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Akane Shimizu

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Cells at Work! Vol. 1 Kindle & comiXology

by Akane Shimizu (Author, Artist) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 906 ratings

Part of: Cells at Work!

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A BLOOD-PUMPING JOB Strep throat! Hay fever! Influenza! The world is a dangerous place for a red blood cell just trying to get her deliveries finished. Fortunately, she’s not alone… she’s got a whole human body’s worth of cells ready to help out! The mysterious white blood cell, the buff and brash killer T cell, the nerdy neuron, even the cute little platelets — everyone’s got to come together if they want to keep you healthy!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Red Blood Cell, an anthropomorphized cell, would love nothing more than to simply do her job in the human body. However, with so much bacteria floating around, things just never seem to go as planned. With maladies such as pneumococcal disease or influenza plaguing this particular human, everyday seems to bring about some sort of DEFCON 1 situation. The book also features Red Blood Cell's other buddies inside the human body, such as the strong White Blood Cell, platelets, and Killer T's. Learning about anatomy has never been more fun! This title is edutainment at its finest, an absolute dream franchise from an educator's standpoint. The scientific descriptions provided by the mangaka are clear and expressive, keeping readers engaged and informed. A great deal of artistic detail is dedicated to the panel backgrounds and to the various character designs that dwell within the unseen human host. The pacing is quick and intense, making even a mundane ailment such as a scrape of the knee feel like the sky is falling; readers will be on the edge of their seat to learn how the human body will get out of the latest pinch it finds itself in. The characters all have distinctive personalities and have their opportunities to stand out. VERDICT If there ever was a title to boost the movement that graphic novels should be in the classroom, it's this one right here. The anime concluded in early 2021.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"Sheer ridiculousness... I had no idea what this manga was going to be like when I heard it was licensed, but now I’m totally sold. Give me more." -Manga Bookshelf

"An awful lot of fun as it makes science into an action manga... Far more entertaining than it ought to be." -Anime News Network

"Fantastically odd, ridiculous and over-the-top... a great deal of fun." -Experiments in Manga

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MAW7KGO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kodansha Comics (November 1, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 645343 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #191,434 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #543 in Fantasy Manga (Kindle Store)
- #3,109 in Fantasy Manga (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 906 ratings

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Pinkrose

Fun manga!

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

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I bought this manga after watching the series and I dare say that the manga is much more informative than the anime. Wonderful books! Especially those looking to go into the medical field!

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Joe Mama

Great series--fun, silly, and informative!

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2023

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I saw the anime first and loved it. The manga are just as enjoyable. I am a middle school librarian, so I'm always looking for books our students will enjoy--and if teachers could actually use them in the classroom, that's another win. This does both!
It's perfect for a look at body systems, and it's not gross.

2 people found this helpful

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J. Liu

The story got a lot of laughs out of me as I read about the poor wimpy naive T cell

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2017

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First, I must disclose that I have a strong, biased opinion for the subject matter of "Cells at Work!" before I started reading it. I did my PhD in microbiology and immunology, so seeing a manga series that deals with what I study on a daily bases is VERY appealing and amusing for me! The story got a lot of laughs out of me as I read about the poor wimpy naive T cell, how blood clots form, and the overreaction of the immune system towards allergens. That being said, I am a reader who walked into this story with an extensive preexisting knowledge of how the immune system works, and am familiar with the different cell types, processes, and terminology that appear in the manga. For someone unfamiliar with these topics, having a lot of information presented to you on every second page can be rather overwhelming. The humor itself is rather slap-stick and rely more on physical comedy then strong wit. So while the subject matter might be rather dense, the writing and characterization so far isn't very deep.

Still, I would highly recommend this series for anyone who 1) likes manga, and 2) is familiar with/has an interest in biology, specifically immunology and microbiology. If you are learning about the immune system for the first time, this can be a fun way to help you remember what some of those immune cells do (I remember as a student the different T cells were particularly tricky, since there's so many different types, and this manga does a good job at setting them apart from one another). However, this is still a series written primarily for entertainment, and it doesn't go nearly as deep and detailed as a real immunology textbook, so don't get the idea that reading this alone will help you ace a test in biology class.

