Shinichiro Watanabe on How the John Wick Director Joined the Lazarus Anime Team

Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday – the legendary director behind all those blockbuster anime – Shinichiro Watanabe – is dropping a new anime, Lazarus, premiering on Adult Swim's Toonami in 2025. Watanabe did a ton of promotion at New York Comic-Con, and Anime News Network was able to speak with him about Lazarus, past projects, music, and more.

How does Lazarus build on your past projects?

Shinichiro Watanabe: I've always thought my shows took place in the same universe.

Wait, really? Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy?

Watanabe: smiles slightly and nods

Watanabe: (in English) Of course.

What's something you got to do in Lazarus that you've never done before?

Watanabe: This show gave me the opportunity to pursue significant collaborations. One of which was collaborating with Chad Stahelski, the director of John Wick, working with us to create the action choreography. As part of their service, they even shot live-action fight sequences for us.

So cool! How did this happen? Did you just call up the John Wick team?

Watanabe: Of course, all I did was ask.

Seriously?

Watanabe: No. That was a joke. (chuckles) 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. So when I called, even if his team couldn't do the action choreography themselves, 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!”

When that happened, we were a bit concerned about how much this project was going to cost us. I had to apologize and tell him upfront that we've never worked with Hollywood-level budgets. When I said that, Chad said in the call, “Don't worry about the cost. Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo have inspired me for years. Let me do this for you.”

Wow. That's incredible! So, what's the key to a good action scene?

Watanabe: I'll tell you what Chad told me. So, for instance, there's a scene in Cowboy Bebop where the characters are fighting in a church.

Episode 5, "Ballad of the Fallen Angels!"

Watanabe: Yes, in between the action peaks, there are quiet moments. It's that sort of rhythm or contrast between these scenes of violence and serenity. He [Stahelski] really encouraged me to build upon scenes like that, since he considered that a great action scene.

What music are you currently listening to? What's your Top 5?

Watanabe: Unfortunately, I've only got time to pick one. Yesterday, I went and saw Billie Eilish in Madison Square Garden. It was very inspiring. If you can get us in contact, tell her I'm very interested in collaborating.

We will get right on that; the internet will go nuts when they hear that. What do you think has been the best part of your career so far?

Watanabe: I've had ideas for stories and characters in my head even before I became an anime director. I used to work as an episode director, assisting the main director with episodes. As an assistant, I wasn't able to put in as much creative input as I wanted. So, I built up a backlog of ideas for stories I wanted to make. Those ideas all got put into Cowboy Bebop. So it's a little bit akin to an up-and-coming band putting all their ideas into their first album.

From all your series, what has been your favorite song?

Watanabe: In Cowboy Bebop Episode 5, when Spike crashes out the window. The way that I timed the music to that scene is one of my proudest moments.