codeblack – Jainituos Presents

Cells at Work!! Code Black

Genre: Biology, Drama, Adventure

Studio: David Production.

Hello my friends. Welcome to another First Impressions.

I have to be honest. Right now, I am suffering some muscle pain in my right arm. It is moderate, but is still there. Well… It is not like it has anything to do with the anime I am reviewing right now, but I wanted to share this anecdote.

Anyway. The anime is…

But before I start, I must ask you the «Typical Question»:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy. And remember… stay safe, practice social distancing, and wear face mask; and since I am writing about health and human body, all the more reason. With that said, let’s go with Cells at Work!! Code Black!

Also, for this series, I will refer as Code Black, while the original one is Hataraku Saibou!!

PREMISE

«Alcohol, Smoking, Stress – and many other ailments in an already poorly-cared body made life a living hell, that is what Red Blood Cell – AA2153 feels as he struggled everyday to survive and to keep his sanity intact. But he is not alone, White Blood Cell U-1196 will accompany him in his daily life – Both are Cells at Work»

Ok. Forgive me for the poorly done synopsis. But yes. Cells at Work!! Code Black is a spin-off of the popular hit Cells At Work! (Hataraku Saibo!!), but completely opposite; while Cells at Work! takes place in an almost idyllic healthy body, with a relatively light tone, Code Black is darker, cholesterol, erectile dysfunction, carbon monoxide, and the consequences of every vice known by humankind is slowly destroying this body. Every day is a fight against death, and those lucky enough to live another day, are suffering from burn-out and are rude with everyone. During these context, we follow AA2153, a rookie red blood cell, as he finds the courage to survive and the very purpose of his existence, with the help of U-1196, a calm and reserved white blood cell.

In other words, a sick body is condemning itself to a apocalypse.

Cells At Work!!! Code Black is based on the manga written by Shigemitsu Harada, and illustrated by Issei Hatsuyoshi, and like its sister anime, it will have a season comprised of 12 episodes, released in January 10, 2021.

I am working right now in an entry review of Cells at Work!!, but I am re-watching the series and making my ideas fresh, when the time comes, it will be written.

STORY

*Trust me! Here ain’t nothing sweet about these platelets.*

I have to be honest.

I am one of those millions of fans who was delighted with the whole first season of Hataraku Saibou!!, all the billions of organised cells, fighting every day, really, really hard to keep the body safe from bacteria and cancer cells; but the most inventive way possible. And of course… the cutest of them all.

In other words, I really enjoyed learning about medicine with anime. Nonetheless, I thought that perhaps the franchise (Yeah! We can consider Hataraku Saibou!! as a franchise), will not be able to be inventive with its own premise.

I was wrong. Dead wrong. (No pun intended). And with Cells at Work!! Code Black, I remember that the worst enemy of my body… is myself.

Having said that, there is one element that I must really comment with Cells at Work!! Code Black – Its animation. While Hataraku Saibou!! has a very bright, colourful animation, being compatible with its overall tone, Code Black has more opaque lines and a darker atmosphere. This does not really surprise me, because keeping in mind that we are in a very sickly body, the anime must give an impression of its plot and its story; furthermore, Code Black includes urban settings, in the liver, which gives the impression of the night life, as in a more adult-oriented presence.

In the same fashion of Aggretsuko, or a pretty dark adult manga that thrashed me up.

Trust me. Don’t read that manga completed unless you find the guts for doing so.

Furthermore, during episode 2, we learn more about the human body in a more intense manner, especially from the White Blood Cells. I won’t be surprised if that was the intention of the story, so we, as readers, be aware of all the damage we cause our body with our actions. Basically, most of the situations are like those PSA that are making us being conscientious about us. Just like Metamorphosis.

*Anyone having nightmares with this image?*

Nevertheless, there is something that Cells at Work!!! Code Black that comes from its sister series, and that is its optimism. With the path of every episode, rest assured that the story allows our main protagonists to become brave enough to face the dangers of their body, and find hope and purpose on their job.

This is one of the good points that I noticed from Cells at Work!! Code Black; it allows to deal with more serious themes in the story, something that can become a good opportunity for develop our characters in the best, most natural way possible, so that is also a great deal of potential, from my perspective.

Furthermore, when you think about it, if Code Black brings all of this into the story with the best creativity, it will make this spin-off as memorable and enjoyable as Hataraku Saibou!!, and both will be amazing in terms of quality.

I said it before; quality over quantity, but when you combine both, the feeling is absolute bliss. And that is done with the…

CHARACTERS

Yeah. Definitely Code Black have their own equivalents from Hataraku Saibou!!!, including the platelets, the red blood cells, white blood cells, liver cells, macrophages, and eosinophil, all of them have their own perspective of what it means to live in such a ill body, which could be a good day to develop them.

But the ones that really are going to steal the show are AA2153, a young Red Blood Cell who transports oxygen, whose fight for coping with such a almost inhumane conditions will make him stronger and braver, and U1196, a powerful white blood cell, that just gave me two very good reason for watching Code Black…

…her stoic, yet caring personality, and her friendship with AA2153 (What else could it be?)

Anyway. I never thought I will grow attached to our characters, but after watching the first two episodes, I will they can rival those from Hataraku Saibou!! in terms of uniqueness. And I know I am not getting my hopes up.

CONCLUSION

I really enjoyed Cells at Work!! Code Black. It definitely has a lot of potential, and I think we should see both Hataraku Saibou!! and Code Black, so we can enjoy a very endearing story, as well as being conscious about our own body, especially during this pandemic.

Finally, I am aware that this is not my best blog entry, but I am very fully honest, and I hope you enjoy all the franchise of Cells at Work as much as I am.

If not, at least see this PSA commercial from Canada.