# Asura (2025)

> In 1979 Tokyo, four sisters discover their aging father's affair and watch their composed family life slowly come apart.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/155832

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 7
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, Suzu Hirose, Masahiro Motoki, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kisetsu Fujiwara, Seiyo Uchino
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34570673/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: none
- Tone: melancholic, intimate, restrained, wry, tense

## What critics say

Critics and audiences broadly admire the sensitive ensemble acting and the quiet, precise handling of family secrets, though its slow pace is a known trait.

## Synopsis

Asura (2025) is a Japanese family drama series created by Hirokazu Kore-eda for Netflix. Set in 1979 Tokyo during the Shōwa era, it follows four sisters, led by Rie Miyazawa as Tsunako and Machiko Ono as Makiko, alongside Yu Aoi as Takiko and Suzu Hirose as Sakiko, who uncover their aging father's extramarital affair. The engine of the story is the gap between the outward courtesy the household maintains and the resentments that begin to surface once the secret is known. Masahiro Motoki plays Takao Satomi, and Ryuhei Matsuda and Jun Kunimura appear among the wider cast of people drawn into the unraveling. Across seven episodes of roughly an hour each, the series moves through quiet kitchen conversations, strained family dinners, and sharp confrontations, building a portrait of a household where everyone performs contentment. The tone is intimate and melancholic, with dry restraint and an observant warmth characteristic of a Japanese domestic drama. Its mood lingers on small gestures and unspoken hurts rather than spectacle. Fans of Still Walking, Tokyo Story and Like Father, Like Son will find resonance in its patient study of family bonds and the cost of keeping up appearances. It is a limited series of one season.

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- [Until the T-Shirt Dries (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105184)
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- [He Who Can't Marry (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/12476)
- [Tokyo Girl (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/69221)
- [My Husband Won't Fit (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/74566)
- [Burn the House Down (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/131872)

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