A friend recently told us about a show which we 'must watch', called Aggretsuko.

Whilst I am not particularly interested in watching TV shows, this show is only 20 minutes, and is said to deal with some frighteningly accurate representations of society - whilst still managing to stay as cute and fluffy as possible!

'Aggretsuko', which is short for 'aggressive Retsuko', is about a 25 year old woman (a red fox in fact!) dealing with the struggles of life in an office in modern day Japan. And whilst I have never experienced this myself, I have heard from many that this show's portrayal is extremely accurate and deals with many topics which many are unhappy to bring up in mainstream conversation.

I have watched two episodes so far, and what resonates with me personally is how after having lived in Japan for 13 months, I recognise the surroundings in every scene. Whether it is a Karaoke bar, an Izakaya, the subway, or simply walking through the streets of Japan - it feels strikingly familiar, despite the fact that the characters are all brightly coloured fluffy animals!

The media seem to LOVE this series, and it has not only received incredible reviews, but has also sparked some discussion about sexism in the workplace, extreme cases of overtime, lack of a realistic salary, and also the things that people will do to impress their boss in the hope of getting a promotion.

I found the show to be very amusing, and love the way that Retsuko changes from being happy and smiley at the office, to going straight to karaoke or an izakaya to get drunk and release stress! 

I was very surprised to hear that this show is from Sanrio, who design Hello Kitty and all manner of harmless and kawaii characters!

I guess the socio-polital nature of their new venture is a sign of the times!

If you get the chance to check this out, I definitely reccommend it. It is free to watch online and on Netflix.
Each episode is only 15-20 minutes long, and I can guarantee that you will laugh out loud at least once per episode! :-)

Have a great day everyone, and remember....

'It is important to work HARD - but not TOO hard!'

David

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

 

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.