Watching 'Cells at Work'

Cells at Work is a thirteen episode anime that aired in the summer of 2018. The series is produced by David Productions (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fire Force). It is based off of a manga that has been running since 2015. The show is directed by Kenichi Suzuki (Drifters, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), with the music being done by Suehiro Kenichiro (Re: Zero - Starting life in another world, Goblin Slayer). The two leads of the show, White Blood Cell, and Red Blood Cell are voiced by Maeno Tomoaki (Death Parade, Log Horizon), and Hanazawa Kana (Angel Beats!, Bakemonogatari) respectively. At the time of this writing a second season has been announced while a release window has yet to be disclosed.

Narrative

Cells at Work is an episodic show that revolves around the various ways that the body works in order to keep itself alive. The show revolves around a directionally challenged Red Blood Cell and an overly zealous White Blood Cell that keep running into each other during events of peril, all the way back from a young age.

Each episode has a different type of bacteria, virus, cancer cells, and even open life threatening wounds appear so that we get to see how the various cells would behave at these points on time, while the show goes out of its way to explain the different types of cells, and what they do so that the characters actions make sense in the situation.

The structure of the episodes are the same, Red Blood Cell is delivering oxygen, something bad happens, White Blood Cell appears to fight and each story gets rinsed and repeated with various other types of cells making an appearance depending on the scale of the threat to the body. There is only one instance where the series had a two episode story and it was of such a scale that we got to see how each part of the body compensates to make sure that it stays alive.

This is one of those shows that I wish existed when I was still doing my O-Levels (yes I did O-Levels and not GCSEs. I was part of the last year to do them before they were discontinued, fun factoid for those on the UK education system). The main reason why is because the information about the cells and what they do in relation to the body is immaculately described and much of it is things I remember from studying Biology nearly ten years ago, albeit with updated information. (I was studying the sciences, and now I am graduating with a film degree, where did it all go wrong?)

Characters

The characters here have a lot of character development, where we get to know the characters much better as the show goes on, however as far as character progression goes, it progresses quite slowly. In fact, it is so slow that it is almost negligible. That being said due to the nature of the premise, there is not much room for there to be behavioural growth within the characters as they are all literally born with one job in mind and raised as such, instead we get growth with regards to their personalities.

While this may, at times, be a detriment to the story, the body here is depicted as a utopia where all of the cells are working together in harmony to protect the body. Even if some of them work together in an incredibly boisterous manner that resembles more of a typical jock and nerd relationship. Despite this distinction, because the personalities are so well done, while there is a jock and nerd type relationship, the show makes it perfectly clear that the jocks would literally die for the nerds, and this camaraderie is where the equilibrium of the body comes from.

The antagonists of the show are those that invade this utopia with the intent of destroying it. The relationship between the Red Blood Cell and the White Blood Cell was quite wholesome to watch, as we get to see how protective of each other they become with each encounter. Beyond the two leads the supporting case is fantastic with their own behaviour and personalities that help them stand out on their own, and the contrasts between the various cells making the interactions fantastic to watch and listen to.

Visuals/ Music

The animation of the show, in terms of movement, is quite lacking for the most part, however much of the background details, such as the environment and even the character designs are fantastic. That being said, one can only say that the animation in terms of movement is lacking, if you are looking at this show as an action based show however, if you are looking at this from the perspective of a slice of life and educational anime, then the quality of animation by David Productions is actually fantastic for what the show needs.

The highlight of the show is not the action, the highlight is the knowledge and the character writing involved, as this show managed to get me to feel sympathy towards a cancer cell of all things. The music that accompanies the show does not fall short as well, perfectly complimenting the show during the various situations depicted on screen, while the main theme is quite memorable in its own right and never gets old and boring, despite it being at the start of every episode.

In addition the Blood Platelets are probably the most adorable thing in the entire anime.

In Closing

This is a show that I recommend you watch, and it is available to watch on Crunchyroll.