I don’t really believe this, but at times I feel that maybe we all are living in a simulation. Coincidences being so on the nose on the regular that it feels like it’s been written to be that way. A few weeks ago the Blu-ray of Africa Salaryman ended up on my doorstep, at the same time a series called Aggretsuko caught my attention on Netflix. I ended up watching, obsessing over, and being cracked up by both.

The shows are basically 2 sides of the same office comedy coin, with Aggretsuko being the female-death metal version of what Africa Salaryman is offering up. Africa Salaryman is a 12 episode office comedy series, now granted, this is Japanese so it’s more in tune with the comedy of a Japanese salaryman, but the comedy certainly overlaps with the American workplace experience.

The show follows 3 characters Lion (the boss), Toucan, and Lizard. Lion is a nice sort, but it surrounded by office weirdos like the pervert Toucan, and the frequently bullied Lizard (there is an on-going bloody gag with Lizard that I never tired of). It’s not a plot-heavy affair which is great. The comedy is situational which makes it quite easy to jump back in and out for the laughs. The animation of the show is all over the place, but it fits the chaotic, and occasional surreal tone of the episodes.

Funimation present Africa Salaryman in a 1080p AVC encoded transfer that looks quite solid, bringing the eccentric animation to Blu-ray in style. Audio is handled by 2 TrueHD tracks English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0. Both sound clear and concise without issue. Extras include promo videos, commercials, and clean opening and closing.