- Mangaka : Yasuhiro Fukuda
- Publisher : Kodansha Comics
- Genre : Comedy, Science Fiction
- Published : February 2021
Cells at Work! has become really popular recently, and it definitely deserves every last bit of it. The series breaks away from the typical format of a manga and creates an entirely new way of telling a story. We mean, who would actually think of depicting human anatomy and physiology in such a fun, yet very accurate way. Even Pixar only manages to give life to emotions, toys, and cars. If you think things can no longer be better, well, Cells at Work! Baby is knocking on your doors.
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
As the title suggests, Cells at Work! Baby tells the story of the hardworking cells within a newborn baby. The story starts from the baby’s birth, then continues until it’s a few days old. The series goes into fine details like muscle cramps and the water breaking, but that much is already expected. After that, we get to see how an infant’s anatomy changes the moment its connection to its mother is severed. That means we also get to see how the cells within the infant’s body adapt to the change of anatomy, which also means seeing how the baby’s physiology shifts from being dependent to independent.
1. Incredibly Cute Cells
Since these are cells of a newborn child, all of the cells are chibis. They are cute versions of older people’s cells. Fukuda does a great job giving the readers a point of reference as to how big the cute cells are. The cells working on the placenta are all adults, since they are cells of the mother and not the infant. The baby’s cells are merely half of an adult’s cells, but each one of them are extremely cute. We mean, just who can resist their big fluffy faces and their grit and dedication to whatever they are doing.
2. Highly Educational
Similar to the other installation of the Cells at Work! series, Cells at Work! Baby also has a lot of accurate information packed into it. It’s basically like a textbook about infant anatomy and physiology for kids. That being said, you should expect some medical jargons popping out every once in a while. To some, it may be a bit confusing, but the art does a very great job of illustrating complex medical concepts, which we think is really awesome. We know that this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to comprehending the human anatomy as a whole, but we sure enjoy learning new terms and whatnots.
3. A Completely Different White Blood Cell
The other white blood cells in the other installations of the series are badass, and they should be so. After all, those guys are the ones to look for and fight viruses and bacteria. The white blood cell in Cells at Work! Baby, however, isn’t as confident as the other white blood cells. Instead, he often cower in fear even during his patrols. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t do his duty well. Despite his character, he still manages to do his job well and fight a Staphylococcus Aureus invading the baby’s body, preventing it from causing any further damage.
Final Thoughts
Cells at Work! Baby delivers what we expect from it. It’s highly entertaining while being highly educational at the same time. We’ve probably learned a lot more from reading this series more than sitting in a three-hour lecture. What’s more is that it has the cutest art and characters. Those cute little beings catch our hearts, and we’re sure they will catch yours too. Together, we will surely hope to see more of them in the future.
Author: Christian Markle