Shinichiro Watanabe, MAPPA's Lazarus Anime Nominated for Emmy for Opening Theme Song

Love, Death & Robots series nominated for "Outstanding Animated Program"

The Television Academy announced the nominees for the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Wednesday. Lazarus (Lazaro in Japanese), the new original anime for Toonami with Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy) and animation studio MAPPA (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan The Final Season), was nominated for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" for Kamasi Washington's opening theme song "Vortex."

The Love, Death & Robots animated anthology series was also nominated for "Outstanding Animated Program" for its "Spider Rose" short. The series previously won an Emmy for "Outstanding Short Form Animated Program" in 2022.

The 13-episode Lazarus series premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on April 5 at 12:00 a.m. EDT (effectively, April 6). The episodes stream on the next day on the Max streaming service. In Japan, the series premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on April 6, and also streams on various platforms.

The anime stars:

• Mamoru Miyano as Axel

• Makoto Furukawa as Doug

• Maaya Uchida as Christine

• Yūma Uchida as Leland

• Manaka Iwami as Eleina

• Megumi Hayashibara as Hersch

• Akio Ōtsuka as Abel

• Kōichi Yamadera as Skinner

Senior vice president and head of anime and action series at Adult Swim Jason DeMarco confirmed that Watanabe directed every episode. Chad Stahelski (John Wick stuntman and director) designed the action sequences for the science-fiction action anime. The anime features a score by jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and producers, DJs, and musicians Floating Points and Bonobo. Sola Entertainment is producing.

Akemi Hayashi was the character designer, Stanislas Brunet was the concept designer, and Miho Sugiura was the art director.

The Boo Radleys perform the ending theme song "Lazarus."

Adult Swim describes the story:

The year is 2052 - an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity prevails across the globe. The reason for this: mankind has been freed from sickness and pain. Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist Dr. Skinner has developed a miracle cure-all drug with no apparent drawbacks called Hapuna. Hapuna soon becomes ubiquitous… and essential. However, soon after Hapuna is officially introduced, Dr. Skinner vanishes.Three years later, the world has moved on. But Dr. Skinner has returned - this time, as a harbinger of doom. Skinner announces that Hapuna has a short half-life. Everyone who has taken it will die approximately three years later. Death is coming for this sinful world - and coming soon.As a response to this threat, a special task force of 5 agents is gathered from across the world to save humanity from Skinner's plan. This group is called "Lazarus." Can they find Skinner and develop a vaccine before time runs out?

Watanabe directed such notable anime productions as Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday, and Terror in Resonance. He also directed the "Blade Runner: Black Out 2022" anime short. Watanabe's short film "A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot" screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in July 2022.

Source: Television Academy