Hirokazu Kore-eda delivers his best work in years with ‘Asura’

In Asura, it is January 1979, the final year of what has been a tumultuous and expansive decade in Japan. One that saw a failed coup to overthrow the government, the release of the Sony Walkman, and the emergence of a women's liberation movement known as ūman ribu. None of that matters to Takiko Takezawa (Yū Aoi), an inflexible and uptight librarian, because the only thing on her mind is that she has to inform her sisters of a secret she has been carrying for the past month. So over fried rice cakes, Takiko informs her sisters—Tsunako (Rie Mayazawa), Makiko (Machiko Ono), and Sakiko (Suzu Hirose)—that their father, 70-year-old Kotaro (Jun Kunimura) has been secretly carrying on an affair with a woman 30 years his junior. In addition, Takiko has seen them accompanied by a young boy who refers to their father as “papa.”

At first, Takiko’s other siblings (as well as Makiko’s husband) are incredulous. They can’t see their father, who one describes as a “doddering old fool who can’t even shop on his own,” carrying on an affair, especially at his age. However, Takiko, always one for doing her research, had hired private investigator Shiuzo Matsumata (Ryuhei Matsuda), to follow and document the affair, snapping photographs that show Kotaro with this other woman, and perhaps his fifth child. The sisters’ responses range from panic (Makiko), to detachment (Tsunako), to surprisingly, acceptance (Sakiko). Takiko wants to inform their mother, but Sakiko is already over it and feels as if this is a way for Takiko to vent about her lack of a love life. Tsunako and Makiko, the eldest two, decide that it would be best if they handled it themselves, going to the mistress, paying her off, and telling her to end the affair. When the moment comes they freeze, with Tsunako literally hiding. They decide that it would be best to not make any waves, to paper over it like a hole in a torn fusuma; what they don’t realize is that the waves have been forming for a while, and this one incident will shape their lives and their relationships going forward.

All seven episodes of "Asura" are available to watch on Netflix.

Netflix

Through seven gorgeously filmed episodes (cinematography being handled by Kore-eda’s frequent collaborator Mikiya Takimoto), we witness the sisters resisting and rebelling against the norms of Japanese patriarchal society—all while arguing, bickering, teasing, resenting, and supporting one another. The casting for each sibling is impeccable, in no time you believe these four messy, imperfect, and fascinating women have a long shared history together. Toward the end of the final episode, someone questions if the sisters actually get along at all, but that is what it is like to have siblings: They can disappoint you, annoy you, and act in ways that make you question how someone so different from you can share the same DNA. But there is no question that they love and care for one another.

Mukōda’s writings were known for their focus on everyday life, something that fits perfectly with the insightful and humanist Kore-eda, who directed and wrote all seven episodes, and served as his own editor. Kore-eda efficiently cuts between the series' many story arcs: The chaotic yet passionate love affair between Tsunako and her married employer; Makiko’s spiral/midlife crisis where she strongly suspects her husband (who offers the male point of view in many conversations) is having an affair with his younger and sportier secretary; Takiko overcoming her lack of self-worth to go forward with a relationship with the shy and clumsy, yet sweet, private investigator who exposed her father; and Sakiko’s high-risk, high-reward relationship with boxer Hide. Each of these storylines contains enough drama for its own separate feature, but all together, presents us with a small, but meaningful, portrait of this dysfunctional yet loving family. The overlapping of storylines and character arcs also provides us with the best scenes in the series, which is when the sisters are all together, joking, insulting, aggravating and bouncing off one another, all while preparing or enjoying a meal together.

It is during these family gatherings where most of the show's humor is found, bringing a liveliness to an otherwise serious melodrama. It also makes the story more true-to-life, as day-to-day existence is always a mixture of the bitter and the sweet, good days and bad days. Even if you find out something that shakes your perception of your family for life, it’s hard not to laugh if someone breaks a tooth biting down on something hard right after, and ends up sounding like a leaky tire.

"Asura" takes place in 1979, and the four sisters resist the norms of Japanese patriarchal society.

Netflix

With this being Kore-eda’s second foray into television, his first being 2023’s sweet, charming, yet disappointing (to me anyway) The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, it already seems he has mastered the artform; all while retaining his cinematic sensibilities. The term “prestige” is one that has almost lost all meaning thanks to the peak TV years streamers have all moved away from. Although, thanks to its magnificent performances, detailed yet never showy production design, and the sheer power of its storytelling, Asura clearly meets the definition of “prestige.” It’s just a shame that the platform it finds itself on, did so little to present it as such.