The emotional Japanese drama Asura explores the themes of grief, jealousy, and belief inside a household. Furthermore, it explores how infidelity turns into a repeated theme and plagues every member of the family’s private life, straight or not directly, and has a suppressing impact on ladies.
Written and directed by acclaimed Hirokazu Kore-eda, the Japanese collection premiered on Netflix on January 9, 2025. It’s the reimagining of the drama Like Asura, initially written by Kuniko Mukoda.
The present, set in Nineteen Seventies Tokyo, tells the story of the Takezawa household. Kotaro is the 70-year-old patriarch who has had a number of extramarital affairs in his life. He shares 4 daughters — Takiko, Makiko, Tsukano, and Sakiko — together with his spouse, Fuji, who’s conscious of his affairs however chooses to stay silent and finally dies of grief.
Kotaro has a long-term affair with Tomoko, however in direction of the top of the collection, the latter pretends to marry another person as a ploy to chop ties with Kotaro and defend her foster son, Shoji, from heartbreak. Though it places an finish to their relationship, Kotaro stays in contact along with her son and takes on a paternal position.
Tsukano, the eldest and academically gifted daughter of Kotaro and Fuji, leads a lonely life. Ultimately, she finds herself helpless after she realizes that she is in a dead-end relationship with Sadaharu Masukawa. She will get caught in a fuel leak accident at her residence, which might be her love suicide try with Sadaharu.
Sakiko and Takiko have a strained sisterly bond. The previous will get to a weak place in life after her associate falls right into a coma, and stricken with grief; she spends an evening with a stranger who later tries to extort her. That’s Takiko defends her sister, exhibiting an surprising sisterly love.
The second daughter, Makiko, is suspicious of her husband having an affair. Though he denies the allegation, she takes the confrontation as her private triumph, not like her mom, who remained silent and died in grief. This symbolizes her taking management of her life and decisions.
Total, the ending explores sophisticated household dynamics and what occurs when unresolved emotional struggles begin to unravel.