Okay

Okay

So, Aggretsuko season 2. We had some good things, some bad, but overall enjoyable & I liked it! That said, here are my thoughts:

I’m so glad that Kabae was given more depth this season! I liked her character in season 1 but was slightly disappointed that she wasn’t given nuance like some of the other characters in the first season, but here she shined & I’m so happy. #KabaeBestMom2019

Anai was… honestly uncomfortable. I’ve dealt woth people like that before (& I’ve even been that person, but thankfully someone told me I was wrong almost immediately), they are not good for a work environment & I genuinely think he should have been fired. His redemption was too sudden & barely explored in any way & that doesn’t sit well w/ me :/

Next, Tadano. Most of the fans love him, but there is a growing group that see him as creepy & possessive. That isn’t the case. Speaking as someone who’s been in Retsuko’s place, they were both in the wrong because they didn’t communicate properly. Yes, they split up because they had different goals in life, but I feel a bigger aspect of them breaking up is that they didn’t communicate well, which is a very important part of any relationship, romantic or not. Tadano should have paid better attention to Retsuko’s reactions to being in such a public light and her feelings in general instead of assuming what he wanted was the right thing, and Retsuko should have talked about her feelings with Tadano from the beginning instead of bottling them up because she has a voice in her relationships. She’s scared to express herself outside of death metal for my next problem…

Finally, here we are. Retsuko’s mom. She is… A lot. Retsuko’s mom brings up a lot of bad memories because I have a father similar to her, demanding and furious when they don’t get their way, while also being infantalizing and taking away freedom of choice. She’s also invasive, both literally and figuratively, and doesn’t respect her daughter as an individual, talking over her and assuming she knows best. It’s played for laughs, but this is a really negative relationship and is what molds anxiety and self-doubt in a person, especially during childhood, and it’s a large contributor to how Retsuko is today.

On a more positive note, I did like the arc between Gori & Washimi. It shows that even best friends can have differing viewpoints about subjects, and while they can be petty about it, willing to put aside those differences for the sake of someone else.