When it’s time to get to business, do you like a quite space or background noise? My research and writing process requires noise. No joke. Wacka Flocka Flame helped me earn my MA in American History. Sometimes, audio stimuli is not enough. I need visual stimuli too. That’s how I became an Aggretsuko Fan. Back in 2018, Netflix social media was flooding my newsfeed with Aggretsko promos. Plus, it was dubbed in English.
I love anime, but I am hesitant about starting new shows. When I start a new series, I have the impulse to binge watch it. I have to know what happens next. Knowing that, I still decided to press play. Instead of researching a person of interest for an interview, I watched all 10 episodes in one sitting, because the slice of life anime was relatable. Luckily, each episode was only 11 minutes. Yes, the characters are animals, but Restsko’s work life balance resonated with me.
Retsuko is a 25 year old office girl in corporate Japan. The series starts with an optimist red panda ready to take on the world. The mood immediately shifts to an exhausted red panda using self soothing exercises to summon the strength to get out of bed. Some of this stems from the office culture and where she falls in the food chain. Supervisors and workers take advantage of Restsko’s “people pleaser” personality. She’s overworked, under appreciated and under paid. To avoid termination, she copes by belting out Death Metal karaoke to release her pent up frustration.
Retsuko is tempted to use marriage as a one way ticket out of her toxic work environment. In the context of the show, it’s socially acceptable to leave the workforce to start and raise a family. In fact, Restko is nicknamed “Calendar,” because of that stigma. Overall, the viewer gets to watch Restko teeter between percerviring (staying employed) and accepting defeat (leaving the corporate workforce). In my opinion, each season had a valuable life lesson.
Season One : Relationship bliss is not worth wearing a mask 24/7
Season Two : Chemistry does not out weigh core values
Season Three : Your passion project doesn’t have to be your 9 to 5
Season Four: Actions based on assumptions may lead to negative outcomes
Agresstko is one of the reasons I didn’t cancel my Netflix subscription. To be honest, I would buy a digital or hard copy of the show. For now, it’s only available on Netflix. I’ve noticed, Netflix is starting to sell DVD’s of their popular shows. For example, the complete Boss Baby Back In Business series is available on DVD at Walmart and Amazon.
What’s your favorite Season of Aggretsuko?
Are you looking forward to Season Five?
Whose your favorite character?
Magnify Your Style 
The Netflix link was fixed.
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