Highlights
- The collaboration between anime director Shinichiro Watanabe and director Chad Stahelski on Lazarus has generated excitement among fans of both artists.
- Stahelski, known for his work on John Wick, brings his expertise in action design to Lazarus, although some skepticism remains due to his lack of animation experience.
- While the action in Lazarus may differ from Stahelski's previous work, the trailer hints at acrobatic fight scenes reminiscent of Watanabe's past characters, creating anticipation for the series.
Just as Shinichiro Watanabe's work in anime has reflected a deep love of music and cinema, Chad Stahelski's work as a director has taken inspiration from Watanabe. So when Adult Swim announced that both of these men would be collaborating on Lazarus, a new sci-fi action series, people were understandably excited to see how these two artists' visions would combine.
Stahelski rose to prominence as a stunt actor, having been Keanu Reeves' stunt double on The Matrix trilogy, and later reuniting with Reeves to disrupt the action genre with John Wick. The success of that franchise changed the perception of how action films could and should be made, and now he is lending his expertise to anime.
A Long Time Coming
The news was certainly a shocker, but the more that the idea of these two working together linger, the more it feels like it was bound to happen sooner or later. When creating action sequences for films, Stahelski and his cohorts have always taken inspiration from a variety of sources. Not just martial arts cinema but anime from the 80s and 90s.
It was just this past year that John Wick: Chapter 4 hit theaters - the fourth entry in the worldwide phenomenon, and the one in which Stahelski's inspirations became abundantly clear by the end. In an interview with ComicBookMovie.com, he admitted Chapter 4's ending was a direct callback to the ending of Cowboy Bebop. John descending the steps of Sacré Coeur in Paris evokes Spike's bittersweet victory on the stairs after his duel with Vicious.
For years, the idea of Reeves playing Spike in an adaptation of Bebop was tossed around. Sadly, by the time Reeves starred in John Wick and proved he could still be an action star to be reckoned with, he was a bit too old for the role. Alas, he might not have gotten to play Spike personally, but he got a spiritually similar sendoff that was no less satisfying.
Understanding Action Design
While the reaction to Stahelski's involvement has been mostly positive, some are understandably reluctant to treat it as a surefire success. After all, he is not an animator; he is a live-action film director and a stunt performer. Some are skeptical about the size of his contribution to the show and anime fans have witnessed what happens when non-animators get involved in the medium.
In 2021, Yoshikatsu Kimura, a director known mostly for live-action, alongside a production staff with a frightening lack of animation experience, directed the infamous Ex-Arm. It was part of the short-lived "Crunchyroll Originals" project; a CGI series that was universally panned for its abhorrent visuals, which made an attempt at investment in the story difficult, to say the least.
Pardon the rude reminder about Ex-Arm's existence and kindly forgive even the vague assertion that Lazarus is even remotely worth comparing to that show. The point is that just because someone is skilled in one medium does not mean they will be successful in another (with exceptions of course). Thankfully, this doesn't apply as much in Lazarus' case, partly because a majority of the staff are animators, and because Stahelski is not the director - Watanabe is.
Stahelski is credited as the "Action Director" and his studio, 87eleven, is in charge of action design, which entails the planning and envisioning of fight and stunt sequences. This means collaborating with a director to achieve a particular vision of how action should be carried out.
Often creative teams utilize what is referred to as "pre-viz" or pre-visualization, where scenes are recorded on simple sets to get a sense of how a fight will be choreographed.
In live-action, this can serve as a guide for how the cameras should follow the action on the day of filming. Video games utilize pre-viz for cutscenes all the time, and anime is no stranger to video reference when crafting sequences. Without knowing the specifics, it's likely that Stahelski and his team will be creating a pre-viz for MAPPA to reference during the animation process.
The Action of Lazarus
Fans of Stahelski's work shouldn't go into this new anime expecting the action to be quite the same as John Wick. In those films, the action is very gun-focused, but in close quarters, the fighting is very grounded and gritty, emphasizing a lot of judo and jiu-jitsu. On the contrary, the small glimpses of action in the Lazarus trailer look far more acrobatic
When it comes to protagonists, Watanabe loves creating slender, cocky gymnasts with a penchant for agile martial arts. The assumed protagonist of the story can be seen fighting guards in a futuristic prison, and he gives off Spike Spiegel vibes with every spinning kick, to say nothing of his sly grin throughout. Small tease aside, it looks promising, but it's a bit too early to tell if the action will live up to expectations.
As stated before, Stahelski isn't an animator but a very talented stunt person and director nonetheless, and one with an undeniable respect for the animation which has inspired his work. To witness his vision in a medium that significantly inspired his own work is something that cannot be missed. To see how much of Stahelski's creative touch will be felt on the production as a whole, fans will have to wait for Lazarus to hit Toonami, presumably sometime in 2024.