DramaRomance

Asako I & II

Asako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.

Release Date : 2018-09-01

Language :EnglishJapanese

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : C&I entertainmentNagoya Broadcasting NetworkBitters EndComme des Cinémas

Production Country : Japan

Alternative Titles : At All HoursSleeping or WakingAsako I and II

Cast

Character Name : Asako

Original Name : 唐田えりか

Gender : Female

Character Name : Baku / Ryohei

Original Name : 東出昌大

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maya

Original Name : 山下リオ

Gender : Female

Character Name : Haruyo

Original Name : 伊藤沙莉

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kushihashi

Original Name : 瀬戸康史

Gender : Male

Character Name : Okazaki

Original Name : 渡辺大知

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hirakawa

Original Name : 仲本工事

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eiko

Original Name : 田中美佐子

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : 大西武志

Gender : Male

Character Name : Art Exhibition Employee

Original Name : 梅舟惟永

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : 岡部尚

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : 兼重淳

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Takao Kin

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Maki Nishiyama

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ryohei's Colleague

Original Name : Atsushi Honma

Gender : Male

Character Name : Theater Employee

Original Name : Tatsuo Kobayashi

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : 米村亮太朗

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cry Woman

Original Name : 占部房子

Gender : Female

Reviews

badelf

@badelf

2025-02-17

With this film (following Happy Hour), Hamaguchi cements his role as the ultimate diviner of the chaos of human emotion. Few other directors can navigate this terrain with the empathic thoroughness of Hamaguchi. In "Asako I & II", Hamaguchi explores love's most mercurial landscape through a narrative of uncanny resemblance and emotional displacement. The film's subtle genius lies in its exploration of how we construct and reconstruct romantic narratives. A pivotal moment occurs in Shigeo Gocho's photography exhibition, where Asako contemplates a photograph of what appear to be identical twins. This visual meditation becomes a metaphorical key to the film's deeper inquiry: Are we loving individuals, or projections of our own emotional needs? Baku and Ryohei - two men who look remarkably alike but represent radically different emotional territories - become less characters than psychological states. They are what Asako draws to herself via the power of attraction. The truth about the title is that Asako is the real doppelganger, albeit internally. Erika Karata (Asako) does an amazing job conveying her internal pas de deux. Hamaguchi suggests that romantic attachment is less about the specific person and more about our internal emotional choreography. His real directorial brilliance is his refusal to judge - which we will see again in "Drive My Car" - creating a nuanced exploration of how memory, desire, and perception intertwine to create what we call love.