It has been announced that the second season of the anime will finally begin airing in January 2021, and the characters who will play an active role in the second season have been revealed. From the main characters familiar from the first season to the characters who will appear for the first time in the second season, this time we will introduce the voice actors who play each character, including their representative works in other anime, as a review and preparation! (In cases where there are many voice actors, such as red blood cells and white blood cells, we will introduce the representative.)
Red Blood Cell "Hanazawa Kana"
One of the main characters of this work, the well-known "Red Blood Cell" AE3803, who appeared in the first episode of the first season. The red blood cell, who is directionally challenged and often gets into trouble, is played by "Hanazawa Kana"! Since she began her voice acting career in 2006, she has played countless characters every year, including many major characters. Hanazawa Kana's breakthrough role was as Ryoko in "Zega Pain"! This made her a hugely popular voice actress, and she has since shown off a wide range of acting, from childish characters like Mikan in "To Love-Ru" and Kobato in "We Don't Have Many Friends" to violent characters like Midorikawa Hana in "Prison School". Even so, Hanazawa Kana is best known as a voice actress with a soothing voice.
White Blood Cell (Neutrophil) "Maeno Tomoaki"
Like the red blood cell, "White Blood Cell" U-1146 appears in the first episode and plays the main role of this work. He doesn't say much and has a quiet personality with almost no change in his facial expression, but when bacteria or pathogens invade, his personality changes and he becomes aggressive. The role of this dual-personality white blood cell is played by "Maeno Tomoaki"! Personally, the character that Maeno played that I remember the most is the role of the main character, Tachibana Junichi, in "Amagami SS". He was a sissy character, completely different from the white blood cell, but his voice was perfect for the character. He is also a voice actor who plays a lot of characters in games as well as anime.
Killer T Cells(Memory T Cells) "Daisuke Ono"
He wears a hat with the word KILL written on it and is the leader of the Killer T Cells, a militant group dressed in all black. He has blonde hair and a mean look in his eyes, and is just as violent as he looks, but he is also a popular character who is simple and sometimes takes advantage of him. The leader of the T Cells is played by Daisuke Ono! Affectionately known as "Ono D," he is a famous voice actor who uses his handsome voice to play characters from serious to silly. His first major role was as Kunizaki Oto in "AIR." Since then, he has often played handsome characters such as Koizumi in "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and Sebastian in "Black Butler," but he also plays characters that are completely different from the impression you might have, such as Nendo Riki in "The Disastrous Life of Saiki K" and Juushimatsu in "Mr. Osomatsu."
Macrophage "Kikuko Inoue"
Unlike her neat and kind appearance, Macrophage kills viruses by swinging around hatchets and blunt objects. The voice of Macrophage, who even uses honorifics when speaking to killer T cells, is played by "Kikuko Inoue"! She is a veteran voice actress with 32 years of experience. When you think of Inoue, you think of her role as Tendo Kasumi in "Ranma 1/2"! ...But maybe younger people don't get it? (lol) Although she wasn't a main character, she also appeared in works that you may have heard of, such as "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water". Recently, she has been playing mother characters quite often, such as "the mother of XX".
Platelets "Maria Naganawa"
She looks like a nursery school or kindergartener, and is a very popular character who would almost always rank high in a popularity poll. The leader of the platelets, a long-haired girl, is played by Maria Naganawa! She is a voice actress who often plays young girls, such as Kanna in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Loli in Wasteful Days of High School Girls, and Laffey in Azur Lane.
Regulatory T Cell "Saori Hayami"
A career woman who suppresses the rampage of T cells and dresses like a secretary. The role of the regulatory T cell, whose strength is comparable to that of a killer T cell, is played by Saori Hayami! She is a famous voice actress who doesn't need any introduction... Recently, she has played the role of Kocho Shinobu in the explosively popular "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", and she often plays mysterious characters such as Yumeko, the main character in "Kakegurui", Aoyama Blue Mountain in "Gochiusa", and Ryu in "DanMachi".
