as it marks the first time we actually see someone who knew the person Wakana was before her arrival in Atami and setting up shop at Kinme. What’s fascinating is, while this scenario eventually ends up playing out in a way that still feels like the slice-of-life encounter that this series is known for while still hinting at the deeper trauma Wakana faced.
It all starts with a random delivery. Someone sent a grease-stained ribbon, one which looks a lot like the pink one Wakana herself wears, to Kinme. There’s no note with it. However, on a recent social media video there’s the message, “Found you.” The lettering is designed to look a little ominous in the art, certainly more so than the friendlier fonts throughout. Wakana does what she does best and restores it, then a message is left as a reply saying the job is done.
It’s then that we meet the person who made the request. It starts innocently, as most encounters Wakana has do. She runs into someone. She helps them. The person turns out to be looking for that specific shop. It’s when the item is reclaimed that the individual uses a nickname for Wakana, rather than her real name. It’s then that the person brings up how “Waka” doesn’t remember her. Volume 6 of the Wash It All Away manga ends on that moment, letting us take it in. Wakana seems shocked. There’s the same sort of awkwardness as other times when her past is referenced. However, we’re left wondering how good or bad the ensuing response could be.
It’s an incredibly effective move by mangaka Mitsuru Hattori and makes the last moments of volume 6 of the Wash It All Away manga even more memorable. Someone finally knows who Wakana Kinme was before she got to Atami. We’re going to get more context. We’re also going to see how Wakana herself responds to a more tangible person from her past. It’s such an incredible way to leave things.
Volumes 1-6 of Wash It All Away are available via Square Enix, and volume 7 will release on April 21, 2026. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
