English Dub Review: Lazarus “I Can’t Tell You Why”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

With only a week left to go before the effects of Hapna’s poisoning begin, the Lazarus team get yet another lead on a hospital that Skinner may have connections to, with only Leland and his surprise connections able to get them closer.

OUR TAKE

After much demand from…someone, I assume, we finally, FINALLY have an episode that focuses on the backstory of Leland! Wasn’t everyone really looking forward to learning more about Leland? It’s LELAND, people! So yeah, he’s apparently the bastard heir to a rich family with an older sister who really missed him and is the main obstacle for the team to find the next clue, and all he has to promise her is to spend time with her after the world ends. Aren’t you glad that you learned all of that about Leland? With only three episodes left in the show? Still pretty much nothing for Axel or Doug as we’re only days from the deadline before people literally start dying, but hey, we got that bit about Leland. And of course all of this just kinda inches the mystery forward only slightly, with the team learning that Skinner got an artificial heart from the same rich and super secret clinic that Leland’s dad went to before he died. And also that there’s a gaseous prototype of Hapna that Skinner was working on and when it was accidentally released during a sudden shoot out with authorities, many were killed and this seemingly effected Skinner’s attitude about the whole thing.

And if it seems like I’ve completely given up and written off this story only a few episodes from the end, well…that’s because I basically have. We have a little over an hour of runtime left here and the same problems persist that have done so for its entirety. Paper thin characters, overly complicated plot, pacing rivaling a salted snail. But before anyone thinks that this is some sudden drop off for Shinichiro Watanabe, artistic trailblazer of anime, I would correct you and say this is not sudden. The last one season anime that he had full direction was Terror in Resonance, another conspiratorial spy thriller that vaguely gestures at the big political issues of that time, (that time being 2014) and it is also considered a massive wet fart of a story. However, that same year was the release of Space Dandy, another show associated with Toonami, which people still praise to this day, and between those was Carole and Tuesday which still has retained some fans. So, if there’s anything that should be taken away from this, it’s probably that Watanabe just doesn’t handle conspiracy thrillers very well. But hey, three episodes to go, so maybe we’re in for a surprise that will stick that landing.