Watanabe Shinichirou sits on a different shelf than most everything else in anime. He co-produces his series with Cartoon Network these days, with simultaneous premieres in English and Japanese. A show like Lazarus is still anime but it’s marketed like an American animated series. Given that Cowboy Bebop did as much as any series ever has to popularize anime in the West, this isn’t surprising. But this is an anime site, and that’s the lens through which I have to view his work as a critic.
From my perspective Watanabe’s efforts of late – since Space Dandy, pretty much – are nothing special. Carole & Tuesday is probably the low point, but the overall trend isn’t good. At times, he seems intent on delivering a Watanabe Shinichirou anime in the same way Shinkai Makoto does a Shinkai movie. There’s an idea of what that is, and matching up with that idea trumps the substance. And no question, Lazarus fits that mold. Even the plot is eerily reminiscent of the Cowboy Bebop movie (which for the record isn’t all that, IMHO).
You pretty much know what that means. Jazzy soundtrack, consciously “cool” action sequences, et al. It does kind of work here – this premiere is rather fun. Some of the animation is oddly clunky for a Watanabe series, but the look is pleasant enough. A remarkable amount of time is spent watching Axel Gilberto (Miyano Mamoru) on extended parkour runs impossible for any human being to execute. Watanabe got John Wick director Chad Stahelski to direct the action sequences, so it’s no surprise they get such extended show-off time.
There is a premise here, and it’s a good hook at the very least. A scientist named Skinner (Yamadera Kouichi) develops a miracle pain-killer called “Hapna”, which dulls even the worst pain and has no side-effects. It sweeps the world unsurprisingly, but Skinner disappears for three years. He pops up out of nowhere with a social media blast telling everyone that he built in a mutation to Hapna which turns it into a fatal toxin in three years. In effect he’s playing judge, jury, and executioner of mankind – punishing them for their undeniable sins. But he has a cure, Skinner says – and if anyone can find him within 30 days (which is when folks are going to start checking out) he’ll share it with the world.
That’s where the titular Lazarus comes into the picture. Who they are isn’t exactly clear – they have some quasi-governmental connection, but are composed of oddballs and kids mostly. Gilberto is the person Lazarus has decided can find Skinner – why that is we don’t know. And most of the premiere is spent on their attempts to procure him after his most recent escape from prison (on an 888-year sentence). Which they eventually do, which suggests that the focus of the narrative is going to shift to some sort of global manhunt with Axel at the heart of it.
That Watanabe can deliver frosting is pretty much a given – even Carole & Tuesday had that. The problem is that in his last several outings he hasn’t delivered much cake. That means his shows don’t tend to wear well – once the flash and cool has lost the surprise factor, you start to realize there’s no “there” there. Will that happen with Lazarus? Well, probably to be honest – that seems like the most likely outcome based on recent history. But Watanabe has some good writers like Satou Dai to help with that side of things (which is not always a strength for him) so maybe Lazarus will defy expectations on that score.
Simone
April 7, 2025 at 6:15 pmHonestly I’ve pretty much given up on Shinichiro Watanabe. I never was a big Cowboy Bebop fan (heresy, I know) and the only series of his that I really enjoyed was Samurai Champloo. After that it was all downhill, and Carole and Tuesday felt downright embarrassing to me – glossy and well produced but as soulless as the corporate AI music it supposedly berated. How do you manage to make a show with the premise “two girls band together to make guerrilla indie music ON MARS” and still scrub it of every single possible element of punk-ness is a mystery to me.
So yeah, not checking this one out unless people have their minds consistently blown and say it’s good even once it’s over. At this point Watanabe is, looking at his track record, closer to a one hit wonder than a consistent auteur.
Urban_stevie
April 7, 2025 at 9:06 pmI miss the old Watanabe (bebop,champloo,dandy) or maybe it was just the right time, right people, right age. However i think you are right, my gut feeling tells me this premise lacks depth. Btw the music is really really good here. Might not reach the genre defining bebop (jazz in anime) and champloo (nujabes lofi) but it is certainly up there.
Reminiscing old times, would you be interested in a bespoke project about old Watanabe trio (bebop, champloo and dandy)?
Guardian Enzo
April 7, 2025 at 9:10 pmI would do that, sure. It wouldn’t be a fanboy piece but there are already plenty of those.
sonicsenryaku
April 8, 2025 at 2:38 amI don’t know if describe Watanabe as lacking writing prowess; almost everything he’s had a scriptwriting credit in has been either respectable or great……..ignoring that subpar episode of Cowboy Bebop he co-wrote or Carole & Tuesday’s finale, which to be fair to him, was less about his writing proficiency and more a result of the show crumbling under the weight of its missteps throughout its run (Watanabe wrote one of the show’s best episodes, that being ep 12). Where I think Watanabe’s strengths as a writer lies is in the way he paces and connects ideas casually within a script and these same strengths shine through in his directing decisions; you can just tell when he’s the one behind the screenwriter chair (he wrote this premiere)
Anyway, given he’s responsible for some of the best episodes of works he’s had his hand in, like Space Dandy and Samurai Champloo, he holds way more hits than misses on his writing rap sheet, which is also helped by the fact that he rarely participates in the heavier parts of the writing when it comes to the shows he works on.
Fun Fact: according to a tweet, apparently Watanabe wanted Lazarus to lean more closely to the vibe of Space Dandy, but Adult Swim pushed him into channeling Cowboy Bebop aura instead; I don’t know how much this course alteration affected or will affect the final product, but make of that what you will
sonicsenryaku
April 8, 2025 at 12:00 pmI should add though: While I find the first ep’s screenplay to be mostly inoffensive, I do think this is one of Watanabe’s weaker writing efforts. I understand the premiere was focused on simply setting the vibe of the show by just throwing you right into the action after expositing the stakes, but I think it could have done a more substantive job doing so. It’s not the biggest deal, as the substance may follow in subsequent eps and retroactively embolden the premiere’s direction, but I guess we’ll see
Litho
April 12, 2025 at 7:40 pmThe Lazarus OST just popped up on my Apple Music feed. Suddenly I’m way more interested than I thought I would be, because it’s produced by Floating Points. Colour me surprised. Big fan of Floating Points but had no idea he was working on this soundtrack.
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2025 at 9:22 pmWhich one? There are 3 official soundtracks, ROFL
Litho
April 12, 2025 at 10:17 pmI assume the 3 related to the different producers enlisted – Kamasi Washington, Bonobo and Floating points – for OST duties. They each have a “Lazarus (Adult Swim Original Series Soundtrack)” entry in their respective discography pages on Apple Music (assume it’s the same on Spotify).