Lazarus

In the year 2048, Dr. Deniz Skinner, a scientific genius dubbed second only to Einstein, developed the revolutionary painkiller Hapna. Being cheap with no reported side effects, the drug gained widespread acceptance, even though Skinner himself silently vanished one year after launching the drug. Everyone revelled in the heaven of relief and ecstasy provided by Hapna, but they would suddenly come crashing down to Earth. It is now 2052, and Skinner reappears, giving the shocking announcement that Hapna was designed to mutate into a lethal toxin, killing anyone who had consumed it. While he claims to have a cure, he will only hand it over if he is physically found within 30 days.

Axel Gilberto, a maverick youngster serving a sentence of 888 years in a high-security prison, is unwillingly recruited by a group calling themselves Lazarus. Composed of eccentric misfits, the group has only one task—to find Skinner. With no means to escape and their lives on the line, Lazarus begins the hunt to find Skinner before the countdown to the end of humanity ends.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Gilberto, Axel Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Christine Main

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Eleina Main

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Hadine, Douglas Main

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Leland Main

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Skinner, Deniz Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Lindemann, Hersch Supporting

Hayashibara, Megumi Japanese

Police Officer Supporting

Volcano Ota Japanese

Inga Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

Jill Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Matsunaga, Masato Producer

Chou, Joseph Producer

Watanabe, Shinichirou Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Yamashita, Shingo Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director

Reviews

Mar 21, 2026

Andrei6230

Recommended

GHIBILI BEBOP


Welcome to Lazarus, or Cowboy Bebop 2.0. This is the latest of of Shinichiro Watanabe's works and it's very similiar to his other pieces of art in pretty much everything.

Another team of anti-heroes but this time they are forced to play the good guys, being tasked with finding the man who is responsible for engineering a drug that somehow managed to hook the whole planet to, and now is supposedly going to bring about the end of it.

This group consists of 6 people, each different in their own way, and you get to see them go through a sort-of character developement arc where they ... connect with each other in a unique, trauma bondage setting where they go from distant strangers to an almost family like bond. ( this is my favorite part of the anime btw)

Also, since this is a Watanabe show, coupled with the animation of MAPPA, you're going to see epic fights and set pieces, pretty good soundtrack and awesome visuals. The story lacks short in a lot of areas, a whole lot of plotholes but it manages to make up for it with good character developement.

I personally loved this show very much, and for some reason that I don't know of, it made me feel like a kid again especially after I finished watching it and I saw the key visual for the series pop up in my feed. I am a very nostalgic person, so this will hold a special place in my heart.

For those of you who grew up watching Bebop and Champloo late at night on Adult Swim know what I'm talking about!!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 2, 2026

notlikethesoup

Mixed Feelings

Lazarus has a lot that reminds me of great Watanabe works (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo), but it just doesn't make the mark as much as it should. The animation is beautiful, the soundtrack is fantastic, but the cast just doesn't hit the same way previous works' casts did, and a more urgent plot device (even if the plot never FEELS that urgent) doesn't feel as good as the meandering journey that intertwines with the characters' past like Bebop and Champloo. It's fine, and it doesn't overstay its welcome, but don't expect anything remotely near the level of Bebop or Champloo, because it ain't here. But ... it's still a mostly fun watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 5, 2025

genrenders

Not Recommended

Soundtrack by Floating Points is one of not many interesting things behind this uninspired waste of tremendous potential, especially with who's behind directing whatever that is. Not the worst thing ever, but I just can't find any reason to recommend watching this to anyone, that's for certain.

Watching this at first, it looked like it could be something that'd be building upon the concepts and ideas from Cowboy Bebop, but it never ever did unfortunately.
Characters are as forgettable as ever, and their "quirks" just sorta fell flat with how little stuff has developed throughout the story. That's slop, hyper-unfortunately... Straight up nothing to even add here, ... that neon funky club scene was pretty though, and once again, Floating Points did it justice

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Lazarus Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 ) godzilla9637 - Jun 14, 2025	94 replies	by Zish_jaya »» Mar 17, 11:29 AM
	Poll: Lazarus Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) IzanaSolos - Apr 5, 2025	294 replies	by oozePOP »» Mar 16, 2:40 PM
	Poll: Lazarus Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) IzanaSolos - Jun 28, 2025	231 replies	by Sharpedon »» Feb 24, 12:09 PM
	Poll: Lazarus Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) godzilla9637 - Jun 21, 2025	123 replies	by Sharpedon »» Feb 24, 11:24 AM
	Poll: Lazarus Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) godzilla9637 - Jun 7, 2025	88 replies	by Sharpedon »» Feb 24, 10:08 AM