Aggretsuko: A Red Panda's Tale of Work, Rage, and Karaoke

Who would have thought that kawaii cuteness and death metal music could be such a good mix? The Aggretsuko anime series is comedy like we’ve never seen before! Discover how this show perfectly balances themes about workplace frustration, misogyny, and using music as an outlet for complex emotions.

Introduction to Aggretsuko

Aggretsuko is a Netflix anime series based on a fictional red panda named Retsuko. The anime is titled “Aguresshibu Retsuko” (Aggressive Retsuko) in Japanese. It follows the life of 25-year old Retsuko and how her workplace frustrations lead her to a karaoke bar at night, where she lets out her anger through death metal music.

Retsuko is a character created by the Sanrio mascot company. She first appeared in a series of Fanworks animated shorts released on TBS Television, two years before the more popular Netflix adaptation in 2018. Aggretsuko has been turned into a franchise with multiple TV shows, a mobile game, and several merchandise collections. The Aggretsuko Netflix series lasted for five seasons, consisting of 10 episodes each. The fifth and final season aired on February 16, 2023.

Plot of Aggretsuko

Written and directed by Rarecho, Aggretsuko’s plot follows the often comedic adventures of a 25-year-old red panda named Retsuko. She works as an accountant for a Japanese trading company located in Tokyo. Retsuko does not love her thankless office job. Although she has been working at the firm for about five years, she frequently has to deal with sexism, annoying colleagues, and over demanding bosses. Whenever all of her frustrations become too much to handle, she visits the local karaoke and vents by singing death metal music.

The series follows Retsuko’s quest for happiness, fullfilment, and empowerment, which often puts her career in jeopardy. It explores her existing and new relationships with co-workers, her quest for a stable love life, and problems caused by her social anxiety.

Many young adults, especially those of them working in corporate jobs, would be all too familiar with some of the problems Retsuko faces. The show also explores relatable and mature themes, such as societal expectations, personal empowerment, and modern work culture. We’ll discuss these themes in depth later in this post.

Popularity of Aggretsuko

Upon release, the Aggretsuko anime series instantly became popular among young adults. Based on its premise, one would think the series would be targeted at young women. However, Aggretsuko widens the net by placing the main character in situations that both genders within the age group will find relatable. 

In Japan, many people were already familiar with the Sanrio character and her satirical reflection of the modern Japanese worker before the Netflix series premiered. However, after the release of the first season, Aggretsuko gained millions of fans worldwide. The series became one of the best shows on Netflix, earning critical acclaim and consistent renewals. In 2020, it was nominated for Best Dramatic Series at the Ursa Major Awards and finished second runner-up according to the number of votes.

Origins of Aggretsuko

Yeti, a female artist and designer, created the character Retsuko for Sanrio, the mascot company responsible for bringing us Hello Kitty. The name of the character was carefully chosen to reflect its personality. In English, the kanji character “retsu” translates to “rage” or "fury,” and “ko” means “child.” One could loosely translate them altogether as “rage girl” or “fury girl.”

Retsuko first appeared in a set of animated shorts by Sanrio. The shorts were one-minute long and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Television from April 2, 2016 to March 31, 2018 (100 episodes). Rarecho was tasked with directing the shorts and Japanese studio Fanworks handled the animation. These shorts propelled the character and her stories into pop culture stardom.

In December 2017, Netflix announced it would be adapting the shorts into a full-fledged anime series on their platform. Rarecho and Fanworks maintained their roles in the new series. On April 20, 2018, less than a month after the last short aired on TBS Television, Netflix released the first season of Aggretsuko or Aggressive Retsuko.

Understanding Retsuko: Aggretsuko's Main Character

Aggretsuko’s main character, Retsuko, is an anthropomorphic red panda. She has the same orange fur, white ears, black eyes, brown limbs, and striped tail as the real-life animal. Retsuko and the other anthropomorphic characters in the series wear regular human outfits. She wears different outfits depending on the occasion. At work, Retsuko often appears in a blue vest and skirt over a white shirt with brown shoes. The outfit resembles the typical office attire for Japanese women.

Retsuko is 25 years old and her birthday is November 6, making her a Scorpio. She works in the accounting department of Carrier Man Trading Company. 

By day, Retsuko is a mild-mannered and hardworking office worker. She is extremely polite and soft-spoken. Her timid personality unfortunately causes people to walk over her at the office. Despite Retsuko's business acumen, her bosses often overwork her just so they can have more free time. What they don’t know is that internally, Retsuko has a ferocious temper. All the rage and fury she keeps bottled up during the day often comes out at night after she has had a few drinks. To help her vent, she rents a karaoke room and screams out vengeful lyrics to death metal music. Retsuko decides to keep her second life a secret from most people. Only a select few of her close friends and love interests know about Retsuko's death metal screaming.

