A new Japanese mystery thriller was released on Netflix just a few days ago. If you started watching, you may have the same question as everyone else: Burn the House Down: Who was behind Anzu's house fire?
This very question is etched into the minds of those who watched the Japanese drama series. The revenge drama series deals with arson that happened 13 years ago.
Although nobody got killed or hurt in the crime, the matriarch of the family was wrongfully accused as the perpetrator. Convinced her mom is innocent, Anzu Murata (played by Mei Nagano) goes undercover as a house cleaner for her stepmother who now lives in the property.
With all of the eight episodes now available to watch on Netflix, we can't help but wonder the identity of the real perpetrator after all these years. Here's what we know.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Burn the House Down so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Why Did Anzu Seek Revenge After 13 Years?
So why did it take Anzu 13 years to take revenge for the house fire that destroyed their lives? Even though the fire did not kill anyone, it greatly damaged their lives.
For starters, Anzu's mother, Satsuki (played by Michiko Kichise) was diagnosed with amnesia. She was also believed to be responsible for the fire.
Not only that, her father, Osamu (played by Mitsuhiro Oikawa), divorced Satsuki to be with her friend, Makiko Mitarai (played by Kyôka Suzuki). Osamu has not seen his daughters, Anzu and Yuzu (played by Yuri Tsunematsu), for 13 years.
Convinced that her mother is innocent, Anzu decides to work as a house cleaner for Makiko so she could snoop around for some evidence to prove her mother's innocence.
Additionally, Anzu saw Makiko smiling when their house was burning down. This is why she is determined to look for clues to prove that Makiko was behind the crime.
Why Did Kiichi Help Anzu?
Anzu assumes a new identity and introduces herself as Shizuka Yamauchi. After landing a job as a housekeeper for Makiko, she is told not to go upstairs.
But after some snooping around, Anzu learns that Makiko's eldest son, Kiichi (played by Asuka Kudô), actually lives upstairs and never goes out of his room.
She becomes close to Kiichi, who decides to help her look for evidence against his mother. Even though Kiichi is smart, he dropped out of college to spread rumors online and earn money from it. He even spreads rumors about his own mother.
After learning what her son does for a living, Makiko forces Kiichi to stop what he's doing. Kiichi also learns Anzu's secret and suspicion that the house fire was started by Makiko.
This doesn't shock Kiichi, however, since he also suspected his mother to be behind it. When he asked her to tell him the truth about the fire years ago, Makiko told him to forget about it.
Still, this contininued to haunt Kiichi, who decides to help Anzu collect evidence. They manage to find Makiko's old laptop, which Makiko ran a lifestyle blog on in the past.
As it turned out, Makiko had always been jealous of Satsuki. She created an identity online called Aliza-san, so she could blog about a fake life.
Why Did the Police Arrest Kiichi?
After exposing his mom's fake life, Makiko's relationships gets rocky. She loses Kiichi, who decides to leave his family behind.
Meanwhile, Osamu regrets marrying Makiko and blames her for everything bad that happened.
He also reports Makiko's crime, including the security footage of the arson. This leads to the case getting re-opened.
Even though Makiko eventually confesses to the crime, the police turn their attention on Kiichi. After a date with Anzu, Kiichi turns himself in and confesses to the crime.
Is Kiichi the Real Perpetrator of the Fire?
Finally, Anzu decides to confront Makiko since she doesn't believe Kiichi was behind the fire.
As it turns out, Makiko had been stealing from Satsuki. Kiichi discovered his mother's secret and told her not to continue stealing these things.
Makiko tries to return the stuff she stole to the Mitarai house. Unfortunately, she was unable to return the things because the house had burned down.
All this time, Makiko believed that Kiichi committed arson so he could protect his mother.
While admitting to Anzu and Yuzu, Makiko accidentally starts a fire. Her youngest son, Shinji (played by Taishi Nakagawa) gets triggered and admits to the crime.
It was actually Shinji who accidentally set the house on fire. It was because he tried to return Satsuki's cardigan and found food in the kitchen. When he tried to heat it up, he accidentally started a fire.
This caused him to run out of the house carrying the cardigan and swore never to talk about it again.
Eventually, Kiichi discovered Shinji's secret and took the blame to save both his mother and younger brother.
Does Shinji Go to Prison?
At the time of the incident, Shinji was below 14 years old. This is why he was not punished for arson.
He admits to Osamu and tells him he still wants to proceed working at the hospital. This leaves Osamu reluctant but gives him another chance to work at the hospital.
How Does Burn the House Down End?
Now that the truth has been revealed, the show ends with Satsuki getting better. She also starts studying again. Yuzu lands a job at a staffing agency.
Makiko and Osamu get divorced. Makiko also returns on social media.
After Kiichi gets proven innocent, Anzu confesses her feelings for him and asks him to live with her. The two are able to improve their lives without Makiko's shadow watching over them.
If you are interested in watching Burn the House Down, you can check out this trailer.
Burn the House Down is now streaming on Netflix. You can watch all of the eight episodes on the platform.
Related: Who Stars in Burn the House Down?
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