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Shinichiro Watanabe, MAPPA's Lazarus Anime Unveils New Trailer, Visual

The official website for Lazarus (Lazaro in Japanese), the new original anime for Toonami with Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy) and animation studio MAPPA (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan The Final Season), unveiled a new trailer and visual for the anime on Friday.

The above video also reveals the show's April 6 debut on TV in Japan. The series will air on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on April 6 at 11:45 p.m., and will also stream on various platforms in Japan. The show will have 13 episodes.

The series will premiere on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on April 5 at 12:00 a.m. EDT (effectively, April 6). The episodes will stream on the next day on the Max streaming service.

The anime stars:

• Mamoru Miyano as Axel
• Makoto Furukawa as Doug
• Maaya Uchida as Christine
• Yūma Uchida as Leland
• Manaka Iwami as Eleina
• Megumi Hayashibara as Hersch
• Akio Ōtsuka as Abel
• Kōichi Yamadera as Skinner

Senior vice president and head of anime and action series at Adult Swim Jason DeMarco confirmed that Watanabe is directing every episode. Chad Stahelski (John Wick stuntman and director) is designing the action sequences for the science-fiction action anime. The anime features a score by jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and producers, DJs, and musicians Floating Points and Bonobo. Sola Entertainment is producing.

Akemi Hayashi is the character designer, Stanislas Brunet is the concept designer, and Miho Sugiura is the art director. Other staff members include:

• Color Designer: Kana Tanabe
• Cinematographer: Takuma Sakamoto
• Compositing Director: Mitsuhiro Sato
• Sound Effects Supervisor: Lauren Stephens (Formosa Group)
• Animation Producer: Masato Matsunaga

Kamasi Washington is performing the opening theme song "Vortex," and The Boo Radleys are performing the ending theme song "Lazarus."

Adult Swim describes the story:

The year is 2052 - an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity prevails across the globe. The reason for this: mankind has been freed from sickness and pain. Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist Dr. Skinner has developed a miracle cure-all drug with no apparent drawbacks called Hapuna. Hapuna soon becomes ubiquitous… and essential. However, soon after Hapuna is officially introduced, Dr. Skinner vanishes.

Three years later, the world has moved on. But Dr. Skinner has returned - this time, as a harbinger of doom. Skinner announces that Hapuna has a short half-life. Everyone who has taken it will die approximately three years later. Death is coming for this sinful world - and coming soon.

As a response to this threat, a special task force of 5 agents is gathered from across the world to save humanity from Skinner's plan. This group is called "Lazarus." Can they find Skinner and develop a vaccine before time runs out?

Watanabe directed such notable anime productions as Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday, and Terror in Resonance. He also directed the "Blade Runner: Black Out 2022" anime short. Watanabe's short film "A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot" screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in July 2022.

Sources: Lazarus anime's website, Comic Natalie