Lazarus 1×1 Review: “Goodbye Cruel World”

The highly-anticipated anime Lazarus by Shinichirō Watanabe (freaking Cowboy Bebop) delivered an enjoyable debut to a story featuring cool visuals, dynamic action, and questions about addiction, humanity, and divinity.

I was provided with a free screener of Lazarus season 1 episode 1 ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

Before I begin my review of Lazarus, I would like to state that comparing the latest anime with the iconic Cowboy Bebop is simply going to lead to disappointment. Lazarus isn’t trying to be like Cowboy Bebop. It stands on its own right. Now, whether it will reach the iconic status of the former remains to be seen, but I would recommend trying to enjoy Lazarus for what it is.

Set during the 2050s, the premise deals with a brilliant scientist named Dr. Skinner creating a drug called Hapna. FDA-approved, the drug was basically considered a painkiller, capable of “curing” sadness and other “negative” emotions in human beings. Hitting the market in 2052, of course, everyone got on the pill, especially the younger generation. Though the entire world appreciated Dr. Skinner’s creation, what the world didn’t appreciate was Dr. Skinner’s consistent statements about global warming and wanting peace on Earth.

Having lost his faith in humanity, Dr. Skinner decided to make a harrowing announcement in 2055 (having been off the grid for three years) about how everyone who ingested Hapna would start dying in 30 days due to the pill mutating inside of them. The only way to stop the incoming death toll was by finding Dr. Skinner and convincing him to release the cure.

The announcement caused a frenzy with research companies frantically trying to come up with their own cures. Running out of time, a secret team called Lazarus is formed to track down Dr. Skinner and force him to save everyone.

The audience surrogate seems to be Axel Gilberto, a young man who has been sentenced to more than 800 years in prison. Lazarus handler Hersch wanted Axel on the team. Apparently, he’s extremely talented at breaking out of prisons and that’s exactly what he showcased during the first episode during his meeting with Hersch.

With Chad Stahelski (John Wick series) overseeing the action, Axel’s prison break sequence was well-choreographed, with him knocking down numerous armed guards with his hand-to-hand prowess. ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ didn’t stop there because after Axel’s return to the outside world, Hersch deployed the current members of Team Lazarus to go after Axel, leading to a chase scene across a stunning city. The entire sequence did a lot to lay the groundwork for some immersive world-building in the very first episode.

Set in the near future, the level of technological advancements came across as something we might actually get to see during the 2050s. The animation team also did a good job of keeping the city alive by having cars and people move around in the background.

The rest of Lazarus consisted of the cool-headed Doug, the tech-savvy Leland, sharpshooter Christine, and hacker Eleina. I liked seeing how they worked together to corner Axel. You could tell it was a fresh team because even though they tried to coordinate their strategy, some mistakes were made which Axel used to his advantage to avoid capture. But Christine’s able to get Axel in the end, making for a nice moment that showcases how quickly she’s able to switch between her action-oriented persona and blending with the crowd to lower someone’s guard.

I’m looking forward to learning more about each character’s backstory and why they were recruited to Team Lazarus in the first place. I doubt any of them will be revealed to be actual bad people.

From what I know, the anime is supposed to have 13 episodes. Each episode also ends with a counter displaying how many days are left in the 30-day deadline by Dr. Skinner. As the days keep ticking down, I’m interested in seeing how humanity as a whole will react to running out of time.  

Lazarus airs at midnight on Toonami on Adult Swim, and next day on Max.

Did you watch Lazarus episode 1 ‘Goodbye Cruel World’? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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