I know Toonami’s reputation with original content is…less than sterling (and these days it seems like that’s all they put on) but they’d have to try really hard to mess up this next one. Lazarus begins its run this April and its director is none other than Shinichiro Watanabe.
Watanabe’s resume includes some of the greatest anime of all time like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, as well as Space Dandy, which was sort of a half-Adult Swim original (they didn’t produce it, but they had first dibs). He has yet to let anyone down. What we’re saying is even if Toonami never acquires a hot new shonen ever again, don’t give up on them until this comes out.
The show takes place in the near future, where someone has discovered a revolutionary new drug….no, it isn’t made of blue mushrooms (and by the way, if you’re not watching Common Side Effects, WATCH IT NAAAAOW). But the man who made the drug isn’t benevolent like Marshall….the diabolical Dr. Skinner engineered a biological time bomb in the new pill, which is reveals will kill everyone who has ever taken it (in this case literally everyone on Earth) unless somebody can catch him first.
The world needs heroes. The world needs Lazarus! A special task force of experts assembled from around the world, their mission is to find Dr. Skinner and obtain the cure to his drug, while looking stylish and parkouring to cool jazz music along the way. The score will be as excellent as you’d expect, with talent like jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington (West Coast Get Down), producer, DJ, and musician Floating Points (Floating Points Ensemble), and producer, DJ, and musician Bonobo setting the mood.
The English dub voice cast for Lazarus includes David Matranga as Dr. Skinner, Jade Kelly as Hersch, Jack Stansbury as Axel, Luci Christian as Chris, Bryson Baugus as Leland, Jovan Jackson as Doug, Annie Wild as Elaina and Sean Patrick Judge as Abel.
Can Lazarus pull Toonami out of the pits? We’ll find out this spring. New episodes will also appear the next day on Max.
The post Shinichirō Watanabe’s Lazarus Premieres April 5 appeared first on Anime Superhero News.
