Lazarus 1×2 Review: “Life in the Fast Lane”

Lazarus anime season 1 episode 2, titled ‘Life in the Fast Lane’, had Axel quickly introduced to his new team members before setting off on his first mission to find Skinner.

I was provided with a free screener of ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

With Axel being kidnapped in the premiere, ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ opened with him regaining consciousness and learning about his captors. Hersch appeared via video call to tell Axel he was now part of a secret team called Lazarus. Their mission was simple; track down Skinner before another group got to him and then force him to hand over the cure to the mutated Hapna.

The fact every member had to wear a bracelet that allowed Hersch to release an electric shock at will gave Suicide Squad vibes. However, our leads were more or less morally gray instead of the full-on villains who have formed the iconic comic book team from DC over the decades. As Axel put it, they were basically superheroes even if they had no choice but to follow Hersch’s orders. They all had consumed Hapna. So, in a sense, acquiring Skinner’s cure was in their best interest.

Most of the episode was about introducing Axel (and the audience) to the rest of the characters and the team’s first mission to follow a potential lead to locate Skinner. Axel revealed the reason he got more than 800 years in prison was because he kept breaking out and years kept on being added to his sentence. I liked the scene where Christine pushed Axel out of the car when he casually brought up his sentence. I’m with Christine. I would have done the same thing. There was no way I was going to be paired up with a potential serial killer no matter how useful Hersch thought the person was.

Doug apparently got roped into a false misdemeanor charge. Teenage boy Leland had done some petty thefts.

Compared to the rest, Eleina was definitely in the big leagues. Even though she’s very shy, Eleina’s been behind global cybersecurity attacks. I don’t know how Hersch got said teen girl to be part of Lazarus, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Eleina comes out of her shell as the story progresses. Doug did share she might be their wildcard during the current operation.

It’s Eleina who found the current lead for the team, making the others split into two pairs to investigate survival shelters. As expected, the team’s first mission didn’t go as planned. Christine and Axel were attacked by a couple of other groups tracking down the man who had built the survival shelters. Leland got himself taken hostage by a man looking to collect some debt, forcing Doug to put down his weapon.

‘Life in the Fast Lane’ was a bit slow compared to the debut, with the narrative allowing viewers to learn more about Axel and his crew. We did get a fun action sequence involving Axel and Christine against a bunch of armed people. The moment when Axel mentioned his team’s name to the FBI and the DEA was funny.

Axel also mentioned how his winged necklace served as a lucky charm to Christine before running into gunfire. He felt untouchable while wearing it. So, yeah, that thing is likely coming off down the line. That’s just how such stories go.

The episode concluded with Eleina and Hersch being surprised at thousands of people with a digital scan of Skinner’s face popping up on numerous cameras. 28 days left before the first batch of Hapna users begin to die and the team’s nowhere near finding Skinner.

Did you watch Lazarus anime season 1 episode 2 ‘Life in the Fast Lane’? 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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