Lazarus

Cool concept, great music, solid animation, but the writing is abominable. Some of the worst dialogue ever recorded for animation. Characters are just inscrutable with near-incoherent motivations. Even when they explain their choices and motives, which is what they spend most their time talking about, the logic is flimsy at best.

I kept watching just to hear more from Kamasi, Bonobo, and Floating Points and to see if the story would ever make sense. There are moments, but way too few. The payoffs have weak setups, sometimes none at all. Sometime a plot line seems to set up something but goes nowhere.

Bottom line: almost all style, minimal substance.

Lazarus has a bold sci-fi concept, slick animation, and stylish action that reminds me of classics like Cowboy Bebop. The atmosphere is mature, the music fits the tone well, and the English dub is surprisingly strong. While a few scenes feel rushed or don't land emotionally, the overall presentation kept me hooked. The pacing builds mystery without revealing too much too soon. It explores deep questions about technology, humanity, and survival without being too heavy. The retro-modern visual style gives it a unique feel that anime fans will appreciate. It may not reach legendary status, but it's still a refreshing and thought-provoking ride. I gave it 7/10.

Lazarus doesn't really do anything unique or mind-blowing. Like his previous works, the protagonist on a wild goose chase in search of something. In this case, he's in search of a doctor who holds the only cure for a medicine that will eventually kill everyone who took it ever. The premise is actually pretty tame, realistic, and contained compared to other Watanabe's works. The characters aren't really standouts, even the protagonist. I would say it's worth the watch if you like his other works Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Samurai Champloo but Lazarus honestly falls short of all of these titles by far. The dubbing also isn't good and breaks the gloomy vibe. I'd suggest the sub if you really want to not break immersion because sometimes the English VA is just...bad. The soundtrack, as per usual from Watanabe, delivers. The score during most scenes helps enhance the gloomy aesthetic that it's going for. Not a bad work by any means but it's not a must watch either.

Within seconds of watching the first episode, the abysmal voice acting was apparent, and not just from one or two characters but across the board. It's very obvious that they did not give the English voice casting an adequate budget. What's shocking about this is the fact that this series was created by the same guy responsible for Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, two of the best voice acted anime series ever created, but this show has bad voice acting even for an average anime.

Aside from that, Lazarus is extremely derivative and has a boring/generic setting. The whole premise of the show (so far, anyway) seems like it was thought up in a matter of minutes. It honestly feels like Watanabe is just kinda over making anime, and this was something he did simply because a really good offer came along.

Definitely don't go into this series expecting something on par with the likes of Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo. It's nowhere even close to that level of overall quality or artistic vision.

It was a good show that explored similar themes of loneliness, much like Cowboy Bebop. The animation was solid-Mappa, as always, delivered incredible work. However, I felt the story lacked depth. While the characters' backstories were touched on, there were still many unanswered questions, and I didn't really connect with any of the characters, not even Axel. Given that Cowboy Bebop had twice the number of episodes, that's understandable. I wouldn't call this a bad anime, but I wouldn't say it's a great one either. If you're after action, good animation, a strong soundtrack, and themes similar to Cowboy Bebop, you might enjoy it. I hope that if there's a season 2, we'll see stronger character development.