English Dub Season Review: Aggretsuko Season One

Aggretsuko is probably the most relatable show I’ve seen all year. Kabi Nagata’s work also heavily resonated with me, but Aggretsuko made me laugh and nod along with it. I’ve been looking forward to this show for a while now, and it did not disappoint.

It tells the story of Retsuko, a young, overworked employee who faces constant derision from her boss and suffers from a poor self-image. She dreams of one day being free of this job, and all the troubles that come with it. On the floor, she’s a smiling employee, but after work, she lets her stress out by singing death metal in a karaoke bar. All of her problems are real, and a lot of us can relate to them.

Overtime is a constant for her. Since she’s not high up the corporate ladder, she frequently gets worked dumped on her and gets no thanks. Her bosses are critical of her not performing perfectly while ignoring all the extra work that she has to do. She has no voice, and the only people who trust her are her coworkers of the same level as her. Since this is her daily routine, this is immensely frustrating. She needs the money, so she’s trapped. There’s nothing she can do.

It’s about being overworked, but it’s also distinctly about being overworked as a woman. Japan is still heavily conservative and overall fairly sexist, and the shift from having women be mostly secretaries to women having a legitimate place at work has been a rocky one. Ton, Retsuko’s boss, chooses mostly to golf at work and constantly criticizes Retsuko’s work on her being a woman. He’s vocal in his sexism, and his position doesn’t allow Retsuko to speak up. When Washimi brings up the issues to the company president, he doesn’t see Ton’s casual sexism as a big deal. These are very much real things that happen in the workplace, and for once it’s not framed as a joke.

The women support Retsuko as well. Fenneko is pretty salty overall, but she still wants to look out for Retsuko in the end. Tsunoda seems to be a vapid flatterer, but she’s actually very self-serving and gives Retsuko advice on how to manipulate people into doing what she wants. Retsuko’s main support comes from her two new friends, Washimi and Gori. They’re more accomplished in the company, but they also continuously encourage Retsuko to be her true self. They listen to her problems and end up going to karaoke sessions with her. Retsuko may have issues at work, but making flourishing friendships is absolutely a benefit to her.

Retsuko’s problems aren’t just in the workplace but are also about romance as well. They spill into each other but is also another source of Retsuko’s frustration. Initially, she sees marriage and romance as a way to get out of work- because she won’t have to deal with the day to day at home. While this is changing in Japan with increasing numbers of women in the workplace, it’s still not uncommon for women to still be housewives. To Retsuko, that realization is a transformative experience and prompts her to notice small things about herself. She realizes that she wants to work out more, and thus joins a yoga studio. She tries to be cuter. She ends up joining a speed dating session and connects with one of the guys there.

Unfortunately, this leads to yet another problem: romance becomes another thing that Retsuko keeps bottled up. She is so preoccupied with wanting to keep up the image of the perfect, happy girlfriend that she doesn’t realize how unhappy she is. Resasuke isn’t bad for her, but he’s clueless when it comes to social cues, and doesn’t ever affirm or give any sort of opinion to Retsuko. He’s bland, and she can do better. She’s frustrated, and she still wants to live that dream. To her, Resasuke should be a shoujo manga prince, even though he’s anything but. Being a happy girlfriend means so much to her that she doesn’t want to look at the truth. Her being lovestruck begins to negatively effect her work as well, where her daydreams impact the quality of her work. It’s only once she finally gets fed up does the honeymoon phase ebb out, and she returns to normal.

A small thing that I felt was prominent as well was that the show never implied that Retsuko’s frustration wasn’t justified. It never tried to say that she should smooth over her feelings for the greater good. Sometimes it had to be done to continue being productive, but it’s not something you should truly believe. Things have to be done to do your job well. A lot of advice given in real life adheres to the latter part, not the former. ‘Just dealing with it’ isn’t the end all- Retsuko’s love of death metal is never put down or seen as illegitimate. It’s important to allow yourself to let all your frustration out in a constructive way so that you don’t crack, and this is shown as a healthy thing to do.

It’s a whole lot of fun, and I wouldn’t ever turn down a second season. It’s also incredibly cathartic to anyone who has had to deal with awful upper management and being overworked. Sometimes you just have to yell it out. Sometimes that venue is death metal. Most importantly, it’s key to let out your frustration, and not let it pile on top of you.