Watanabe’s Return
Shinichiro Watanabe played a huge role in popularizing anime in the United States. His most known work is on Cowboy Bebop. Watanabe’s repertoire is diverse. As a viewer of his work, I get a sense that he craves the chase of what’s next. Each of his shows are concise in terms of episode number. After watching every one of his shows. It always left me craving more. And here we are in 2025, 6 years removed from his prior work, Carol & Tuesday. Watanabe has returned with Lazarus.
Lazarus Episode 1 – Goodbye Cruel World
The first portion of this episode opens up with the narrator giving us (the audience) some crucial backstory. Almost 4 years since the creation of a miracle drug made by the proclaimed genius Dr. Skinner. The name of the drug is Hapna. This pill is an effective and cheap painkiller with no side effects and it quickly took over the world. After Hapna efficiently took over, Dr. Skinner vanished, and this is effectively where our episode begins.
Axel Gilberto serves as the protagonist of this story. At the start we see Alex locked up at a correctional facility. His sentence is 888 years. He’s called up to meet with a woman named Hersch. She informs him about the recent global panic. That panic being that Dr. Skinner has returned, and with him he brings a message. He reveals that after 3 years of taking Hapna, users of the drug will die. Skinner states that he has the only cure, and humanity has 30 days to find him before the first users of Hapna will die. These are some pretty high stakes.
The Thrill of the Chase
After Hersch shows Axel the video, she has a proposition for him. She will free him from being behind bars concurrent to agreeing to help her and her team find Dr. Skinner. Axel gloats about his ability to break out of prisons. And this smoothly transitions us into an exhilarating chase sequence. This chase lasts until the final moments of the episode. Immediately during this sequence, we see the work of Chad Stahelski come into play. His credits are being the designer of the action sequences, which then Mappa (the animation studio) animates and brings to life. And that shines through with the details of every motion.
Axel’s suave and nonchalant nature comes through as he parkours away in hopes of escaping. The action is amplified by the jazz and high tempo melodies. The music crescendos and fades with spoken dialogue to allow the dialogue to breathe, so we can be in the moment and marinate in it. It is truly the return of style. Axel, like most young men, succumbs to the charms of a lady who knocks him out which effectively ends the chase. This brings us into the final moments. The title of the anime is the name of the group that Hersch forms to find Dr. Skinner. As for Axel, he awakes from being out cold and has no choice now but to join Lazarus.
Personal reflection on Lazarus Episode 1
Just based on this first episode, there are a ton of parallels to our very own world. A question I ask myself regularly is, are the drugs being prescribed to us by these doctors truly helping or hurting us? As someone who thinks of natural remedies first before reaching out to a doctor, I am content with experimenting on my own and finding out what works and what does not. But not everyone has these liberties. Or even the patience to learn on their own. We see this in our lives now. With stuff such as opioids running rampant in America destroying communities from within. To the new weight loss drugs such as Ozempic in which the long term ramifications of taking it are still unknown.
The premise of Watanabe’s shows are typically deep and alluring. What never gets lost in Watanabe’s work is the levity that the characters bring. His work is rich in tiny and powerful moments. Scenes where the imagery lingers, instances that tug at the heart. Moments that do not fade. Scenes where the art mirrors life. Stuff that leaves me shook with goosebumps. And then these brief yet powerful moments are followed up with something light hearted. It is a fascinating and masterful game of tug of war Watanabe plays with his audience, and I am excited to see where this one will end up
Check back next week to see my thoughts on episode 2 of Lazarus!
