Rising to the Challenge

**Rising to the Challenge** is the eighth episode in Season 5 of the Netflix series *Aggretsuko*.

## Netflix Synopsis

"The day after taking to the stage with Ikari, Retsuko is filled with stress and regret. Time for an epic karaoke session!"

## Summary

Retsuko is now the one feeling lame and Haida stuffs a banana in her mouth. Retsuko can't believe she agreed to run with Ikari and explains she couldn't just say no when she was on the stage. She wonders what to do as he can't even keep her houseplants alive.

Retsuko goes to karaoke with Gori and Washimi, where she rages. Seeing her anger, Gori gets excited at how good she is and that she is back. Washimi also admits that she missed her too. The two are surprised that she is running for office, and joke that next year she will be an astronaut, however Retsuko declares that she isn't running for office and goes to the bathroom.

At work, Fenneko guesses that Ikari doesn't have options left as while Retsuko can be classified as "celebrity", she isn't even a D-list celebrity as no one knows her. Fenneko believes that Retsuko will lose and its a waste of time and money. Retsuko then decides to call Ikari and tell him that she won't do it. Going into the break room, they see Ton watching the news that report that Retsuko is a former underground idol with two million followers on ZooTube. The rumors suggest that she is the Party of Rage's surprise candidate, however many see the Party of Rage as political dinosaur who is no longer relevant. Retsuko is shocked and turns off the TV. The news spread quickly and Retsuko's family and everyone at work also hear about it. He followers increase to almost 2.2 million. Ton informs Retsuko that Shachou wants to speak with her, but Retsuko is trying to call Ikari to learn why her clips are all over the news.

Meanwhile, Ikari's phone haven't stopped ringing as he keeps getting requests for interviews. Hyoudou is also happy as he knew that with a former OTMgirls member running for office, OTMgirls will also be on the news. Hidarin and Migi wonder if Retsuko will actually run and Ikari mentions that Hyoudou said she is like a marionette and Hyoudou is her master puppeteer. Hyoudou confirms it, but notes that Retsuko can also bail at any time. Ikari is surprised that he didn't mention that earlier, but Hyoudou explains that he can't do everything for him and that Retsuko is an office girl, who doesn't know anything about politics and will be receiving lots of criticism. Ikari knows how hard the elections are, but states that without Retsuko, they can't win.

Heading home, Retsuko reads some bad comments about her. Some people also recognize her and she overhears them talking about her. She calls Ikari and he finally picks up. She then tries telling him she won't be running for office, but he acts like he didn't hear it. As she repeats it, Ikari explains that he picked her because he knew she can win. Retsuko explains that she doesn't know anything about politics, but Ikari states she doesn't need to worry about that. A van then stops next to her and Ikari grabs Retsuko, stating he will teach her about politics.

Jiro calls Haida and asks him if Retsuko is the same woman he brought home as the one running for office. Haida laughs and explains that she still isn't sure if she will do it, but they know she will lose. Jiro wonders if this is a joke to Haida and reminds him that he took the money, so he must not screw things up. Jiro is pissed at how oblivious is Haida, considering how much effort Jiro put to run for office. Retsuko returns home and explains that Ikari took her and she felt like she went to political cram school in hell. Haida guesses that he isn't letting her go and Retsuko confirms that she couldn't turn it down. While they are eating dinner, Haida tells her that Gori and Washimi told her to do it. Retsuko explains that she is too young, has no experience and can only scream, so she herself won't vote for her. Haida explains that when he saw her screaming in the club, he understood why everyone was so hyped. Haida had read that one out of every three people in Japan is 65 years or older. The old people keep choosing old candidates, which is why Japan keeps harping on the glory days from long ago and ignoring how the last three decades were bad. Haida and many other people want to make a difference, but they can't, as there is no core and they are scattered. Retsuko wonders what they should do to bring them together and Haida states they should reach out to folks individually and get them involved, one by one. That's impossible, but Haida believes that Retsuko can use her voice to reach them all at once.

The next day, Haida and Retsuko meet up Ikari, and Haida asks if Retsuko can truly win. Ikari states the victory is not guaranteed, but they have great plan. Ikari explains that they don't want to race with too many options and they need to focus on only one area. He has chosen Ward 8 in Tokyo. Ward 8 has been unofficial kingdom of Juzo Haida for years. However, since he is stepping back from politics due to his health, his son Jiro will be taking over. Jiro is 25 years old with no experience. There Retsuko can lure the undecided voters with her anger.

Haida returns home and gives Jiro the envelop with money he gave him. He apologizes, but states he won't be sitting in the corner.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Retsuko
* Haida
* Gori
* Washimi
* Fenneko
* Ton
* Retsuko's Mother
* Retsuko's Father
* Tsubone
* Ookami
* Anai
* Kabae
* Shachou
* Masuo Ikari
* Hyoudou
* Manaka
* Migi
* Hidarin
* Jiro Haida