Gag-type anime are an interesting form of the comedy genre because they are focused on the delivery of short but immensely hilarious scenarios. Multiple of these short “gags” are put together to create a single episode, and with the running gag in Cells at Work!! being the personification of internal processes of the human body, Cells at Work!! was a point of growth for the series overall because it came into its own as a gag anime. This meant more action and more comedy in each episode because the once-episodic Cells at Work!! found a way to be even more episodic!

One of the main issues that the second season of Cells at Work!! faces is its brevity. At a mere eight episodes, the second season is over in a flash and leaves you wishing there was at least as much of it as in the first season. However, considering that Cells at Work!!: Code Black was airing at the same time, perhaps it was prudent keeping the length of the second season short. We’re still disappointed about that; however, to make up for it, it seems that the first few episodes followed the format of various gag anime, where multiple episodes were put together into a single 23-minute release each week. Effectively, sometimes two or even three scenarios would be in a single episode of Cells at Work!!.

One of the best things to come out of the second season of Cells at Work!! is the introduction of what could possibly constitute the mascot characters of the series – the lactic acid bacteria introduced in the fourth episode. Cute as a button and given an important role soon after their introduction, the adorable microbes were a different kind of cuteness to the platelets, but every bit their rival! Plus the hilarity of having a regular somatic cell save the lives of bacteria, bacteria which is soon revealed to be beneficial to the internal processes of the human body. "Can we keep it? can we keep it?" Cells at Work!! seems to be in favour! The inclusion of an “animal-like” mascot works in the series' favour, with the introduction of the lactic-acid bacteria being one of the highlights of the season.

In the body’s previous run-in with cancer, the immune cells managed to fend off the formidable foe; however, he vowed to return and exact his revenge! Bubbling under the surface of the episodic nature of the series is the search for the next place where Cancer Cell will emerge to wreak havoc on the body once more. NK Cell is the most tuned in to the antagonist’s imminent return, and when he eventually does, he is much stronger than he was the first time. The inclusion of an antagonist in this season’s events makes the second season particularly exciting, and the fact that he is a returning bad guy gives Cells at Work!! a battle-shounen-type feel despite being anything but.

The two-part finale of the eight-episode second season is the battle against the revived Cancer Cell, who injures White Blood Cell 1146 in battle and beats both T Killer (now T Memory) and NK in a vicious bout. However, in epic shounen fashion, T Memory Cell musters up a powerful signature move from his memories – the Perforin Cannon Punch! This move unleashes a devastating wave of energy at the opponent much like a Kamehameha and after pulling it off, even T Memory is surprised that it worked!

The intense battle against Cancer Cell stood out amongst the best fights in the entire show and even though the entire show is meant to be an entertaining comedy, there was still a good level of seriousness packed into the immune cells’ dealings with cancer. One of our only criticisms of this fight; however, is how little screen time Cancer Cell gets in the second season overall, and being a meager eight episodes long, a much more drawn-out series of events leading up to the fated clash would make it feel more complete.