Cells at Work is all about the daily lives of busy cells within a body (“the world”). These cells don’t always understand the whys of their world or what exists outside of it, but they do fully understand and embrace their jobs with admirable devotion. My back went out again on Thanksgiving, so my husband and I were unable to attend the festive holiday. While stuck in bed, I find it only fitting that I finally took the plunge into watching Cells at Work.
The following episodic commentary does contain spoilers for the show, so don’t read it if that concerns you! ❤ Now, we begin!
*I’ll go through and add screenshots when I’m able to be up and about long enough. ✌🏻
Ep 1:
Watching this when you’re stuck in bed ‘cause your body is doing ✨inflammatory spine things✨ is actually perfect timing. This first episode was super engaging. I’m watching in English with the subtitles on, so I’d like to point out how well the dubbers did keeping their dialogue faithful. The platelets are adorable (I wanna be one for the next convention I attend.) and I—in what I know is an unexpected turn—ship Red and White blood cells. ❤ Now, on to episode 2.
Ep 2:
I love how bloodthirsty the white blood cells are—bloodthirsty for the right reasons, lol. The platelets continue to be adorable, and when White went on about the most powerful cell that could be helpful in a wound situation, I exclaimed “Platelets!” out loud. The show skims over some things that would destroy certain cells, like blood clotting and scanning, but it also makes me ship White and Red even more strongly. All in all, holding solid!
Ep 3:
This show has more heart with its humor than I expected, though the humor is in no way lacking. The Activated Naive T cells looked like Jojo characters, and that was awesome, frankly. Influenza A made me think of Covid, ya know? Anyway, on to episode 4!
Ep 4:
Etosinophil (I’m bad at spelling.)—or Pink white blood cell—being sort of like White’s sister was super cute. Further, even though the plot of this episode was predictable (Pink’s “redemption!”), it was still enjoyable! As a by-the-by, parasites scare me, so Pink is A+++ in my book!
Ep 5:
I keep saying that aspects of this show are cute, but… the Cedar allergens are so cute, the poor bean-eggy dears. This episode was amusing in its “doomsday prophecy” courtesy of Memory cell, but man, Mast cell really messed that one up, I feel like. I’ll blame my own Mast next time allergies make my eyes itch. Also, to sort of revise a previous statement, White is quite a bit more sarcastic in the dub than in the sub, huh? I like it! The depiction of medicine (I was hoping for something like an antibiotic or antihistamine!) as robotic instead of human was *chef’s kiss.* Because medications do not stay in the body, they can’t be human-like or watching them regularly die after completing their function would be sad. If you think about it, bodies that need a lot of medication intervention probably have lil (or big!!) robots running around with all the cells on a regular basis. I’m really enjoying this show.
Ep 6:
The bit about the blood cells as kids was just… adorable! There! Not cute! Adorable! It would be so sweet if their ship sailed! Anyway, I think they’re getting ready to fight cancer, and if you didn’t think I saw cancer having secretly infected the other cell coming, you’d be wrong! (I mean, they haven’t totally confirmed it yet, but it’s basically confirmed.) I’m going to start picturing kick butt cells protecting me from the inside out!
Ep 7:
Okay, so they tried to humanize cancer. Understandable within the context of the show, but I just… like, weird flex. I don’t have much commentary to add. I’m very White blood cell about this whole thing, in that…nah, I’m not humanizing cancer. I’m just not.
Ep 8:
BLUSHY BLUSHY HE REALLY LIKES HER!! He spent all day trying to help her from the shadows!! ❤ They like each other, and I just want them to be happy!!! *sob* On another note, poor Killer T needs some friendos.
Ep 9:
Wait! Killer T does have some friends! They’re all immune response friends, though. I think these flashback episode are neat and very well done. Sometimes flashbacks can been boring, but this show handles them to near perfection. They really expand on the world building and give the characters even more life. ❤
Ep 10:
Learning facts about different cells in the body is so fun when you learn them through anime. Nothing that I’m learning surprises me because bodies are WOW, but it’s all so very interesting. The Staph Infection gave me major Sailor Moon/Power Ranger vibes.
Ep 11:
Dehydration is no joke! This episode puts into perspective what you’re doing to yourself when you don’t drink water, so let’s all stay hydrated! White blood cell took out that Frieza-vibed germ, which was great and ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS (“Well, I’m feeling refreshed.”).
Ep 12:
They’re STILL ARGUING ABOUT THE HYSTAMINE RESPONSE. B cell and Mast, those goofs! ❤ Red’s whole “I don’t known why anyone would find him (White) scary,” as he bloodthirstily takes down a pathogen is quality comedy. I thought the episode (and series) was ending until during the narrated segment in the middle of the episode, but then the explosion rocked their world. When I realized a major injury had occurred, I was geared up for a plot point I had been curious to see on screen.
Ep 13:
I cried!! I know that’s probably too much, right? But really, I was brought to literal tears during this episode, especially when Red would talk to her rookie, and I could help think about how hilarious my husband would find my “extra” tears because he thinks the concept of this show is silly. Gosh, I was so emotionally invested in these cells. The show’s pacing and timing was great. I never felt like I wanted to skip episodes or glance ahead. I cannot imagine a better way to spend a day stuck in bed than with Cells at Work!
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