There is currently a lot of buzz surrounding the second season of Squid Game. Another East Asian series, however, went online much more secretly on the streaming service. And this despite the fact that it is of an absolute Exceptional director in Japan comes from.
We’re talking about family drama Asura by filmmaker Hirokazu Koreedawho was represented in the cinema last year with his film Innocence – a moving masterpiece that was one of the best films of 2024 for us.
Hirokazu Koreeda’s Netflix series Asura: This is what the family drama is about
In Asura, Koreeda devotes himself to his favorite topic: complicated family ties. In the case of the Netflix series, it’s about the four sisters of the Takezawa family who meet again after a long time in the winter of 1979 and discuss a potential scandal: Did their father have an affair that even produced a child?
Tsunako (Rie Miyazawa), Makiko (Machiko Ono), Takiko (Yu Aoi) and Sakiko (Suzu Hirose) decide to keep the scandalous matter to themselves and not pass it on to their mother. But the situation still escalates, with unexpected secrets and various conflicts coming to light.
The series material is based on the novel Ashura no Gotoku by author Kuniko Mukoda, which was made into a Japanese TV series in 1979. The new Netflix adaptation has been since January 9, 2025 online and includes seven episodes.
The critics are enthusiastic, but Asura remains an insider tip for the time being
Asura is currently not on many people’s radars. But in his glowing review of the series, Nick Schager of The Daily Beast writes: “The first big television surprise of the year and further confirmation that few filmmakers are as empathetic, agile and masterful as Koreeda.”
Very similar tones resonate with Liz Kocan from Decider, who writes: “The family isn’t incomprehensibly dysfunctional, like the Roys from Succession or the duplicitous Duttons from Yellowstone. What’s so fascinating is the fact that their problems and the emotions that arise from them are entirely possible and can happen to any of us .”
If you need further evidence of how sensitively and comprehensibly Koreeda creates family dramas, you should also take a closer look at Nobody Knows, Like Father, Like Son or Shoplifters. His latest film Innocence is now even streaming on Amazon*. And with The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, another series by the exceptional director is already available on Netflix.
Podcast: Squid Game Season 2 review and outlook on Season 3
Netflix’s biggest hit series is back. But does season 2 of Squid Game live up to our expectations? We take a closer look at the return of the deadly games and talk about the highlights and low points.
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In addition to new Squid Game characters and the controversial cliffhanger ending, we also discuss theories about season 3, which will be released later this year to conclude the Netflix series.
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