Lazarus: Everything we know about Cowboy Bebop director’s new anime

Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe’s new anime, Lazarus, is about to debut soon – here’s everything we know about the upcoming show.

One of the best anime ever, Cowboy Bebop hardly needs any introduction. Viewers have been enthralled by Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein’s hijinks for years. And a big portion of the credit goes to Watanabe.

But, Cowboy Bebop isn’t the only significant anime show in the famed director’s resume. Throughout the years, he’s also delivered masterpieces like Samurai Champloo, Terror in Resonance, and Carol and Tuesday.

So, it’s no surprise anime fans are eagerly waiting for Watanabe’s next venture, especially since Lazarus has some action movie royalty attached to it. 

Is there a release window?

Lazarus will release sometime in 2025. This was revealed at SDCC 2024, as part of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty: The Anime panel.

Adult Swim

The anime series was first announced in July 2023 by Adult Swim. The announcement also included some of the major crew members on the project, including the director.

Since then, at the teaser launch of the anime, the team shared news that Lazarus should complete production in 2024. So far, it seems like everything is going to schedule. We’ll share more when we can.

Lazarus trailer

Lazarus released its first teaser trailer two days after the anime’s official announcement: July 22, 2023, at SDCC.

You can watch the trailer here, which features the major characters of the anime. The trailer starts in a prison and follows a dark-haired young man, seemingly the protagonist, as he goes about his mission, demonstrating some sleek action sequences.

We also get a glimpse at the nationwide announcement that sparks the events of the story. Some other major characters make their appearance, too, hinting at their role in the show.

What’s Lazarus about?

Lazarus is an original anime by Adult Swim, meaning it’s not based on any manga or light novel.

Adult Swim

The anime is set in the year 2059 when the world has become a utopia of sorts. It’s all thanks to Hapuna, a miraculous drug that can cure all ailments with no apparent side effects. 

The plot thickens when Dr. Skinner, the Nobel Prize-winning inventor of Hapuna, suddenly vanishes on the day of the drug’s official launch. He reappears three years later, claiming anyone who’s taken Hapuna will die three years after the fact.

However, after making such an explosive announcement, he vanishes into thin air again. But this time the stakes are too high to let the scientist off so easily. Thus, the government creates a special group to take care of this problem.

The team, comprised of five top agents, is called Lazarus. Their goal is not only to find the elusive scientist but to also create a vaccine to save the world from the impending doom.

Who’s making it?

Lazarus is being animated by the famous anime studio MAPPA, with Solo Entertainment in charge of the production. 

Adult Swim

As mentioned before, Shinichiro Watanabe will oversee the project as the director. Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick movies, is the man behind the action sequences.

Akemi Hayashi, who’s previously designed characters for Banana Fish, Fruits Basket (2011), and the LGBTQ+ anime movie Doukyuusei, is doing the same for Lazarus. 

Music is provided by many prominent names in the industry, including Kamisi Washington, Floating Points, and Bonobo.

How many episodes will there be?

Lazarus is listed for 13 episodes. This is the standard for most seasonal anime.

The episodes will be broadcast on Adult Swim’s Toonami channel. As of yet, we don’t know if it’ll arrive on other popular anime streaming services like Crunchyroll and Netflix. 

For more upcoming anime, check out our guides on Dandadan, One-Punch Man Season 3, Dragon Ball Daima, Solo Leveling Season 2, and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie trilogy.