Review of Aggretsuko (ONA) 3rd Season

In the middle of watching Season 3, I started to wonder why this season wasn't hitting me quite as well as the other ones had. It's still good, don't get me wrong. It's just that, like, Retsuko is more consistently fulfilled and successful than me in this season, and I found it more alienating than reassuring. Resolving to become an idol singer was a great direction for her, personally, but it strays far from the workplace fare of the earlier seasons, and so it's less accessible. Pretty much, the same is true for Haida, who encounters a romantic foil other than Retsuko. He has noreason to ignore her, and yet the man remains a simp, and it's clear he will from the beginning. It's not relatable.

And then, in the end, they soft reset to keep the show going. Unlike with the other seasons, this was kind of infuriating. Retsuko and Haida have so many opportunities for growth, they take up some of them, and then they end up pretty much where they were. It's like the theme for this season was "find your dreams, acknowledge to yourself what they are, and then choose the path that you were already walking." Very strange.

I really enjoy Aggretsuko, and this season is no different. There are so many great little moments that make it a joy to breeze through in an afternoon. But, next time, I hope they commit better to the directions they want to take the characters.