I was initially quite hesitant to watch Minato Shouji Coin Laundry. Much like a lot of people, I think the thought of a 10-year age gap with the younger being still in high school worried me. But I have to say that after watching the series, although there were times I was questioning Minato’s inability to outright refuse advances from a 17 year old, Shin’s persistence and the fact that it’s generally a wholesome show in general made me feel much more at ease. I think it also helps that the actors themselves are not necessarily far in age with Kusakawa-san being in his late twenties but Nishigaki-san being in his early 20s in real-life.

If you enjoy really slow romance BLs then this show is for you! With 12 episodes, it’s a lot longer in episode count than the majority of other Japanese BLs I’ve watched in the past, and the episodes are of decent length too! (I’m looking at you Korean BLs)

There were some things that did slightly confuse me however. For example, the episode where Minato’s Ex, Saki, comes to visit the laundromat. It was a slightly odd episode since we don’t really get to know what Minato was like before he took over the laundromat, and so the sudden introduction of an Ex-Girlfriend who promptly leaves by the end of the episode felt a little strange to me. Especially since there was still an overarching narrative with Sakuma-Sensei that was unresolved. To me it felt more like a filler episode more than anything.

Also, although I do enjoy slow BLs, I would have loved to have the last few episodes brought forward and have a final episode (or scene at least) seeing what they are like after Minato confesses his love to Shin.

It’s almost certainly one of my favourite BLs so far, and I would recommend watching it before Season 2 comes out in July this year!!!