The second season of the anime "Cells at Work!!" is scheduled to begin airing in January 2020. We are now in the final countdown to the broadcast. As of now, it has not been announced how many episodes the anime will have or which ones it will feature, but considering the stock of the original work, we can get a good idea of which episodes will be animated. So, today we will be introducing a sneak peek at the plot of episodes that will likely be broadcast in the second season that have not yet been animated in the original work! We will introduce everything from new characters you have not seen before to familiar characters, and even the returning formidable enemy.
Comics Volume 3, Episode 13, Acquired Immunity
The enemy that appears in the 13th episode of the comics Volume 3, "Acquired Immunity," is the mumps virus. And the protagonist of this story is not the white blood cells or other fighters, but the memory cells. One day, the memory cells suddenly make a fuss, claiming to have seen a future prediction. In the prediction, the memory cells see a battle with an unknown virus, and begin to panic and fear alone at the catastrophe that is about to come. Then the mumps viruses with mumps faces that appeared in the future prediction arrive. The mumps viruses multiply rapidly and take control of the body. The memory cell becomes increasingly panicked and tries to activate its future prediction by banging its head against the wall, but the prediction does not work... The B cell, unable to bear seeing this, hits the memory cell over the head with a thick book, causing the memory cell to remember not a "future prediction" but a "past memory." The memory cell remembers that it "has fought a weakened mumps virus in the past" and that it "already has acquired immunity," and with the help of the B cell, it fights off the mumps virus with acquired immunity. In the end, the mumps virus in question is "mumps," and the body has already fought a weakened mumps virus from a vaccination in the past, so the body has absorbed that data and has antibody immunity.
Comics Volume 3, Episode 14, Acne
The enemy that appears in the 14th episode of the 3rd volume of the comics is acne bacteria. The battlefield is the hair root. As soon as the white blood cell arrives, he takes his friend's blood-stained hat and enters the factory (hair root) where an uneasy atmosphere flows. There, he sees the sebaceous gland cells and pigment cells being oppressed by the acne bacteria. The white blood cell challenges the acne bacteria to a fight to help them, but falls off a cliff while protecting the hair matrix cells. There, he sees a large number of dead friends who have turned into pus. After informing his friends of the current situation, the white blood cell returns to the battlefield. He wondered why his teammates were so defeated by the acne bacteria, which was not such a strong enemy in the battle. The reason why the white blood cells could not defeat the acne bacteria... it was not because of their overwhelming power, but because the acne bacteria have the ability to recover by eating sebum. Sebum is produced infinitely using sebaceous gland cells, so it essentially continues to recover forever. The white blood cells were cornered and it seemed like all was lost, but the courage of the hair matrix cells caused the cells to stand up and spray a large amount of sebum all at once. Even the acne bacteria, as expected, could not eat this amount of sebum and tried to escape, but they were finally killed by the white blood cells.
Comics Volume 4, Episode 16, Tengu Fever
The Tengu virus appears in the 16th episode of the 4th volume of the comics. The protagonist of the story is the mast cell, who has appeared since the first season of the anime but has hardly played an active role. As you may know from the "cedar pollen allergy" in the first season, mast cells are cells that release histamine when harmful substances enter the body, and on that day, as usual, they detected harmful substances and released a large amount of histamine. However, the general cells find this annoying every time, and finally their anger explodes. They get into a fierce fight with the mast cells. In the midst of all this, a mysterious Tengu mask falls into the body along with the attack of a mosquito. The Langerhans cells are seduced by the mysterious charm and put on the mask. The Langerhans cells infected with the Tengu virus go on a rampage, causing chaos inside the body. Normally, the mast cells release histamine to encourage the white blood cells to help out, but they are hesitant to release histamine because they remember being told by the regular cells that "releasing histamine is a nuisance" during a fight. Then a mysterious man called "Basophil" (aka Sugita Tomokazu) appears. Following his advice, the mast cells muster up the courage to release histamine, which allows the white blood cells to quickly rush to the scene and successfully repel the virus. The other cells thank the mast cells, and the matter is resolved.
Manga Volume 4 Episode 19 Peyer's Patches
Campylobacter appears in the 19th episode of the manga Volume 4. The battlefield is the small intestine. In the final episode of the first season of the anime, the white blood cells were guiding the red blood cells, who had become new friends through a blood transfusion, through the body. The T cells had been finding fault with the cells getting along as usual, but suddenly, with a big tremor, Campylobacter appeared, taking the intestinal epithelial cells hostage. On the condition that the hostages were released, the white blood cells were at the mercy of Campylobacter. However, Campylobacter does not keep its promise and attacks the white blood cells with the hostages. The white blood cells are blown away... but as they fall unnaturally and give a wink, they send a signal to the intestinal epithelial cells and killer T cells. Campylobacter chases the fleeing white blood cells. The white blood cells eventually arrive at a place where there is a "weak spot that bacteria can easily enter." Upon hearing this, Campylobacter is overjoyed and rushes to the place. However, it is a trap set by the cells, and the place he arrives at is Peyer's patches, which lure bacteria and kill them all in one fell swoop. Campylobacter is literally caught in a single sweep on the spot, and in the end, the white blood cells and killer T cells make up and the matter is resolved.
