A Flawless Japanese Family Drama Masterpiece

Netflix does bingeable miniseries like nobody else, yet even on the world’s biggest streaming platform, Asura stands apart as a flawless masterpiece. A tale fraught with heartbreak, humorously told and authentic to its core, this Japanese family drama was one of 2025’s outstanding arrivals onto the small screen.

It was unlucky to be released two months prior to Stephen Graham’s Adolescence, as well as other miniseries of similar caliber that hit Netflix last spring, including fellow East Asian slice-of-life story When Life Gives You Tangerines. Even if it was overshadowed by these higher profile offerings, though, Asura remains in the conversation for 2025’s best TV shows.

A gorgeous period remake of the 1979 two-part drama series Ashura no Gotoku, this seven-episode miniseries deftly unpacks the complexities of married life and its family dynamics in Japan during the late 20th century. It’s a must-watch for any Netflix subscribers who haven’t discovered it yet.

Netflix’s Asura Is A 10/10 Miniseries

Everything you could want in a family drama, Asura provides it, from tense ensemble scenes to hilariously pointed comments, in addition to shrewd and inventive interplay between partners, parents, and siblings. What’s more, the show gives us a glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a typical Tokyo household, while shedding light on how intimate relationships work in Japanese culture.

The show follows three generations of a single family during the year 1979, which proves to be a turbulent one for most of those involved. Although the troubled marriage of parents Kotaro and Fuji Takezawa is a key element of the story, it primarily centers on their four daughters, whose own respective children also feature.

Amid personal crises, betrayals, shared secrets and ironic commentaries within the internal family dynamic, there are some wonderful two-handed scenes in Asura that rival the best English-language TV romances. The dialogue bristles with tense and sparkles with sarcasm, too. Every one of the seven episodes in this Netflix miniseries is a masterpiece.

Asura Is The Remake Of A Classic 1979 Japanese Series

While it’s now one of Netflix’s best live-action Japanese shows, Asura is actually a remake of a network TV drama from the year in which it’s set. Ashura no Gotoku also consisted of seven episodes, but they were split into two parts. Part 1 aired in January 1979, and Part 2 arrived a year later, in January and February 1980.

The show was adapted directly from the novel of the same name, by author Kuniko Mukōda herself. It received widespread acclaim in Japan upon its release, and has only grown in stature since. It was a bold move, then, for Netflix to produce a new version, but Asura has arguably surpassed the high standards set by its forerunner.

Why Asura Is The Perfect Weekend Binge

There are dozens of Netflix shows that constitute a perfect weekend binge, but Asura offers something quite different from the rest. A cleverly written and beautifully put together family drama performed in the Japanese language, this eye-opening miniseries is as insightful as it is entertaining.

It helps, too, that most viewers haven’t heard of it, particularly in the context of other, bigger miniseries releases on Netflix early in 2025. Asura is a hidden gem that can turn your weekend into a whole new experience. You won’t regret finding it.