Retsuko's campaign tour finally begins, and she's already off to a good start... or so she believes. Despite putting on a brave face and addressing the issues in the country, everyone familiar with the name "Aggressive Retsuko" is expecting her to do her iconic Death Metal voice. Add that with the competition, Jiro Haida, using various connections for a substantial campaign boost, and it appears the political battle is all but over.
It will take someone close, and the last person she expected, to inspire her to let it all out for the people.
But the important question is... what happens after the votes are in?
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Haida gets hit by a truck, though it wasn't lethal. He had a feeling that either Juzo or Jiro is the reason behind the attempt to hurt or scare Retsuko from running and hired that person to do the dirty work. Later, Jiro comes to Haida after the election and tells him point blank that he had nothing to do with the attack, which would mean Juzo was apparently willing to pay someone to assault his own son just to secure his political career.
- Ambiguous Situation: What Shikabane does for freelance, or what led to her living in the internet cafe remains a mystery, but Retsuko seems to have finally gotten through to her during their karaoke session so she can seek out a life outside. The ending shows her checking out different apartments; a sign that she is trying to improve herself, though not immediately.
- And the Adventure Continues: There is no real finality when the elections and series end. Everyone returns to work while there is an implication that others will be seeking a new lease on life. What happens now will be up to the audience to assume or imagine.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: When she returns on stage, she begins her speech by telling the audience about how annoying it is to use the tough soy sauce packets in the store bento box set. They think she has nothing else to show for her speech until she moves on to complaining about how the average streaming apps work, then criticizing her friends and coworkers. After all that, she finally works up the rage needed to inspire them to voice their thoughts on Japan's issues.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: Retsuko complains about how her favorite streaming app cuts on a timer and set of other recommendations in the middle of the end credits of the movie she finished. This is an obvious jab at streaming apps in general, including the anime's own Netflix.
- Bittersweet Ending: Leaning HEAVILY into sweet. The election storyline ends with Jiro winning the house seat over Retsuko, but her campaign work clearly inspired the younger generation to awaken their inner rage and challenge the older generation in the political world and outside of it more. It also apparently triggered a Heel–Face Turn in Jiro as he finally calls out his father’s kingmaker attitude with his own anger, tells him he’s going to be handling his own political career himself from now on, and even announces his plans to institute an "Old Age Extermination" bill that would make all politicians retire when they reach 65 and make way for younger minds to have a say instead. Outside of this, after Haida’s initial failure in helping Shikabane to get a stable job and home and leave behind the Internet cafe life as she did for him, he and Retsuko take her to the karaoke bar where they successfully help her unlock her own rage after she joins Retsuko in a Death Metal Scream session, and she’s last seen looking through apartment advertisements. And best of all, after five seasons full of ups and downs and Will They or Won't They?, Retsuko and Haida make the jump to sign a marriage registration form before the final debate and end the series in a loving and stable engagement/marriage with both of them having steady work, and Haida has even been upgraded from being out of frame in her family’s photo to being right in the middle of Retsuko and her smiling father, showing that he’s now come to accept his daughter’s fiancé/husband as well.
- Call-Back: Retsuko is shocked that Ton actually remembers her calling him a "shitty boss" back in the first season during the office party.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Jiro decides to go through the rest of the campaign his own way, calling his father an old fossil who shouldn't be in politics anymore.
- Everyone Has Standards: Following the results of the election Jiro visits Retsuko and Haida and lets them know that he learned about the truck attack, but he had nothing to do with it. He doesn't expect Haida to believe him, but he does anyway since he is too much of a straight arrow to resort to that.
- Extra-Long Episode: The longest in the series, spanning around 33 minutes.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Whoever was tasked with attacking Retsuko's campaign office on Juzo or Jiro's behalf almost cause her to drop out in fear of seeing others hurt. All it does is give Haida an epiphany that the old-timers have been doing everything they can to keep the young quiet for years, and decides they should fight to the end. What’s more, the passionate emotions of love flowing between Haida and Retsuko at that moment as they reaffirm their devotion to each other and how much they care about the other person and their hopes, struggles and dreams gives the two the final push they need to sign a marriage registration form. To top it all off, Retsuko choosing to stay in the campaign to the end due to this affirmation may have very well influenced Jiro's decision to propose a bill making politicians over 65 to retire to allow younger generations to have a say in politics as his way of spiting his father, meaning the entire attack not only failed its ultimate purpose, but also rendered Juzo's efforts to make Jiro a political puppet in his steed pointless.
- Not So Stoic: Retsuko accomplishes what Haida failed and helps the normally deadpan Shikabane to sing out whatever frustrations is on her mind, though we don't hear either of them, with the same Death Metal face as her.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Despite all Retsuko and her friends have done, Jiro still wins the House election. However, her campaign still resolved their goal of awakening the rage in the younger generation, particularly Shikabane, and this will no doubt inspire future greater changes in the political world and means that candidates with Juzo’s mentality won’t be able to just sit on their laurels anymore. What’s more, the only reason Jiro is able to overtake the election polls is by finally defying his father’s will and telling him point blank that he’s going to be handling his political career his own way instead of his from now on, even outright declaring his intention to institute a new bill that will force politicians to retire at a certain age to make way for his generation, which means all of Juzo’s dirty work to get Jiro into office as a political puppet amounted to nothing in the end.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: At the start of “Counterattack Rage” song, Retsuko takes her time to expose her colleagues’s flaws, like the loud, nosy woman who spends all her time gossiping (Kabae), the flirty woman with a sickly sweet (and fake) voice (Tsunoda), the cyber stalker (Fenneko), the arrogant, unhinged new hire (Anai), the shy guy with a terrible way to sneeze (Haida), and an ungrateful, old-fashioned boss (Ton). Each of them react accordingly, from mild annoyance to shock, expect Haida who bashfully concedes to her point, and Ton, who had previously encouraged her to let her anger and rage loose at what annoys or oppresses her like she had to him before at the office party- and actually looks pretty dang proud as he’s jamming to that part of her song.
- Wham Line: Jiro manages to gain half of the audience's attention after the proposing a new "Old Age Extermination" bill that would make all politicians retire when they reach 65. Both his father and brother can't help but laugh at this announcement and it is implied to have been enough to win the seat.
- What Ever Happened To The Mouse: Ikari is not seen again after the elections are over. It is possible that since Retsuko lost, the House of Rage has shut down.
