Shit I Watched on Netflix, Ep. I

Aggretsuko 

Ok, this is a new blog feature dedicated to, you guessed it, stuff I've watched on Netflix. And how I felt about it. We good? Cool. LET IT BEGIN!!!

What Is This Shit?

This little animated gem follows an adorable red panda name Retsuko as she slogs through the drudgery of corporate life. To the steam that builds up at work, Retsuko pulls out the microphone she carries in her purse and lets loose some serious death metal scream. Think of it as a mash-up of Hello Kitty and Office with a metallic twist.

What's This Shit About?

Retsuko is a single, 25-year-old office drone who's stuck in corporate wage slave limbo. She hates her boss, Ton, a chauvinistic (literal) pig with a hard-on for golf, and the rest of her dispiriting work environment. When a plan to join a business her friend is starting falls through, Retsuko comes up with a plan to get married and quit her job. Along the way, she learns not to hide her true self and takes the first tentative steps toward contentment.

The Good Shit!

Where do I start? The whole concept behind Aggretsuko amuses me endlessly. It's like the cartoon equivalent of the kawaii metal band Babymetal: a sugary cuteness rush with a kick-ass death metal chaser.

When Retsuko grabs her mic, she goes through a transformation, complete with markings that resemble black metal-style corpse paint, and the energy builds until she finally lets loose. And we, the viewers, get whisked along for the ride.

And the songs? Pretty brutal and more catchy than The Plague. I already have the refrain from "Shitty Boss" embedded in my brain.

And the show is hilarious, too. Every character gets highlights that draw big-time laughs. The humor is a brilliant mix of the obvious, the absurd, and the quirky. It may not work for everyone, but I fucking loved it!

The Bad Shit!

This may come off as hyperbolic, but I'm having real trouble coming up with any flaws. The closest thing to a negative I can come up is the crude animation style. But it totally fits the tone of the show. Maybe there's just not enough of it. And given how quirky it is, I wouldn't be surprised this is all the Aggretsuko we get.

Wrap This Shit Up!!

I. AM. ADDICTED. This show hits me right in the oddball sweet spot in my brain. I can totally relate to being stuck in a dead-end job you despise. And the show had a good message about being true to yourself, and not hiding who you really are. Plus, it's one season of 10 15-minute episodes. That means you can binge the whole thing in less time than it takes to sit through a Lord of the Rings movie.

So if you hate your job, like cute things, and are looking for a good reason to laugh your ass of, bang your head, and throw up your Devil hours, give Aggretsuko a shot.