Cells at Work!
Cells at Work! | |
![]() The cover of the first volume of Cells at Work! | |
はたらく細胞 (Hataraku Saibou) | |
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Manga | |
Written by | Akane Shimizu |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | Kodansha USA |
Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Sirius |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | March 2015 – present |
Volumes | 5 |
Manga | |
Bacteria at Work | |
Illustrated by | Haruyuki Yoshida |
Published by | Kodansha |
Magazine | Nakayoshi |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | May 2017 – present |
Manga | |
Cells that Don't Work | |
Illustrated by | Moe Sugimoto |
Published by | Kodansha |
Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Sirius |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | July 26, 2017 – present |
Manga | |
Cells at Work! BLACK | |
Written by | Shigemitsu Harada |
Illustrated by | Issei Hatsuyoshi |
Published by | Kodansha |
Magazine | Morning |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | June 7, 2018 – present |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Kenichi Suzuki |
Produced by | Yuma Takahashi |
Written by |
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Music by | Kenichirō Suehiro |
Studio | David Production |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Tokyo MX, BS11, GYT, GTV, MBS, TV Aichi, RKB, HBC |
English network | |
Original run | July 7, 2018 – present |
Episodes | 13 |
Cells at Work! (はたらく細胞, Hataraku Saibō) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu. It features the anthropomorphized cells of a human body, with the protagonist being a red blood cell. The manga was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius starting in March 2015. It is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA. An anime television series adaptation by David Production debuted on July 7, 2018.[1]
Plot
The story takes place inside the human body, where trillions of anthropomorphic cells each do their job to keep the body healthy. The series largely focuses on two such cells; a rookie red blood cell, AE3803, who often gets lost during deliveries and a relentless white blood cell, U-1146, who fights against any germs that invade the body.
Characters
- Erythrocyte / Red Blood Cell (AE3803) (赤血球, Sekkekkyū)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[2]
- A ditzy red blood cell who has just started her job, delivering oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrients all over the body. She meets Neutrophil when he saves her from an attacking pneumococcus germ. She is clumsy and gets lost often, but determined to perform to the best of her ability.
- Neutrophil (好中球, Kōchūkyū) / White Blood Cell (U-1146) (白血球, Hakkekkyū)
- Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno[2]
- A type of white blood cell. His job is to kill foreign germs and viruses from the body. Despite his ruthless occupation, he's actually quite soft spoken and gentle.
- Macrophage (マクロファージ, Makurofāji)
- Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue[2]
- A type of white blood cell. She and her kind appear as lovely maids, with large knives and heavy blunt objects to fight viruses and germs, and are often shown smiling cheerfully even in the middle of combat.
- Killer T Cell (キラーT細胞, Kirā Tī Saibō)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Ono[2]
- A type of white blood cell that recognizes and kills any foreign material. He's loud and obnoxious, and quick to anger. He especially frowns on white blood cells forming friendships or relationships with non-white blood cells, like Neutrophil's friendship with Red Blood Cell. He has something of a rivalry with Helper T Cell. In his youth, he was considered to be weaker than the rest of the T cells, and he was only able to survive training through the help of Helper T Cell.
- Platelet (血小板, Kesshōban)
- Voiced by: Maria Naganawa[2]
- A type of cell responsible for reconstructing the body when it has become injured. They are depicted as small children due to their small cell size, and act as construction and repair crew within the body. One platelet serves as their leader and she is most prominently featured in the show.
- Helper T Cell (ヘルパーT細胞, Herupā Tī Saibō)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai[3]
- A type of T Cell that determines strategy and course of action for dealing with foreign invaders. He's the main commander of the Killer T Cells and has an intellectual disposition. He and Killer T Cell do not get along well, despite having gone through T Cell training together.
- Regulatory T Cell (制御性T細胞, Seigyosei Tī Saibō)
- Voiced by: Saori Hayami[3]
- A T Cell who normally acts as Helper T Cell's secretary, though she is capable of fighting when necessary. She went through T Cell training alongside Killer T Cell and Helper T Cell.
- Naive T Cell (ナイーブT細胞, Naību T saibō)
- Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura
- A rookie T Cell who is too frightened to fight the body's invaders, until Dentritic Cell helps him turn into Effector T Cell.
