Two very different versions of the anime comedy series Cells At Work! are coming in January 2021. Aniplex released promo videos for both on Monday.
With COVID-19 still raging around the world, there couldn’t be a more appropriate time for an anime series about the brave cells inside our bodies. Whether they are fighting germs or delivering oxygen, these cells do what it takes to keep our body healthy.
When Cells At Work! aired in 2018, it was this cute and funny series about a serious topic: human health. The new promo video shows that the second season will be as much fun as the first. It also features the new ending theme song, ‘Fight!‘ by the pop duo ClariS.
Since Aniplex YouTube videos are typically region locked, we have embedded the Twitter version below:
📢「#はたらく細胞!!」第2弾PV公開🎥
2021年1月9日(土)より各局にて放送開始！
EDテーマはClariSが歌う「Fight!!」に決定🎧TVアニメは #はたらく細胞BLACK と続けての放送となりますので、毎週のはたらく細胞アワーをお楽しみに📺
公式サイト：https://t.co/8McwtgD8jb pic.twitter.com/IQwDLyGJa2
— 『はたらく細胞』公式 (@hataraku_saibou) November 23, 2020
Cells At Work! Black
The alternate version of the Cells At Work! anime series will be based on the spin-off manga, Cells At Work! Code Black. Code Black was published at about the same time as the first season of the main series. It featured an unhealthy body which had to deal with issues like drinking, smoking, stress, and lack of sleep.
The new promo video shows just how dangerous and deadly an unhealthy human body can be. It also previews the new theme song ‘Hashire!’ with Yamasaki Seiya (Kyuso Nekokami) by the rock band POLYSICS. Hashire! translates out as Run!, which says a lot about the nature of the series.
【第２弾PV公開！】
2021年1月9日 ON AIR
TVアニメ「はたらく細胞BLACK」第２弾PV公開。ブラックな職場で奮闘する細胞たちの物語。
これは、あなたの体の物語──。■YouTubehttps://t.co/tTnCG6wa56
■公式サイトhttps://t.co/bQB0e8Y6Ap#細胞BLACK pic.twitter.com/2LNC5xS2W5
— 『はたらく細胞BLACK』【公式】 (@cellsatworkbla1) November 23, 2020
In Cells At Work! Black, much of the cute and cuddliness of the main series has been replaced with a darker world. Even the cute little platelets from the original series seem more serious and more grim. Interestingly, in Black, the Red Blood Cell is male, while White Blood Cell is female.
We also have several new cast members: Hekiru Shiina as Macrophage, Sarah Emi Bridcutt as Hepatocyte (Liver Cell), and Daisuke Hirakawa as Brain Cell (‘commander’).
It will be interesting to see if the darker version is as popular as the more comedic main story.
Cells at Work! Black premieres on 9 January at 24:00 on Tokyo MX, straight after the second season of Cells at Work!.