Aggretsuko is a comic series that's based on the Aggretsuko anime and published by Oni Press.
The series follows Retsuko, the Red Panda, as she continues to deal with the struggles of being young. Armed with her trusty karaoke microphone and with the help of her friends, she may just be able to overcome the challenges of her job, her relationships and may just find what she’s been searching for – love.
After the comic's initial six-issue run, it will be followed up by a new series titled Aggretsuko: Meet Her Friends, which focuses on various side characters of the series.
These comics contain examples of:
- Achilles' Heel: The flu zombies are extremely sensitive to loud sounds. Something Retsuko has no shortage of.
- Barehanded Blade Block: Resasuke blocks Haida's attempt at shoving him away using a mop with his bare hands... then promptly sneezes at him. Haida was unamused.
- Brick Joke: Retsuko spends the entire first issue trying to avoid getting sick from her co-workers… only to call in sick the next day.
- The Cameo: Several of the characters from the TBS shorts show up as part of the crowd of sick workers in issue 1.
- Daydream Surprise: Haida sees Retsuko ditching the office chair race for him after he crashed thanks to Tsunoda's banana peel, only to reveal on the next panel that it was just his imagination. Cue his embarassment.
- Everyone Has Standards: In the first issue, Ton maybe be sexist, borderline sadistic to his employees, and at time lazy... but even he says that coming to work sick and putting your job before your health is stupid.
- Karen, despite being nitpicky and disrespectful for the first few pages, absolutely flips out once she found out Ton has been abusing his underlings, like asking Retsuko to serve him tea.
- Episode of the Dead: The first issue “Down With The Sickness” is a send-up of Zombie Apocalypse stories. Most of Retsuko’s co-workers act like a horde of Plague Zombies after being infected with the flu, leaving it up to her, Haida, and a few others to fight them off. Those who get sick turn Green Around the Gills and have snot bubbles dripping from their noses.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Haida pulls a non-lethal one of these in issue 1 to protect Retsuko from her sick co-workers as she escapes in an elevator. He's already infected anyway.
- Improvised Weapon: Retsuko catches the last remaining uninfected coworkers hunkered down in a room wielding some interesting weaponry. Haida has a mop, Fenneko has a pair of staplers, and Ton and Komiya have golf clubs.
- It Has Been an Honor: Komiya to Ton as he was being infected by Tsunoda.
- Last Stand: With Haida starting to show symptoms of the virus, he shoves Retsuko into an elevator to safety and stages one himself against the rest of the office.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Retsuko, using the company voice communications, lets out her signature Metal Scream and incapacitates the infected flu zombies.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Having a sick day at work has never been this interesting...
- The entire sports festival in issue 6. From something like carrying a stack of papers to crumpled paper wastebasketball (puts whatever you did in sixth grade to shame), they were all turned into something the Olympics would be proud of.
- Plague Episode: The first issue was about a "Carrier Virus" spreading at Retsuko's company due to everybody coming in to work sick, and Retsuko and her friends trying to avoid their zombie-like infected coworkers.
- Real Men Take It Black: In the mini-comic that ends Issue #3, Retsuko goes with Tsunoda to get coffee, but is infuriated by the long line and Tsunoda's dithering on what she wants. How does Retsuko take her coffee? Why do you even need to ask?
- Say My Name: Retsuko calls out to Haida as the elevator door closes after he shoves her into an elevator as he tries to stave off the flu zombies. Resasuke already infected him anyway.
- A more humorous version, Ton calling out to Komiya as he gets grabbed and infected by Tsunoda... becoming her next Instagram moment.
- Shout-Out: The office chair race in issue 6 brings in some references to popular franchises, such as the corner drifting, the banana peel, as well as Tsunoda's "keikaku".
- Troubled Fetal Position: Resasuke ended up in one clutching his ears after getting reprimanded by Haida for sneezing at him. This is how they found out those that have been infected are sensitive to loud noises.
- The Virus: Parodied in issue 1 with the “C-Virus”, or “Carrier Virus” a strain of the flu unique to the company Retsuko works at. Fenneko says it’s propagated by bad self-care and a toxic work environment.
