When you log onto Netflix this week you might be surprised to spot a new TV show from multi-award-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda. The Japanese auteur, behind movies like Nobody Knows and Like Father, Like Son, has a new drama called Asura about four sisters who discover their father’s affair.
However, the family drama has arrived without much fanfare, as several Twitter users pointed out. In fact Netflix has barely seemed to promote the film at all, aside from a few tweets announcing that it was on its way.
Despite the radio silence, fans have been discovering the new show, and recommendations have been spreading online. “Was only gonna watch one ep of Kore-eda’s Asura on netflix and got completely sucked in and binged the whole thing ahhhhhh I love when sisters fight and laugh and cry together,” tweeted one.
“Not even 5 minutes into the first episode of Asura and it hits you in the gut with these lines,” writes another user on Twitter. “Knowing what happens to Makiko and Takao in future episodes only magnifies the impact of this dialogue. It is Kore-eda after all. Another gem added to Netflix’s Japanese originals.”
A third added: “Asura, the new Netflix series from Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, is the year’s first great TV offering.” A handful of reviews have been released too, which have been broadly positive.
Roger-Ebert.com’s Brian Tallerico gives the show 3 out of 4, writing: “Squid Game has dominated the Netflix charts for the last couple weeks, reportedly opening to higher streaming numbers than anything in the history of the company. While it doesn’t have nearly the same hook as the show about a killer competition, my hope is that a few of those viewers slide over to the woefully-underpromoted Asura, proving to Netflix that there’s space for both kinds of shows in their catalog. And maybe leading a few viewers to one of the best filmmakers in the world.”
Meanwhile, Decider advises viewers to stream it, concluding: “The family is not dysfunctional in an unrelatable way, like the Roys on Succession or Yellowstone‘s duplicitous Duttons, what’s so engaging is the fact that their problems, and the emotions that spill out as a result, are entirely possible and could happen to any of us.”
For what else to watch, check out our guides to the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies to stream right now.