Lazarus is a brand-new anime series set in the near future, but despite some cool action sequences, the first five episodes feel incredibly slow. Set in the year 2055, Lazarus follows a special task force that has been set up to track down a genius scientist who, three years prior, created a miracle drug capable of erasing all pain and illness. However, when Dr. Skinner, the creator of the Hapna drug, reveals it will eventually kill everyone who took it, five misfits who make up the Lazarus team, named after the vaccine, must race against the clock to save the world.

The announcement of a drug killing people is shocking in and of itself, and what's worse is that Skinner is nowhere to be found. The Lazarus team is on the hunt for Skinner to get a cure, but with less than a month before people start dying, things don't look too good.

The Action In Lazarus Is Spectacular, But The Story Moves Slowly

Season 1 of Lazarus, created by Cowboy Bebop director Shin'ichirô Watanabe, takes place over 13 episodes, depicting the final 30-day countdown before people begin to die. With such high stakes, it's expected that the show would reflect the urgency and intensity of the situation, but the progression is slow. Gathering the team happens quickly in the first episode, but once they're together and set out to find Dr. Skinner, they go nowhere fast.

In all honesty, the action sequences are one of the absolute best parts of the show.

To try and offset this slower part of the story, the episodes do contain intense action sequences which largely focus on Axel, one of the core team who is a highly experienced escape artist, athlete, and fighter. Axel can fight people seemingly with both hands behind his back, as he moves swiftly and rapidly to avoid capture and harm. The action sequences are one of the absolute best parts of the show, which makes sense considering the legendary director of John Wick, Chad Stahelski, was directly involved in deg them.

The action is great, and Axel is a compelling lead character, but among the team of five, he is not nearly prominent enough. The team dynamic doesn't gel well and the story suffers for it. And while the central plot revolves around the mystery of where Dr. Skinner is, the first five episodes make almost no real headway into uncovering what is going on. There is a chance that the rest of the season could pick up, but from what happens early on, it seems unlikely things will pick up quickly enough.

Lazarus Needs To Pick Up The Pace & Go Deeper With The Characters

Lazarus has an incredibly engaging core premise. Unlike many other anime shows, it is an original concept rather than an adaptation. This fact delivers a double-sided outcome, with the potential for the story to go in any direction and be completely unexpected. However, it also means it can't benefit from a preexisting history for the characters. There is no lore for the Lazarus team, so it's up to the show to dig into their narratives and motivations. And while it touches on these for each character, none of them are particularly well-defined or thought-out.

Lazarus has an incredibly engaging core premise, and unlike many other anime shows, it is an original concept, rather than an adaptation.

Considering how diverse and unique their skill sets are, though, there is a lot of potential left to unpack in the remaining season 1 episodes. Unfortunately, after spending hours with them, there is very little that prompts a connection or sincere engagement with these heroes. And with people due to start dying, there is no sense of urgency. Everything continues to appear mundane, boring, and ordinary, with the odd reference to how nothing really matters because everyone will be dead soon.

Visually, the show doesn't really stand out from other animes. The characters are less enigmatic and the pace feels incredibly laid back. The concept is interesting and the team has the potential to be something special, but so far, Lazarus has not fully utilized either in its first five episodes. And with that much time to develop the story, it could lose a lot of interest before the show actually gets into the meat of the plot involving Dr. Skinner.