Shiniciro Watanabe is a legendary anime director for good reason: he creates successful series practically every time he directs. It seems his latest series, Lazarus , is no exception! The sci-fi thriller focused on the consequences of a drug trade has been performing very well, at least on the MAX streaming service.
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According to FlixPatrol , Lazarus ranked 8th on the "Top 10 HBO Shows for April 23, 2025." It ranked 7th on the same list the day before. Despite some middling early reviews, it seems Lazarus has found its place with the general public! It continues to perform well on streaming, even after its premiere episodes aired on Adult Swim.
Lazarus – A huge success on streaming
With Watanabe at the helm, this strong performance was probably expected. After all, Carole & Tuesday was Watanabe's last major work and also performed very well on Netflix, receiving critical acclaim for many aspects of the production, but especially for the music. Furthermore, of course, Carole & Tuesday was just the latest in a long line of critically acclaimed series, including Zankyō no Terror, Space Dandy , Kids on the Slope , Samurai Champloo , and, of course, Cowboy Bebop .
Lazarus and Cowboy Bebop
Most of Watanabe's works seemingly have little in common beyond good direction and a strong sense of style. However, Lazarus has so much of Cowboy Bebop that it's hard not to notice. The overall look of the new series is very reminiscent of the 1998 classic, including the visual style and fluid animation. Even the way the main cast of characters is composed of a ragtag group of disparate personalities is very reminiscent of Bebop .
Another obvious similarity is the series' musical core. The music and soundscape created for Watanabe's work are an integral part of all his titles, with each of his major works having a strong musical identity. Lazarus is no different, with several artists contributing to the series' overall soundtrack, giving it a unique identity. Although this same identity continues to be directly compared to Cowboy Bebop.
Watanabe's Comment
However, Watanabe has stated on more than one occasion that he wants fans to see the two series as completely separate entities. " Lazarus is composed of elements I created in the past, but I'm not reviving them. I'm doing something new ," he said during an interview in early April. He later addressed the comparisons again, saying that at first, he thought it would be good if it helped with publicity, but that it no longer seems that way.
Watanabe went on to discuss several comparisons fans keep making, such as the use of the monotonous color visuals used in the opening sequence of Cowboy Bebop, also being used in the main visuals of Lazarus . "In terms of graphic design, the style of using simple, monotonous colors and turning people into silhouettes, in the style used by old film title masters like Saul Bass... I've always tried that kind of style, so I tried it again after a long time... Please don't be so critical. Even if there are some similarities, Lazarus is still Lazarus ," he said.
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