- Effector T Cell (エフェクターT細胞, Efekutā T saibō)
- Voiced by: Kenji Nomura
- A large, muscular, and powerful T-cell who transformed from the Naive T-cell. His design and mannerisms are a parody of the various protagonists from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Eosinophil (好酸球, Kōsankyū)
- Voiced by: M.A.O[3]
- A type of white blood cell who is acquainted with White Blood Cell since they grew up in the same bone marrow. She feels inferior to the other immune cells because of her inability to fight off bacteria, but she shows her true worth by killing a parasitic Anisakis when the other cells could not. She carries a large bident as her weapon of choice.
- Dendritic Cell (樹状細胞, Jujō Saibō)
- Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto[3]
- Depicted as a messenger stationed inside a call center resembling a tree. He can stimulate Naive T-cells and turn them into Effector T-cells.
- Memory Cell (記憶細胞, Kioku Saibō)
- Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura[4]
- A paranoid and neurotic cell whose job is to remember past infections and allergies so that the immune system can be ready for them. However, he is scatterbrained and it is difficult for him to sort out his memories.
- Mast Cell (マスト細胞, Masuto Saibō)
- Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi[4]
- A cell whose job is to monitor and release histamine in response to allergic and inflammatory reactions. She always follows the instructions in her book no matter the situation and is unpopular due to her lack of consideration of what her actions do to the other cells. She gets annoyed whenever anyone else refers to her as "Fat Cell".
- Senpai Red Blood Cell (AA5100) (先輩赤血球, Senpai Sekkekkyū)
- Voiced by: Aya Endo[4]
- An older red blood cell who sometimes guides and teaches AE3803 how to do her job.
- Pneumonia Coccus (肺炎球菌, Haienkyūkin)
- Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino[4]
- The antagonist of the first episode, the Pneumococcus is depicted as a purple humanoid alien with long tendrils sprouting form his body. He first appears with a horde of his own species, invading a blood vessel, but all are killed by the Neutrophils except him. He then escapes and stows away in Red Blood Cell's cargo and tries to invade the lungs, but is defeated when he is launched out of the body by a sneeze.
- B Cell (B細胞, Bī Saibō)
- Voiced by: Shōya Chiba[5]
- A white blood cell who carries a weapon that fires antibodies. He is often annoyed about not receiving as much credit as the Killer T-cells do. He also has an antagonistic relationship with Mast Cell, as their combined functions only cause disaster for the other cells.
- Basophil (好塩基球, Kōenkikyū)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
- A mysterious and poetic character whose real occupation is unknown, appearing during a parasitic infection to make cryptic commentaries on the events unfolding.
- NK Cell (NK細胞, NK Saibō)
- Voiced by: Toa Yukinari
- She patrols the whole body looking for cancer cells or viruses. She has a confident nature, and sometimes at odds with Killer T Cell.
- Narrator (ナレーション, Narēshon)
- Voiced by: Mamiko Noto[5]
Media
Manga
The manga was launched in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius in March 2015.[6] Kodansha has collected the manga into five tankōbon volumes as of October 2017[update].[7] The manga received a spinoff in the May 2017 issue of Nakayoshi called Hataraku Saikin (はたらく細菌; "Bacteria at Work") by Haruyuki Kichida, which follows the lives of good and bad bacteria in the intestines.[8] Another spinoff, titled Hatarakanai Saibō (はたらかない細胞; "Cells That Don't Work") by Moe Sugimoto, about immature red blood cells (erythroblasts) that do not want to work, was launched in the September 2017 issue of Monthly Shōnen Sirius.[9] Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed Cells at Work! in North America on March 21, 2016.[6] The manga is also licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.[10] The manga received another spinoff titled Hataraku Saibō Black (はたらく細胞 BLACK), set in a "black" environment of a human body suffering an unhealthy lifestyle, that runs in Weekly Morning since June 7, 2018. It is written by Shigemitsu Harada, with illustrations by Issei Hatsuyoshi and supervision by Shimizu.[11]
Volumes
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | North America release date | North America ISBN | ||
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1 | July 9, 2015[12] | 978-4-06-376560-1 | November 1, 2016[13] | 978-1632363565 | ||
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2 | November 20, 2015[14] | 978-4-06-376589-2 | December 27, 2016[15] | 978-1632363572 | ||
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3 | June 9, 2016[16] | 978-4-06-390633-2 | March 28, 2017[17] | 978-1632363909 | ||
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4 | November 30, 2016[18] | 978-4-06-390664-6 | May 2, 2017[19] | 978-1632363916 | ||
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5 | August 9, 2017[7] | 978-4-06-390720-9 | November 21, 2017[20] | 978-1632364265 | ||
