Reviews

Cells at Work! CODE BLACK, Vol. 1 by Shigemitsu Harada, Akane Shimizu, Issei Hatsuyoshiya

saramarie08's review against another edition

4.0

Rookie Red Blood Cell navigates through an adult male body, struggling to get his job done in an environment of high stress, skinny arteries, and with foreign toxins constantly being introduced. When the body introduces carbon monoxide, several red blood cells are injured and disfigured as it binds to them and forces them to drop their shipments of oxygen. Later, the Red Blood Cells are sprayed with alcohol, and they take a detour through the liver to have the alcohol cleaned off them. Miss White Blood Cell has her work cut out for her battling against a weak environment that invited in pneumonia and gonorrhea bacteria.

Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.

chamomile_tea16's review against another edition

2.0

I am so mad that Akane Shimizu handed over her concept to 2 men. The amount of sexualization in this book bothers me.

Guys. The liver was a strip club.

I love the white blood cell from the original series so much and I was interested to see what they would do with the gender swap and I was disappointed. She doesn't have much of a personality and her boobs are the main focus of her character. I know that the sexualization of women is common in manga/anime, which is why I've tried to read stuff written by women so I can avoid it. Fullmetal Alchemist does a great job, and so does the original Cells at Work!

This version did not have to be 18+, talking about the topics mentioned is not inherently adult, but the unnecessary nudity is. I miss the old series and will not be continuing this one.

mdettmann's review against another edition

3.0

Okay, I love the Cells at Work series and bought Code Black without even thinking since the original series was so informative and wholesome (but a little gory with blood cells fighting germs and stuff). Well, my bad! Totally missed the “parental advisory/18+” memo on these. I read volume 1 to check out if it really was mature or if it still portrayed bodily functions in very informative ways, and it does, buuuut, yeah. We have a very ample chested white blood cell and a newbie red blood cell trying to keep a body alive that drinks, smokes, and catches gonorrhea. All of these were pretty tame for the most part, but the violence is amped up and there are several pretty graphic spreads of the battle between cells and bacteria. That white blood cell’s ample chest also bursts out during said battles and the alcohol scene has other bare chests as well that are very detailed. It was still entertaining, but the M rating is there for a reason.

campuspigeons's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

awritingsparrow's review against another edition

5.0

Well, this was not what I was expecting, but in a good way! I thought the body Cells at Work takes place in was a hostile work environment, but now I think I know what that really means. Great start!

refrejarator's review

adventurous dark emotional funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Surprisingly informative and interesting. Lots of fan service and lewd content/implications combined with accurate physiological information.

goatoro's review against another edition

3.0

A good first volume to what looks like a fun and action packed series - I haven’t read the original Cells at Work or Cells at Work: Baby but I am loving this take on what goes on inside the human body!

I have also shamelessly added a new anime waifu to my favorites (pardon me while I cringe from my own self humiliation)

pastel_princess's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

caitlin_doggos's review

adventurous dark informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

dawnoftheread's review against another edition

4.0

Unclear why white blood cells have so much exposed boob.