REVIEW: ‘Lazarus’ Episode 1 — “Goodbye Cruel World”

Famed animation creator, writer, and director Shinichiro Watanabe is back on Adult Swim, this time with the MAPPA-animated series Lazarus. With 13 episodes in total, Lazarus Episode 1, “Goodbye Cruel World,” is about setting up the foundation and tone of the series. Fast-paced, jazz-soaked, and reflective of Watanabe’s vision of the future that we’ve seen in others titles in his filmography—which MAPPA clearly took direction from.

In Lazarus Episode 1, Shinichiro Watanabe relies on exposition to tell the audience what kind of world they’re entering. The beginning of the episode opens with a narrator describing to the audience the rise of a miracle drug named Hapuna. Developed by Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Dr. Skinner, the drug took over the world and ushered in a new world without pain or illness, and more specifically, apparently no side effects. Then, Skinner vanishes.

When he reappears three years later, the world has moved on. Skinner, on the other hand, hasn’t. Instead, he takes the leap from scientist to madman and gives humanity a choice: find him in 30 days or die. Hapuna’s miracle properties come with a time limit. Anyone who has taken the drug will begin to die three years after ingesting it. To put it simply, in choosing to erase their pain, humanity has lost what makes it human, at least according to Dr. Skinner.

To respond to this threat, a special task force of five agents is gathered from across the world to save humanity from Skinner’s plan. This group is called “Lazarus.” But one element is missing: Axel Gilberto (Mamoru Miyano/Jack Stansbury). An inmate with a penchant for escaping, Axel isn’t about to become someone’s lapdog just in exchange for the freedom he can get himself. While it’s easy to compare Lazarus and Cowboy Bebop, the reality is that the two shows highlight the wheelhouse that Watanabe is comfortable in but sharply diverge in a way that showcases depth.

Visions of the future are constant for Watanabe, but they’re far from expectations, as each iteration of sci-fi grows slightly more bleak and pulls in tighter on humanity. Lazarus Episode 1 is setting the stage to use a futurescape to get a human root, where other Watanabe series have focused on individual trauma, telling larger stories.

Axel shows that Shinichiro Watanabe may have a wheelhouse, but he also has depth.

Lazarus Episode 1 does all the basics. It introduces us to the stakes, the main cast, and the man who’s about to steal everyone in the audience’s heart—yes, that’s the fluffy-headed Axel. While Skinner is one of the world’s most brilliant minds, Axel is the kind of smart you can’t teach. More importantly, he’s also someone you can’t contain. We don’t know anything else about Lazarus’ leading man, outside of his name, that he’s a prisoner and his own man.

Oh yeah, and Axel is fearless. The freedom Axel feels doesn’t come from his wanton disregard for his life but from his understanding of his body, skill, and trust that things will work out. However, Axel’s ability to be cornered by a beautiful woman ultimately gets him apprehended by the group set to look for Dr. Skinnner. That’s a Watanabe leading man for you. With an irreverence for authority, Axel will send waves through the Spring anime season.

Lazarus Episode 1 also briefly introduces audiences to the team of characters that humanity is relying on. The titular team is composed of people who don’t really fit together. Doug (Makoto Furukawa/Jovan Jackson) is prim and proper, following orders and bringing maturity to the team. Christine (Maaya Uchida/Luci Christian), the Watanabe-essential motorcycle riding siren, and Leland (Yuma Uchida/Bryson Baugus), the young student who doesn’t have much hope that the world is going to survive. There’s Eleina (Manaka Iwami/Annie Wild), the eyes in the sky, the woman behind the computer. And they’re all led by Hersch (Megumi Hayashibara/Jade Kelly).

The mixed bag of personalities, particularly when we see Doug and Leland interact in Lazarus Episode 1, sets the stage for an element of chaos in this high-stakes plan, especially as Axel awakens in their rundown barber shop and joins the team.

Adult Swim’s Lazarus Episode 1 sets the stage for a Spring Anime that’s aiming for the top. 

When it comes to animation, the chase sequences as Axel runs through the city and prison are fantastic, to say the least. MAPPA has shown its ability to blend animation styles with background elements and technological environments, coming forward, like 3D renderings. However, unlike other series, these elements don’t feel intrusive, primarily because MAPPA gives ample attention to every detail in their 2D art.

This can be seen in the characters, their clothes, and, more particularly, how Axel’s clothing moves with him. The attention to detail during the chase sequences captures the beauty of the animation and helps create a unique aesthetic that edges on modernity with 3D elements yet values the animation of the past. Even the simplistic frames made to capture the in-between movements of large action and chase sequences feel like MAPPA at its best.

As is usually the case, Lazarus’ score is a standout next to the animation. Kamasi Washington, Bonobo, and Floating Points provide the music for the series, which sets the tone but also enhances the action sequences, backing Chad Stahelski’s fight choreography. Axel’s movements are kinetic and unpredictable, just like the music backing him. Improv first.

Lazarus Episode 1 is a strong start to a promising season. With stellar animation, immediately interesting characters, and a jazz score that guides the pace, Lazarus is one to watch for the Spring season.

Lazarus Episode 1 is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBOMax) with new episodes every Saturday on Adult Swim.

| Next Episode