The highly anticipated MAPPA anime Lazarus has finally been released, and most viewers were happy that it had met their expectations. The anime has barely introduced the plot and characters, so not much can be said about the story progression, but the animation and fight scenes in the first episode were quite impressive, so the anime shows much promise right at the get-go.
In this article, we’ll recap what happened in episode 1 of Lazarus. We’ll also cover everything you need to know about the release of episode 2. Lazarus is an original TV anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe. Since MAPPA is producing it, we strongly believe that it is a great anime and urge you to watch it, if you haven’t already.
1. Lazarus Episode 2 Release Date
Episode 2 of Lazarus will be released on Saturday, April 12, 2025. You can watch the anime on Hulu and Adult Swim.
I. Is Lazarus on Break This Week?
No, Lazarus is not on a break this week. Episode 2 is not delayed and will be released on the above-stated date.
2. Recap of Episode 1 of Lazarus
The first episode of Lazarus started with a very brief explanation of Hapna, a groundbreaking discovery by a scientist named Skinner. Hapna was a magical painkiller that could ease any kind of pain. It was cheap and had no side effects, so it easily found a place in human lives and eventually became known as “the drug that could save the world”.
This is pretty ironic, as Dr. Skinner disappeared right after his discovery of Hapna and reappeared almost three years later with the news that Hapna was designed to mutate in the human body three years after ingestion, so users of Hapna would die within a month.
Dr Skinner had some incomprehensible worldviews that prompted him to do this bio terrorist act. We urge you to watch the anime to understand this better. He made it clear that there was no way to remove Hapna from the body, but he did reveal that he had the cure with him, and he was willing to hand it over if he were caught. Following this announcement, the world went into chaos. The government tried to find a cure for Hapna, knowing full well that one month was too less a time to develop a medicine. Most people lost rationality after knowing that they were essentially on their deathbeds.
Amidst this chaos, we are introduced to Axel Gilberto, a convict with multiple life sentences amounting to 888 years. A woman named Hersch visited him in prison to ask him for a favor. She needed him to help her catch Dr Skinner, as that was probably the most viable way to save humanity. After she explained her situation to him, he decided to break out of prison, so he snatched a gun from a guard, held her hostage, and started his prison break.
The stunts pulled by Axel during his attempt to break from prison were simply breathtaking, and they deserve to be watched and shouldn’t have to be explained. After Axel made a fool out of all the prison guards, he successfully broke out of prison and headed to the streets as a free man. Meanwhile, the organisation led by Hersch, as well as the police, was on Axel’s trail. He was soon found on the street, and he had to make a break a break for it again. He pranced around the street, on the rail lines, and over buildings.
When Axel was finally cornered by a man named Hadine Doug atop a building, Axel leaped out of the building, caught hold of a large flying drone, and escaped safely, only to get caught and tasered by a woman named Christine later when he let his guard down. He woke up almost a day later to find himself with Christine, Doug, and many other people, and realised that they worked for Hersch.
3. Speculation of Episode 2 of Lazarus
The first episode of Lazarus was wild. Axel was all around the place, and several groups were on his tail, but none were able to catch him until he let his guard down for a woman. Since the episode ended with Axel’s capture, the next episode will likely go into details about Hersch’s organisation, which is mostly involved in resolving the issue caused by Dr Skinner.
Besides this, we will also get better introductions for all the characters (agents) that have been revealed so far. As teased by the trailer and synopsis, this group will be called Lazarus, and we will see the name drop in the upcoming episode.
4. About Lazarus
Lazarus is an upcoming original anime series that is set to be directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and will be produced by MAPPA. The director of John Wick, Chad Stahelski, is working on the action pieces.
Adult Swin 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?
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