“Aggretsuko: Metal to the Max” brings the rage in new form (Opinions portions of article)

This graphic novel contains the first three stories from the series that were previously released as single-issue comics. The first is from the creative duo of “The Black Mage” writer Daniel Barnes and D.J. Kirkland. Their tale is a fitting one for today’s time as the office gets swarmed with employees hit with the C-Virus or Carrier Virus. Retsuko and the remaining healthy coworkers mask up and get to safety. While giving readers a thrilling horror feel, the story presents an important message regarding work and health.

Jarrett Williams (“Rick and Morty” and “Dream Daddy” comic writer and artist) brings fans a story between Retsuko and her dik-dik (small horned African antelope) coworker Tsunoda. Retsuko tries to enjoy getting new outfits but Tsunoda drags her into the land of luxury and shockingly high prices. Williams reveals a little heartwarming side of the socialite who still sends Retsuko into her signature rage.

The final story in this collection is from Brenda Hickey, “My Little Pony” comic writer and artist. She gives Retsuko a unique challenge in the form of the Canadian goose Karen. The avian visitor stops by to take a look at how her Japanese counterparts are doing due to low employee satisfaction scores. Mr. Ton assigns Retsuko to show the guest around while trying to show that things are fine in the office. This new task and Karen’s evaluations give her a lot of stress but she tries to keep it in while in the presence of Karen. It seems that Hickey plays with the stereotype of “Karen” with her complaints but shows that things aren’t always different in different cultures and understanding can be reached.

While there are different artists in each chapter, they capture the style of “Aggretsuko” well while showing their own flairs. The slight differences keeps a fresh feel while the story adds a bit of depth to both Retsuko and her featured co-workers. “Metal to the Max” also contains a small gallery of the comic covers of the individual stories. Interested collectors may want to check out their local comic shops to see if they may have some of the special variants.

I was so excited when I saw "Aggretsuko: Metal to the Max" in the "Read Now" section of Netgalley. I am a fan of the Netflix original show that follows Retsuko, the red panda, an overworked company employee by day, and metal karaoke singer by night. Her adventures and endearing personality always get a chuckle out of me, and make a hectic day at work seem less so.

This graphic novel follows Retusko on three different adventures: trying to stay healthy at work while everyone else is falling ill, a day out shopping with her social media obsessed co-worker, and touring a consultant sent to raise the morale of the employees in the office. Just as in the show, her struggles are very relatable, and she always breaks down into metal karaoke singing to help her overcome them. The illustrations are very cute, and almost all the characters from the show make an appearance, which was great to see.

This is a great read for fans of the Netflix series. It takes about 15 min to read (about the same length of one episode) and is sure to put a smile on all of Retusko's fans' faces. Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I got really excited when I spotted that there is an Aggrestuko comic! I love the Netflix series.

The base story is this: Retsuko is a young office worker in Japan, who strives to be an ideal employee but she deals with a lot of work stress. Her one escape is karaoke, more specifically death metal karaoke. Her adventures manage to hit just the right notes on how personally taxing it can be to do everything right at work and putting our personal interests aside. The series is also very real about relationships, workplace friendships and the difficulties of a grown up life.

It is good to have seen at least a few episodes before you read the comic, as it doesn’t really have an introductiory part and you might wonder who are all these characters. Sadly, I did not like it as much as hoped, a lot of them feel like watered down, shallow caricatures of the characters I came to love in the show.

Each chapter seems to tackle a different topic. First, we deal with a virus outbreak at Restuko’s company. Corona, anyone? In the second part we go shopping and have a bit of a look into second hand stores vs. brand clothes. In part three a foreigner colleague makes a work visit. While the first two parts felt a bit rushed for me, this last part was written pretty well and it was an enjoyable journey with Resuko and how she deals with Karen, the Canadian office lady who is hellbent on improving employee satisfaction.

While the parts with Retsuko singing hit the same notes - this is where she gets real about issues that bothered her during the day - as there is little substance to her in the short stories she comes off meaner as she actually is.

