Cells at Work!
Cells at Work! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by. It features the anthropomorphized cells of a human body, with the two main protagonists being a red blood cell and a white blood cell she frequently encounters. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius from January 2015 to January 2021. It is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA.
The series has been adapted into an anime television series by David Production, with two seasons broadcast from July 2018 to February 2021, totaling 21 episodes. A theatrical anime titled "Hataraku Saibō!!" Saikyō no Teki, Futatabi. Karada no Naka wa "Chō" Ōsawagi! premiered in September 2020. The series has also spawned several spin-off manga series, including, Cells at Work! Code Black, published from 2018 to 2021 and adapted into an anime television series.
Plot
The story takes place inside the body of an adult human, 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
;Red blood cell;Neutrophil / White Blood Cell
;Cytotoxic T cell
;Macrophage / Monocyte
;Platelet
;T helper cell
;Regulatory T cell
;Naive T cell
;T cell
;Eosinophil
;Dendritic Cell
;Memory B cell
;Mast cell
;Senior Red Blood Cell
;Junior Red Blood Cell
;B Cell
;Basophil
;NK Cell
;Cancer cell
;Normal Cell / Cell Boy
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by, Cells at Work! was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius from January 26, 2015, to January 26, 2021. Kodansha collected its chapters in six volumes, released from July 9, 2015, to February 9, 2021.Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed Cells at Work! in North America on March 21, 2016.
Spin-offs
The series has spawned several spin-offs published across various Kodansha's manga magazines and digital platforms:Cells at Work!: Bacteria! by Haruyuki Yoshida. The series follows the lives of good and bad bacteria in the intestines. It was serialized in the manga magazine Nakayoshi from April 3, 2017, to July 3, 2020. It was followed by Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria, serialized in Nakayoshi and on the Palcy manga app from December 28, 2020, to February 22, 2021, with a single volume released on the latter date.Cells NOT at Work! by Moe Sugimoto. It follows immature red blood cells that do not want to work. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Sirius from July 26, 2017, to November 26, 2021.Cells at Work! Code Black, written by Shigemitsu Harada and illustrated by Issei Hatsuyoshi. It is set in a "black" environment of a human body suffering an unhealthy lifestyle. It was serialized in the manga magazine Morning from June 7, 2018, to January 21, 2021.Cells at Work and Friends!, written by Kanna Kurono and illustrated by Mio Izumi. It centers around a Killer T Cell who is normally strict with himself and others, but wants to have fun during his free time. He also wants to make friends but does not want to ruin his reputation. It was serialized in the manga magazine Bessatsu Friend from January 12, 2019, to April 13, 2021.Cells at Work!: Platelets!, written by Kanna Kurono and illustrated by Mio Izumi. It focuses on platelet characters. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Sirius from May 25, 2019, to April 26, 2021.Cells at Work!: Baby! by Yasuhiro Fukuda. It follows a group of cells inside a baby's body, 40 weeks after conception and close to delivery, with the cells unaware of anything. It was serialized in Morning from October 17, 2019, to October 7, 2021.Cells at Work!: Lady!, written by Harada and illustrated by Akari Otokawa. It is focused on cells in the body of an adult woman. It started in on January 22, 2020. The magazine ceased print publication and moved to a digital starting on August 4, 2022. The series finished on September 26, 2022.Cells at Work!: White Brigade by Tetsuji Kanie. It is focused on white blood cells. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Sirius from October 26, 2020, to July 26, 2022.Cells at Work!: Illegal by Kae Hashimoto. It is focused on the cells of a person taking illegal substances. It was serialized on the YanMaga Web digital manga platform from February 1, 2022, to July 18, 2023.Cells at Work! Muscle by Yū Maeda. It is focused on muscles in the human body. It started on the Morning Two manga website from February 16, 2023, to February 20, 2025.Cells at Work! Cat, written by Choco Aozora and illustrated by Meku Kaire. It is centered around cells in the body of a cat. It started in Monthly Shōnen Sirius on May 25, 2023.Cells at Work!: Medicine, written by Koma Warita and illustrated by Ryō Kuji. It is centered around medicine. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Sirius from May 25, 2023, to May 26, 2025.Kodansha USA has licensed Cells at Work! Code Black, Cells at Work!: Bacteria!, Cells at Work!: Platelets!, Cells at Work!: Baby!, Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria, Cells at Work! White Brigade, and Cells at Work! Cat.
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, 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" by Red Blood Cell, White Blood Cell, Killer T Cell, and Macrophage, 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 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 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 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.