The well-received anime adaptation of Akane Shimizu’s Cells at Work has closed it’s first season. Taking a comedic and action packed poke at the inner workings of the human body, Cells at Work focuses on two cells a Red Blood Cell named AE3803 & a White Blood Cell named U-1146 as they and other cells work together to face germs & more threats to an unnamed human host.

Cells at Work! is a 2018 shounen anime series based on the manga of the same name, it is produced by David Productions and licensed by Aniplex of America. Season One is currently available for streaming.

Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers for the entire first season of Cells at Work!.

The main Red & White Blood Cells of Cells at Work!.

Though Cells at Work! is often favorably compared to the Warner Bros. film Osmosis Jones, it’s very much it’s own entity and has it’s own style of doing things, there’s even some Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure references because of course there is David Productions did produce the series. I’m sure some will get a little annoyed of the educational vibes of the series, I have no doubts that it’ll eventually grow on any who choose to give it a real chance. Smart, genuinely funny, and full of action there’s no reason not to get into the series.

Have a little Jojo with your education on the human body at work.

THE GOOD: As previously mentioned Cells at Work! focuses on the Red & White Bloods Cells named AE3803 &  U-1146 respectively. However, as the story goes on more cells are introduced such as the powerful Macrophages & Killer T Cells. Most of the time throughout the series we see the White Blood Cells & Killer T Cells wiping out germs, while the less powerful cells such as AE3803 are used for comedic relief and both styles work pretty effectively. I can’t tell you how many times Cells at Work! has actually managed to make me laugh throughout it’s run, which as I’ve mentioned a few times before is pretty hard for me when watching anime, I have a sense of humor that anime often doesn’t relate to but Cells at Work! definitely gets some laughs from me from time to time.

Even the loli designed Palates get a victory over the germs here and there.

Attached to a catchy opening and closing theme is the clean & colorful art style. It never really distracts the viewers from the current scenes in any given episode, but it does catch your eyes enough to keep them glued to the screen. Another thing to point out is just how accurate Cells at Work! is at portraying the human body’s inner workings. It’s so impressive that even those in the medical field have praised it’s direction, schools are recommending it for homework to students. That’s some fairly impressive accomplishments for a non-mainstream anime series that just released.

Cells at Work! is a brilliant piece of anime that makes education fun.

THE BAD: If the educational bits annoy you then it may not be for you, but to its credit Cells at Work! makes learning pretty fun.

Put Cells at Work! on your 2018 anime watch list, trust me.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Educational, charming, funny, and just plain old enjoyable throughout it’s run, Cells at Work! will likely surprise many who decide on giving it a chance. I’m not sure how long Aniplex plans on keeping this going, but given the good praise and press they’ve received for Cells at Work!, I’m hoping they’ll at least give it a decent enough run for the next few years. Otaku Dome gives Cells at Work! Season One a 95 out of 100.