Lazarus

Director and creator of Cowboy Bebop? Check. Known stunt coordinator and director of the John Wick films? Also check. Some respected musicians on the soundtrack? You got it. And topping it all off, a studio behind some favorite modern shows? Of course. The combination of these groups immediately raised a lot of interest from the masses, assisted by a campaign designed to channel Cowboy Bebop in particular. However, whether they could actually deliver was another question.

I picked this one up late in the season, so I did hear some things about it before I got caught up. One thing I had heard since is that the dub was not as good, and so I went with the Japanese audio. Reading subtitles I still noticed some lines were perhaps not written well, but nothing too bad. I can’t really say much when it comes to Japanese voice performances in general, but I would say everyone did a fine job. The characters themselves, well, that’s another story.

Let’s talk about the plot. Essentially Dr. Skinner, a brilliant scientist, has created Hapna, a miracle drug that can cure any pain without side effects. However, it’s revealed to be a trap that will kill anyone 4 years after the first dose, as some sort of retribution for the sins of humanity, particularly inaction on climate change. However, if Dr. Skinner is found in the 30 days before the first deaths should start then he will give the cure. This creates a ticking clock for the show, one we’re reminded of not just during dialogue but also at the end of every episode.

Now while I’m not too familiar with Watanabe’s work, what I’ve gathered reading online is that episodic, character-focused shows are where he thrives. Already the countdown presents a challenge, especially with the show only having 13 episodes. 30 days in 13 episodes with 5 characters that should be interesting to viewers would be quite a feat to accomplish, and unfortunately they don’t manage to do it. While I could at least tell you the names of our 5 operatives by the end, I’m not really invested in any of them. There are multiple instances where they are confronted with death and I just don’t care. Also I still don’t get what Doug’s deal is or why he’s some sort of criminal/delinquent. Seems like he just got himself thrown out of academia, why is he such a good shot? Why does it feel like only Eleina actually contributed?

The ticking clock itself is a weak point. While most of the leads not being all that helpful is forgivable, the lack of urgency that is exhibited sometimes is not. I could forgive this perhaps early on in the show, but even as the final day begins in the final episode there is no sign of anyone acting like the world is ending. I can’t suspend my disbelief that much, and I don’t think it’s some clever contrast. If you want the world continuing on like normal (for some people) even as everything ends go check out Carol and the End of the World on Netflix, that’s a much better execution of the concept.

There are good qualities to this show. Action scenes shine in particular, I imagine they captured these with real actors and recreated them. In general the animation is very high quality as MAPPA brings to life a near future world. Music didn’t really stand out to me but it rarely does, so you and I will have to trust other people to say it’s good. I will say the OP is certainly no ‘Tank!’ in terms of iconic sound, and we all know a show can’t be great without a great opening song, but it’s still pretty good. Episode 7 was a particular standout episode, I don’t really have any complaints there other than there being no real leads generated once again.

The show ends with the reveal that they could have ended this in episode 3, with many viewers saying, “hey that guy right there looks like Skinner.” Even without that, by episode 5 they had all the pieces needed, with one of them being picked up in episode 3 and ignored until episode 10. It really makes you wonder why these people were recruited, with the explanation also being kind of silly.

Overall I would say the show did not live up to its hype, which is fine as hype is not something we should take too seriously. What does make a good show is good writing and directing, and unfortunately the plot of this show and especially its resolution really missed the mark. While this is by no means the worst thing you could watch, you’re better off skipping it.