Quick Links
Lazarusperfectly followed its premiere with episode #2, and sure enough, it left plenty to be excited about for episode #3 and beyond.Lazaruscontinues to be another strong entry into the library of legendary director Shinichiro Watanabe, and if the first two episodes are any indication, it’s probably only going to get better from here.
Lazarusepisode #2 was the formal beginning of the eponymous team’s adventures, with them immediately getting the ball rolling on looking for Dr. Skinner and getting a cure for Hapna. The team was quick to jump on what they thought was a solid lead on Skinner’s whereabouts, but not only was he nowhere to be found, butLazarus’ first search for Dr. Skinner quickly escalated into an all-out brawl with some otherwise unrelated forces. Episode #2 did a great job of building on the premiere’s momentum, and hopefully, episode #3 will be more of the same.
What Time Lazarus Episode 3 Releases
Lazarus Episode 3’s Release Schedule
Shinichiro Watanabe’sLazarusis a Toonami original anime, meaning that cable or other forms of TV service are required for watching new episodes live, although new episodes will be streamed the next day on Max. Assuming there are no delays,Lazarusepisode #3 will premiere on Saturday, April 19 at 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 5:00 AM British Summer Time (BST), and it should be available on Max relatively early the following day.
Lazarus Episode 1 Review: A Great Premiere, Despite A Few Flaws
Lazarus Episode 1 In Review
Overall, there’s very little not to love aboutLazarus’ premiere. In addition to having an engaging and surprisingly timely story, the action, animation, and overall visual style are all great to look at and a perfect evolution of everything Shinichiro Watanabe has done withCowboy Bebopand other works in the past.Lazarusis already proving to have the best combination of writing and animation of any of Shinichiro Watanabe’s works in recent years, and it will be great to see how it lives up to its hype as one of themost hotly-anticipated anime of spring 2025.
The music, of course, deserves the biggest amount of praise. With a soundtrack made in collaboration with Bonobo, Floating Points, and Kamasi Washington, it was easy to assume that the soundtrack would be one of the biggest highlights of the show, and sure enough,Lazarusepisode #1 featured an amazing mixture of vocal and instrumental tracks that always perfectly complemented the mood of each scene. The fact that the soundtrack is primarily jazz-based makes it even better, as it truly feels like Shinichiro Watanabe has returned to his musical roots withLazarus.
If there’s one place whereLazarusis falling short, however, it would have to be with its voice acting. While the English dub isn’t terrible, there’s a very notable stiffness in the dialogue with awkward delivery finding its way into almost every scene, and when compared to the usually phenomenal dubs of Shinichiro Watanabe’s anime,Lazarushas the worst English dub of any Shinichiro Watanabe anime for how awkward the voice acting is more often than not.Lazarushas the potential to be thebest anime of 2025, and fortunately, it’s already overcoming its biggest problem as of episode #2.
What Happened In Lazarus Episode 2?
Produced By MAPPA; Directed By Tsuyoshi Tobita
Lazarusepisode #2, “Life in the Fast Lane”, picked up where the premiere left off with Axel being introduced to the rest of the team—Doug Hadine, Chris, Leland, and Eleina—and learning that if he tries to escape again, the bracelet around his wrist will melt his hand off. With escape now impossible, Axel had no choice but to work with Lazarus and help them find Dr. Skinner; to that end,Eleina found a possible lead in a bomb shelter purchased under Dr. Skinner’s name, and the team split up to investigate both the bomb shelter and the company in charge.
Doug and Leland investigated the company in charge of the bomb shelter, only to find it abandoned and the computers completely inoperable. At the same time, they were confronted by two gunmen pressing them for information about someone, but it was soon discovered that not only did the gunmen not have anything to do with Dr. Skinner or Lazarus, but thatthe gunmen who attacked Doug and Leland were just debt collectors going after the head of the bomb shelter company for being late on his concrete payments, and the situation quickly died down after the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Meanwhile, Axel and Chris found a man inside the bomb shelter they thought was Skinner with plastic surgery, but before they could confront him, Russian and Mexican gangsters showed up and started a fight. Axel fought them off until the FBI and the DEA arrived, and it was then that they learned the man in the shelter was the company head the debt collectors were after. Lazarus’ first mission ultimately ended in failure, and to make things more confusing,Eleina’s attempt at tracking down Dr. Skinner through facial recognition somehow revealed thousands of people with his face around the world.
Lazarus Is Already Showing What Makes Its Characters Different From Other Watanabe Anime
What Makes The Cast Of Lazarus So Unique
While the members of Lazarus are very much the kinds of rogueish anti-heroes Watanabe is known for writing, unlike in shows likeCowboy Bebop,Samurai Champloo, andSpace Dandy, the characters here at least act more heroic, with Axel even saying that their mission to save the world makes them like the Avengers. It might just be on a surface level, butLazarus’ characters being more straightforward heroes creates a very interesting contrast to Shinichiro Watanabe’s usual style, and it will be great to see what else is done with it, going forward.
Lazarus Continues To Show Off Why It’s Such A Great Anime
Lazarus Is Slowly Coming Into Its Own
Lazarusalready had a great premiere, and episode #2 was an even better follow-up. In addition to still having plenty of great action and music, including the formal introduction ofLazarus’ amazing theme song, episode #2 also excelled narratively with how much it fleshed out the cast and the larger world, most notably with further developing Skinner as someone who grew fed up with everyone complete disinterest toward doing anything to save the world.Lazarus’ writing and overall direction continue to be nothing but spectacular with its second episode, and the rest of the series will hopefully follow suit.
Episode #2 also seems to have fixed the issue with the voice acting. While the voice acting in the premiere was notably stiff, everything sounded far more natural in episode #2, and while it still wasn’t perfect,the voice acting inLazarusepisode #2 gives hope that the stiff voice acting in episode #1 won’t be a regular occurrence. Overall,Lazaruscontinues to perfectly play into its hype, and with any luck, episode #3 and beyond will be even greater to watch.
Be sure to watchLazarusepisode #3 when it releases on Saturday, April 19.