I am unsure about a few translated phrases, like why people call her Calendar. I think it was short-timer in the show? That made a bit more sense, but I don’t get what Calendar even means in this context.

Overall this was a fun read, but I felt that the stories were a bit short to really have the same impact as the series.

Retsuko is an mild mannered accountant working in a mind-numbing corporate job. But when karaokeing, she turns into Aggretsuko: Metal to the Max.

When her entire office comes down with the “C-virus”, it’s Retsuko to the rescue. How you say? A vaccine? Social distancing? Bleach injections? No, of course not! It’s heavy metal karaoke over the office intercom!

We all wish getting over our current c-virus could be this easy. But honestly, no one has tried Retsuko’s solution. It may actually work.

There are two more full stories and a two-page short in addition to the one I describe above. One of the short stories is about Insta-fame. The other is about a Canadian coming to Retsuko’s office “to help optimize workflow synergy”. I loved the culture clash within the second.

This comic is a fun read. The characters look identical to the ones on the Netflix show. The plot is humorous. For fans of the show, like me, Aggretsuko: Metal to the Max is easily worth 5 stars!

Thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of my favorite anime on Netflix right now so I was super excited to see my favorite heavy-metal red panda, Retsuko, in manga form. All the characters are here but with brand new stories not previously done in the Netflix show. The three stories here include an office contagion of zombie-like proportions, a long day of shopping with a social media obsessed shopaholic and a visit from an international division of her company who comes in with a bang and is determined to turn their Japanese office into a copy of her own Canadian office. The first story was by far my favorite and I laughed out loud a few times. Plus, we get plenty of screaming heavy metal from the leading lady herself.

I would highly recommend these stories for anyone who is already a fan of Retsuko or those who have no idea what I’m talking about. This was a great read for me after an especially dark and depressing series of books and these quick short stories really brightened my day.

Received via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This graphic novel was every bit as good as the excellent tv show! Retsuko navigates the world of work with all the enthusiasm that can be expected from an emotionally exhausted red panda. Humour, truth and just a little touch of nihilism are definitely Aggretsuko’s brand. If you’re a tired old millennial then Aggretsuko is for you!

Fans of the Netflix series will love this comic series. Aggretsuko is the perfect relatable main character I've always wanted. She is adorable, and feisty while still being flawed. She makes you laugh, cry, and rage all in the span of minutes.

I may be biased since I'm obsessed with her, and think everyone needs a little bit more Aggretsuko in their lives.

A fun read with art that’s fairly true to the show. If this is your first exposure to the Aggretsuko world, it will not hook you. It’s just not as powerful and original. But if you know and love Retsuko/Aggretsuko and her world, this will give you your fix until the next season comes out.

I wish this would have had more of Gori, Secretary Bird, and Kabae (the hippo), which are my favorite characters on the show.

I enjoyed the Canadian workplace consultant character and its commentary on multinational corporation work culture.

Overall, would recommend but not a must read.

I love Aggretsuko! Ever since I first laid eyes on her Netflix show, I was hooked! This has led to purchases of funko pops and pyjamas bottoms adorned with her face.

Metal to the Max is a great companion to the show, all the usual suspects are there - her horrible boss Ton, Fenneko, Tsunoda, Haida and the fabulous ladies Washimi and Gori. It has several stories including the dreaded lurgy coming to the office, an annoying shopping trip and a work visit that plans to increase morale.

There is plenty of Karaoke and dry humour plus it is as fun and colourful as the tv show.

A definite for fans!

I really enjoyed this comic. This perfectly fits into the world that the tv show creates and i thought that the characters were all true to their tv counterparts. The art style was great and i would love for more comics in the Retsuko world.

I haven't yet watched the anime of Aggretsuko, but I've heard a ton about it and have wanted to check it out. When I saw there was going to be a comics series featuring her and her fellow characters, I had to pick it up. The art style perfectly matched what I have seen of the characters and anime and Retsuko was a great character to follow. Her bouts of using karaoke to blow off steam was hilarious and relatable at the same time. If you're a fan of the anime or if you just want to get acquainted with the characters and feel it out, check out this one!

