A thorough review of the Aggressive Retsuko TV series! Explaining its appeal and recommended points

Aggressive Retsuko TV Series - A story about an office lady who releases the stress of modern society through death metal

Aggressive Retsuko is a TV anime series based on characters originally created by Sanrio, which was broadcast on TBS Television and other stations from April 2, 2016 to March 31, 2018. The series had 100 episodes in a short one-minute time slot, leaving a strong impression on viewers. In particular, the way Retsuko releases work stress through death metal resonated with many working adults and became a hot topic.

■ Story

Retsuko, a red panda working as an office lady at a top trading company, has one thing going to karaoke alone after work. She sings death metal in her death voice to release all the stress of work. Retsuko dreamed of living a glamorous life as an office lady at her favorite trading company, but in reality, she is bossed around by unreasonable work and selfish coworkers every day. Unable to say anything back, she can't stand it when her anger builds up, so she releases her stress by singing death metal at karaoke alone.

■Explanation

Aggressive Retsuko is a story about Retsuko, an office worker who is frustrated by the behavior of her boss and coworkers but is unable to say anything back, so she goes to karaoke to sing death metal to release her frustrations. Her daily life is something that many working people can relate to, and the story satirizes the stress of work and the difficulties of human relationships. In particular, the scene where Retsuko sings death metal left a strong impact on viewers, and they sympathized with her as a way to relieve stress.

■Cast

Aggressive Retsuko is voiced by Kaolip, and the death voice is provided by Rareko. Other voice actors who play unique characters include Koiwasaki Koe as Washimi, Maki Tsuruta as Director Gori, Sota Arai as Director Ton, Shingo Kato as Section Chief Yagyuu, Sota Arai as Section Chief Komiya, Yuki Takahashi as Kabae, Maki Tsuruta as Tsubone-san, Rina Inoue as Feneko, Shingo Kato as Haida, Rina Inoue as Kakuta, Shingo Kato as Resasuke-san, and Natsuko Yokozawa as Yokosawa-san.

■ Main staff

The original work is by Sanrio, and the director and scriptwriter is Rareko. Sanrio's designer for Aggressive Retsuko is Yeti, and animation is by Fanworks. These staff members worked together to create a deep story in a short amount of time.

■ Main Characters

Aggressive Retsuko is a red panda who works in the accounting department of Chara-Riman Shoji Co., Ltd. She dreamed of a glamorous life as an office lady in Marunouchi at her favorite trading company, but in reality, she is pushed around by her boss who pushes unreasonable work onto her and her selfish coworkers every day. Unable to say anything back, she can't stand the anger that builds up, so she releases stress by singing death metal at karaoke alone.

Washimi is a beautiful secretary to the company president. She is a capable secretary who can get to the president's needs, but she is fed up with the president's rough handling of people and his weak mentality. She is cool at work, but flashy in her private life.

Manager Gori is a powerful female manager working in the marketing department. Contrary to her powerful appearance, she has a surprisingly delicate heart and often has trouble saying what she thinks. She dresses conservatively and is stylish, but her appearance is so-so that she is teased and wets her pillow when she gets home.

Director Tong is an old-fashioned Duroc pig who thinks that women are all just sitting around and that they should just make tea. She loves golf and drinking parties, and every night she grabs young people from the company and goes out drinking with them. She has bad days and good days, so her subordinates try to see what's going on with her. There's only one answer, and she won't accept any objections. She keeps a carton of antiperspirant spray and deodorant spray under her desk.

Section Chief Yagyu is a buffalo who pushes work to the last minute with poor schedule management. He is always checking the stock market and not doing any work, and only realizes that the deadline is approaching, and suddenly dumps a large amount of work on his subordinates without any remorse. Although he is poor at schedule management, he always leaves work on time. On days when his boss, Director Ton, is not there, he leaves work early to go watch a baseball game.

Section Chief Komiya is a vulgar and effeminate meerkat. He has a strong desire to rise to the top, so he always obeys people in higher positions and tries desperately to be recognized by stealing the credit of his subordinates. When he presents a PowerPoint presentation, he stays in the editing screen. When things go wrong for him, he loses his temper with his subordinates.

Mr. Terada is a honey badger who has never been seen working. The reason why he has not been fired is that he was hired through powerful connections, but it is unclear who they are connected to.

