Aggretsuko Book3 Review
In book three of the series, we are introduced to new character; A flamboyant duck named Karen from ‘’our sister office in Canada’’, who is very into positive energy and adding feng-shui to the office. She has a big beak and honks a lot. It is an amusing front cover, with Karen standing on the desk, Retsuko hiding underneath it, and a shower of sticky notes (though this is not exactly what happens in the story).
Her job is to help the Japanese office improve morale, because the Canadian office is reported to have great morale. She leaves sticky notes around the office saying what there is not enough of, or what there is too much of. One particular label, stuck onto a completely blank wall, says ‘’cat poster’’, because there should be something inspirational to decorate the wall, or something funny to brighten up the office. When Fenneco the fennec fox says ’’It should just be a picture of your face right now, that should keep the office laughing, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha’’ this was itself the funniest line (her face was a freaked-out anime face). In the Netflix series, she’s always making fun of Retsuko and laughing in a strange, monotonous way, like a robot. It turns out the Japanese office is like a minefield with red flags all over the place. It soon becomes full of yellow slips everywhere.
There is quite a culture clash between Japan and Canada. Karen had first greeted Retsuko by shaking hands (a very vigorous handshake with lots of honking) instead of bowing. The boss pig, Mr. Ton, also acts differently when Karen is around. He calls Retsuko by her proper name, instead of ‘’Calender’’ ( In the Netflix series, ‘’Calender’’ or ‘’Calender girl’’ becomes her nickname, because 'her days are numbered'!). He makes her bring the tea to his desk, which she does passive-aggressively, with outward submission while inwardly hating her chauvinistic pig of a boss. In the Netflix series, he yells ‘’Hey Calender, get the tea, because that’s woman’s work, haw-haw-haw!’’. This is a more modern version of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which is adapted to the modern Japanese workplace, but it still tends to be designated to women. Originally, it would have been a geisha.
With Karen, he puts on what Retsuko calls his ‘’fake smile’’ which he sometimes does in the Netflix series. This is when the boss who’s usually a bully has a massive smile, rosy cheeks, shiny eyes and says corny things like ‘’great job, teamwork makes a dream work’’. The workers are always so freaked out by him being nice that they just can’t deal with it. In this comic, Retsuko has her own look that is a reaction to the bosses ‘’fake smile’’ look, and that is the typical anime tear-floods with open-hanging mouth. After that, they go out to lunch at a ramen-bar, where they open up about the different workplace cultures.
It seems there are a lot of things Japanese workers put up with that workers in western cultures take action against. They have the same problems, but different solutions. Karen does say it to them there that the stoical attitude that office life is what it is will be very unhelpful. Retsuko thinks (not out loud) that Karen is a bit stupid and doesn’t get how the world works because making change happen won’t be ‘’that simple’’. Haida the hyena does say out loud ‘’ we just don’t see the point of making a fuss out of nothing’’. Here, it is interesting to see in a Japanese cartoon how japan is criticising itself. It is also interesting to see how well it represents what in japan would be called a ‘’gaijin’’ or ‘’outsider’’. for a country known to be very isolated, they have quite an impressive understanding of western cultures.
The whole Aggretsuko anime was revealing much of the oppressive Japanese work culture and how a society where being reserved is important means there is unhealthy pent-up hate. There is one, even if only one, reference to KAROSHI (death from over-working, so common it has a name) in the Netflix series. Apart from the karoshi, you don’t necessarily have to be Japanese to relate, and it’s a bit like the western DILBERT cartoons. This is the first time, though, that it’s gone this in-depth. Later, Karen and Retsuko go down to the karaoke bar where they open up even more about workplace tyranny, especially towards women. Karen is more used to the kind of karaoke that is in pubs and bars where ‘’everyone can see you humiliate yourself’’. This is a downtown karaoke bar where it’s a more private sort place. It’s more like a hotel where you book a room and are tended to by staff.
Karen was also in a death metal rock band that did public gigs. She tells her story of a bad boss just like Mr. Ton who, after a long battle, they finally got him fired. When Karen asks Retsuko a deep and personal question about whether she’s ‘’angry with’’ her, she says to ‘’please be direct’’. Understanding that she’s meant to be honest, Retsuko explains that she’s not exactly angry parse, but she’s not used to Karen’s approach. This new approach that Retsuko’s not used to is what she finds tiring. Karen apologises and promises that now on she will think twice before ‘’jumping in’’ where she ‘’doesn’t belong’’. Karen also says that it makes her angry to see another worker suffering a ‘’similar kind of tyranny’’. So the two of them select a piece of death metal and sing together, both completely changing their faces. ‘’rotten bosses keep talking down to and belittling me’’ ‘’your fake smile is just a deadly trap’’ ‘’free us from this unending torment’’.
The next day, as Karen and Retsuko bow to each other, it is time for Karen to leave, but not without leaving an impact, especially on Retsuko. She has been given new hope and hope has given her strength. She will be a ‘’good girl’’ for the time being and put up with corporate bullying, but wait for the day of justice. The yellow slip on her computer says ‘’believe you can do it’’.
