5.5 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cells at Work! | 5/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cells_at_Work! | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:45:03.855473+00:00 | kb-cron |
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, and character designs by Takahiko Yoshida. The series' music is composed by Kenichiro Suehiro and Mayuko. The anime series premiered on July 8, 2018, on Tokyo MX and other channels. The series ran for 13 episodes. Aniplex of America licensed the series in North America and simulcast it on Crunchyroll. Madman Entertainment simulcasted Australia and New Zealand on AnimeLab, while Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and simulcasted it on Animax Asia. MVM Entertainment acquired the series for distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The opening theme is "Mission! Health Comes First" (ミッション！ 健・康・第・イチ, Mission! Ken - Kō - Dai - Ichi) by Red Blood Cell (Kana Hanazawa / Cherami Leigh), White Blood Cell (Tomoaki Maeno / Billy Kametz), Killer T Cell (Daisuke Ono / Robbie Daymond), and Macrophage (Kikuko Inoue / Laura Post), while the ending theme is "CheerS" by ClariS. A special episode premiered on December 27, 2018. Aniplex of America released the English dub on August 27, 2019. On March 23, 2019, the series' official Twitter account announced that it would receive a second season. The second season aired from January 9 to February 27, 2021. The main staff at David Production is returning for producing the second season, with the exception of director Kenichi Suzuki being replaced by director Hirofumi Ogura. The opening theme is "Go! Go! Saibō Festa!" by the main cast members, while the ending theme is "Fight!!" by ClariS. A theatrical anime titled "Hataraku Saibō!!" Saikyō no Teki, Futatabi. Karada no Naka wa "Chō" Ōsawagi! was announced on July 4, 2020, as an advanced screening of episodes 4–8 later aired in the second season. Also shown with a short animation "Kesshouban: Eigakan e Iku". The main staff at David Production returned for producing the film, with the exception of director Kenichi Suzuki being replaced by director Hirofumi Ogura. It premiered on September 5, 2020.
=== Light novel === A light novel adaptation of the manga titled as Shōsetsu Hataraku Saibō (小説 はたらく細胞) was published on July 12, 2018, by Kodansha. It is written by Yui Tokiumi and illustrated by Akane Shimizu and has three volumes.
=== Stage play === A stage play adaptation titled Tainai Katsugeki Hataraku Saibō (体内活劇「はたらく細胞」) was announced in the August issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Sirius magazine. The play was held at Tokyo's Theatre 1010 from November 16 to 25, 2018. The play which was directed by Tsuyoshi Kida, starred Masanari Wada as U-1146 and Kanon Nanaki as AE3803, while Keita Kawajiri wrote the script for the play. The last performance was also distributed live.
=== Mobile app === A tower-defense game for iOS and Android mobile devices titled Always Cells at Work (いつでも はたらく細胞, Itsudemo Hataraku Saibō) was announced in November 2018. The game service shut down on January 31, 2020.
=== Live-action film === A live-action film adaptation was announced by Kodansha and Flag Pictures on March 20, 2023. It was directed by Hideki Takeuchi and the script written by Yuichi Tokunaga, starring Mei Nagano and Takeru Satoh as AE3803 and U-1146, respectively. The film was released on December 13, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
== 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. Sean Gaffney of A Case Suitable for Treatment called it a "very fun shonen action manga", complimenting the manga's ridiculousness and humor. Ian Wolf of Anime UK News gave the British Blu-ray release of the anime a score of 9 out of 10, and described the show as the most bloody on television, because so many of the characters are blood cells and thus means it contains more blood than shows depicting much violence. The 2016 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook listed the manga as the seventh top manga for male readers. Paul Gravett included the manga in his list of "Top 22 Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga" for October 2016. By July 2017, the manga had over 1.3 million copies in print; it had over 1.5 million copies in print by January 2018. Dr. Satoru Otsuka, postdoctoral fellow in the molecular neuro-oncology department of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, praised the series' depiction of cancer cells during the series' seventh episode. Biology teachers at a high school affiliated with China's Southwest University were so impressed with the accuracy of the series that they assigned it as homework for their students.
== See also == Osmosis Jones, a 2001 American live-action/animated action comedy film and its spin-off television series, Ozzy & Drix, both of which feature a similar premise Once Upon a Time... Life, a 1987 French animated series with a similar premise
== References ==
== External links == Official manga website (in Japanese) Official anime website (1st season) (in Japanese) Official anime website (2nd season) (in Japanese) Official anime site (in English) Cells at Work! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia