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After creator Shinichiro Watanabe said that bothCowboy BebopandLazarustake place in the same universe, anime fans are excited about the possibility of the Bebop crew appearing in the new anime series.
Fans have already drawn parallels between the two series, with trailers of thepopular sci-fi animemaster’s latest work showing many similarities to his 90s classic. With Watanabe teasing that both series could be canonically connected, we can assess the likelihood of Spike and company making a dramatic return this year.
Lazarus Riffs off Cowboy Bebop
Lazarus, set to air on Adult Swim on April 5, is a sci-fi anime series revolving around a namesake group of special agents. The Lazarus group are tasked with locating Dr Skinner, whose miracle cure-all drug has been rigged to kill everyone who has taken it, and get from him the cure to save humanity.
Lazarussignals the highly-anticipated return oflegendary anime creator Shinichiro Watanabe. One of the biggest names in 90s and 00s anime, he is responsible for directing classics includingCowboy Bebop,Samurai ChamplooandTerror in Resonance. His last major work wasCarol & Tuesday, which released on Netflix in 2019.
As soon as the first trailer forLazarusdropped, anime fans started connecting the dots betweenLazarusandCowboy Bebop, arguably Watanabe’s most iconic work. For one, bothanime take place in a futuristic worldteeming with technology. Secondly, both star a charismatic, freewheeling protagonist with notable martial arts skills.
While both those traits are common across multiple Watanabe shows, further trailers and posters further highlighted the show’s cultural connectedness withCowboy Bebop.
The latestLazarustrailer showcases a jazz score created by Kamasi Washington, something that was a defining feature ofCowboy Bebop. To further cement their similarities,Lazarusrevealed a poster that shows striking similarities toBebop’siconic opening sequence.
How are Lazarus and Bebop the Same Canon?
For a popular director to create two stories that follow similar themes isn’t uncommon – Watanabe also used aspects ofBebopin popular follow-upsSamurai ChamplooandTerror in Resonance. However, an interview by Watanabe as part ofLazarus’ promotion has got a lot of fans excited.
Speaking toAnime News Networkin November last year, Shinichiro Watanabe dropped the news thatLazarusandCowboy Beboptake place in the same universe. Not only that, every show he’s made is part of the same world.
I’ve always thought my shows took place in the same universe.
In response to a question on howLazarusbuilds upon his previous work, Watanabe said “I’ve always thought my shows took place in the same universe.”
This may be just an off-the-cuff comment by a director who sees all their work as building on what they did previously. There’s also a chance that Watanabe is encouraging comparisons betweenBebopandLazarusas a way to promote his newest work.
However, because of Watanabe’s largely science-fiction output, with many shows taking place on different planets at different times, it’s very possible that this could actually work as canon.
Could We See a Cowboy Bebop Cameo in Lazarus?
Even if we believe thatCowboy BebopandLazarusare taking place in the same world, it’s very unlikely you’ll see major appearances from theiconic anime from the 90sin Watanabe’s latest work due to the differences in time. However, a brief cameo isn’t impossible.
Cowboy Beboppredominantly takes place in the year 2071. By comparison,Lazaruswill take place in 2052, 19 years before.
Cowboy Bebopprotagonist Spike Spiegelis 27 in his series, meaning he would be an eight-year-old kid around the time ofLazarus. Jet Black is older at 36, but would still only be 17 at the time of the new series. UnlessLazarus’ journey takes them to Ganymede, where Jet was a police officer before becoming a bounty hunter, the chances of the new series featuring either of these two is very slim.
Arguably the most possibleBebopcameo you might see in Lazarus isFaye Valentine, the Bebop’s leading woman. While appearing to be a similar age to Spike, Faye is cryogenically frozen from 2014 to 2068 due to sustaining injuries that were incurable at the time. AsLazarus’ story revolves around medicines and cures, could we see a brief glimpse of the cryogenic facilities in which Faye and others like her are being stored?
Beyond Faye, anyCowboy Bebopreference is likely to be very small and only noticed by avid fans of the 90s anime series. Elder characters such as Chessmaster Hex – a genius lead on the Hyperspace Gate Project – and Laughing Bull – a wise shaman on Mars – could make appearances to help the Lazarus crew, but nothing has been confirmed ahead of release.
