“Deadpan. Cynical, Offbeat. Comedy Anime. Gal Pals”
Netflix, Aggretsuko, https://twitter.com/sanrio/status/817129523774787584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, via GIPHY
At first sight, those are hardly the words you would expect to see underneath a thumbnail of what looks to be a simple, cute and colourful cartoon, made by the same people who brought the world ‘Hello Kitty’. Yet, this is the exact description which Netflix chose to describe Sanrio’s newest adult centered anime – ‘Aggretsuko.’ And in my opinion, it sums the show up perfectly.
From just the initial look, this show could be easily mistaken or dismissed as yet another mindlessly happy-go-lucky, overly positive, wholesome kids show. You assume it will fulfiill no meaningful storyline or offer us any more substance than what is expected of Sanrio’s famous kawaii (cute) brand aesthetic. It’s really easy to write off all of Sanrio’s icons as having no real purpose, besides merely providing a means for cheap commercialistion and gimicky stationary to be sold to the masses.
But upon closer expection of both Sanrio and their many well-known characters, you may begin to realise that none of these previous misconceptions are entirely true. There is something about looking deep within the adorably hollow eyes of a Sanrio character that soothes the foreboding sense of existential dread looming in this modern climate. And its Sanrio’s cute, marketable animation style which brings such simplicity to this complicated world.
It is in these unparamounted, dystopian-resemblant times, filled with such anxieties and uncertain futures, more than ever that the world of Sanrio characters seems more and more to be a pure and appealing means of escape. And that is why to this day, Sanrio/San-X characters, like Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, Keroppi, Pocchacco, Cinnamaroll and even some of their more unsual ones such as Gudetama (a lazy egg yolk), are so popular amongst both children and adults, worldwide.
Having said all of this, nothing Sanrio has ever produced before can come close to rivalling the unparalleled brilliance of their 2018 released Netflix show, Aggretsuko. To put it simply – Aggrestuko is a masterpiece of a social commentary on adulthood, centered on the pitfalls of reality and modern life.
Taking the animated form of anthrophomorphic animals, the show centres on 25 year old millenial, Retsuko, a red panda (a Japanese native animal) who works as an accountant in a big corporation. Retsuko has to deal with the mounting pressures of work, annoying and fake colleagues, along with a terribly misogynistic boss. Although, Retsuko looks like your average, ordinary office worker, she has a ‘secret up her sleeve and a mic in her purse.’ Retsuko, takes to her local Karaoke bar everyday after work to vent and rage about her problems in…get this… HEAVY DEATH METAL!
Netflix, Aggretsuko, http://netflix.com/ via GIPHY
Not only is it absolutely hilarious to see an innocent little animal, pelting it down with heavy metal music in a death voice, which renders her completely incomprehensible, this is just one of many humourous ploys which make this show just such a big mood. We too can begin to see ourselves in Retsuko, relieving our own pent up expressions of pain, suffering and persistent turmoil from our daily lives, being lived out on screen in a form – I like to call – theraputic entertainment.
Netflix, Aggretsuko, http://netflix.com/ via GIPHY
In what has to be one of the most iconic and best opening sequences in TV history, Season 1 opens with Retsuko quite literally dropping from the heightened idealisation of what you think your life of adulthood will be like before you graduate, all the way down to the tragical depths of reality.
The main thing I love about this show is how every single character is multi-layered and given such a depth and complexity to them. And for a 2d animated show – no one is left flat but rather each is multi-dimensional! Just like in my ‘Avatar, the last Airbender‘ and ‘Carmen Sandiego‘ review, the key to any great show in my opinion, is strong character development/growth, and that’s what Aggretsuko gives us in bucket loads! A testement to this is the fact that there is no real or clearly distinguishable villain in this show.
The characters are also so uniquely loveable, whilst being shown as flawed and realistic all the way through. From Fennekko, the sardonic social media detective and all-round cynic, to my boy Haida – the adorkable, punk/rock loving colleague who is secretly (or not so secretly) in love with Retsuko.
Netflix, Aggretsuko, http://netflix.com/ via GIPHY
To the two absolute queens of the company themselves, Washimi (a secretary bird who is the head secretary) and Gori (a gorilla that is head of Guerilla marketing.) All the way to our personable protagonist, Retsuko herself, who is the relatable, hardworking, reliable, people pleasing, karaoke singing, soul of the show!
Netflix, Aggretsuko, http://netflix.com/ via GIPHY
Her boss, Mr Tonne, is quite literally personified as a ‘chauvinist Pig’, and even he is still given redeemable qualities later on in the show. The annoying work chatterbox, Kabae, is shown to be a fantastic mother. The initially hatable doe-eyed doe, Tsunota, who appears to be nothing but fake, is also given another side to her story. Anai, a character introduced in Season 2, is also given similar treatment. Despite appearing as a crazed, passive aggressive nightmare at first, we soon begin to realise that he is in actual fact, just an insecure child afraid to deal with the world of adulthood. What I really like is that we eventually get to hear from everyone in the show and we begin to realise that everyone is just as flawed as the next person.
Netflix, Aggretsuko, http://netflix.com/ via GIPHY
Another fantastic aspect of the show is how deep the themes really gets! Aggretsuko explores everything from work struggles, to relationships, to marriage, to dealing with pressures from family, to living for social media and everything in between! Themes of ‘Capitalism’, being a ‘corporate slave’ and getting caught up in the ‘mindless rat race’ are also embedded in the show. All of these really deep themes and topics are packaged beneath a seemingly innocent Sanrio animated exterior. You probably would have never expected it from a show like this (So If you’re one of those people who think cartoons or animes are just for kids – learn to not judge a book by its cover – or in this case a show from its thumbnail!)
