Asako I &amp; IIAsako I &amp; II Asako I & II Plot. Asako, a young woman who lives in Osaka, experiences love at first sight when she is confronted by the mysterious Baku. The two start a relationship against the advice from Asako's friend who only believes Baku will hurt her. After spending the night at Baku's place, Asako is awoken to find that he is missing. It's explained that Baku suddenly disappears from time to time and it's been that way since his father died. Baku returns to Asako's avail, and they embrace. Baku tells Asako that he will always return to  her. A voice-over explains that Baku suddenly disappears once again, and they lose touch with each other. Two years later, Asako is living in Tokyo and works at a coffee shop. She encounters a businessman named Ryohei, who works at a nearby Japanese sake company. He is identical to Baku, and Asako believes it is him at first. Ryohei doesn't understand why Asako treats him weirdly, and it isn't until he helps her friend get into an art show that he begins to learn more about her. Ryohei tries to win Asako over and eventually succeeds. Five  years later, Asako and Ryohei are living together happily, accompanied by a cat Jintan. Asako learns that Baku has become a famous actor and model. Baku returns and Asako leaves Ryohei in the middle of a dinner their friends are throwing for them. Asako changes her mind about Baku. She returns and decides to marry Ryohei, who no longer trusts her. Release. The film was screened at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in competition on 14 May 2018. It was released in Japan on 1 September 2018, and in the United States by Grasshopper Film. Critical response. On review aggregator  website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Asako I & II"s high-concept premise is anchored by thought-provoking themes and confident, compelling work from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" called the film "an amusing essay in amorous delusion." Yannick Vely, writing for "Paris Match", praised Hamaguchi's sympathetic portrayal of characters but suggested that some plot twists might  appear forced to Western viewers. Eric Kohn of "IndieWire" wrote: "It's refreshing to see a high-concept movie that doesn't assume every love story has to reach a tidy conclusion, and implies that some happy endings are best left open-ended." Asako I & II Plot. Asako, a young woman who lives in Osaka, experiences love at first sight when she is confronted by the mysterious Baku. The two start a relationship against the advice from Asako's friend who only believes Baku will hurt her. After spending the night at Baku's place, Asako is awoken to find