Kaba Megumi is not a bad person, but she is a loud and noisy hippo. When she jumps around in a way that doesn't take her age into consideration, the whole company building shakes. There are several clients that Kaba Megumi doesn't know about but are banned from. When she visits them, several people step up and say, "I'll go there!" to stop her from going. She overly tries to show off how good a wife and mother she is, and shows off lots of pictures of her children.

Ms. Tsubone is a Komodo dragon-like office lady who always nitpicks and says nasty things whenever something happens. When she gets angry, she throws documents and gets hysterical. She's generally unreasonable.

Feneko is a female employee who joined the company in the same year as Retsuko. They share the same complaints about their superiors, so they are valuable people to vent their frustrations to. They avoid talking about their private lives.

Haida is a hyena with a jutting jaw, who is in the same year as Retsuko. He praises his superiors over and over again in an attempt to make them like him. He has accepted that this is the way to live well. He hates being teased about his "jutting jaw," so he is quick to respond and snaps at words like "gratuity" and "society." He seems to be bothered by her, as he frequently picks on Retsuko, which makes her annoying.

Ogami-san is a handsome maned wolf who is Retsuko's junior. He works at the company with minimal energy, but is allowed to do so. He is quite a women's player and there are many rumors about him. He believes that the pointier the toes of shoes, the better.

Warabida-san is a Qualacca Wallaby, a temp worker who is always smiling and kind, and is well-liked by everyone. She is often compared to Retsuko.

Kara-nee is a caracal who works steadily in the marketing department and exudes her own unique personality without worrying about others. Everyone calls her Kara-nee and relies on her, but perhaps because she is too strong, she is rarely admired. She manages to balance childcare and work. For some reason, she speaks like a voice-over for a foreign movie. Her catchphrase is, "Is that on schedule?"

Adachi is an ostrich who works in the marketing department. He is subservient to those in authority, bowing his head and speaking in a sweet voice, but looks down on those he doesn't think need his flattery. He pretends to be working, but in fact he is constantly checking social media. He presses "Like" on Kakuta, but is annoyed by his claim to be a happy person.

Tsunoda is a new, sparkly Thomson's gazelle in the marketing department. Call me Tsun♡♪ I'm calculating and I try to please everyone, but I'm superficial and I don't care if I incur the resentment of female employees. I'm a very conscious person, so I study but I don't learn anything in particular. I love hashtags and lattes. My camera roll is full of selfies, selfies, selfies, latte art, selfies, feet, and selfies.

The president is African Elephant, the second-generation president of Chara-riman Shoji Co., Ltd. He has made a great achievement by adopting new ideas and expanding the company. He has a complex about his father, the founder, and sometimes he gets so distracted by it that he loses sight of what's going on around him. He dotes on his secretary, Washimi, but doesn't know much about her private life. His rival is his cousin, Indian Elephant's company.

The yoga instructor is a kangaroo who shows off his beautiful, well-trained body while teaching yoga. He has a cleft chin from training so hard, and his gender and age are unknown. At first, Retsuko and the others thought he was a woman, but now he's not so sure. He often talks about "protein."

The cafe employee is a mandrill who works at a cafe that Gori-bucho is interested in. He looks like a manager-class employee from his presence, but he's actually a part-time worker. Gori-bucho doesn't have the courage to talk to him, but he's also quiet, so nothing progresses between them. He seems to know a lot about coffee, but he's not that knowledgeable and prefers tea. He's been in Tokyo for 10 years and is apparently an unsuccessful member of a theater company.

Resaske is a red panda that you often meet on crowded trains. He is 25 years old and works in sales at the same company. Since he started to take an interest in Retsuko, she tends to idealize him in her mind, but in reality he is a plain-looking guy with a plain face. He is absent-minded and goes at his own pace, so it is hard to tell what he is thinking. When he speaks, there are unique, mysterious pauses. However, even during those pauses, when Retsuko reminisces and fantasizes, he appears to be lost in thought. He does suggestive things that Retsuko, who is too conscious of him, ends up misunderstanding, but it is still a mystery whether he really means it.

Washiko is Washimi's younger sister and a flight attendant. Like Washimi, she likes flashy things and is very stingy with money. She met her husband, Arihiko, at a group date and was attracted to his simplicity, which made her feel fresh at first.