Aggretsuko Season 4 - What We Know So Far

While Sanrio is most known for producing Hello Kitty, another one of the company's major cultural icons is its metal-loving and adorable red panda, Aggretsuko. Although the character has been around since 2015, Retsuko made her mainstream debut when the mascot received her own self-titled Netflix anime in 2018.

Aggretsuko mainly centers around Retsuko, a 25-year-old accounting worker who tirelessly tries to maintain her composure when dealing with her frustrating co-workers and terrible boss. However, after a long and hard day at work, Retsuko unleashes all her pent-up fury by screaming her favorite death metal songs in a karaoke room. The series features a ton of complex and well-written anthropomorphic characters that each deal with their own fair share of obstacles. From career goals to marriage, Aggretsuko hits every crisis that people in their mid-20s have felt before.

Now after three seasons, Aggretsuko is currently gearing up for another chapter in the series. While details are a bit limited, here's everything we know so far about what's going on with Aggretsuko season 4.

Currently, there is no official release date for Aggretsuko season 4. A fourth season was initially announced via Netflix's NX Twitter account on December 23, 2020. The post was a colorful Christmas-themed drawing featuring Retsuko, Haida, and Fenneko in Santa and elf outfits. While the fourth season was confirmed in the tweet, there weren't any hints as to when fans could expect it to drop.

However, based on the previous season premiere schedules, Aggretsuko season 4 might be arriving sooner than fans think. The wait between the first and second seasons of Aggretsuko was approximately 14 months. This also happened to be around the same amount of time between seasons 2 and 3. If this trend continues, fans can hopefully see their favorite red panda back in metalhead action around fall of 2021 since season 3 premiered in August 2020, meaning that a potential season 4 debut could land in October 2021.

Based on the banner drawing that was released alongside the season 4 announcement, it's safe to assume that Retsuko, Haida, and Fenneko are definitely going to make a return. However, the fate of other characters is a bit murky. Since there aren't any exact details regarding season 4, it's hard to say which fan favorites will show up in the series' upcoming chapter.

Based on previous seasons, most of Retsuko's co-workers always manage to make an appearance. If this holds true for season 4, fans can expect to see characters like Tsunoda, Komiya, and Kabae. Additionally, office characters that play larger roles in Retsuko's life such as her insufferable boss Ton and her best friends and successful professionals, Gori and Washimi, are sure to make a comeback.

However, it's unsure if newer characters that made their debut in the show's third season will make a return. There have been characters like Retsuko's ex, Resasuke, that only showed up for a single season in the past and were mostly used as plot devices to help further Retsuko's development. Since most of season 3 was centered around Retsuko's idol career, new characters that were involved in this arc like Retsuko's bandmates, Manaka, Hidarin, and Migi, and their manager, Hyoudou, may also end up getting axed by the show's writers. However, characters like Retsuko's ex tech genius, Tadano, did have a decent amount of screen time in season 3 after making his debut in season 2, so there is a chance fans can see all of Retsuko's idol friends in Aggretsuko season 4.

A trailer for Aggretsuko season 4 has yet to be released. However, as the year progresses and if the aforementioned release trend holds up, fans will hopefully get a trailer for Aggretsuko season 4 in the coming months. Sadly without a trailer, it's hard to determine what sort of obstacles Retsuko and her friends will have to overcome.

Like most anime, Aggretsuko's seasons are primarily divided into arcs. The most recent pop idol plotline in season 3 had Retsuko momentarily achieve her dreams of being a death metal star, but they were abruptly ripped away when she was violently assaulted by a crazed fan. Although Haida was there to save the day, Retsuko was ultimately traumatized from the attack. Although she has seemed to get past most of it, it's possible that season 4 will deal with the intense aftermath of season 3. Additionally, the season ended with Haida fully deciding on trying to win Retsuko over, so perhaps fans will also see how it plays out in Aggretsuko season 4.