If you’ve ever wondered what happens in the human body then Cells at Work! has the answers, well, kind of. 

Based on the manga of the same name by Akame Shimizu, Takeuchi Hideki has created a colourful, comical movie that is as hilarious as it is heartfelt. The story is set within the bodies of a young student and her father, of the 37 trillion cells in the human body viewers primarily following the exploits of red blood cell AE3803 (Mei Nagano) and white blood cell U-1146 (Takeru Satoh) within Niko (Mana Ashida) and their work keeping things running smoothly, as it were. AE3803 is a newly graduated red blood cell, ready to transport oxygen around the body, she’s clumsy and forgetful but she has a lot of heart which is why U-1146 is so keen to keep her safe from any harmful bacteria that get through.

If you’re scratching your head at the strangeness of this concept, yes Cells at Work! is as ridiculous as it sounds but it’s also brilliant. Takeuchi is the creative mind behind Fly Me to the Saitama, and he lends the same level of camp eccentricity to Cells at Work! to great effect. This movie and its cast commit 110% to its premise, and that’s exactly what it needed. Bacteria are pantomime villains, endorphins create a carnival in the body, and there’s a longstanding rivalry between the crime-fighting Killer T-cells and the trained assassin NK cell (Riisa Naka). What’s not to love?

It’s not just Niko’s body we get to see, we also get to travel inside her father Shigeru’s (Sadawo Abe) less hospitable body. There, his cells live in abject poverty, struggling to keep things afloat while he smokes, drinks and has a terrible diet. There are some particularly fun moments within his body when he eats food that goes straight through him, and his cells have to try and keep it together until he reaches a bathroom. Yes it’s ridiculous, but that’s what makes it fun. 

Cells at Work! also has a surprising amount of heart when, as it reaches its middle point, Niko is diagnosed with leukaemia. At this point the jokes are swapped for a more somber narrative as her cells fight the rogue white blood cell (Fukase) that has led to her developing the disease. It’s impressive how the film is able to balance its comedy and tragedy so seamlessly, the film becomes touching and emotional without undermining what came before it and it navigates these highs and lows with care. 

Perhaps it is the fact that Cells at Work! is so surprising that it works so well. It will make you laugh and cry, and also prove surprisingly educational about the human body. For a movie about the exploits of a red and white blood cell that’s unexpected, and even if it is utterly ridiculous it is also an utter delight.

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Written by Roxy Simons

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