By: Morgan Creek | Opinion Editor
May 9, 2018
If you watch Netflix, you may have seen a weird cartoon show up on your home screen- the cartoon one with a weird name that looks like Hello Kitty? If you’re wondering what the heck that show is- that would be Aggretsuko.
Aggretsuko is a Japanese cartoon about a 25-year-old red panda named Retsuko. Living a repetitive lifestyle plagued with horrible superiors and annoying coworkers, Retsuko maintains a “perfect citizen” attitude for most of the day, but at night, turns to death metal karaoke to cope with her stress-filled life. As more and more individuals begin to learn about Retsuko’s sacred secret, many complications and happy surprises arise throughout Retsuko’s journey.
The ten episode, TV-14 series was produced by Sanrio (the same people who made Hello Kitty) and was released as a Netflix original April 20, 2018. While the fan base is smaller that most Netflix shows, the show has received high praise. Junior Isabel Grigg says, “Watch Aggretsuko!!! It’s super cute but also really funny. There’s a really negative stigma surrounding Japanese shows (specifically anime) when some of the best shows I’ve seen are produced in Japan or are in Japanese. Not all anime is weird!!”
Aggretsuko is a highly comical show that I’m pretty sure a lot of teens and adults can relate to more than they might think. Throughout the show, Retsuko experiences friendship, love, despair, embarrassment, and accomplishment, but all in a highly comical manner. If that’s not a pretty accurate descriptor of high school, I’m not sure what is. Retsuko’s daily schedule mostly consists of overworking for her misogynistic boss and lazy coworkers. Sound like anyone you know? Senior Adriana Rivas says, “I can relate to Retsuko on so many levels. Our bosses are actually the same person. Hopefully he never reads this.” And, like many of us high-schoolers overwhelmed with the stresses of school, work, and prom, Retsuko has a coping mechanism to combat these giant stressors. Death metal karaoke might differ from our more common destress-methods like music, sleep, and Netflix, but the idea is the same.
Obviously, Aggretsuko is a little different compared to most Netflix originals. And yes, the kawaii-themed, overdramatic cartoon might be a little much for some people. But, if you’re like me (meaning you’re willing to watch something a little different because you’ve watched pretty much everything on Netflix), I highly recommend you give it a chance.
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