Many new enemies and allies will appear in the second season of the anime "Cells at Work!!", but of course many characters from the first season will also appear. Some of these cells will evolve further through activation, etc. So, this time, I would like to look back on the first season of the anime to help you remember various characters!
Episode 1: Pneumococcus
The memorable first episode featured Streptococcus pneumoniae. As with any anime, sadly, the enemy character that appears in the first episode is a pushover... This pneumococcus is also a vicious bacterium that can invade the body and in the worst case be life-threatening, but because it appeared in the first episode, it was instantly killed by the white blood cells. One of them managed to escape and gave the white blood cells a hard time, but it was still no match for them. After that, the opening scene of the defeat was shown every time, which was humiliating.
Episode 2: Scrapes
The highlight of the second episode is definitely the platelets' performance! Platelets is a very popular character, so if you're looking to see an episode where she plays an active role, I think you'll be satisfied with these two episodes. A scratch causes a large hole in the epidermis inside her body, and the red blood cells are sucked into the black hole and expelled from the body (bleeding). Then the platelet children appear. Using fibrin and clotting factors, they quickly plug the hole. Finally, they solidify the blood cells with fibrin and pack them tightly together... the red blood cells end up spending about three days in a ball-like state.
Episode 3 Influenza
The virus that appears in Episode 3 is Type B influenza. Although each individual was not very strong, the overwhelming number of viruses gradually cornered the cells. In the midst of this battle, the weak-willed naive cells escape. However, with the help of dendritic cells, the naive cells evolved into effector T cells and returned to the battlefield, turning the tide of the battle in an instant. However, in the end, they got too cocky and were blown away by Type A influenza, resulting in a sad end.
Episode 4 Food Poisoning
The character who played an active role in episode 4 was Eosinophil, a member of the white blood cells. He is not a character who appears very often throughout the series, but even in this one episode, he has become a very popular character. Eosinophil is almost useless in normal battles, and is mocked by red blood cells and ordinary cells. The battle against Anisakis changes the evaluation of Eosinophil. Eosinophil was useless against bacteria, but when it comes to parasites, he shows his true colors! The original function of eosinophils is to "protect against parasitic infections," and they destroy the anisakis with a single blow, which the white blood cells were powerless to fight. The other cells who were watching this greeted eosinophils with cheers of applause, and eosinophils' faces turned red with love.
Episode 5: Cedar Pollen Allergy
Episode 5 is about cedar pollen allergies, which are scary to watch for people with hay fever. Cedar pollen allergies start to lurk around in the body, causing a bit of a fuss, but this happens every year and it was thought that the antibody attack of B cells would quickly settle it down. However, the cedar pollen count continues to increase year after year, and eventually exceeds a certain level, causing mast cells to release large amounts of histamine into the body. This causes the body to go into chaos, with runny nose and sneezing...and then steroids appeared as a miracle cure, but instead of suppressing the allergy, the indiscriminate attack of steroids causes further catastrophe in the body.
Episode 6 Erythroblasts and Myelocytes
Episode 6 is mainly about the time when the white blood cell and red blood cell were still children. The two, who were still erythroblasts and myelocytes, met and faced off against Pseudomonas aeruginosa that they happened to encounter. Not only are the two cute as children in this episode, but Macrophage, who is a teacher at a nursery school, also appears. And towards the end, the man who will become the biggest enemy also appears...
Episode 7 Cancer Cells
Episode 7 is the main battle of the first season of the anime, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the battle against cancer cells! In addition to the intense battle scenes, there were many scenes that made me think about various things, such as the origins of cancer cells. It seemed a waste to end the battle against cancer cells in one episode, but it seems that the second round is prepared for the second season of the anime... The ending of this episode 7 is also special, and viewers have commented that it was a good final episode. If I were to recommend one episode from the first season of the anime as a trial, I would personally recommend this episode 7.
Episode 8 Blood Circulation
Episode 8 is about blood circulation. "I have to stand on my own!" Red blood cell thinks so and tries to complete the task on his own without the help of his seniors, while white blood cell watches over him from behind like a guardian. It's like a "first errand." White blood cell was struggling somewhere without red blood cell's knowledge, but it was a cute episode where red blood cell happily talks about how he was able to complete the task on his own, unaware of such things.
Episode 9: Thymocytes
Episode 9 is about the apprenticeship days of the killer T cell, the helper T cell, and the regulatory T cell. These three were in the same year and underwent rigorous training together from childhood. The helper T cell was considered to have a promising future, with top class results in whatever he did. The regulatory T cell was good at anything. And the killer T cell was treated as a failure. Dendritic cells reveal how these three got to their current positions.
Episode 10 Staphylococcus aureus
Episode 10 is about the mysterious "monocyte" and Staphylococcus aureus. This suspicious cell is dressed in a yellow protective suit and mask, and does not show its face. However, contrary to its suspicious appearance, it is a good cell, rushing to the aid of red blood cells in a pinch faster than white blood cells. Also, in this episode, Staphylococcus aureus's sister-in-law, who appeared in episode 2, appears and wreaks havoc. This monocyte appears when they are in a desperate pinch, but when he takes off his mask, he is revealed to be the cell that makes even enemies flee in fear.
Episode 11 Heat Stroke
Episode 11 is about heat stroke, which was released for free in the summer and was a collaboration with Pocari Sweat as episode 11.5, and was a hot topic. The body becomes hot and there is almost no water storage. In a body as withered as a desert, the red blood cells walk around to circulate blood and lower their body temperature. But the temperature does not go down. To make matters worse, Bacillus cereus appears at an unfortunate time, and the white blood cell, dizzy from heatstroke, is at a disadvantage despite being an easy opponent. Just when it seems like this is all over, a needle is thrust into him from the sky...
Episodes 12-13 Hemorrhagic Shock (Part 1 and Part 2)
Finally, we have the story of hemorrhagic shock, which was broadcast over two parts. Red blood cell was always a half-baked red blood cell, but finally, he is ordered by his senior to train the new red blood cell! The red blood cells try hard to show off their senior qualities, but they just keep running around aimlessly... Then, suddenly, a huge explosion occurs, and their bodies are hit with "life-threatening damage," causing chaos. Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of blood cells disappear in an instant. With the red blood cells gone, oxygen cannot be supplied, and their body temperature drops, creating a blizzard that leaves them on the verge of freezing to death... But just as they are about to die from hemorrhagic shock, strange red blood cells come in to reinforce them (a blood transfusion), and the red blood cells begin to carry oxygen again.
Special Edition: Cold Syndrome
The story of cold syndrome was broadcast as a special edition after the final episode of the first season of the anime. Since it is the most common symptom, I honestly thought it would be brought to the first episode, but surprisingly it was released as a special edition after the final episode. A mysterious cell appears to a normal cell who was living a boring daily life. The two hit it off by repeatedly playing pranks on other cells in the body. However, the mysterious cell is a typical cold virus called rhinovirus, and the normal cell's body is about to be taken over by the cold virus that revealed its true identity. In the end, the normal cells were saved by the killer T cells who came to help them, but after that they were given a light lecture. However, in the end, they started to build a good relationship, such as playing badminton with the killer T cells.
Review of the first season of the anime
So far, we have roughly looked back on the first season of the anime, but the climax is probably the cancer cells in episode 7. In terms of despair, the final episode is also quite grim and you can't take your eyes off it. If you're looking for cuteness, episodes 2 and 8 are also hard to miss! In other words, I recommend watching the whole series (lol), but there is still a little time until the second season, so please take this opportunity to binge-watch the first season of the anime!