Ultimately, I think this is a great series for people who like biology, and either want to learn a little more about the immune system, or just want to see a fun way of describing how the immune system works.

49 people found this helpful

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Alfonso_E27

As described

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

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Books arrived on time and are as described.

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Moonlitasteria

Never A Dull Day For A Cell

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2018

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The human body is a microcosm of activity that is far beyond anything we can imagine. Everything from keeping agents of sickness at bay to healing a small cut is a process that is easy in theory to understand, but probably far from simple. So what would it be like to live the life of a cellular organism? Well, that is what Volume 1 of Cells at Work aims to answer and does so in a most unexpected manner.

From the introductory chapter to the very last pages, Cells at Work can only be described as organized chaos of the best possible kind as it tries to capture the everyday lives and functions of the many cells that makeup the human body in personified form. Compared to everything else that tends to get amorphized by Japanese artist, this is at least one that can be justified. In many ways, the series is quite similar to the animated film turned short-lived TV series Osmosis Jones (later Ozzy & Drix). However, instead of being a pseudo buddy cop kind of deal, Cells At Work is a little more spontaneous and aims to be somewhat informative as it does cover and introduce many of the cellular counterparts we all carry. Plus, no offense to Ozzy, but the white blood cell in this manga is a cold-blooded killer and more true to form.

As alluded to earlier, the structure for the first volume is a mishmash things: from an Alien Versus Predator-esque infection running amok to harmless allergen removal turning into Armageddon. Even though the chapters do lack variety in the type of events, they do easily makeup for it with the scope and mayhem to follow. And while the progression for chapters take on an episodic nature, they are mostly self-contained/standalone with only the characters being a constant. While the overall makeup for the manga is nothing remarkable, it is somewhat impressive the amount of detail that the author puts into the work. Everything from how blood circulates through the body to how wounds are repaired mixes together creativity and keen knowledge that makes for some interesting visual artwork. Of course, if you have no idea what something is, the manga is always quick to provide brief descriptions for your own edification. The frequency of the descriptions can sometimes get out of hand with boxes of bodily notes strewn about in various panels, yet not at all distracting or annoying.

Being a new mangaka, Akane Shimizu’s storytelling style is rough around the edges, but does not disappoint when it comes to the artwork. As aforementioned, the panels of each page absolutely drip with details; however they are still easy to follow and clearly able to see all the characteristics of certain aspects in the background or forefront. The character designs are not bad either – usually ranging between cute to creepy and never short of wildly changing facial expressions. If there is a close comparison to the artwork overall, I would have to say that it comes close to Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail.

As short as it felt, the debut work of Shimizu definitely leaves a solid impression as it mixes education and unabated enjoyment in visual format. With a slew of characters still to be introduced and plenty more unfathomable scenarios, I would every much like to see where things go from here. If you hate (or love) biology, this is as probably close as you will get to cracking opening a book on the subject and certainly much less likely to put you to sleep.

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Pros: Well detailed panels and imaginative portrayal of human body, non-stop mayhem leads to a bunch of comedic moments, easy to digest chapters.

Cons: Informational boxes tend to overcrowd certain panels, not enough variety between chapters.

Final Verdict: As short as it felt and despite a few minor issues, the debut of Cells at Work was an absolute joy to read. Filled with a lot of laughs, factoids, and fun, it’s a nice addition to any manga readers library.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

complete set

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

it has all six books and came in perfect condition

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Nathalie C. Milian

Clever educational Manga

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

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My daughter and I have learned so
much about the human body from these mangas. The manga has personified different blood cells and organelles and show how these cells protect the body and fight against viruses, allergies and other toxins. Clever and fun.

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Hayden

Amazing and fun manga

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

Great manga and good price for the box set

One person found this helpful

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