Aggretsuko - Série 5

Everyone has problems, Japan in particular, and this series satirizes the hell out of them, perhaps even more intensely this season. It's beginning to dawn on me that the majority of all the plots in Retsuko are partially about the characters, but mainly an attempt to portray Japan and what the creator believes is wrong with it. While the previous seasons managed to keep some sort of balance between the problems of the heroes and the problems of Japanese society as a whole, the latest season doesn't bother about that and is primarily about holding a mirror up to Japanese society. The voice of Retsuko becomes a vehicle to communicate dissatisfaction with various Japanese traditions. It is made obvious what the particular social problems are, and when the pictures fail to tell the story, it is simply announced that, for example, "Many young and talented people feel trapped in their tiny cubicles..." For someone who is interested in Japan and is familiar with the issues of Japanese society, traditions, and family, this series will work quite well as an interesting satire, as they will understand most of what's going on and what's being referenced. If you couldn’t care less about Japan, you'll at least be able to relate to Handy and his crisis as many of us (myself included) have been through something like that at some point. However, it will be much harder to relate to the other characters’ problems, and you might find the political conclusion to the series boring, weird, and maybe even far-fetched. Now that the series is over, I think it probably provided the Japanese with a lot to think about, but there’s no major takeaway for me this time... 6.5/10 (17/02/2023)