Anime Cells at Work Officially Made into a Live Action Film, Teaser Released

Live action anime adaptations are becoming more popular every year, such as One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Yu Yu Hakusho. This time, Warner Bros. Japan is presenting a live-action adaptation of the anime Cells At Work and has released a visual teaser.

Adapted from the ComicBook.com page on Wednesday June 12, 2024, the anime Cells at Work! adapted from the manga of the same title by Akane Shimizu which was published in Monthly Shonen Sirius from 2015 to 2021. This manga has a unique theme and is one of the few educational works that are successful among shonen readers. 

Even though it does not directly teach medical science, this anime educates viewers about the functions of the human body by personifying diseases. The story focuses on Red Blood Cells AE3803 and White Blood Cells U-1146 which, together with trillions of other cells, work hard to maintain body health.

Apart from the manga, there are several spin-offs that add new dimensions to the franchise . Cells at Work! Code Black , for example, presents a darker, more realistic perspective on a body dealing with poor health due to an unhealthy lifestyle.

There's also Cells at Work! Baby which describes the life of cells in the fetus's body, and Cells at Work: Platelets!  which focuses on the platelet character in a lighter story. This franchise is not only famous for its creative and educational concepts about human physiology, but also for being successfully adapted into an anime series.

This series is available on the Netflix and Bstation streaming platforms with 14 episodes and was first broadcast in 2018. Apart from that, there is also a sequel which has 8 episodes and will air in 2021. The sheer scale of the story is perhaps why its live-action adaptation will be such a highly anticipated production for fans.

The live-action film Cells At Work is ready to be shown in Japan in December 2024, the global screening schedule has not yet been revealed. In this film, Mei Nagano will play the character Red Blood Cell, while Takeru Sato will play White Blood Cell.