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Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in January 2018. It is directed by Kenichi Suzuki and animated by David Production, with scripts written by Suzuki and Yūko Kakihara, character designs by Takahiko Yoshida and music by Kenichirō Suehiro. The anime series will premiere on July 7, 2018 on Tokyo MX and other channels.[4][21] The series will run for 13 episodes.[22] Aniplex of America have licensed the series in North America, and will simulcast it on Crunchyroll.[23] The opening theme is "Mission! Ken - Kō - Dai - Ichi" (ミッション! 健・康・第・イチ, Mission! Health First) by Kana Hanazawa, Tomoaki Maeno, Daisuke Ono, and Kikuko Inoue,[4] while the ending theme is "CheerS" by ClariS.[24]
Template:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listTemplate:Japanese episode listNo. | Title[a] | Original air date |
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Reception
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network highlighted the educational aspect of the manga despite flaws in presentation of information, and ultimately found the manga entertaining with likable characters.[25] Sean Gaffney of Manga Bookshelf called it a "very fun shonen action manga", complimenting the manga's ridiculousness and humor.[26]
The 2016 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook listed the manga as the seventh top manga for male readers.[27] Paul Gravett included the manga in his list of "Top 22 Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga" for October 2016.[28] As of July, 2017, the manga had over 1.3 million copies in print.[29]The manga had over 1.5 million copies in print as of January 2018.[30]
See also
- Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, another manga featuring microorganisms
- Osmosis Jones, a 2001 American film with a similar premise
- Once Upon a Time... Life, a 1987 French animated series with a similar premise
Notes
- ^ All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.
References
- ^ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2018/summer/cells-at-work/.133973
- ^ a b c d e "Cells at Work! TV Anime Stars Tomoaki Maeno, Kana Hanazawa". Anime News Network. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Cells at Work Casts Takahiro Sakurai, Saori Hayami, M.A.O, Nobuhiko Okamoto".
- ^ a b c d e f Ressler, Karen (May 25, 2018). "Cells at Work Reveals Additional Cast, Opening Theme Song, July 7 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ a b "Cells at Work Anime's Video Reveals More Cast Members". Anime News Network. June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ a b "Kodansha Comics Licenses The Prince in His Dark Days, Cells at Work! Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ a b はたらく細胞 (5). Kodansha. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! Manga Gets Spinoff Focusing on Intestinal Bacteria". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work Manga Gets New Spinoff About Cells That Don't Work". Anime News Network. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ 工作細胞. Tong Li (in Chinese). Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (May 18, 2018). "Cells at Work! Gets BLACK Spinoff Manga in June". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ はたらく細胞 (1). Kodansha. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! 1". Amazon. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ はたらく細胞 (2). Kodansha. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! 2". Amazon. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ はたらく細胞 (3). Kodansha. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! 3". Amazon. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ はたらく細胞 (4). Kodansha. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! 4". Amazon. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! 5". Amazon. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Cells at Work! Manga Gets TV Anime in July". Anime News Network. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Cells at Work Anime Listed With 13 Episodes". Anime News Network. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ^ Ressler, Karen (June 19, 2018). "Aniplex USA Announces Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Cells at Work! Anime for Crunchyroll Streaming". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ "ClariS Performs Cells at Work! TV Anime's Ending Song". Anime News Network. May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ^ Silverman, Rebecca. "Cells at Work!". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Gaffney, Sean. "Cells at Work!, Vol. 1". A Case Suitable for Treatment. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Reveals 2016's Series Ranking for Male Readers". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Top 22 Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga: October 2016". Paul Gravette. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu. "'Cells at Work!' Manga Gets Anime CM for Its 5th Volume Release". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/01/18-1/hataraku-saibou-tv-anime-adaptation-set-to-premiere-in-july-2018
External links
- Official manga website Template:Ja icon
- Official anime website Template:Ja icon
- Cells at Work! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Cells at Work! at IMDb