Any new Watanabe project is cause for celebration, but his upcoming Adult Swim project Lazarus is particularly exciting.
We asked the French designer, Stanislas Brunet, to join us for this.
Hes part of a team called Studio No Border.
French artists have a very different, distinct style from Japanese designers.
Thats also why we asked him to join us for our previous project,Carole & Tuesday.
They begin their design by thinking about how the buildings should be constructed.
Should they be 3D-printed or not, for example?
Im a big fan of their aesthetics, which is why I relied on them again.
Were able to take those and then use them for our actual art designs.
So, its very futuristic and clean in the areas that have a lot of money.
However, the poor areas are like slums and very dirty.
Another reason why I went this way is that it adds more reality.
If everything is very futuristic and very clean then it doesnt seem as grounded in reality.
I also love how the action and chase sequences have such kinetic movement.
The fight choreography is so impressive, too.
I know that Chad Stahelski is the series Action Supervisor.
Can you talk about his role inLazarusand what that relationship was like?
When we first reached out to Chads team, they were still recordingJohn Wick 4.
So, it was a bit difficult at the time.
Their participation, since theyre very busy, became dependent on the episode.
Chad worked on some episodes and then the animation staff from our end worked on some episodes.
It may be a fun challenge for the viewer to figure out which is which.
have a go at figure out which episodes are Chads and which is our animation staff.
How did you figure outLazarussound?
And can you just expand a little more on whats going on with the series music and sound?
This time, unlike previous projects, theres a more electronic, dance music, and EDM-driven sound.
Theres also a very jazz musician style, too.
Theres another artist, Kamasi Washington, his music is more jazz.
So he fills that role for us.
But lets forget about that series for a little bit and just focus on enjoying this one.
I understand those comparisons, but its a totally different sound.
Youre doing such different stuff.
You always put so much thought into what the soundtrack should represent.
you could really feel that inLazarus.
You create a lived-in universe withLazarus.
Do you see other stories being told in this universe?
Of course, thats a possibility if this is a big hit.
We wont know untilLazarusis released.
Until then, we just have to keep our fingers crossed.
It seems like a lot of your series kind of exist in the same universe.
There are subtle references between them, even if its just like the Woolong currency.
Are there any Easter eggs like this inLazarusthat fans should maybe look out for?
Or something they should pay attention towards?
Not so much this time, no.
But they do take place in the same universe.
So they are connected somewhere.
I really loved your work on theBlade Runner Black Out 2022anime andThe Animatrix.
you could choose anything here!
Im trying to think, butBlade Runnerwould really be my favorite thing to dream about working on.
Ive already been there and done that.
I think Im satisfied there.
Finally, Im such a hugeSpace Dandyfan.
Its maybe my favorite anime of all time.
Im always hoping that a movie might happen one day.
Is there oneSpace Dandystory or detail that nobody knows about that you could share?
The same goes for the staff that worked on it as well.
However, it wasnt a huge success, so its hard to find financing for it.
So maybe some rich oil money will fall our way and it can finally happen.
Lazarus premieres April 5 at midnight on Adult Swim, with next-day-streaming on Max.