My take on the show so far…
Talking Season 3, Symbolism & Favourite Ships, [*LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD*]
I think the recently released, Season 3, in particular, deals with some very dark topics as well, highlighting the dangers behind fame and the very real threat of being stalked. Although the newest season has recieved some criticism for not being as relatable to the struggles of the common man as the first two seasons, I personally liked Season 3 the best and would controversially say that is was probably my favourite season yet!
I would argue that although it is true that fame is out of reach for most of us, the show still dealt with a very real problem in our society, which many celebrities today really do deal with. I also think that the themes of finding a passion (or side hustle, as it was put in the show) have been a running theme throughout the three seasons and it finally gets actualised in Season 3. Without giving too much away, I would also like to add that I really like the way that finding a romantic relationship isn’t Retsuko’s focus for this season. Instead, her main focus is all on her work and discovering herself and what she wants to do (finding and carving her own path as established as the road ahead in S2) and relationships are a secondary concern, unlike in the first two seasons where it takes center stage.
Bouncing off this idea we also get to see more of an insight into Haida’s personal life as he pursues a romantic relationship. I really like that idea because in a lot of programmes, the romantic interest is often a sideline character to offset the main character, but is rarely given much of a voice of their own (think of it as the facless Prince Charming to the Princess.) But in this case, we get to see more of Haida as a person and that’s really great to see! I also like how they normalise Haida’s ability to be masculine and quite emotional at the same time – it’s really endearing to see a show where men are demonstrating healthy human behaviours and I’m totally here for it!
I also really want to address the fact that Haida isn’t just your typical ‘nice guy’ trope (as in super whiny, bitter and entitled simply because she says no) but Haida is an ACTUAL nice guy! He never feels entitled over Retsuko or makes her feel like he owes her anything. In fact, he recognises this himself and when he finds out Retsuko didn’t tell him her secret, he reiterates this by saying “not that she has to or anything.” He also recognises the fact that he doesn’t really know her at all and simply thinks he does, and he expresses this in one my favourite lines ever said:
“The truth is I don’t know you. The Retsuko I know is the idealised one in my head.”
Netflix, Aggretsuko, www.sanrio.com/ via GIPHY
Haida demonstrates how a guy who has been friendzoned should act or behave to be considered an actual nice guy. He gives her space and he genuinely wants her to be happy and he doesn’t ever expect something in return for it. He recognises that he doesn’t really know her as much as he thinks he does, but he hopes that he can get to know her better and love her for who she really is!
I could probably write a whole essay analysing the characters of Haida, Tadano and Resaskae alone but I’ll probably leave that for sake of length, haha!
All I’ll say on that front is how much (at first) I really wanted to hate Tadano. Hear me out! I wanted him to be a bad guy so it would be easy to hate him, but even now I can’t say that I do, because he’s actually a really great and sweet guy. The only problem with their relationship is that they were only different pages and honestly thats pretty darn realistic. They didn’t want the same things and so it fell apart.
I just really loved the symbolism of how Retsy (which btw is the cutest possible nickname for Retsuko ever) was driving on the ground because she’s ‘down to earth’ and Tadano was flying in the sky because he has ‘his head in the clouds.’ When they’re singing together and he drags her up into the sky, it’s perfectly symbolic of how he later tries to force her to be and think just like him. What he doesn’t realise is that he ends up being lowkey, super controlling over her and also super dismissive of who she is as a person, as well as her wants and needs. But judging from what he says in S3 and how he acts – I would say he has learned from his mistakes and grows as a character because of it.
There so much symbolism littered throughout the series, that it is difficult to name all of them! One of my favourites being at the start of S2, when Puko and Retsy have to put all that effort into taking all of those boxes up to the 5th floor, and then by the end of the season they have to take it all down again. This is symbolic of Retsy and Tadano’s relationship again, because she put all that time and effort into it and at first it went really well, but then she ended up ‘back at square one’ by the end of the season. But just as Puko says ‘it was fun as hell and she would do the whole thing again!’
In terms of Resaske, there’s really nothing to say except he genuinely is a ‘potted plant’ and a ‘space cadet’. He’s pretty vanilla but I’m sure he’ll find someone out there for him – just not Retsuko, that’s for sure! (If you haven’t already guessed I ship Haida and Retsuko hard and possibly Fennekko and Ookami – which I really hope becomes a thing soon!)
With all that said, I really enjoyed Aggretsuko S1-3 and I really feel like it helped me cope with life, especially on days that were particularly rough! Whenever I was having a hard day, I knew I could come home and relax with a relatable, comical and lighthearted, yet undoubtedly real, show! Needless to say I’ve binge-watched the show and all 10 episodes of each season, too many times to count and I’m already heavily anticipating S4!
You know that feeling you get when you’ve binge-watched an entire season too quickly and now you don’t know what to do with your life…
Well, If you’re anything like me and you’re a bit too obsessed with this show, I would recommend downloading the Aggresuko game app because its really entertaining and addictive – plus they have 100 extra mini episodes to watch! (Based off of concept work that inspired the series – so there’s a lot of extra detail hidden in there about the characters that you wouldn’t know about just from the show!)