Netflix Quietly Released 2025's Best Show With 100% on RT, Made by a Japanese Legend

The Japanese drama Asura is another adaptation of the popular novel of the same name by Mukoda Kuniko. In Buddhist mythology, Asuras are demigods with magical powers that can bring chaos to a person's measured existence.

Although the series has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Asura has not made much of a splash among viewers – it is not even in the top ten most watched shows on the platform. However, this show deserves a lot more attention, and here's why.

What Is Asura About?

In the late 1970s, four sisters – a housewife, an ikebana teacher, a librarian and a waitress – come together for the first time in years. They suspect that their elderly father has a mistress and an illegitimate child, but decide to hide their suspicions from their mother.

Not only this, but also memories of old disagreements arise during the meeting. Like the Buddhist Asura demigods, who symbolize strong passions and negative emotions, the sisters begin to conflict and settle things with each other.

Hirokazu Koreeda Has Already Made a Hit Series for Netflix

Asura is a television project from the living Japanese classic – Hirokazu Koreeda. The director has won both the Palme d'Or and an Oscar nomination for his film Shoplifters.

Lately, Koreeda has been diversifying his filmography, not only with big feature films, but also with series that can be recommended to anyone with a soft spot for Japanese culture.

For example, you may know Koreeda from another Netflix hit – The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. This is the story of two friends who come to Kyoto to become maiko – geisha apprentices.

The director has had no less success on television than on the big screen. Like Asura, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House received the highest scores from critics and audiences – 93% and 94% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes.

Asura Talks About Female Rage and Sisterhood

Throughout the miniseries, the director reflects on the consequences of parents' actions on children, complex sister relationships, and the pain of betrayal. But at the heart of the story is a female rage, buried deep inside and accumulated over years of silence.

Watch the show's intro: the director shows the irritated faces of each of the sisters, who a moment later lose control and are released from their anger.

Among the high-profile Netflix projects, Asura predictably gets lost and turns into a hidden gem of the streaming service.