Lazarus: Season 1 Episode 1 “Goodbye Cruel World” – Recap & Review (With Spoilers)

“Lazarus” has undeniable style and the formula that could get people initially hooked, but does it have legs?

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode 1 “Goodbye Cruel World” Details
  • Available On: HBO Max
  • Public Release Date: April 6, 2025
  • Director(s): Shinichiro Watanabe
  • Writer(s): Shinichiro Watanabe

Episode 1 “Goodbye Cruel World” Recap (With Spoilers)

It has been 4 years since Dr. Skinner created the Hapna drug which alleviated the world from pain thanks to its cheap production cost and the then assumption there were no side effects. Even 3 years since Dr. Skinner disappeared, his miracle drug remained on the market and popular. However, Dr. Skinner has recently come out of hiding to reveal that within 30 days, those who have taken his drug, of which he has the only cure for, will start dying.

As you can imagine, the world turns into chaos as Hapna was as widespread as Penicillin or the Polio Vaccine. This leads to a woman name Hersch visiting Axel Gilberto in Northport Correctional Facility. Before breaking out, he had multiple life sentences, adding up to 888 years, of which some had to be from breaking out or multiple prisons. As for the rest? That is unknown.

However, with Hersch forming a group to find Dr. Skinner, and believing Axel is necessary, she approaches him with a deal. He rejects it, escapes prison, so Hersch has her team take him down. Leland uses drones to monitor and follow Axel, Elaina uses technology to track his path and give directions to Douglas to head him off but Axel isn’t easy to take down. With notable fighting and parkour skills, he is able to get far away from nearly every cop or person thrown at him.

But, like many men, his weakness is women and Chris, without much of the effort the others had to exude, takes him down while acting like she just wants a selfie. Thus leading to Axel getting a brand new bracelet on his wrist and the assumption that, like the rest of Hersch’s team, he is stuck in a group he has no desire to be in, called “Lazarus.”

“Lazarus” Character Guide

New Cast and Characters

Axel Gilberto (Mamoru Miyano)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Charismatic, though not perhaps a smooth talker, Axel is the type who definitely draws attention but may not be great at maintaining it or fostering it for something good. One could assume he is a lone wolf, with acrobatic abilities at the level of “Spiderman” without super powers, and a penchant for getting in trouble.

Dr. Skinner (Koichi Yamadera)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: At one time considered a saint, up there with those who cured Polio and other deadly diseases, times are different now. Hapna, Dr. Skinner’s miracle drug which freed the world from pain, has now become a death sentence for the majority of the population – and it was designed to be that way. Thus making Dr. Skinner, who has made a cure, seem more like Lucifer, post-fall from heaven, than someone who deserves a pedestal in the history of medicine.

Hersch (Megumi Hayashibara)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Hersch is the leader of “Lazarus” and seems to work for someone within Babylonia City with government connections. But, her focus seems less on the politics and more on the result, as a noted lawyer, and assassin, depending on the needs for the situation.

Leland (Yuma Uchida)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Leland was a student, someone with close ties to Chris, before Dr. Skinner announced the death of society. Now all his focus is on assisting the team, usually operating a drone, to get what Lazarus needs to do done.

Christine (Maaya Uchida)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: A woman with a love for shooting and blowing stuff up, Chris is a bit of a wildcard in “Lazarus.” She will just as much run after a stray cat as she will cozy up to a man and shock him to knock him out. Consider her a femme fatale living in the digital age.

Eleina (Manaka Iwami)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Shy and reserved, if talking through a headset about something technological, Elaina is an ace. Having to talk to people in person? Especially strangers? This isn’t her skill and you might be better off having Chris handle that.

Douglas Hadine (Makoto Furukawa)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: While Chris drives a motorcycle, Douglas has a decked out car but, like Chris, he is a strong believer in using guns to solve problems and while Hersch is shown as the leader, Douglas positions himself to come off as second in command.

Other Noteworthy Information

  • Created By: Shinichiro Watanabe

Review and Commentary

Highlights

  • The Action [87/100]
  • Time Being A Huge Factor [83/100]
  • Potentially Interesting Supporting Characters  [82/100]
  • The Music Sets The Tone [84/100]

Overall

Our Overall Rating [84/100]

“Lazarus” starts on a high note for us. From the first song, which makes you want to head over to Spotify or Apple Music and put it on your playlist, watching Axel’s acrobatics as he takes down prison guards and dodges cops and drones, you get a lot of style and flashiness to be a good initial hook. But, like with any show, there is a need to wonder if that is all that “Lazarus” could offer, and I would say no.

Axel may have a generic troublemaker persona, but there is a bit of intrigue there. Surely, no one gets 888 years of prison just for breaking out of prison, right? On top of that, what makes him so special to join this group Hersch has formed? Heck, what makes Chris, Elaina, Leland, or Douglas special?

Asking these questions, the desire to ask these questions, are important, for it pushes you to realize you want more. Now, whether or not the show will peak early on? Hard to say. There is a ticking clock, with 29 days till Dr. Skinner’s genocide of the human race will begin. So it feels unlikely they can drag things out.

But it has happened many times before. We’re hoping, however, that between MAPPA being behind this and the legendary Shinichiro Watanabe, this won’t end up being a show that got a budget thanks to name recognition and ends up terrible thanks to the same names who got you to give this a chance.

Additional Links

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.