Happy Birthday to Shinichiro Watanabe! Lazarus Winning Best Original Anime Is the Perfect Gift

Shinichiro Watanabe has spent several decades creating unique anime titles through storytelling, great music, and complex characters. With shows such as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, Watanabe has continued to influence anime fans around the world.

His newest anime, Lazarus, which was released last year, won “Best Original Anime” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026. This is quite a fitting award, especially because of how ambitious Lazarus has been, even after receiving a divided reception after its release.

Lazarus Winning “Best Original Anime” Proved Watanabe Still Delivers

This latest accomplishment by Lazarus comes at the tenth Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 on May 23, 2026, where it won “Best Original Anime.” What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is that original anime rarely get the recognition they deserve once they are released, unlike other major manga adaptations.

What is also significant about this is that today, on May 24, 2026, Watanabe is turning 61, and that makes his latest anime receiving such recognition all the more relevant. This proves that the influence of the acclaimed director is far from being over in the industry.

The Lazarus project was among the most ambitious works created by Watanabe, and the anime adaptation was initially intended for HBO Max before it was acquired by Adult Swim’s Toonami. In addition to this, the production of Lazarus worked together with John Wick Director Chad Stahelski and 87Eleven Entertainment to develop fight choreography for the movie-like series.

Though some of the audience were displeased with the pacing of the 13 episodes, which aired from April 6 to June 29, 2025, several people eventually appreciated the maturity of storytelling.

Also, the feat becomes even more remarkable since Lazarus had to compete with several original anime productions that were nominated for the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The nominations for this category included titles such as Apocalypse Hotel, DIGIMON BEATBREAK, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Moonrise, and ZENSHU. However, despite being surrounded by popular titles, Watanabe’s anime series was able to stand out among them.

Shinichiro Watanabe’s Previous Hits Built the Hype for Lazarus

One reason for all the buzz surrounding the anime was the overall amazing reputation of Watanabe’s work in the anime genre. Even the mention of his name creates high expectations among longtime anime fans.

Cowboy Bebop remains one of the most influential anime ever made because of its music, style, and complex characters. Samurai Champloo, on the other hand, successfully merged samurai elements from the Edo period with hip-hop culture.

Even with the Space Dandy project, Watanabe demonstrated his ability to stretch creatively, rather than relying on past success stories. This made Lazarus feel less like another seasonal anime and more like a major industry event.

With Lazarus now receiving the award for best original anime, Watanabe once again proves why he remains one of anime’s most influential directors whose work continues to influence the future direction of the anime industry.

Here are some of the well-known works from Shinichiro Watanabe.

Anime TitleRelease YearAnime Rating (IMDb) – As of May 24, 2026Where to Watch

Cowboy Bebop	1998	8.9 / 10	Crunchyroll, Prime Video
Samurai Champloo	2004	8.5 / 10	Crunchyroll, Prime Video
Space Dandy	2014	8.0 / 10	Crunchyroll, Prime Video
Terror in Resonance	2014	7.8 / 10	Crunchyroll, Prime Video
Lazarus	2025	7.0 / 10	Adult Swim, Prime Video

Here are some of the questions fans may have –

Now the big question – Do you think Lazarus can eventually reach the same legendary status as Cowboy Bebop? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Lazarus is currently available to watch on Adult Swim.