Cells at Work!
An anthropomorphic science comedy portraying the human body as an enormous workplace where some 37 trillion cells—including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets—transport oxygen, repair injuries, and fight infection and cancer.
- Genre:
- 擬人化 / 科学 / コメディ
- Medium:
- Anime
Official · Streaming · Buy
Cells at Work! — Timeline12 events
A rookie red blood cell meets a white blood cell during a pneumococcus invasion
Rookie red blood cell AE3803 gets lost while delivering oxygen and is rescued from a pneumococcus by white blood cell U-1146. When the bacterium feigns escape through the bronchus and heads for the alveoli, the two work to stop its invasion again.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第1話 肺炎球菌Ch. — Official TV anime Episode 1 synopsis. ↗
The platelets seal a scrape through coagulation
A skin scrape pulls blood cells out and allows bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus to invade. While white blood cells fight the microbes, the tiny platelets gather fibrin mesh and blood cells into a clot that seals the wound and stops the bleeding.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第2話 すり傷Ch. — Official TV anime Episode 2 synopsis. ↗
A naive T cell activates and counters influenza
As influenza-infected cells multiply, the immune response is pushed back. An inexperienced naive T cell is encouraged by a dendritic cell, proliferates and activates into effector T cells, and joins the elimination of infected cells.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第3話 インフルエンザCh. — Official TV anime Episode 3 synopsis. ↗
An eosinophil defeats Anisakis during food poisoning
While white blood cells combat Vibrio parahaemolyticus invading the stomach, the giant parasite Anisakis appears. An eosinophil mocked for weakness against bacteria demonstrates her specialized anti-parasite power and defeats it alone.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第4話 食中毒Ch. — Official TV anime Episode 4 synopsis. ↗
Immune cells discover and eliminate a proliferating cancer cell
A cancer cell disguised as an ordinary cell advances its proliferation. White blood cell, killer T cell, and NK cell recognize the abnormality and, while confronting the cancer cell's isolation and pain, eliminate it after a fierce battle to protect the body.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第7話 がん細胞Ch. — Official TV anime Episode 7 synopsis. ↗
Red blood cells and a transfusion overcome massive hemorrhage
A severe head injury causes massive blood loss, sharply lowering oxygen and body temperature. AE3803 continues deliveries while guiding a junior red blood cell, but their numbers collapse and the body enters hemorrhagic shock until transfused red blood cells arrive to sustain circulation.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 第12話〜第13話 出血性ショックCh. — Official TV anime Episode 12–13 synopses. ↗
An ordinary cell is manipulated by a cold-virus-infected cell
A bored ordinary cell meets a mysterious cell fond of elaborate pranks and joins it in disrupting immune cells. The companion is actually infected by a cold virus and preparing to release newly replicated viruses.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞 第1期 特別編 風邪症候群Ch. — Official TV anime special-episode synopsis. ↗
The platelets repair the internal bleeding of a bump
A blow to the head creates a bump and internal bleeding, sending the platelets to make repairs. Working together around blocked passages and other obstacles, they clot the damaged blood vessel and stop the bleeding from spreading.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞!! 第2期 第1話 たんこぶCh. — Official Season 2 Episode 1 synopsis. ↗
Lactic acid bacteria restore the gut and aid the fight against recurrent cancer
Lactic acid bacteria protected by an ordinary cell reach the intestines and help restore a microbiome disrupted by harmful bacteria. Meanwhile a recurrent cancer deceives regulatory T cells and blocks the immune response, but white blood cells and NK cells fight back with help from the changing gut environment.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞!! 第2期 第4話 ピロリ菌／抗原変異〜第8話 がん細胞Ⅱ（後編）Ch. — Official Season 2 Episode 4–8 synopses. ↗
Rookie red blood cell AA2153 begins oxygen delivery in a brutal body
In a separate unhealthy body, newly matured red blood cell AA2153 begins his first shift. Smoking fills the workplace with carbon monoxide, while bacteria and overwork expose the gulf between the idealized training video and reality as he begins working alongside white blood cell 1196.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞BLACK 第1話 喫煙、細菌、終わりの始まり。Ch. — Official Cells at Work! CODE BLACK Episode 1 synopsis. ↗
Pulmonary embolism and a gastric ulcer cost AA2153 his closest friend
In a sleep-deprived body with fatty liver, a deep-vein clot travels toward the lungs and triggers a pulmonary embolism crisis. A worsening gastric ulcer follows, and red blood cell AC1677 falls into gastric acid and dies during delivery, leaving AA2153 consumed by guilt.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞BLACK 第8話 肺血栓〜第11話 痛風、反乱Ch. — Official Cells at Work! CODE BLACK Episode 8–11 synopses. ↗
The body is revived after myocardial infarction, and its cells return to work
A ruptured coronary plaque causes myocardial infarction, and every function halts with cardiac arrest. AA2153 alone refuses to stop carrying oxygen; after medical resuscitation he resumes work in the recovering body, only to be transfused later into an even harsher one.
Vol.TVアニメ はたらく細胞BLACK 第12話 復帰、心臓、終焉。／第13話 心筋梗塞、蘇生、変化。Ch. — Official CODE BLACK Episode 12–13 synopses and the anime coda; the transfusion into another body is the final episode's ending. ↗
Related timelines
About data reliability: This is an unofficial, fan-made site. All rights to each work belong to their respective owners. It is an index and guide to the official works, not a substitute for them.