Lazarus Episode 13 Review: Ended Without A Bang

Lazarus Episode 13 Review: The 13th episode of Lazarus or Razaro (ラザロ) was alright compared to the entire season. Let us see how this episode turned out.

Lazarus Episode 12 Recap

Eleina regains consciousness at the Popcorn Wizard’s place, where she is cared for with genuine concern. During their time together, the Popcorn Wizard reveals her real name, signifying the trust building between them. Meanwhile, it’s confirmed that Doug is still alive, though injured and under close government surveillance at the hospital. Elsewhere, Hersch remains in INSCOM custody, prompting Abel to request an investigation into the Phantom Assassin.

Later on, Axel also regains consciousness and expresses his gratitude to Christine for saving his life. Although his attacker has already fled, the incident strengthens his resolve to safeguard the key witness, knowing that those behind the assault may try to eliminate any remaining evidence of human experimentation.

We also delve into Lin’s backstory in this episode. She shares that she once lived on an island inhabited by people who could not feel pain. When researchers arrived to study their unique condition, Skinner was part of the team. Aware that the island was sinking, Skinner purchased the land to facilitate the residents’ relocation. Because of his actions, Lin feels indebted to him and is willing to make any sacrifice on his behalf.

Additionally, it’s hinted that a mysterious project tied to Arizona and Skinner’s whereabouts could soon be exposed. With only a day left until Skinner’s major announcement, departments are in disarray. By the end of the episode, Skinner’s hiding place is finally uncovered, though his ultimate motives remain unclear.

Lazarus Episode 13 Review

The episode starts with INSCOM finally getting blamed for all the bad things they have done, like turning Skinner’s research into a deadly toxin. Here, we also get to know that INSCOM is the one that attacked Skinner when he tried to leak the information publicly. Thus, at the beginning of this episode, we see Schneider getting arrested for all the crimes he has committed. On the other hand, Doug and Eleina rush towards the homeless community centre in Babylonia City to find Skinner.

We also get insight into the Hundun project, which was previously just a mystery. But that’s not all, we also see a heavily injured Axel going to meet the Phantom Killer. Many secrets are revealed here, and we learn that the Ministry of State Security has been secretly training assassins, where they would indoctrinate children into becoming killers. This is exactly what the Hundun project was, and the Phantom Killer was a part of it. Here, we witness a final showdown between the Phantom Killer and Axel that I personally did not feel had much development.

We also get a major twist towards the end about all the members of Lazarus. This was definitely something that I did not see coming, and it was a good turn of events, but again, the show rushed everything so much that it did not really save the premise.

Verdict

The ending was as underwhelming as the entire series. It was very apparent that the writers had a good idea, but could not develop it properly because they focused on other things rather than building the story. All in all, this was a very mediocre anime that you can definitely watch if you want, but considering the legacy of the director, I would suggest you check out his other works.

Must Read: Read our other Lazarus reviews.