Manga Volume 5, Episode 20, Helicobacter pylori
The Helicobacter pylori bacteria appears in the 20th episode of the 5th volume of the manga. Lactic acid bacteria, which are also important characters in the second season of the anime, appear from this episode. In the special edition, a regular cell who was fooled by a cold virus one day discovers a bacterium drowning in a river. At first, he tries to ignore it, but when he is asked for help, he ends up helping it. The regular cell tries to hide it because it will be killed if it is found by immune cells, but it is found by a white blood cell and taken away... However, due to the attack of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, the white blood cell heads straight for the stomach. The white blood cells were unable to do anything about the bacteria, which were running wild in the stomach acid. However, the lactic acid bacteria can be active even in the stomach acid and overwhelm the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. In the end, the white blood cells dealt the final blow when the bacteria jumped out of the sea of stomach acid. In the end, the lactic acid bacteria, which were thought to be "bad bacteria," turned out to be "good bacteria," which are good for the body, and they started to act together with the general cells for a while.
Comics Volume 5, Episode 21, Antigen Mutation
The influenza virus appears in the 21st episode of Volume 5 of the comics, but only briefly in the second half. Although the lactic acid bacteria save the day by eating purines, this episode is merely a palate cleanser for the big battle that is about to begin. What is interesting about this episode is the scene where one of the lactic acid bacteria is washed down the river inside the body and reaches the dendritic cell. The dendritic cell ends the episode with a suspicious look on its face, saying that it has something to ask the lactic acid bacteria, and this episode will continue to the next episode.
Manga Volume 5, Chapter 22, Cytokine
The influenza virus continues to appear in the 22nd chapter of the 5th volume of the manga. The cells are helpless against the influenza virus that has undergone antigenic mutation. The NK cells that we rely on are also weakened by the stress of not being able to kill the virus. A photo appears from such a time and space... It shows the NK cells of the past, wearing gothic lolita fashion alongside the macrophages. The NK cells go crazy with embarrassment and start attacking friend and foe, saying, "I'll kill anyone I see." The culprit behind this is the dendritic cells that have been activated by lactic acid bacteria. The dendritic cells that are activated by the polysaccharides released by lactic acid bacteria start to spread the embarrassing pasts of other cells. This action of acting on specific cells is called cytokines, and they are activated by seeing their own embarrassing pasts. With their improved immunity, they succeeded in fighting off the influenza that had undergone antigenic mutation. And at the end of this episode, the white blood cells ask the NK cells, who were looking for something, "What are you looking for?" The answer is information about their strongest enemy, "cancer cells."
Comics Volume 5, Chapter 23, Bad Bacteria
Cancer cells finally appear in the 23rd chapter of the 5th volume of the comics. As the title suggests, bad bacteria also appear, but they have few scenes in the story and the main focus is on interacting with the cancer cells. The white blood cells arrive in the large intestine with a tense atmosphere and meet the killer T cells there. The killer T cells are also aware of the attack of the cancer cells and change into memory T cells to make use of their previous battle records. As usual, they fight with the NK cells and separate from the general cells here, and the three head to the cancer cells. Last time, the cancer cells changed their appearance to lure them to their base, but this time they make a sudden, straightforward appearance. Countless hands reach out from inside the intestines and wrap around the white blood cells. They work well together to cut down the cancer cells with a single blow...or so it seems, but the cancer cells are actually just puppets, and their real bodies are waiting elsewhere. The three are knocked down by a giant hand that suddenly appears inside the intestines. There, they finally reunite with their nemesis, the cancer cells.
Manga Volume 5, Chapter 24, Cancer Cells 2 (Part 1)
Manga Volume 5, Chapter 24 is the first part of the battle against cancer cells. The battle with the cancer cells begins immediately, with almost no prelude. The NK cells make good use of their previous experience to deal with the cancer cells, which attack with tricky movements. Then, the cancer cells create many dolls that are their own clones and attack all at once. However, this attack is also avoided by the abilities of the memory T cells. Just when it seems the memory T cells, having seen through all of their movements, launch an attack and gain the upper hand, the regulatory T cells appear and suppress the memory T cells' attack, saying "Please stop the attack," which can be interpreted as siding with the cancer cells. The memory T cells are confused by this unexpected enemy...and the cancer cells take advantage of this opportunity to attack from behind, severely injuring the white blood cells as they try to protect the memory T cells, and they are captured by the cancer cells. At the same time, bad bacteria are rampaging in the intestines. The cancer cells use the toxins from these bad bacteria to further power up and try to take control of the body.
Manga Volume 5, Chapter 25, Cancer Cells 2 (Part 2)
Manga Volume 5, Chapter 25 continues the fight against cancer cells. It is likely that this episode will be the final episode of the second season of the anime. The cancer cells are further powered up by the toxins of the bad bacteria and show their overwhelming power. And the strength of the regulatory T cells, which even the memory T cells and NK cells cannot defeat. Although the white blood cells are captured by the cancer cells, they are recognized as "friends" by the cancer cells and are not killed, but they are unable to move. Meanwhile, another battle was being waged in the intestines, against "bad bacteria," but this battle was won with the arrival of lactic acid bacteria. As a result, the intestinal environment improved and the toxins of the bad bacteria gradually decreased. Meanwhile, there was a big change in the battle against the cancer cells. The cancer cells' clothes became dirty and torn, turning into "cancer capsules," and the regulatory T cells, which had been protecting the cells, stopped helping the cancer cells. (Their eyes regained their sparkle when they saw the attack of the memory T cells, so there may actually be another reason...) The cancer cells, whose power had been reduced by the decrease in bad bacteria, were once again killed by the white blood cells. However, they also said "See you later" at the end, so they may make another appearance in the future.
Summary of the second season of the anime "Cells at Work!!"
So far, we have introduced episodes that have not been included in the anime, but considering that the first season of the anime consisted of 13 episodes, there is a slight shortage of stock, so it seems likely that original episodes will be added. In recent years, the new coronavirus has become a global pandemic, so it may be difficult to say the name "new coronavirus," so it is possible that an "unknown new virus" or something similar will appear...? I don't know what kind of episodes will be added, but I'm looking forward to it!
