Adult Swim debuted a new look at Lazarus, a new anime by Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichirō Watanabe and Jujutsu Kaisen studio Mappa at San Diego Comic-Con. The series is slated to premiere on Adult Swim in 2025.
Although the special look at Lazarus was behind closed doors, we have a play-by-play breakdown of what the super secret clip’s content entailed. The clip centers on Lazarus’ fugitive protagonist, Axel Gilberto, as he off walls and kicks some dudes in the face in the process. After running down a subway line with policemen on his heels, we see a shot of a girl dressed in a red skirt and a baseball cap walking out of a room (more on her later).
After Axel escapes the train, drones are after him now. Snapshot back to the girl as she activates a hologram control pod tracking Axel out of the train station. We then get a cool establishing shot of some guys on motorcycles awaiting Axel. The final shots of the trailer show Axel performing Mirror’s Edge-style parkour before he stops at the edge of a building, runs, and slides down a pole.
While our color commentary of the super secret clp may not have done the Lazarus clip justice, its already incredible creative collaboration between Mappa and Watanabe being joined by Chad Stahelski certainly does. Stahelski is best known for his role as the director of the John Wick films.
"Lazarus" Preview Trailer
— ?MangaAlerts #uw7s? (@MangaAlerts) July 23, 2023
(Studio: MAPPA)
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
Release Date TBA but it's confirmed this will have a runtime of 13 Epsiodes pic.twitter.com/KpaTE2rVXc
Lazarus was first announced in 2023. The series takes place in 2052 and follows a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist who creates a revolutionary drug named Hapauna. Unfortunately, the miracle drug also has lethal side effects, key among them being the death of its users three years after partaking in it. Naturally, this leads to a special task force comprised of five agents from around the world called Lazarus investigating the phenomenon and searching for a cure to the medicine's virus.
“Shinichirō Watanabe is simply one of the greatest living artists, and it’s a dream come true to be able to collaborate with him on a new original series,” Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco told Variety in a 2023 interview. “Like all of his work, Lazarus is packed with big ideas, incredible characters, and a ton of heart. We can’t wait for anime fans to see this world.”
The 13-episode anime’s soundtrack will feature music from jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who serves as producer alongside British electronic music DJ Floating Points and jazz DJ Bonobo.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
