Cells at work is an anime written by Yuko Kakihara and Kenichi Suzuki that follows a red blood cell, humanized, as she moves through a human body doing her job. It is a classic slice-of-life anime, on a microscopic scale, in that she deals with everyday problems and does not have a dramatic quest.

Cells at Work is an episodic show with no real overarching narratives. Each episode deals with one disease and has no bearing on the previous or following episodes. That being said they are not wholly self-contained. There is minor character development that carries over into the following episodes, but there is no main drive or throughline to the plot.

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Romance in Life

It may be surprising to learn that there is no romantic subplot in this anime, neither between the main characters nor among any of the side characters. When viewed within the lens of the story that it is telling this makes sense. Cells reproduce asexually and therefore have no need for romance. However, for an anime with a male and female lead, the lack of any romantic hinting is quite unique. Red Blood Cell and White Blood Cell do have a healthy friendship and grow quite familiar with each other throughout the course of the show though.

The main character is Red Blood Cell, a quirky, easily confused, new blood cell. The audience gets to watch as she learns her way through the circulatory system with the help of other cells, primarily other types of blood and immune cells. Her bumbling nature is charming especially when it is framed as a constant drive to improve. Not once is Red Blood Cell discouraged by her troubles, despite facing many on her way to becoming a fully capable red blood cell. One episode is even entirely dedicated to her struggle for self-improvement.

Her co-lead is White Blood Cell, whose purpose in the anime is to act out the more dynamic aspects of the body’s immune system. The audience follows Red Blood Cell on her journey but gets to cheer on White Blood Cell as he saves her from the various pathogens that threaten her job. As White Blood Cell does his job the audience is treated to a few moments of humanity when he comes to the realization that all cells are just doing their part. This is a very human moment in a show based in a human.

Action and the Body

Unlike many other slice of life animes, this show does contain both monsters and fight scenes. However, the monsters that are fought are germs and diseases that are a part of everyday life. Ranging from Cancer, the Flu, and even allergies, the enemies fought in this anime are dramatized real-life villains that the human body has to deal with on a daily basis. Each problem that Red Blood Cell encounters allows the audience to learn about a new bodily defense and frequently introduces them to a new kind of cell in the process.

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Despite the many great aspects of the show, this anime is still far from perfect. The visuals are pretty but suffer from a simple style and rudimentary color shading. This is unusual for the Color Designer Aiko Mizuno who also worked on one of the Fullmetal Alchemist movies. Although this is only a slightly lower quality than what an avid fan of David Productions might expect. Similarly, the theme song for this show is incredibly simple and lacks some of the charm found in the rest of the show.

Characters

Cells at Work also struggles to differentiate characters. Red Blood Cell is very different from White Blood Cell, but nearly every other white blood cell looks the same. This problem is not helped by the fact that no character has a name. Their names are simply the kind of cell that they are. This problem in particular has an explanation. Nearly every white blood cell in the body is identical, so it is logical to make each white blood cell character similar. However, white blood cells in the body also aren’t anthropomorphic, so making at least the main few that the audience interacts with a bit more unique is well within the realm of reasonable. There are differences between the main cast and the side characters, but they are very subtle.

For someone looking to learn a little bit more about the way that the body works, or who wants to enjoy a cute blossoming friendship, this anime is perfect. Calling it a microscopic slice of life is accurate. At its core, Cells at Work is a story of a young girl growing into her role in life, supported by friends and allies, and hindered at times by foes. The framework of being the biological system of the body gives it a unique twist that in no way detracts from the story being told. It’s a good time all around, supported by the positive throughline that is Red Blood Cell.

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