I enjoyed the stories in this comic! I enjoyed seeing Aggretsuko in situations I hadn't seen before. And the writer and artist keep the look and feel of the series. A must for Aggretsuko fans!

This Manga was hilariously relatable. From the "C-virus", to Aggretsuko's somewhat people pleasing nature, to the different types of people she meets at work.. I couldn't help but feel a strong bond with our little red panda (aka Aggretsuko)

Even though I've yet to see the anime adaption, the moments when Aggretsuko and her co-workers screamed their frustrations at karaoke.. I FELT that. And I also loved that they made little rhymes for their raps 😂

After reading this Manga, it's just convinced me that I need to watch the Netflix anime sooner because I just want to see more of Aggretsuko 😆


Thank you so much to Netgalley and Oni Press for providing this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I adore Aggretsuko and relate to all the drama so much. The first issue talking about a virus? So funny, and to think this was first published in February? Us, sweet summer children.
Loved the art and the colors, it made me smile and laugh and that is everything I was looking for.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of Aggretsuko's first trade! I LOVE Aggretsuko! Aggretsuko is a sanrio character, she's an angry red panda. She likely lives in the same world as Hello Kitty, but alas, HK never makes a cameo.

Aggretsuko is in her early 20's, and just trying to figure out her life while dealing with her nagging and societal pressure to find a man. She works in the accounting office of some kind of company, and is still just starting to experience life on her own. She experiences a decent amount of anxiety, especially at work, but has found that doing "death metal" karaoke helps relieve her stress. Her co-workers are hilarious, and run the gamut of work stereotypes. She has two older friends--women in their 40's maybe, but possibly 30s--who offer her insight into some of her experiences.

I have watched her show on Netflix, and these comics are a great extension of that. I think that watching the show probably helps with some of what is going on in this trade, which involves an illness that spread throughout the office, a frivolous friend who cannot get off social media, and dealing with a new co-worker from Canada named Karen. This is definitely a fun read, but probably not for kids, more because of all the office storylines that I think kids wouldn't care about that than because of language or violence.

The comic is rather easy to read an enjoyable, has kept to the tone of the show and is very visually appealing.

However, I can't justify giving it a rating higher than 3 stars because of the first story - it is about the "c-virus", a spreading in Retsuko's office and requireling military intervention to be stopped. I realise it was originally published in Feburary, but putting it inside this combined edition seems kind of tasteless considering the current situation. The pandemic has been traumatic for many people

The other stories were pretty fun, and the reason for the rating not being too low. I think the second story, Mall Madness, was my favourite.

I love the show Aggretsuko and this just felt like a couple new episodes! The illustrations are exactly like the show. Just a great quick read!

I’m a huge fan of the anime show, so I definitely wanted to give this a read. I can’t seem to get enough of Retsuko and her daily monotony, so this was the perfect remedy.

Told in four short stories, we are entertained with more office antics and shenanigans, while Retsuko deals with the work life balance that seems to be pushing her over the edge. While this is a light and quick read, this does miss the subtle depth that the show was masterful at pulling off. The show is so relatable it makes you uncomfortable, and it often feels like you’re staring at a mirror image of yourself. This graphic novel misses the nuance of that, which was a big element to what made Aggretsuko so popular to me.

I did find the virus story a bit odd. I mean, the timing couldn’t be better, but maybe it would’ve been funnier if Covid hadn’t killed thousands of people and changed our lives for who knows how long. I get it if the illness was originally meant to be the regular office flu, but all I see is Covid.

The art style isn’t the same. I’m not sure I love it.

This is a fun graphic novel to enjoy for a quick spark of entertainment, but it misses what made the show special. It’s great for a first timer who has yet to experience the anime, and for anyone who relates to the daily grind of office life.

Daniel Barnes and Brenda Hickey share an electrifying and energetic text, bright and vibrant work that is sure to engage readers. Lots of graphic novel fun.

ARC Copy...cute, zany and liking the iconic style of artwork and sometimes...one just need sto scream out aloud at the end of the work day!