Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (2022)

In a circle we run, away from a cheeky teenager.

If you are ready for a whole lot of frustration, running in a circle, kids being scary straightforward and adults acting like shy teenagers - this is a perfect watch for you.

Here’s the thing - it was so exciting, fun and enjoyable at first. Being more or less the same age as Minato, I could easily understand his panic about starting to have feelings for a high schooler. Even the idea is scary. That said, I feel like they failed with Minato writing wise, since he just... existed and everything was happening around him. The guy did not try to process it at all and it left the viewers with repetitive scenes and plots, since nothing was changing character wise.

Shin was saving grace with his pro flirting, honesty and undying motivation to make Minato his. He was far more dynamic of a character, actually showing some change in his behavior depending on the situation and the circumstances.

There were also a few nice side characters like Sakurako and Asuka who added some wholesome platonic moments to this romance driven show.

Plot wise, we've got whole side plot of Sakuma Takayuki which was stretched so bad, taking too much screen time and becoming quite an annoying addition to the drama. The teacher might have been the sweetest dude ever, but that plot should have been resolved in 2 episodes max.

Performance wise I do not have any complaints. Kusakawa Takuya did his best with Akira - the character was just not it writing wise. Nishigaki Sho truly impressed me. He did quite well with some more subtle emotions and perfectly presented the angst related to the first big teenage love.

Production wise, it gave a high budget since of life webdrama vibes - which personally I truly love.

Overall, I am honestly not sure how I feel about it. On paper it works, but when I watched it, I was getting either frustrated or bored, and I was wishing for the show to finally end. I don’t regret watching, but I’m also not sure if I would recommend it for others to check out. I also crave second season or at least a special episode, because the payoff after all the running away was quite short-lived.

Lees verder