We Love That Retsuko Is a Red Panda, but What About the Other Characters From Aggretsuko?
Between Aggretsuko Season 4 releasing on Netflix in mid-December and the just-as-relatable Aggretsuko TikTok account activity a few months before that, now is the perfect time for new fans of the show to jump in and for longtime fans to finally get some answers on the furry, feathery, and scaley cast.
The Netflix and Sanrio production (yes, as in Hello Kitty) follows 25-year-old Retsuko working an unfulfilling corporate job at a Japanese Trading Firm. To help her cope with the dredges of office abuse, politics, and struggling romantic relationships, Retsuko gets her rage on by performing death metal alone at a karaoke bar.
Many of the characters in the show consist of animals that represent their personalities. Sometimes this is more straightforward, while other characteristics align with misunderstood elements of their animal counterparts. Without spoiling much, here are some of the main characters of Aggretsuko.
Retsuko
Our titular mid-20s character, Retsuko, is none other than an adorable red panda. Other red pandas include her mother and season one love interest Resasuke.
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, red pandas inhabit the east part of the Himalayas in countries like Nepal, China, Bhutan, and Myanmar. While red pandas prefer the morning and late afternoons, Retsuko is drained all day as she’s stuck at a dead-end job. Sanrio and Netflix’s Retsuko is all about that nightlife where she can let out her RAGGEEE at one of the many karaoke bars across
Director Ton
The primary antagonist throughout the show is the sexist pig, and Retsuko’s boss, Director Ton. Pigs are a wildcard in how they’re represented in media (there’s a wide range even in cartoons); however, the creators made this one around the pejorative. His misogyny is overt and not at all veiled in a way both jarring and perfect for a cartoon villain. He would be too “on the nose” if it weren’t for the other office dynamics that cause Retsuko equal stress.
The English voice actor Josh Petersdorf is also known for playing another famous hog: Roadhog from Overwatch.
Haida
Though the Haida people are an indigenous group traditionally occupying the coast of British Columbia, the Haida of Aggretsuko is modeled after the Spotted Hyenas of Sub-Sahara Africa. As the anxious friend of Fenneko and Retsuko (who he has a major crush on), Haida is a fan favorite. Without even looking, we’ve seen more fancams of Haida than any other character in the show, which is a testament to the dedication viewers have to this doge.
Like his animal counterpart, Haida is a team player through and through. Spotted Hyenas live in large packs and work well together out of a need to survive. They’re also very smart, and a study published in the late 2000s showed that they outperform chimpanzees at cooperative problem-solving tasks.
Fenneko
Retsuko’s work friend is (even more than Haida, at the beginning) Fenneko. Modeled after the tiny fennec foxes of North Africa, Fenneko is almost as adorably animated and styled as Retsuko. The main difference comes down to Fenneko’s cool personality and sometimes boundary-crossing determination.
Pretty quickly, we learn that Fenneko is very social media savvy. (Some described her as stalkery.) This attribute mirrors the habits and physical features of fennec foxes. Making up almost half their body size, fennec foxes have large ears for regulating their body temperature (they live around deserts) and for listening for prey underground. That last part is very important for any internet sleuth.
Ms. Washimi and Director Gori
The animals representing the powerful ladies of upper management are the secretary bird (Ms. Washimi) and the gorilla (Director Gori.) Yes, the president’s secretary is represented by a real-world bird of prey (raptor) called the “secretary bird.” Both secretary birds and gorillas (no confirmation as to which type) are native to Africa. (Noticing a trend here?)
On that note, we’d be remiss not to bring up the elephant in the room about Gori’s “sassy” mannerisms and voice acting that only hurt the first season. The production team should absolutely know better, and the multi-ethnic, American voice actress has admitted to lying to people about being Black in the past and feeling uncomfortable about it. (It’s unclear if she did that here, though.)
Kabae
Our girl Kabae is a hot mess, but we love her. Modeled after the hippopotamus, Kabae doesn’t use her jaws to threaten to crush bones, but rather, to spread office gossip.
Kabae tea spilling helps move the story in a way that works well for Aggretsuko, but we would hate in a real office setting. (Like Mrs. is really in everyone’s business.) Despite her flaws, Kabae is one of the nicest people in the show. If she could just find a way to better release whatever is causing her to non-stop gossip and borderline toxic positivity, then she would be the best.
Tsunoda
Tsunoda uses her cuteness to coast at work and gets away with never wearing office attire. The latter is an overrated so-called adult standard. However, it’s a distinct visual reminder of her personality. While less important to the main plot, her arc in the story is very rewarding, so let’s get into the animal part.
Tsunoda is a Thomson Gazelle—the most common type of gazelle on the continent of Africa, which tends to roam the Serengeti ecosystem of Tanzania. There doesn’t appear to be any personality link, meaning this animal choice was probably made because these gazelles are adorable.
Other animals in Aggretsuko
These are characters that are a combination of less importance, harder to identify, and come in later seasons (like three and four) thus harder to talk about. Givin’ what we’ve revealed (or you already know) about some of the characters above, you can probably make some accurate guesses on the characters’ personality types below.
- Puko – Cougar
- Anai – Japanese Badger
- Tsubone – Komodo Dragon
- Ookami – Maned Wolf
- Manumaru – Pallas Cat
- Tadano – Donkey
- Hyoudou – Leopard
- Inui – Borzoi (Russian Hunting Dog)
- Manaka – Chinchilla
(Image: Netflix)
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