Sanrio has made many cute characters over the years to appeal to the younger generation, and these characters tend to be adorable and filled to the brim with pure innocence. The queen is no other than Hello Kitty, but Aggretsuko has without a doubt become my favourite Sanrio character.
Aggretsuko or Aggressive Retsuko is a red panda who relieves her pent up rage in a karaoke booth with death metal. As the death metal song plays in the background, she goes into rant mode with a “RAGE” character on her forehead. Ironically, this is refreshing in a world with cute characters.
Aggretsuko is a multifaceted show that caters to both children and adults despite the cute characters and seemingly happy world Retsuko is in. Other than the unbelievable adorable animal characters, Aggretsuko’s world does mirror our own from the viewpoint of a struggling female employee that has to deal with harassment and the inequality of sexes in a working environment. Due to the humor and lightheartedness of the show, it does seem like the show is making light of the issues but it is in fact making the issue more approachable.
If the core of Aggretsuko is societal feminism, the most outer layer is just cuddles and cuteness. This is a Sanrio character after all. The term ‘kawaii’ is always associated with Sanrio characters and Aggretsuko is no different but at the same time, it also stands out from the pack.
Watching a cute red panda going from a mild mannered girl into a raging death metal fan is oh so satisfying. Myself being a death metal fan but also having the love for cute characters, it’s as if the show is made just for me. Thank you Cthulhu for this gift. Now where is season 2? 2019. So as we wait for season 2, you can catch the entirety of season 1 on Netflix right now.
