Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (2022)

wonderful series!

After having a burnout in his office job in Tokyo, 30-year old Akira Minato returns to his hometown by the sea and runs a laundromat that he inherited from his grandfather. Life is quiet and Akira is happy. That is, until 17-year old student Shintaro shows up. Not only is Akira's life and feelings turned upside down, he also begins to realize that he has been running away from himself and his feelings for too long. Will he finally face his past?
Oh boy, is this one about crushes. We have teenagers crushing on adults, students on teachers and colleagues on ... well, colleagues.
But what I found intriguing was the unusual constellation of the two main couples: Usually, and that would have made me so uncomfortable that I probably would have quit the series in episode one, it is the older part pursuing the younger. The responsible adult grooms and seduces the inexperienced teenager.
But. This is not Lolita and thank God.
Instead, in both main couples, the younger part is the pursuer (and quite an aggressive pursuer for his young age sometimes, something which I haven't seen yet), and the adult pursued behaves like a kid.
Akira behaves and screams around like a 5-year old (which, l must admit, was a tad annoying sometimes). He runs away from his feelings, from his past and from his responsibilities.
The other adult in the side couple, SEEMS like a responsible adult, but he lives in his own world and is, in every way, innocent. It is, again, the younger half of the couple that awakens new feelings and an outlook on reality in him.
The teenagers, on the other hand, are more mature and serious. Or so it seems. Thank God, the script lets them also be teenagers inbetween. They are overemotional sometimes, letting their feelings and first love consume them completely.
I know, some viewers have a problem with the age gap, or more specifically the ages of the age gap. In the end, Shin is 13 years younger than Akira, and just turns 18 in the run of the series. And I do agree. 17 and 30 are like different worlds. I recall that when I was 17, I was a completely different person than I am now. Like Shin, I used to have a crush on a much older man and today, in retrospective, 1 am glad he didn't act on it.
What makes it different here, is that Akira tries not to encourage the crush too much. He is instantly drawn to Shin, because Shin is his type (not because he is a teenager), but he at least tries to keep his distance. It is already a big deal when Shin simply wants to hold Akira's hand and their first kiss happens when Shin is over 18.
It is just that in the end, both men have gone through development, Akira was finally able to confront the one he had been running from since he was a teenager, realizing that he is finally over him, and Shin is on the verge of entering university, a new chapter in his life, an important step into adulthood. Still, Akira always supports him, does not force him into anything (it is rather SHIN who constantly tries to seduce him), and says that he will wait for him no matter how long it takes.
That was what drew me to this couple and made me root for them until the beautiful end. That there is always a mutual respect and cautious tenderness.
Okay, enough with the analysis, let's face the facts: Both main actors are fantastic, especially Sho in the role of Shin has impressed me. He shows wonderful depths for his age (23 during production), but Takuya can easily hold his own.
Both show emotions wonderfully and naturally and when they cry, it breaks your heart.
The production is absolutely lovely and heartwarming and I especially loved the effects when there was a flashback.
Also, you will fall in love with the whole cast, who are just adorable.
What can I say? I laughed, I cried (or rather bawled my eyes out, when you see the scene in question, you will understand) and I had a good time watching the show. I give it a 9/10 because of some lengths and repetitions, but overall it's a must watch that I would absolutely recommend.
And I am hoping for a second season, I'd love to see how Akira's and Shin's story goes on.

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COMEÇOU MUITO FORTE, SE TORNOU IRRITANTE E O MELHOR PERSONAGEM É O ASUKA

Preciso começar dizendo que os 2 primeiros episódios foram impecáveis, definitivamente foi um começo perfeito e muito forte, mas depois começou a ser irritante e a andar em círculos.

Minato Akira é um ótimo protagonista, ele é um personagem cheio de camadas e muito divertido, ele faz jus a sua idade (mas ele não é nem um pouco velho mesmo ele dizendo isso o tempo todo). Ele é super expressivo então sempre entendemos como ele se sente.

Katsuki Shintaro por outro lado é um garoto difícil pra mim porque ele consegue ser muito chato. Como eu disse anteriormente, os 2 primeiros episódios são muito bons e a personalidade dele aparenta ser cativante pois ele parece fofo com um lado forte e dominante, mas logo depois ele se torna extremamente infantil e super protetor, é bem irritante, ele não sabia dar espaço para o Minato.

Então temos o Asuka e ele se tornou o meu personagem favorito. Começando pela aparência dele que é super de um garoto do último ano do ensino médio, aquela mecha de cabelo que ele usa presa e torcida é uma graça. Ele é um personagem que foi inserido aos poucos na história, você começa pensando que ele será uma espécie de antagonista mas na verdade ele se torna um grande amigo do Shin (mesmo ele não merecendo) e um personagem fascinante de se acompanhar (mesmo que vejamos pouco dele).

Descobrir seu interesse amoroso foi interessantíssimo mas não deram muita importância e tempo de tela para isso, o que na minha opinião foi um erro, mas como existe uma segunda temporada eu espero ver mais disso.

Só achei "triste" como ele sempre estava lá para ajudar todo mundo mas ninguém fez o mesmo por ele em nenhum momento. Ele é a definição de personagem de apoio (e não no bom sentido).

E por último mas não menos importante temos o Sakuma Takayuki que foi o homem por quem o Minato se apaixonou no passado e é super entendível o porque, ele é um personagem muito agradável e cheio de personalidade, confesso que em alguns momentos eu me peguei torcendo por eles (até porque o Shin me irritou bastante ao logo da história).

Concluindo, essa é uma boa série para relaxar e passar o tempo, a atmosfera é ótima e a fotografia impecável, apenas não é uma das melhores coisas que eu já assisti.

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