Lazarus

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.

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" is set in the future, where the NSA "hired" a group of talented and skilled people, in order to track down Skinner, the creator of a drug that once taken does not let you fall sick. However, this pill contains a toxin that will cause the death of anyone that ingested it. The only person that has the vaccine is the doctor that disappeared. Hence, an international manhunt starts against time, in order to obtain the cure before humanity is completely wiped out. The premises are simple and straight-forward. All the different missions involving the task force are set in different parts of the world. There are episodes set in more exotic locations such as Turkey or Pakistan, but also in cold and inhospitable environments like Antarctica, adding a lot of variation.

The series shines especially on the action sequences, which are dynamic and overall well directed. We can see shootouts and bare hand fights accompanied by energetic electronic or jazz music. Watanabe did a good job with Axel that has the most compelling combats, thanks to his acrobatic abilities and the capacity of always finding a way to escape the most deadly situations. Overall all the characters have their own peculiarities and personalities, and even if they all fall into well defined tropes, they all have something unique that make this group engaging. Every single member of Lazarus served a specific purpose and actively contributed to progress the investigation, complementing each other. My favourite characters were Christine and Doug. The first is the perfect balance of a sensual and skilled agent that manages multiple times to trick others into giving out crucial intel, while the latter is practically the critical brain of the group that handles all the logistics.

On the other hand, I have to say that the plot overall feels lazy and uninspired. Certain dynamics are very predictable. The screenwriter played it safe, but this also means that there is very little on this TV show that stands out. It seems to watch the umpteenth spy story involving yet another global crisis. We have plenty of those and there are productions that made it way better than "LAZARUS". What saved the show were the characters that, as I mentioned before, have some unique peculiarities. Moreover the ending felt rushed and quite disappointing, with everything explained in the very last minutes of the 13th episode. All the efforts to create an international web of conspiracies and subterfuges was ruined by the fact that the story needed to be wrapped as quickly as possible. Clearly the series required a few more episodes to go full circle, maybe even a full second season, especially considering that the episodes do not even last 30 minutes. My final rate is 6.5.

An original anime directed by legendary Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Terror of Resonance), LAZARUS is a visually compelling anime that has good animation and character design by MAPPA, however is pulled down by weak story and over-the-top plot.

LAZARUS is a story about finding a scientist who disappeared after creating a medicine, which evidently will start killing it's consumers in 30 days time. While the premise sounded strong and the trailer looked good, the execution on the screen fell short. The storytelling is generic, uninspired, and often clumsy. There's no real tension, mystery, or emotional payoff. Everything feels like a rehash of sci-fi ideas that have been done dozens of times before, and done better. Although the anime started well, the second half got confusing with multiple subplot introductions and an inconsistent pace, resulting in an unpleasant outcome.

The best part of the anime is supposedly the music. Jazz, electronic, and ambient styles all come together to elevate scenes that otherwise wouldn't have much emotional impact.

Overall, LAZARUS is a classic case of wasted potential. It boasts top-tier animation, an impressive soundtrack, and a big-name creative team - but fails to back it up with anything meaningful narratively. Lazarus looks like prestige anime, but underneath the polish is a forgettable, soulless experience. A beautiful disappointment.

My Rating : 2.5/5.

An interesting series from which I expect a lot in terms of animation and entertainment.

Firstly, because the technical team is of high quality and it's a MAPPA production.

Although the first 2 episodes are easy to watch, the series doesn't escape the flaws of current productions:

• A basic scenario if you're a fan of Japanese animation that's afraid of going too far.

• a main character who's impossible to stop (prison, technology, policeman...) but a girl comes along! We know where this illogic comes from...
• a bunch of kids more intelligent than the population as a whole...

Given the media hype, I hope the anime will have the guts to take off beyond the usual mediocrity of series with an American touch.

To be continued...