MAPPA Studiohas been responsible for some of the most defining anime in history, with the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan’s final season as examples of their best work. However, they have recently released an originalanimedirected by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo fame: the noirmysterythriller Lazarus.
Lazarus is set in the year 2052, where, for the past several years, humanity has been in the grip of the supremely efficient painkiller, Hapna. Hapna’s creator, Dr Skinner, then announced that in 30 days, the drug would mutate and kill everyone who consumed it. The task force Lazarus was made to find Skinner and get the cure, introducing us to a colourful cast of characters in their world-saving mission.
7Dr Deniz Skinner
In the introduction of the show,Dr Deniz Skinneris touted to be the creator of the painkiller Hapna, a drug that’s cheap and works well with no side effects. It soon became the number one drug in the world; Skinner squashed humanity’s hopes when he announced that he had designed his drug to mutate within three years, leaving them 30 days to live unless they find him and his cure.
As the Lazarus team delves into Skinner’s background, Skinner seems to be the altruistic type, a brilliant scientist with a history of lobbying for peace and environmental care. However, this appears to either be a facade, or something had snapped within Skinner to put most of the world’s population on the chopping block the way he did.
6Hersch Lindemann
The head of the Lazarus task force, Hersch was seen attempting to recruit Axel, and likely personally recruited the other four members as well. She offers the Lazarus team exoneration from their crimes in exchange for finding Dr Skinner before the 30-day time limit was up for the world.
A consummate professional, Hersch regularly reports to Abel, the head of the National Security Agency, about Lazarus' progress with the Hapna debacle. A veteran in her field with innumerable connections, Hersch was not above putting high-voltage armbands on the Lazarus team’s wrists to keep them devoted to the mission, showing her extreme determination to find Skinner and save the lives of billions.
5Leland
The youngest member of Lazarus, Leland was first seen attending school before off-handedly announcing he’s not coming back after Skinner’s reveal was broadcast to the world. He has mentioned to Doug that he’s in trouble due to his thieving background.
It’s also hinted that he has a dark past, as he was seen in the graveyard leaving flowers for someone, though he’s notoriously tight-lipped and vague when asked. He is an expert at handling drones when the team was trying to capture Axel, and is seen to be calm during high-stress situations.
4Christine
The flirty and confident Christine is of Russian origin, and is noted to be a firearms specialist, her expertise with a gun perhaps far outdoing Doug’s own skill. She’s shown to be somewhat close and a big sister-type to Leland.
Christine claims to be a secret agent before Lazarus, though that’s yet to be confirmed in the show. She managed to capture Axel by getting him to lower his guard after her fellow members' repeated failed attempts. Christine seemed to have a strong sense of justice, nearly shooting Axel after she assumed his 888-year prison sentence was due to him committing murder.
3Eleina
The resident hacker of Lazarus team, at first glance, Eleina seems to be calm, quiet, and intelligent. She’s one of the best hackers in her field, able to infiltrate any tech and pinpoint anyone in the world - though the task of finding Skinner might be the hardest one yet, since he’s employed another hacker to erase his tracks.
But in a conversation between Doug and Leland, Doug reveals that Eleina was probably the most dangerous member of Lazarus. Her lengthy track record of crimes also makes her the most troublesome; the punishment she’d have served if she weren’t enlisted into Lazarus is likely second only to Axel’s multiple life sentences.
2Douglas Hadine
The first character seen in the anime, Douglas Hadine is a no-nonsense operative with a grave demeanour to match. Second to Hersch, he appears to be the unofficial leader of the Lazarus members, constantly reminding them of their objectives and keeping them on track.
We get to learn more about Doug’s past in the third episode, and find that he was once a promising physics student on the path to becoming an academic. Unfortunately, his burgeoning academic career was cut short due to racial discrimination and punching the dean of his university, resulting in his expulsion.
1Axel Gibralto
The protagonist of the show, we first meet Brazilian Axel Gibralto in prison, where he’s been serving part of his enormous 888-year sentence. He’s quickly shown to be confident in his abilities, witty, and extremely agile and acrobatic. However, his tendency to escape prison caused his minor sentence to balloon into serving nearly a millennium of prison time. Axel is also no slouch when it comes to combat, able to take down enemies and evade them easily.
Axel was the last person Hersch Lindemann approached to join Lazarus, though he escaped for a time, only to be caught and strong-armed into joining. At this point in the show, it isn’t clear what Axel’s backstory is, but he’s demonstrated that his charm allows him to easily befriend and blend into the crowd, gifting Lazarus with connections to leverage to find Dr Skinner.
