Lazarus episode 9 reveals a mole within the task force

One of the most popular anime airing this season, Lazarus, is made by the visionary Shinichiro Watanabe and Studio Mappa. The series is set in a world where humanity faces the risk of extinction due to a drug called Hapna.

To prevent widespread tragedy, a special task force called Lazarus tries to find the drug’s creator, Dr. Skinner, and develop a cure. Despite featuring an all-star production team and stunning visuals, Lazarus has not been free from criticism, and many viewers believe the series suffers from pacing issues and has failed to delve into the main narrative with enough depth.

While episode 9 yet again strays away from the search for Skinner, it manages to remain exciting and action-packed. The installment provides insight into how human politics stagnates progress while also revealing that Leland was acting as a mole within the task force.

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Lazarus episode 9 recap

Lazarus episode 9, titled “Death on two legs,” begins in a way unlike any other episode has so far. It starts by featuring a mysterious man enjoying a steak, explaining how he needs to have the perfect protein intake to maintain his ideal body. Soon after, he leaves the restaurant and nonchalantly walks on a chaotic street where a gunman is shooting down citizens.

As melancholic music plays in the background, the man walks past his surroundings undisturbed, with the oddly fascinating opening sequence ending with the gunman being shot down. The scene then shifts to Abel, the director of the NSA, who was called by his assistant to join a committee hearing.

Meanwhile, team Lazarus is still recovering from the exciting mission of saving Christine. Axel and Doug head out to buy groceries, during which they speak about their potential fate and the possibility of them being disposed of after the mission.

Back at the meeting in the Pentagon, Abel and Hersch are faced with a hard-pressed situation as other government authorities question Team Lazarus’ progress on finding Skinner. Apart from destroying the world and even involving world governments to save the former Russian spy, Christine, there was very little proof that they had been trying to catch Skinner.

At that point, Schneider, part of INSCOM (Intelligence and Security Command), shares his view that Team Lazarus has not stayed true to their purpose and introduced a mole to testify against them - Leland. Doug, meanwhile, informs Axel that he saw Leland with two phones, and he may have been sent to spy on them.

After Leland appears, he faces an intense enquiry about the solo mission to save Christine and whether his teammates were really searching for Skinner. Though Leland initially seems to be backstabbing his team, he unexpectedly sticks up for them, stating that saving Christine was essential to capturing Skinner.

As the debate rages on, Schneider expresses curiosity about Axel (whose history of breaking out of prisons was being hidden by the NSA), and the room discovers that Skinner has uploaded another video. As they play it, Skinner can be heard voicing his disappointment about no one finding him. He also states that, even as the end approaches, humanity continues to argue amongst itself.

As the video concludes, Skinner informs that the first Hapna subject, who is revealed to be Skinner himself, would die within 10 days. Hence, if people wished to survive, they had to hurry up and find him. Abel, joyful after hearing the scientist’s message, claims that the current meeting is a waste of time, and the only way to locate Skinner is through Lazarus.

Left with no choice, the committee decides to temporarily resume the activities of the task force. Soon after, Schneider, who still wants to catch Axel, hires a third party. He contacts the mysterious man who was seen at the beginning of the episode and schedules a meeting.

Concurrently, the main cast has an internal discussion, where Christine reveals a pill that she found in Skinner’s apartment. Though the origins and purpose of it are unknown, since the series will be ending soon, it seems connected to the antidote for Hapna.

Later, Schneider and the military captain Hayes meet the mystery man, who calls himself HQ. They reveal an interest in hiring the phantom assassin Soryu, who HQ was acting as an agent for. HQ shares that he knows nothing about his client but guarantees results for a steep cost.

Needing more proof, Schneider and Hayes decide to set up a test for Soryu. He is attacked by various heavily geared professionals. The episode ends with an exhilarating action sequence, where Soryu brutally kills all the opponents sent to challenge him. Having received evidence of his skill, Schneider assigns Soryu’s target, Axel.

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Lazarus’ biggest fault is choosing style over substance

Lazarus is undoubtedly an enjoyable series, but it keeps falling into the same pitfalls over and over again. The animation is fluid, the fights are well-choreographed, and the cast is likable, but the audience feels emotionally unattached to the characters.

The anime has only 4 episodes left, but it does not even attempt to dive into Skinner or any of the characters, staying at the surface level. Much like the committee at the hearing had complained, the show keeps focusing on side quests that don’t play a major role in the overarching narrative.

Apart from the two episodes which revolved around Eleina and Christine, the rest have all followed the disastrous yet entertaining outings of the task force. While these would have been enjoyable at the beginning of the anime, they lack the depth needed to engage the viewers.

While this may be a little too late, Lazarus needs to become more grounded and introduce more memorable and long-standing elements if it does not wish to be labeled as “just another fighting anime”.