‘Cowboy Bebop’ Fans Need To Stream ‘Lazarus’ on Max

Hailed as one of the finest animated television shows of all time, the beloved neo-noir space Western Cowboy Bebop took anime audiences by storm and attracted universal praise for its stunning animation, hypnotic style, and exceptional voice acting. The fan-favorite series was created by the studio Sunrise and led by a production team featuring the expertise of director Shinichirō Watanabe, who is lauded as an anime auteur.

The illustrious Watanabe has continued dominating the anime TV and film world by helming successful hit series like Space Dandy and Carole & Tuesday, and in 2025, he wrote, created, and directed his latest small-screen triumph, Lazarus. The thrilling action anime is set in 2052 and focuses on an elite emergency task force who must race against the clock to save humanity after a miracle drug is revealed to be a nightmare cure that will put its users in an early grave. Let’s take a closer look at the exciting new series.

An Electrifying New Series From a Japanese Anime Legend

Shinichirō Watanabe’s phenomenal talent as a director was on full display when he created, wrote, and helmed his latest small-screen sensation, Lazarus. The new anime is a lively and wildly entertaining action series that takes place in the utopian year of 2052 in a society that is free of all pain and sickness. When three-time Nobel Prize recipient and brilliant neuroscientist Dr. Skinner seemingly discovers a miracle drug known as “Hapna” that completely takes away the pain of any user, a profound sense of calmness and peace spreads around the world.

After distributing the wondrous, life-changing wonder drug, Skinner completely disappears off the face of the earth and goes into hiding, only to re-emerge three years later in 2055 to horrifically reveal in an online video that Hapna actually has a three-year half-life. The diabolical doctor claims that the first victims of the drug will perish in approximately 30 days unless someone can hunt down his location and develop a vaccine before their time runs out.

In response to Skinner’s terrifying threat, the U.S. government assembles a resilient task force consisting of 5 agents under the codename “Lazarus,” including 23-year-old inmate Axel Gilberto, who finds his prison sentence continuously extended due to his remarkable ability to break out of any place he’s in. An initially uninterested Axel eventually teams up with his fellow highly-skilled recruits to track down Skinner and save the world from destruction.

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Watanabe’s Enchanting & Wildly Entertaining Action Anime Hit

The provocative, spellbinding anime series was heavily inspired by the opioid crisis and was conceptualized before the COVID-19 pandemic, with legendary creator Shinichirō Watanabe revealing to Comics Beat in November 2024: “But what brought much influence to the story was, in actuality, the opioid crisis in the US. And also, the climate crisis as well. How our world was confronting potentially meeting its end.” Watanabe also wanted Lazarus and its anti-hero lead Axel to have a unique presence and style of movement, making the character an expert in parkour.

Watanabe enlisted the brilliant talents of stuntman-turned-filmmaker Chad Stahelski to help design the exhilarating action sequences, with Stahelski notably directing the rip-roaring Keanu Reeves-led John Wick franchise. A huge fan of the action thriller flicks, Watanabe’s production team collaborated closely with Stahelski, who was also a huge admirer of the famous Japanese creator and his iconic projects Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Watanabe told Anime News Network:

“I’ve always held his John Wick film series in high regard. I watch them all the time. It’s not just how realistic his action looks, but how modern it feels. The way he incorporates modern gun techniques is so satisfying to watch…I asked if maybe his team could give us tips on how to create action scenes like them. But instead, they went, “Leave it to us! We’ll do the choreography for you!”

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The Cowboy Bebop director also revealed ahead of the show’s release that parkour helped shape the thrill-seeking Axel, who utilizes his dazzling physical prowess and skills to escape nearly any sticky situation he finds himself in. The premise of Lazarus stemmed from Watanabe’s vision of the fearless Axel: “Lazarus features a lot of parkour because we wanted the action built around Axel to always feel as if one wrong move could lead to him falling. He’s risking his life, but that danger is something he gets off on — it makes him feel alive.”

Lazarus made its highly-anticipated debut on April 5, 2025, and has already garnered widespread praise and appreciation from critics and fans, with the immersive and stylistic series leaving viewers in awe over its stunning visuals, spirited characters, and a compelling storyline that had them hooked from the opening scene. It currently holds a stellar 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and 8.2 IMDb rating from users and further proves that Watanabe is one of the anime world’s most exciting and innovative creative minds.

Stream Lazarus on Max