Lazarus Ep 1 Review
Shinichirō Watanabe, one of the greatest directors in anime history. The director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy. Next to the late Akira Toriyama, no other man’s works did more to help anime gain a foothold in the West than Shinichirō Watanabe. As longtime fans of Toonami and lovers of anime in general, it wouldn’t be right if the D&A Anime Blog didn’t cover his newest creation, Lazarus. And judging by the first episode, we are going to be in for a banger!
A Doctor Decides to End Humanity
The year is 2055, and humankind is facing potential extinction. Three years earlier, a man named Dr. Skinner released a painkiller called Hapna, a miracle drug that could potentially end all disease and pain. Most of mankind started taking the drug, and a while, it looked like the world was on the path to utopia. But then Skinner, who had gone into hiding a year earlier, gave mankind a message: Hapna was a giant trap.
Mad scientist with a drug to destroy the world. Check.
Good guy team named Lazarus trying to save the world and humanity. Check.
Tune in the series premiere of the #LAZARUS_anime at midnight tonight only on #Toonami. pic.twitter.com/yDfqGMiABp
— Toonami Faithful (@ToonamiNews) April 5, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
In a nutshell, Skinner said “screw all of humanity, we’re unworthy to keep living. You have a month to prove me wrong.”
From the outset, Lazarus is already showing all the hallmarks that make Watanabe’s works great. The cyberpunk, retro-futuristic aesthetic. The use of smooth jazz as background music. The incredibly attractive main characters with cool attitudes. It feels very much like Lazarus is meant to be a spiritual successor to Cowboy Bebop, and nowhere is this better seen than with the main male lead, Axel Gilberto.
The Second Coming of Spike Spiegel
If Spike Spiegel was the Lupin III of the 90s, then Axel could very well be the Spike of the 2020s. Hes got parkour skills that would make an Assassin’s Creed lover green with envy. He’s got Spike’s amazing sense of fashion and the confidence that made him a great husbando. And he’s got Lupin’s uncanny ability to talk his way out of any situation. In the span of the first episode, he proceeds to break out of the prison he’s in, outrun the police, and outsmart a police officer that doesn’t recognize him until it’s too late. The best part? He was serving 888 years in prison because he kept escaping like it was a game to him. The only reason he gets caught by the task force being assembled is because he’s caught off-guard.
There’s no excuses for this police officer #Lazarus pic.twitter.com/fkKxFCK5fG
— Lazarus (@LazarusAnime) April 6, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
While Axel serves as the main focus of the episode, the premiere does introduce viewers to the other members of the titular Lazarus. Each of them is quirky in their own way, and they all seem to have their own unique talents. One is a college student who’s great with drones. Another is this girl who’s a master hacker. There’s a man whose good with guns, and we have this woman who feels like an expy of Faye Valentine. I can’t remember who is who yet, but I’m sure that will change in the next episode or so.
This is Gonna be Fun
Overall, Lazarus looks to be another big hit from the mind of Shinichirō Watanabe, but there’s another reason why the anime could be one of the big hits of the spring season: its name. Lazarus is often a name associated with the act of resurrection. There’s the biblical Lazarus, who was raised from death by Jesus. There’s the Lazarus Pits from DC comics, able to grant long life and revive the dead. And now we have the team, formed in order to save mankind from possible extinction. It’s possible that Dr Skinner is bluffing and that this is one big test to see how humanity will react to potential annihilation. However, I doubt that anyone would make such an announcement without be willing to back it up. Either way, this si going to be one fun adventure.
