Cells at Work!
Movies
Alternate Titles
Hataraku Saibo
はたらく細胞
Synopsis
Learn about the human body and blood cells with the anthropomorphic cast of Cells at Work!! This series is set in the human body which is depicted as a city, and together, the characters including a red blood cell and white blood cell work to protect the city against pathogenic microorganisms and bacteria.
Anime Adaptation
Written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu, Cells at Work! was first serialized in Kodansha’s shonen magazine Monthly Shonen Sirius in March 2015, and since then five volumes have been released. It has also received multiple spin-offs by a variety of writers and manga artists including Bacteria at Work by Haruyuki Yoshida, Cells that Don’t Work by Moe Sugimoto, and Cells at Work! BLACK by writer Shigemitsu Harada and illustrator Issei Hatsuyoshi.
An anime adaptation of the series was announced by Aniplex in January 2018 for a July release, and the staff includes Kenichi Suzuki as director, Yuuko Kakihara in charge of series composition, and Suzuki and Kakihara both as writers.
The adaptation began airing on July 7 on Tokyo MX, BS11, GT, GTV, MBS, TV Aichi, RKB, and HBC. The opening theme is “Mission! Ken - Ko - Dai - Ichi” by Kana Hanazawa (Red Blood Cell), Tomoaki Maeno (White Blood Cell), Daisuke Ono (Killer T Cell), and Kikuko Inoue (Macrophage), and the ending theme is “CheerS” by ClariS.
Characters
Red Blood Cell (Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa)
Red Blood Cell is a bit of an airhead and has just started her new job of delivering oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. Despite her faults, she’s cheerful and truly wants to do a good job. She runs into Neutrophil who she saves from a vicious pneumococcus germ.
White Blood Cell (Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno)
White Blood Cell has the difficult and vicious job of killing all foreign germs and viruses in the body, but he himself is shockingly gentle and quiet!
Killer T Cell (Voiced by: Daisuke Ono)
A professional killer whose job is to recognize and kill any foreign material. He’s a bit obnoxious and judgemental towards friendships formed between white blood cells and other cells, and he has a rivalry with Helper T Cell.
Macrophage (Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue)
Equipped with large and blunt weapons to use against viruses and germs, Macrophage is a type of white blood cell which appears in this series as a sweet maid. She also finds information on antigens and immunities.
Platelet (Voiced by: Maria Naganawa)
Platelets are responsible for filling up wounds and stopping bleeding, and they’re a bit smaller than other cells.
Helper T Cell (Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai)
A very intelligent cell, Helper T Cell is responsible for determining strategies and courses of action for dealing with attackers based on information about the enemy. He does not get along well with Killer T Cell.
Pneumonia Coccus (Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino)
Highly toxic, Pneumonia Coccus is a bacteria that causes illness in respiratory organs.
International Streaming
- Crunchyroll
Official Links
Staff
- Original Creator: Akane Shimizu
- Director: Kenichi Suzuki
- Series Composition: Yuuko Kakihara
- Scriptwriter: Kenichi Suzuki, Yuuko Kakihara
- Character Designer: Takahiko Yoshida
- Cell Character Designer/Prop Designer/Action Animation Director: Kenta Mimuro
- Sub-character Designer: Keiko Tamaki
- Chief Animation Director: Takahiko Yoshida, Keiko Tamaki
- Art Director: Risa Wakabayashi
- Art Setting: Koji Hashiguchi, Yoshihiro Sono
- Color Designer: Aiko Muzino
- Director of Photography: Yuki Oshima
- 3DCG Director: Yutaka Nakajima
- Editor: Kiyoshi Hirose
- Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa
- Sound Production: Magic Capsule
- Music: Kenichiro Suehiro (Mayuko)
- Producer: Yuma Takahashi
- Animation Producer: Go Wakamatsu
- Animation Production: David Production
- Opening Theme: “Mission! Ken - Ko - Dai - Ichi” by Kana Hanazawa, Tomoaki Maeno, Daisuke Ono, and Kikuko Inoue
- Ending Theme: “CheerS” by ClariS