Hataraku Saibo Black

Cells At Work! Is a great anime that shows life of cells working in a young, healthy body. And now, it has a spin-off in the form of Cells At Work! CODE BLACK!, which is a darker, more violent tale.

Taking place in an unhealthy body, two cells, a rookie red blood cell named AA2153 and a white blood cell named U-1196, CODE BLACK! Is not for the faint of heart or kids. While the original Cells At Work is known for having some violent action scenes (especially with the white blood cells fighting virus and killing them in gory fashion), they are taken up to eleven in CODE BLACK, as the show has cells getting killed a lot due to the body's unhealthy habits. As I never read the original manga due to it being an 18+ manga, I cannot tell any differences from it and the anime (which here in the States, is given a TV-14 rating), but the episodes do retain some of the stories from it, which deal with stuff like smoking, alcohol, and other problems an adult human body may be infected with (some of them I cannot name to keep this review clean). Also, because of the state the body is in, characters are less friendly to each other and even yell at each other as they are in a rush (even the cute little Platelets can be mean, as one scene in the first episode has one yelling at AA2153 to get out of the way, then apologizing after he lets them through, explaining everyone is on edge).

The protagonist of the story "Cells at Work! CODE BLACK!" is a stressed-out adult who smokes and drinks excessively, destroying the body's blood vessels and defenses while leaving it vulnerable to pathogens and toxins. Red blood cells must work twice as hard as white blood cells in order to live. They are mistreated, conscious of their disposable character, and oblivious to their surroundings. This is what happens to cells when they get intoxicated and start to smoke like a chimney, while the main character witnesses many others die. The narrative emphasizes the negative effects that smoking and binge drinking have on the body's cells.

I really enjoyed this show and it encouraged me to be healthier. I cannot ask for more!

While the original Hataraku Saibou series does make us feel for the characters/cells, this one goes slightly beyond that. If the original version made you feel emotional, this one has the potential to make you drown in guilt. Just like the original series, the red blood cells teach us about the work ethics and that we should always carry on as long as there is life, but in this one they become somewhat complex characters too. The main blood cell of the series would question everything, including his work and himself.

In this version, you would see characters getting more messed up and they keep realizing that it is impossible to escape this hell(or this unhealthy body). Even the platelets won't sound cute anymore.(Yes, they are cute but have a stronger personality now). They just know it has become a serious business now.

This series is a good scolding for anyone living an unhealthy life. At times, it may even sound like a personal attack(lol!). When the red blood cell, in his frustration, starts attacking the body while shouting 'Quit smoking, do exercise etc.', that scene really hit me hard.

The ending, very unusual(especially the post credit scene). It is so weird that it is so good. I expected cells to shout 'Shinzou wo Sasageyo' in the last episode. I really had high Hopes.

While this is a must watch, I feel one should watch the original series first.