Retsuko's desire to find happiness and escape her misery is evident throughout the series. Her way of doing this varies with each story arc and ranges from trying to land a dream job to making efforts to get married and start a family. Retsuko’s life also features different relationships with the people around her. Here’s an overview of her relationships with other animal characters:

• Friends: Despite her social anxiety, Retsuko makes genuine friends who care a lot about her. They are often protective and try to help her come out of her shell. Her friends from work include Fenneko, Gohi, and Washimi. The free-spirited Puko is a friend from high school and Manaka became friends with Retsuko during her time with the OTMG Girls.

• Family: Retsuko has a mother and father that would appear at different times in the series. The mother is notorious for visiting Retsuko’s house unannounced to pressure her into marriage.

• Romantic interests: Retsuko dated several characters in the series, most notably Resasuke, Tadano, and Haida. At one point, Retsuko fills the void caused by a breakup with a virtual boyfriend.

Themes in Aggretsuko

While Aggretsuko is an animated comedy at its core, it’s also famous for exploring mature themes. Its commentary on serious social issues resonates with the global audience, making it more popular among critics and fans. Let’s analyze the main themes depicted in Aggretsuko:

• Corporate culture: The series satirizes Japanese workplace culture by placing the characters in absurd yet relatable situations. Many millennials in the Japanese and global workforce can relate to the pressures Retsuko endures at the office. Although Retsuko lets out her fury through metal music, suppressed anger is common in this generation and the show explores the concept perfectly.

• Societal expectations: Retsuko’s contrasting daylight personality is a commentary on how women in Japan are expected to be “good and hard working” no matter what. Failure to live up to these societal expectations often renders such women culturally unacceptable. Hence, she keeps her alternate personality a secret.

• Personal empowerment: Aggretsuko depicts how self-acceptance and breaking social boundaries could lead to personal empowerment. The entire series follows how Retsuko learns this lesson. 

• Sexism and misogyny: Right from the first episode, it’s clear that some of Retsuko’s male co-workers are sexist. Director Ton, in particular, turns out to be a blatant chauvinist. Exploring such themes is essential if Aggretsuko is a satirical depiction of the contemporary workforce, because these are genuine problems that women all over the world face.

Aggretsuko's Cultural Impact in Japan

More than six years after its release, Aggressive Retsuko continues to stay relevant as a Japanese classic, not just because of its entertainment value but also for the messages it sends regarding work-life balance and gender roles within the corporate sector. By shining a light on toxic workplace culture, the series got people to have open discussions about women’s rights in the office. Also, both male and female millennials have expressed how they can relate to the heavily suppressed rage they feel because of the annoying antics of their co-workers and superiors.

The Art Style and Animation of Aggretsuko

The animation in Aggretsuko stands out from typical American productions thanks to its use of Japanese stylistic elements. These elements include 2D flat expressions, time suspensions, and minimalist art styles. It’s clear that Fanworks did their best to maintain the cartoon art style that we’ve come to expect from Sanrio shows such as Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll. The way the cute aesthetics clash with the real-world problems greatly contributes to the storytelling and humor of the series.

Fan Base and Community

The varied cast and relatable scenarios in Aggretsuko have built a global community of fans who identify with Retsuko’s struggles and triumphs. Online, you’ll find hundreds of discussions about the series in its dedicated subreddit. Members of the fanbase who are more invested often consume branded merchandise and visit Sanrio-themed cafes. The official social media accounts of the show have hundreds of thousands of followers.

Merchandising and Brand Collaborations

Sanrio has released different kinds of merchandise and collectibles for Aggretsuko fans to buy. These products include office supplies, apparel, toys, and accessories. You can buy them online or in dedicated Sanrio merchandise stores and themed cafes in Japan. Sanrio has also collaborated with other companies to create more products for Aggretsuko and heavy metal karaoke fans. In July 2020, a few weeks before the premier of the fourth season, Sanrio issued a license to Hive Co. LTD, allowing them to create a mobile game titled Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back. The game rewards players who pass certain levels with downloadable content from the original anime shorts. 

Aggretsuko on Social Media and Digital Platforms

Aggretsuko leverages social media through its Instagram profile, which has over 346k followers. While the show was still running, the account used its reach to promote announcements about season renewals and themed events. On this digital platform, Retsuko talks to her fans online via relatable memes.

What's Next for Aggretsuko?

Aggretsuko came to a somewhat satisfying conclusion in season 5. The producers have stated that there are no plans to bring season 6 to Netflix or any other platform. However, there’s always a possibility for a spinoff in the future. If that were to happen, it might be something like the Christmas Special released on December 20, 2018, titled We Wish You a Metal Christmas. This time, it could focus on one of the other characters in the original series. There’s also the possibility of cross-media expansions into live-action or more video games.

Conclusion:

Aggretsuko appeals to every working woman who’s ever faced gender discrimination, social anxiety, or poor work-life balance. It’s more than just an anime and represents a social commentary that challenges traditional norms and offers a voice to those feeling the pressures of modern life.

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