When I was a teenager in the early 2000s, my girlfriend Melody was obsessed with this niche emerging trend called anime. While I’m more obsessed with the Marvel movies: the first Spider-Man, Blade, and the X-Men movies, she’s obsessed with the shows that dominate Cartoon Network’s late-night lineup on Adult Swim. Nothing is more important than ever, especially a midnight show cowboy bebop.
I brushed it off as soon as I started. This anime isn’t called Dragon Ball Z or Pokémon, it just boils down to another outdated fad. But a few years later, when curiosity got the better of me, I finally decided to watch it—and from the first episode… I was hooked.
What I found was a masterpiece—a show that oozed style, mystery, and cool in a way I had never seen before. cowboy bebop Not just another cartoon. It’s the door to something completely new. A fusion of smoky jazz, cyberpunk grit, action movie meta humor and intergalactic space adventure. Cowboy Bebop isn’t just cool. It exudes an effortless swagger that redefines the feel of the story, says Quentin Tarantino-esque creator Shinichiro Watanabeput it on the map in the 2000s as anime hit a new wave of popularity.
You can imagine my excitement at NYCC 2024 because not only did I get a screener of the pilot Lazarusbut I got to sit down with Watanabe himself.
You can follow the steps below.
But first, what is Lazarus Even about?
The time is 2052.
The world seems to be about to enter an unprecedented era of peace and stability, and this has a lot to do with the painkiller “Hapna” developed by acclaimed neuroscientist Dr. Skinner.
Hapna is spread all over the world as a “miracle medicine” with no side effects, freeing humans from pain.
Until Skinner suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth.
When he reappeared three years later, he was already a demon bringing countless deaths and the end of civilization. It turns out that Hapna is a drug with fatal retroactive effects that appear three years after first taking it; it’s a death trap for anyone who takes it, even once. Humanity will begin to become extinct in 30 days. The only way to save the world is to find the antidote that only Skinner has. To do this we must first find him.
“Lazarus” is a team of five agents from around the world whose mission is to do just that.
Can they save humanity? What is Skinner’s true purpose?
Now, the original scenes of the play are a classic example of doomed psychology. What happens when the world, or in this case a large part of humanity, learns that it may end?
My first thought was that the famous psychological behaviorist BF Skinner His entire career has been based on reinforcement and operant conditioning, and I wonder if the themes of this story are somehow related. I also ponder whether this HAPNA wonder drug is a metaphor for the use of vaccination practices – such as the COVID-19 vaccines that serve as humanity’s own wonder drug to help end the pandemic.
“In fact, I started this project even before the pandemic. “But what really informs this story is the opiate crisis in the United States. And then there’s the climate crisis. Our world is facing the possibility of how it’s going to end.
Indeed, many Lazarus’s story momentum is an exploration of such a powerful subject, anchored by a single, chilling sci-fi twist that drives the narrative: In the desperate search for a cure, time is running out.
Compare Lazarus arrive cowboy bebop
My second question is Lazarus Created as a spiritual successor cowboy bebop (The animation seen above is not a TV series)Considering that it has been nearly 30 years since the release of “Bebop”, 20 years have passed since Watanabe’s touching science fiction novel. After watching the pilot, I agree that the two have a fairly familiar spark in style that fans will instantly recognize.
“In some quarters people have that perception, but that’s actually what a producer might say. That’s not what it’s supposed to be…” Watanabe admits. Its translation allows for pauses as the legendary creator contemplates his process before replying. “Having said that, this project does Lazarus start with myself Nobmoto Keikowho wrote the original script cowboy bebop. Since she was originally involved and we were both involved in the writing, that might explain the similarities or a similar vibe. However, I’m telling you now, this was not intentional. It comes naturally because of the way we work.
The collaboration between Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumoto had a major impact not only on animation, but also on the turn of the millennium. Nobumoto is a dynamic duo and is actually a screenwriter involved in writing some of Watanabe’s hit works, e.g. Cowboy Bebop, Champloo, and space dude. Sadly, she died of esophageal cancer in 2021 at the age of 57, leaving Watanabe to complete the work alone. This project marks one of their final works together.
Still, it’s hard not to see the similarities between Bebop and Lazarus. The fight scenes do look similar to Spike’s Jeet Kune Do at times, and the musical composition does have a surprisingly jazzy edge (composed by Kamasi Washington, replacing Yoko Sugano and Seatbelt). There are also scenic panoramic shots mixed with Floating Points and Bonobo’s DJ-like sounds. Suffice it to say, the fusion of all this music and animation creates an atmosphere in Lazarus’ own style that you can sample on top of.
Looking for his own uniqueness, I asked him if he had a favorite episode that was so iconic in his work. Lazarus, For example”Song of Fallen AngelsTake the Cowboy Bebop moment, for example. Shinichiro Watanabe emphasized that he wanted to distinguish between the two animations:
“So with Bebop, since each episode is more or less self-contained, it’s easier to choose between episodes and which of them is someone’s favorite. But in Lazarus , I created an arc for the entire 13-episode series. In doing so, the series works as a thread that we hope everyone will see and see through to the end. Ji gave up.
On Lazarus’ Action Sequences and Parkour Techniques
Now, many big names are involved in the series, including die-hard Cowboy Bebop fans and the director of Cowboy Bebop. John Wick franchise, Chad Stahelski. Stahelski served as Keanu Reeves’ stuntman on “The Matrix,” contributing action direction to more than four episodes. Emphasizing a more authentic quality to the fighting style than anything Watanabe has produced before. It also helps that both men worked on The Matrix – because people forget that Watanabe was one of the main directors on The Matrix. animator.
However, what particularly stands out for series protagonist Axel Gilberto is his fighting skills. It’s very Spike Spiegal, albeit with a lot of parkour influence added, which adds a very interesting background as Axel climbs walls and skyscrapers.
“So I always thought that in understanding parkour people and understanding parkour people, I wanted to incorporate that into animation. When it came time to actually animate these scenes, I first thought of doing it mostly myself…but I met a really great animator named Takeo Oda He really loved parkour, studied all its moves, and could animate really well with it. So I really let him do his thing,” Watanabe said of hiring the up-and-coming creator. “Takeo Oda also worked at Studio Ghibli. The animator completed the animation of the parkour scene on his own and did an excellent job. I think this show will make him famous after it is broadcast.
On the brilliant career of Shinichiro Watanabe
Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps due to my own creative interests, I asked Shinichiro Watanabe about his long career and his achievements in anime works that revolutionized the industry and popularized it In the West, is this one thing that stands out? Is it about intellectual property work? animatrix or Blade Runner: Blackout 2022? Is this his early work? bebop or Champloux?
What is the proudest moment in Watanabe’s career?
I didn’t expect this answer.
“I don’t know if this can be considered my proudest moment, but I get to talk about something that I truly enjoy creating. In terms of joy, doing something for the joy it brings me, I really enjoyed creating SPACE DANDY the most,” Watanabe shared, to my complete surprise. “I’m able to work in a very stress-free way, which is much easier compared to my other works and projects. Everything else involves a lot of work and a lot of pressure. But Space Dandy? That one I loved .
