In the world of anime, few names carry the reputation of an auteur likeShinichirō Watanabe. He’s the mastermind behindCowboy Bebop, the iconic series that redefined what anime could be for Western audiences—cool, stylish, jazzy. But Watanabe has never been one to stay in one place for too long. He’s always danced between tones, timelines, and musical influences, fromthe hip-hop-infusedSamurai Champlooto the psychedelic absurdity ofSpace Dandy. With his latest project,the visionary animator has outdone himself.
Produced by MAPPA,Lazarushas proven that Watanabe isn’t just riffing on familiar ideas—he’s evolving them. This Adult Swim anime representsa major shift in the director’s creative voice, one that leans into a real-world crisis through a more gripping crime story. Yet, most importantly, the new series feels like the work of a creator who’s matured alongside his audience and has changed the physical language of animated combat.
‘Lazarus’ Draws From the Opioid Epidemic and Climate Collapse
At first glance,Lazarusmight look like a spiritual sibling toCowboy Bebop, with its explosive action, genre-blending jazz soundtrack, and world-weary protagonists navigating a moody dystopia. However, beneath that familiar surface, the anime reveals how far Watanabe has evolved as a storyteller. IfBebopwas about drifting loners defined by past regrets,Lazarusis about the terrifying weight of the present and the possibility of a shared future slipping through our fingers.
The year is 2052. The world, once riddled with mayhem and suffering, is now seemingly at peace thanks to a miracle drug called Hapuna. It cures pain without symptoms and has become a pillar of global stability.The twist is, the drug’s creator, Dr. Skinner, reappears with a grim revelation: Hapuna will kill everyone who took it within 3 years. The promise of utopia was a lie, and now death is on the clock. In response, an international team of agents is assembled: the Lazarus unit, tasked with tracking him down and saving humanity from the brink.
That setup alone signals a shift in ShinichirōWatanabe’s priorities. He’s writing about people forced to come together, to act, to take responsibility. These aren’t just “cool” characters anymore; they’re complicated, purpose-driven individuals working through trauma in a world that feels chillingly like our own.Thematically, it’s a huge step forward.Cowboy Bebopcaptivated audiences with its snazzy portrayal of spacefaring bounty hunters, each haunted by personal demons. Instead of relying on the myth of the lone tragic hero—a tropeBebopexemplified in Spike Spiegel—Lazarusgives us a team. A messy, conflicted group, made up of people from different countries and backgrounds, all trying to work together in the face of mass death.
In interviews,Watanabe cited the opioid crisis and climate change as inspirations forLazarus, aiming to mirror modern anxieties through speculative fiction. That eerily plausible shift gives the series a raw core that wasn’t as front-and-center inBebop, which favored themes of existential ennui through a film noir lens. It’s also worth noting thatLazarus' emotional complexity feels more inclusive. As beloved as they are, Watanabe’s early works carried a certain masculine detachment. Emotions were buried under smirks and cigarettes. Vulnerability was implied. InLazarus, Axel, Chris, Doug, Leland, and Eleina actually talk about fear. There’s a willingness to engage with maturity more openly, which reflectsWatanabe’s growth as a writerand the transformation of the way anime treats character development.
Visually, Shinichirō Watanabe is still doing what he does best: creating moods that linger.Lazarusis animated byMAPPA, the powerhouse studiobehind hit shows likeJujutsu KaisenandChainsaw Man, and the result is nothing short of electric. Action scenes are kinetic, fluid, and choreographed by none other thanJohn WickdirectorChad Stahelski. But even here, the director uses a different animation approach that departs from the traditional.
According to an interview withMen’s Health, Watanabe sought Stahelski’s expertise to “ensure they weren’t behind the times,” aiming for a “new type of action anime.” The stunt team at Stahelski’s 87eleven would receive story beats from Watanabe, which they would block, film, and send back to the animators in the form of pre-visualizations. “We didn’t just rely on rotoscoping or motion capture,” Wanatabe says. The animators didn’t trace over the live-action choreography. They creatively interpreted the movements into the animation.This resulted in the fluid and smooth physicality seen in Axel’s combat style, emulating the hyper-realized action of theJohn Wickfranchise.
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Even stylistically, of course, there’s jazz—but it’s infused with electronic and ambient rhythm, thanks to a soundtrack composed byKamasi Washington,Bonobo, andFloating Points. It’s jazz for a world that’s breaking down, not looking hip while cruising through space. But what makesLazarusevolutionary is the way all these familiar Watanabe elements are repurposed to ask heavier questions.He’s still experimenting with style, still layering genre over genre, but now with a stronger sense of responsibility—to the characters, to the story, and to the moment it reflects.
As Watanabe addresses withThe Verge,Lazarusis “shaped by contemporary issues and music,” aiming to “reflect on present-day realities and the end-of-the-world themes.” In doing so, the legendary director reinvents his auteur status while reaffirming his relevance in the maturing medium of anime storytelling. It’sa clear-eyed evolution of everything that made Shinichirō Watanabe’s work resonate, and it might be his most urgent story yet.
New episodes ofLazaruspremiere on Saturdays on Adult Swim and are available to stream on HBO Max the next day.
