My new favorite cartoon character is a white-collar red panda with anger issues.

Her name is Aggretsuko, and she’s a young Japanese “office associate” who leaps, tail wagging, into her first job, only to suffer countless slights at the hands of her co-workers. In each online micro-episode — all are one minute long, perfect for Instagram snacking — her colleagues in the accounting department of a Tokyo trading company drop work on her desk at closing time, slurp noodles over her shoulder and inappropriately brag about their dating exploits.

As the indignities mount, Aggretsuko (pronounced ah-GRET-su-KO) smiles courteously and types studiously. But inside her head, she slips into rage mode, where she chugs beers and performs death metal karaoke as flames spark around her face. Her inner monologue spills out in a guttural scream: “DON’T BELITTLE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!” and “BUZZ OOOOOOOOOOFF!” After following her travails for a few weeks, I downloaded Aggretsuko wallpaper to my phone so that I see her whenever I check my email. She is perched on a rolling chair, paws hovering over the keyboard, a coquettish smile on her face. The caption reads: “I HATE THIS.”

Aggretsuko’s experience surely resonates with many young women who have come up against the sexist, or just plain dehumanizing, demands of corporate culture as they embark on careers. Her struggle is to project an image of sociability, compliance and quiet competence over her barely concealed seething indignation. In a cynical coda to each video, the death metal cuts off, our heroine clicks her heels together and purrs, “Tomorrow is a new day!”

As a concept, Aggretsuko isn’t exactly revolutionary — she’s basically a feminist Dilbert. More interesting is where she came from: She is the latest character from Sanrio, the Japanese consumer goods empire that plasters adorable images on lunchboxes and stationery sold around the world.