Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Aggretsuko’ Season 5 on Netflix, a Fitting Conclusion to the Cutest Workplace Comedy Ever (2024)

Netflix’s adorable workplace comedy Aggretsuko has entered its fifth season, and it feels like the end of an era. Though the series is based on and named after its titular red panda lead Retsuko (Erica Mendez) with a penchant for death metal karaoke, it’s grown and expanded to include all of her friends and associates as well, like hyena-turned-boyfriend Haida (Ben Diskin) and her best friend Fenneko (Katelyn Gault).

Though it may seem like just another adorable anime based on Sanrio’s cadre of cute stationery-centric characters, it’s much more than that. It’s on par with live-action workplace comedies and hits home for many in a way that makes it feel like more than an anime. Its final season will be the curtain call that brings a story that many have been following for the entire five years to an end, which means it has to stick the landing. As far as the first episode is concerned, it certainly does.

AGGRETSUKO SEASON 5: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We see a close-up of Haida clad in a knight costume with a flowing red cape, telling his story of “arriving in a new world” while acting like a warrior in a video game. He slays an orc warrior with his “Lightning Rumbling Thunder” attack.

The Gist: After four seasons, Retsuko has been through a series of changes. She’s grown significantly from a shy salary worker into an independent young woman who isn’t afraid to hide her love for death metal singing. She’s made several indispensable friends at her office job, and she’s finally in a relationship with the person who’s spent every season pining over her since the first episode: Haida.

With Retsuko developing healthy relationships with everyone else in her life, turning an eye toward marriage and settling down, however, Haida is now jobless after the events of the fourth season and is doing nothing to prioritize finding employment.

When he’s suddenly evicted from his parents’ apartment building he’s lived in for free over the past few seasons, he has no idea where to go or what to do. He’s out on his furry behind, and he’s got to figure out what to do before he completely loses control of his life as well as girlfriend Retsuko.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? It’s hard to find anything exactly like Aggretsuko, but there are other anime series that fit its tone well, like Princess Jellyfish, which follows a group of older characters (not teens for once) trying to live their lives, as well as Beastars, which follows a group of anthropomorphic animals as they navigate some particularly difficult relationships.

Our Take: Aggretsuko Season 5 starts off strong by presenting Haida with a predicament that he can’t just sit by and ignore for once. That’s his go-to strategy when dealing with things he doesn’t want to face. Without a home, he’s forced to figure out something to do that will keep him off the streets. It probably had to happen for Haida, because otherwise he’d never have made the move to actually change his life.

The series’ shifted focus to Haida for the first stretch of episodes gives us some rare character-building opportunities for Retsuko’s new love interest, and the hope that he’ll actually turn a corner to be different this time around. It’s highly unlikely, but seeing him make any attempt at all at figuring life out is refreshing in its own way.

Meanwhile, the comedy that arises from watching Retsuko try to figure out whether Haida is cheating on her or just being his usual hapless self is one major reason you’ll keep pressing play on the next episode. It took forever to see these two together. Now, if Haida could just get past himself and be the man Retsuko wants…he’d be golden.

Sex and Skin: None at all.

Parting Shot: ​​Haida receives a phone call from Retsuko, who guesses that Haida has been spending all night gaming instead of looking for a job. She makes an ultimatum: until he’s employed, she can no longer see him, which shocks Haida.

Sleeper Star: Fenneko (Katelyn Gault) is as hilarious as she’s always been, with the longest robotic “hahahahahaha” (her trademark) we’ve heard in some time. Her voice is always a treat, and hearing her back once again as the fennec fox makes this season feel cozier than ever.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Hey Calendar,” Director Ton (Josh Petersdorf) asks Retsuko, using the nickname he once gave her. “How’s Haida doing?”

“He’s great,” Retsuko replies. Ton doesn’t seem to believe her, and this kicks off several other of the pair’s shared friends asking how he’s doing. Haida is at home playing video games every day, jobless and losing money by the day. Haida is, well, not great, which is a thread this season will follow.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Aggretsuko Season 5 is a fantastic return to form for a series that’s remained consistently strong over the years since its debut. It gives us a look at the other side with what Haida’s going through, and hopefully the beginning of some closure and a happy ending for Retsuko. It probably goes without saying that she’s been through a lot since we first met her.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter:@MolotovCupcake.