Saturday Night Showcase> Lazarus

Recently I did an episode one review for the new Adult Swim series, produced by Williams Street and airing on the Toonami anime and action block, and coming from the creator of Cowboy Bebop. I hadn’t expected Adult Swim to post episode one to YouTube so I can show you, but since they did (who knows for how long) I’m going to take advantage.

The short version is Lazarus takes place three years after the miracle drug Hapna turned out to be a curse…and anyone who took it has only 30 days to live unless they find its creator. Why add that to the situation? Don’t know. I’ve only seen up to episode two on Sling’s Cartoon Network/Adult Swim preview channel. (If you look for it, note that one list as of this writing only has one episode and the other has both of the first two episodes, though the network itself is up to episode five, at least on the Toonami site, with only the first two episodes unlocked unless you have a cable, satellite, or paid streaming account that carries Cartoon Network, or on the Max paid streaming service.

Episode one sets up the situation and introduces our entryway into the world of Lazarus. Axel Gilberto is a master at escaping prison, which is where his ton of life sentences comes from. The titular organization, obviously taking the name of the Biblical figure from the New Testament they hope to emulate by avoiding death, who are searching Dr. Skinner, the creator of Hapna, want him on their team. He’s not convinced to take the job offer, but he’ll learn it wasn’t a request. Episode two will introduce the rest of the team and why they were “recruited”, but for now enjoy the choreography from the stunt coordinator of the John Wick franchise, Chad Stahelski, and of course the series creator, Shinichirō Watanabe–the man behind the legendary Cowboy Bebop and not the legendary failure that is the live-action demake. If you already saw it and don’t need to watch it again, I do have a couple of bonus videos you might still enjoy.

As a special bonus here is the opening theme song, “Vortex” in full by Kamasi Washington (Wantabe loves his jazz)…

…and the closing song “Lazarus” by the Boo Radleys. Somebody read To Kill A Mockingbird.