NK Cell "Yukinari Toa"
A very muscular woman in a black tank top and shorts. Yukinari Toa plays the NK Cell, a tomboy with a personality who teases the killer T Cell! Yukinari played the role of Casca in "Berserk", but he is more active as a voice actor in film dubbing than in anime, and has done dubbing for over 50 films.
Ordinary Cell "Kobayashi Yusuke"
The role of the "Ordinary Cell" who is treated like an ordinary citizen in the work and has no particular characteristics is played by "Kobayashi Yusuke"! He is a popular voice actor who has played many major characters in popular works, including the role of Arslan, the protagonist of "The Heroic Legend of Arslan," the role of Subaru, the protagonist of "Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World," the second season of which was broadcast as an anime in the summer of 2020, the role of Ishigami Senku in "Dr. Stone," which is currently being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and the role of Zel in the much-talked-about "Interspecies Reviewers."
Lactic acid bacteria: (Black) Yoshida Yuri, (Red) Takahashi Rie, (Panda) Fujiwara Natsumi, (Spotted) Kubo Yurika
Although they did not play an active role in the first season of the anime, the lactic acid bacteria made their first appearance in the fifth volume of the comics, which will likely be the focus of the second season, and they play a very important role. It is no exaggeration to say that the four types of lactic acid bacteria are the main characters of the fifth volume. These four people will be playing the lactic acid bacteria! First up is (Black) Yoshida Yuri. Although she made her voice acting debut in "Unidentified and In Progress," she played the main character Mimine Mashiro. Next up is " (Red) Takahashi Rie," who is now a highly popular voice actress in high demand for her roles as Megumin in "KonoSuba," Emilia in "Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World," and Sakurazawa Sumi in "Rent-A-Girlfriend." " (Panda) Fujiwara Natsumi" played the protagonist Komiya Chihiro in "Shounen Maid," and more recently Mao in "Shin Chuka Ichiban." Finally, we have " (Bullet) Kubo Yurika." When we think of Kubo Yurika, we think of her role as Koizumi Hanayo in "Love Live." Of course, she has played many other popular characters, but she has also been active in various media as "μ's," a member of Love Live.
Cancer Cells "Ishida Akira"
Cancer cells appeared as a formidable enemy in the first season of the anime, but it has been decided that they will also appear as the strongest enemy in the second season and the movie version. Of course, the boss of these cancer cells will be played by "Ishida Akira" just like in the first season! For those who watched the first season of the anime, it is hard to imagine any other voice actor than Ishida Akira. When you think of Ishida Akira, you think of the role of Nagisa Kaworu in "Neon Genesis Evangelion". Although it is an anime from over 20 years ago, this character is synonymous with Ishida Akira. She has also voiced many other major characters in feature-length anime, including Gaara in "NARUTO" and Saburo in "Sergeant Keroro."
Narration by "Mamiko Noto"
The last one I'd like to introduce is not a character, but without her, Cells at Work wouldn't start! The narrator, who introduces the names and roles of the characters in a gentle voice, is "Mamiko Noto." She was the narrator for "Hell Girl" as Enma Ai, "Ichigo 100%" as Tojo Aya, and "Oshiete! Galko-chan," just like this work. She is a voice actor who often does narration outside of anime, and is also active in TV commercials. She is still active today and is of course popular among young people, but about 15 years ago she was more likely to play the main characters in TV commercials and anime than she does now, so she probably has more fans in their 30s and 40s.
Summary of voice actors active in season 2
So far, we have introduced the voice actors of the second season of the Cells at Work anime. What did you think? I looked into it and found no changes in the voice actors, so as a fan who has been supporting the series since the first season, I was a little relieved (lol). One thing I'm curious about is the voice actor for Lactic Acid Bacteria, who is expected to play a major role in the second season. In the original comics, she only had one line, "Nyuu Nyuu," so I'm looking forward to seeing how she'll act out that part.
