ONA
Description
Retsuko is a 25-year-old anthropomorphic red panda working as an accountant in the accounting department of a Japanese trading firm. Her birthday is November 6th, making her a Scorpio, and her blood type is A. The character was created by the company Sanrio, known for producing cute and family-friendly characters, as a mascot who appeals to an older, working adult audience.
In her daily professional life, Retsuko presents herself as a demure, polite, soft-spoken, and diligent employee. She frequently endures unreasonable demands, sexist treatment from her male superiors, and heavy workloads without open complaint, often being the one forced to work overtime. This frustration is compounded by annoying coworkers and the general disenchantment of the nine-to-five work culture. However, this sweet exterior hides a vicious temper and a boiling rage that she is unable to express in the office due to social and professional pressures. She often drinks alcohol to cope and has a somewhat excessive drinking habit.
Retsuko’s primary coping mechanism for her repressed anger is death metal karaoke. Unable to confront her tormentors directly, she regularly rents a room at a local karaoke club to scream her lungs out. During these sessions, her appearance transforms drastically: she adopts a style similar to corpse paint or KISS-inspired makeup, her teeth become sharper, her tongue may appear split, and the kanji character for fervor or "Retsu" (烈) appears on her forehead. This persona allows her to release her pent-up emotions about work, love, and the difficulties of adult life in a safe, private space. She is also known to use the company bathroom for a quick scream when a full karaoke session is not possible. The series establishes that this death metal talent runs in her family, as she inherited it from her grandmother.
Retsuko’s role in the story is that of a protagonist navigating the clash between idealistic dreams and a frustrating reality. She initially longs for a glamorous life as an office lady in Marunouchi and dreams of marrying a perfect husband to achieve a comfortable lifestyle, but these desires are often at odds with her circumstances. As the series progresses, her primary motivation shifts from simple venting to a search for agency, authenticity, and a healthy work-life balance. She learns to set boundaries and realizes that some difficult coworkers are not necessarily bad people.
Her key relationships significantly influence her development. She maintains a supportive friendship with her coworkers Fenneko and Haida, who form her core social circle at the office. More influential are her mentors, Gori (a gorilla) and Washimi (a secretary bird), two high-level executives she idolizes. After discovering her secret, they take her under their wing, teaching her about self-care, yoga, and navigating office politics. In her romantic life, she briefly dates a similarly quiet red panda named Resasuke, but the relationship ends after he rejects her death metal side. She later has a significant relationship with a tech entrepreneur named Tadano, but they part ways due to his rejection of the institution of marriage, which conflicts with her desire to have a family. Her primary romantic arc is with her longtime friend and admirer, Haida, a spotted hyena. Though she initially rejects his confession, their relationship evolves over the series, and they officially become a couple and eventually marry, supporting each other through unemployment and family conflicts.
Throughout the series, Retsuko undergoes considerable development. She begins as a passive pushover but gradually embraces being more honest with her peers and asserting herself. She gains public confidence, transforming her secret death metal singing into a legitimate and lucrative side career. By the final season, she has largely gotten her life together, achieved a healthier relationship with her job, and become more comfortable with her dual identity. Her character arc culminates in a display of increased agency when she runs for political office against a corrupt establishment, using her voice to fight for meaningful change.
Her most notable ability is her powerful and passionate death metal singing voice, which she uses as an emotional outlet and can improvise lyrics related to specific frustrations. This ability is so potent that the sound waves from her microphone have been shown to physically affect a room, cracking walls and affecting those nearby. When enraged, she also exhibits minor shapeshifting traits and is sometimes depicted with fire bursting behind her. Despite her shy nature, she has displayed surprising physical strength, such as opening a jar that larger animal coworkers could not.
In her daily professional life, Retsuko presents herself as a demure, polite, soft-spoken, and diligent employee. She frequently endures unreasonable demands, sexist treatment from her male superiors, and heavy workloads without open complaint, often being the one forced to work overtime. This frustration is compounded by annoying coworkers and the general disenchantment of the nine-to-five work culture. However, this sweet exterior hides a vicious temper and a boiling rage that she is unable to express in the office due to social and professional pressures. She often drinks alcohol to cope and has a somewhat excessive drinking habit.
Retsuko’s primary coping mechanism for her repressed anger is death metal karaoke. Unable to confront her tormentors directly, she regularly rents a room at a local karaoke club to scream her lungs out. During these sessions, her appearance transforms drastically: she adopts a style similar to corpse paint or KISS-inspired makeup, her teeth become sharper, her tongue may appear split, and the kanji character for fervor or "Retsu" (烈) appears on her forehead. This persona allows her to release her pent-up emotions about work, love, and the difficulties of adult life in a safe, private space. She is also known to use the company bathroom for a quick scream when a full karaoke session is not possible. The series establishes that this death metal talent runs in her family, as she inherited it from her grandmother.
Retsuko’s role in the story is that of a protagonist navigating the clash between idealistic dreams and a frustrating reality. She initially longs for a glamorous life as an office lady in Marunouchi and dreams of marrying a perfect husband to achieve a comfortable lifestyle, but these desires are often at odds with her circumstances. As the series progresses, her primary motivation shifts from simple venting to a search for agency, authenticity, and a healthy work-life balance. She learns to set boundaries and realizes that some difficult coworkers are not necessarily bad people.
Her key relationships significantly influence her development. She maintains a supportive friendship with her coworkers Fenneko and Haida, who form her core social circle at the office. More influential are her mentors, Gori (a gorilla) and Washimi (a secretary bird), two high-level executives she idolizes. After discovering her secret, they take her under their wing, teaching her about self-care, yoga, and navigating office politics. In her romantic life, she briefly dates a similarly quiet red panda named Resasuke, but the relationship ends after he rejects her death metal side. She later has a significant relationship with a tech entrepreneur named Tadano, but they part ways due to his rejection of the institution of marriage, which conflicts with her desire to have a family. Her primary romantic arc is with her longtime friend and admirer, Haida, a spotted hyena. Though she initially rejects his confession, their relationship evolves over the series, and they officially become a couple and eventually marry, supporting each other through unemployment and family conflicts.
Throughout the series, Retsuko undergoes considerable development. She begins as a passive pushover but gradually embraces being more honest with her peers and asserting herself. She gains public confidence, transforming her secret death metal singing into a legitimate and lucrative side career. By the final season, she has largely gotten her life together, achieved a healthier relationship with her job, and become more comfortable with her dual identity. Her character arc culminates in a display of increased agency when she runs for political office against a corrupt establishment, using her voice to fight for meaningful change.
Her most notable ability is her powerful and passionate death metal singing voice, which she uses as an emotional outlet and can improvise lyrics related to specific frustrations. This ability is so potent that the sound waves from her microphone have been shown to physically affect a room, cracking walls and affecting those nearby. When enraged, she also exhibits minor shapeshifting traits and is sometimes depicted with fire bursting behind her. Despite her shy nature, she has displayed surprising physical strength, such as opening a jar that larger animal coworkers could not.