The internet blew up when the character Retsuko was introduced by Sanrio, the creators of the Hello Kitty brand. The adorable red panda stole the hearts of thousands not because she was so darn cute, but because her literal inner screams are awfully relatable. This iconic character stars in the Netflix Anime Aggretsuko, which follows Retsuko's struggle as a wayward adult trying to survive her terrible office job, adult responsibilities, and discover her own happiness.
As lovable as Retsuko is, there are plenty of reasons why she's not so likable. Throughout the four seasons Aggretsuko, Retsuko grows into a more confident and happier person, but the journey of her growth is very drawn-out and painful to watch. Retsuko's flaws are partially the reason why she's so lovable in the end, but it requires a lot of patience and understanding to see her through her mistakes and her life's misadventures.
9 Her First Goal Was To Become A Housewife, But Not For The Right Reasons
Due to Japanese tradition, Retsuko gifts 30,000 yen (roughly $300) in Season 1 to a friend at their wedding and is struggling even more so financially because of it. To her frustration, the married couple immediately divorces, meaning that her financial gift went to waste. Perhaps it's because she wasn't too close to the couple, but rather than feeling bad for their breakup, she immediately thinks of the money that she'd be receiving on her wedding day from the both of them separately.
From that point on, the listless office worker dreams of marrying someone so she can be given the gift of money on her wedding day. More than that, Retsuko has little to no aspirations at this point and becoming a housewife is her only goal for quite a while.
8 Even When Given Reason To Believe In Herself She's Still Run By Her Insecurities
Everyone can be held back by insecurity in reality, but as far as entertainment goes, Retsuko starts out as a character who's very difficult to watch. Retsuko makes excuses so that she's never in a situation where she might need to take a risk. While her behavior may be relatable to some viewers, it can still be frustrating.
Retsuko's habit of being controlled by her insecurities is clear when Washimi and Gori invite her out to dinner in Season 1. The two women were genuinely friendly with Retsuko during their yoga class, but because Retsuko thinks she's not good enough for them and also wants to avoid any awkward work conversations, she rejects them. Retsuko's insecurity controls her to the point that she has to be dragged into hanging out with them in order for them to build their friendship.
7 Her Tendency To Make Excuses & Stall Making Decisions Prolongs Her Growth
Perhaps it's because Retsuko has grown so accustomed to a lack of agency that she doesn't take many actions in her own life, even after things begin to turn around for the better. Throughout Seasons 1 and 2 she has a tendency to make excuses and stall.
Retsuko's bad habit leaks into her love life as well as her work life. Her first boyfriend, Resasuke, was oblivious to what it meant to be in a relationship, but Retsuko kept making excuses to stay with him until she couldn't take anymore, raged at him over karaoke, and finally broke up with him. She's a lot quieter when dealing with the new hire Anai, whose uncalled-for insubordination causes trouble for her. Though no one knows how to deal with Anai, except Kabae, Retsuko is the least resistant to Anai's retaliation.
6 She's Easily Taken Advantage Of At Work, More So Than Anyone Else
Between Retsuko's terrible boss, Director Ton, and her senior co-worker, Tsubone, Retsuko is taken advantage of on a regular basis. Though dealing with her boss may be tricky, there is no reason why Tsubone should be allowed to push more of her work onto Retsuko just so she can leave on time. Retsuko doesn't say anything about Tsubone and it makes her an easy target.
Retsuko's bad habit of choosing to remain quiet in situations where she should speak up causes her more trouble than is necessary. If she spoke up a little more, at least in certain scenarios, she'd have less trouble.
5 She Overextends Herself Outside Of Work & Is Taken Advantage Of In Her Personal Life
Whether it's lending a hand to a friend or paying a debt to someone she's wronged, Retsuko winds up doing too much for others in her personal life — because she's so quiet and passive she winds up being used. Her friends at work are not the ones at fault for this; it's her old friend Puko who is guilty.
The only times when Retsuko and Puko are seen together is when Puko needs something and although it's never confirmed that Puko has any ill-will toward Retsuko, she is still overworking her own friend. Also, Retsuko's sudden working relationship with the idol group OTMGirls starts out as forced servitude. Though Retsuko has to pay the manager back for damage she's caused, they clearly take advantage of her early on.
4 Her Inability To Detect Danger & Consequence
Even someone as responsible as Retsuko has moments where her actions are surprisingly reckless. Not too long after she disappears from work for two days, Retsuko puts in her two-week notice so she can focus on her new career as a musical idol.
Retsuko's time as an idol had only just begun and it was too soon to quit on her office job, a financial rock that's helped her pay the bills for years. Her most reckless move was after she learned that her fans knew where she lived and yet she did nothing. It was a clear invasion of privacy to everyone else, but Retsuko had her head up in the clouds and couldn't see the clear danger that was lurking ahead.
3 Her Love Life Takes Over Her Life In The Worst Ways
Retsuko is terrible when it comes to romantic relationships. Her first boyfriend, Resasuke, was downright awful; he had no passion and he wasn't aware of Retsuko's thoughts and feelings — yet Retsuko delayed breaking up with him for too long.
Retsuko's next major relationship was with Tadano, a genius tech entrepreneur and CEO of one of the largest AI companies, though Retsuko didn't know about that right away. Their relationship appeared to be perfect, but under the surface, Tadano was separating her from all the things that were important to her. In spite of how different their viewpoints were, Retsuko followed Tadano, almost leaving behind her job and her dream to be married until she finally realized she wasn't being true to herself.
2 She Falls In Love Way Too Easily, Sometimes Even After Rejecting Someone
Romance becomes a major part of Retsuko's life throughout Aggretsuko; she meets new love interests that either go nowhere or go too far. One potential suitor from the very first episode is Haida, Retsuko's friend and coworker in the accounting department.
While Haida has feelings for Retsuko, they appear to be unrequited for most of Aggretsuko. Though they have a short-lived romantic moment at the end of Season 1, the end of Season 3 sees Haida confessing his feelings to Retsuko as he tries to lift her up after being attacked on the street. The confession and his pep talk all seem a bit forced — even Retsuko responds in her mental screaming voice that he's forcing his feelings onto her. However, Retsuko falls for him almost out of nowhere in the following season.
1 She Avoids The Necessary Conversations Until The Situation Comes To A Boil
With Retsuko's avoidant and passive personality, it's no surprise that she's hesitant to engage in confrontations, but even with the people she's closest with she takes too long to say what has to be said. She does this mostly with Haida in Season 4 as he walks her home from work every day.
It's already out in the open that Haida is in love with her, but when given the opportunity to take their relationship to the next level Haida chokes. This is not on Retsuko in any way, but she never confronts him on his awkwardness or his blatant lies. If it wasn't for Tsunoda, Retsuko would have never realized she could find happiness with Haida in the early half of Season 4.