Aggretsuko's fourth season feels it should work more than it does. It brings the focus back to the office stuff, features the side characters a lot more, and has Haida and Retsuko actually try to be friends and get to know each other. However, it doesn't address the show's current fundamental problem: I, and a lot of other people, don't really care about Haida and Retsuko anymore, and the more the writers drag it out, the worse it'll get.
Season 4 of Aggretsuko has two central storylines. The first, and probably the better of the two, is about the office's CEO briefly getting replaced. The new CEO Himura makes a lot of changes to the office that the workers aren't okay with, most notably firing Retsuko's boss. I like this storyline since it gives many of the side characters in the office a lot more focus, especially Ton, who gets a lot of development and depth. Kabae, Anai, and even Tsubone get the most screentime they've had in a while. When the season is focused on its side characters and corporate commentary, it's just as fun and quirky as it's always been. The final arc where Himuro gets Haida to commit fraud does a solid job of heightening the stakes and there's definitely a fun spy-ish vibe to it all, but this is where the season gets shaky. Because Season 4 is also supposed to be about Retsuko and Haida getting to know each other and easing into a relationship, which doesn't quite mesh when one of those two characters gets fired for committing fraud. And that's the least of that storyline's problems.
I was already a bit unsure about the show's central relationship when Haida broke up with Inui, who is literally perfect for him, but I did really want to see them start to get to know each other a bit better. However, the more this season progresses, the more I realized this show doesn't do a great job of convincing the audience that Haida and Retsuko need to be together. The first half of the season has the two be incredibly uncomfortable and awkward with each other. Fenneko and Tsunoda got a lot of great material as they play wingmen together, but the fact that I felt like I shipped those two together more than the series's central relationship wasn't a good thing. The second half was a bit better as they started to feel more comfortable with each other, but then the fraud stuff happened. Haida's insecurities and jealousy of Tadano got frustrating as well, and I came out of the season not really wanting them to get together anymore. As a whole, I think the romantic subplot dragged down the whole season, and that's just a shame.
Still, there were some episodes I enjoyed this season:
Options: It really took them four seasons to give Ookami more than like two lines. No, but seriously, this was what I wanted to see from Haida and Retsuko's relationship all season. Their date this episode was legitimately cute and amicable, and it's a shame we didn't get more of that. Ton's subplot was also heartbreaking, and his scene at the train tracks hit me like a truck.
Rendezvous: Despite all my gripes with this season, I think this was a pretty good finale. Retsuko slapping Haida was honestly all I needed to see at this point, and it does at least seem like Haida has grown a bit after this episode. He willingly quit his job, gets over his jealousy of Tadano, and generally seems to be a lot more confident. As rough as this season was, I do think this finale showed that the show can still salvage Retsuko and Haida, I just hope that this episode's development will end up sticking.
Overall, Aggretsuko's fourth season just didn't fully work for me. While the office storyline was pretty great and I liked the fact that the side characters got more focus, the storyline about Haida and Retsuko's relationship just ended up outlining why the two don't work anymore.
3/5 Stars
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