Review: Aggretsuko #3

Karens are having a moment. This issue of Aggretsuko takes us through the full gamut of how obnoxious and useful a good Karen can be. Aggretsuko is an Asian anthropomorphic office comedy with the lead character Retsuko having a conflict which drives her into a rage each issue. Here she is playing host to a Canadian goose named Karen who has traveled from west to east to share her ‘wisdom’ with the eastern branch.

Retsuko’s boss Mr Ton wants nothing to do with Karen so he forces Retsuko to play guide and host as Karen scours the office for opportunities for improvement. What follows is a very good skewering of how someone who has no idea how an office should work tries to improve a work environment without trying to understand the people and processes unique to that environment.

We’ve all been the victim of meaningless, forced motivational slogans, software updates and the burden of added work that can come with continuous ‘improvements’ which do nothing to relieve our work load. But in the end, Retsuko not only learns to relate to Karen as an individual, but also learns to appreciate the one important lesson Karen brings with her. Karen reminds Retsuko that she deserves to be respected and treated well by her superiors. She gives Retsuko the courage to stand up for herself on her own terms.

This last part feels inauthentic to the office ‘fixer’. This role is always done by someone who realizes where their paycheck comes from and thus never truly challenges the authority within any environment. But it does make for an enjoyable story and certainly is the advantage of having a Karen around in other situations, where ‘asking for the manager’ to challenge any system can sometimes be useful in bringing about larger change.

The art throughout the issue is very simple and suits more of a benign cartoon style than seems to forget that this book is basic itself around the protagonist’s anger. This is punctuated though by a scene in which Karen and Retsuko embrace their mutual love of metal and the art style elevates itself to suit the metal performance. Having more of that edge throughout the issue would have made it more visually interesting.

This issue of Aggretsuko plays out as more of a benign office comedy rather than a more aggressive social satire. But it is enjoyable to anyone who is being forced back into an office environment and realizing how many parts of the corporate system are designed to slow us down rather than maximizing our efficiency and encouraging balance.

Writing: 3.5 stars of 5
Art: 3.5 stars of 5
Colors: 3 stars of 5

Overall: 3.3 stars of 5

Writer: Brenda Hickey
Artwork: Brenda Hickey
Colors: Sarah Stern and Brenda Hickey

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.