Right from the start, the show reveals the human body and what it’s made up of which is essentially red blood cells. It takes place in an anonymous person but one should presume that it’s healthy until it faces conflicts inside. This is where the meat of the show really comes in. The human body is vulnerable and we face consequences every day in our lives.
But that’s not really the problem, is it? The main course of the anime is composed of human body anatomy. Main characters are composed of Red Blood Cells, in particular one girl voiced by Kana Hanazawa. There’s also a variety of others cells that includes white blood, Killer-T, Macrophage, Memory, and in general, the types that you’d find in any human body. Let’s face it, our human body is made up of trillion of cells. Every cell has its own role whether it’s providing oxygen, getting rid of carbon dioxide, or muscle strengthening. Manga creator Akane Shimizu made this work through innovative thoughts of the actions going on in our bodies.
With 6+ volumes and counting, the show is only consists of 13 episodes. It became obvious that the story had to limit itself with exploring the full potential of what the human body can do. However, I will say right off the bat that this shouldn’t be something to overlook. Because the more I watched this show, the more I realized how informative it can be. Surprisingly enough, the details of the human body is explored with an accurate representation. There’s information that details with the context of the cells while also examining at the invaders that enters our body. This include germs, virus, and any foreign pathogen that threatens a person. From the first few episodes alone, we realize that our human body is very vulnerable if we don’t take care of it. God gave us our bodies but didn’t make us immortal. Hataraku Saibou definitely shows why.
Naturally, anyone coming into this show should be wondering how the plot will be structured. While not following a direct linear plot, there’s common recurring themes with pathogens invading the human body. The major selling points of the show is examining how our body works with an innovative way of storytelling. Every action has a consequence and it’s easy to see why. The first few episodes shows this when a group of Pneumococus bacteria attacks a red blood cell before being recused by a white blood cell. The traditional concepts of the show is how characters deal with their problems like the way our human body does. As I mentioned before, our body is very vulnerable and is exposed every day. Even a simple wound opens opportunities for catastrophe if the body isn’t prepared enough. This almost happens in some of the earlier episodes. Other times, the body may not be ready in the first place such as against cases of allergies, heat waves, or food poisoning. When it comes down to it, I think the creator really looked at exploring our bodies’ problems in many ways.
When the show deploys its character cast well, it’s definitely hard to take eyes off of them. From the variety of cells to the foreign pathogens, there’s colorful cinematography. It would be nice to live in a world where our body is perfect but accidents happen. When they do, your body has to fend them off or there could be disastrous consequences. This is where our cells comes in to take care of the problems and the action in this show wastes no time to showcase that. It’s thrown with an innovative style such as the White Blood Cells brutalizing pathogens or Macrophages showcasing their terrifying skills. Even the cute little platelets in this series has their own duties by reconstructing our body. Many other T-Cells (Helper, Regulatory, Effector) perform their own duties to make sure our body is healthy. I’m not going to lie though, watching this series reminds me to take care good of our own bodies. Realistically, more people die by diseases than any other causes in the world. You can blame that on heart disease, cancer, strokes, infections, etc. The big picture here is that the show also feels very real when we see what our body can do.
Creative ideas take a creative mind. And I say this with the belief that we definitely needed a talented staff and studio to make this show believable. Thankfully, director Kenichi Suzuki applied his craft that made the show as stylish as it can be. His previous work with Jojo: Stardust Creators and Drifters can occasionally be noticeable with the amount of bizarreness going on. There’s personality injected into the various characters while cinematography is beautifully crafted. There’s also respect to be given to talented voice cast too especially for taking on the roles of these characters. Everyone in the show felt meaningful and there’s not one moment that should be discarded as meaningless. Similarly, the theme songs has a playful energy and atmosphere that never leaves the show.
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