lastblossom reviewed Cells at Work! Lady 1 by Shigemitsu Harada (Cells at Work! Lady, #1)
Another solid installment in the series with plenty of science to learn. This time with a butler.
The Cells at Work series has always been peak edutainment for me. The original was fun, Code Black was a great twist, and now we have a new installment - Lady? The most evident change is that they story now follows Macrophage instead of a Red Blood Cell, stylized as an ikemen butler (in fact, nearly all the characters in this are ikemen of some sort). The plot follows a lot of the usual virus-busting, but it also covers things like menstruation, dieting, anemia, and a physical exam. But most interesting to me is the relationship that the characters have with the body. The original series didn't touch on this too much, and Code Black was a person who actively did damage to their body. In this case, Macrophage raises a prayer of gratitude every time the body does something to take care of itself, even if it's a small …
The Cells at Work series has always been peak edutainment for me. The original was fun, Code Black was a great twist, and now we have a new installment - Lady? The most evident change is that they story now follows Macrophage instead of a Red Blood Cell, stylized as an ikemen butler (in fact, nearly all the characters in this are ikemen of some sort). The plot follows a lot of the usual virus-busting, but it also covers things like menstruation, dieting, anemia, and a physical exam. But most interesting to me is the relationship that the characters have with the body. The original series didn't touch on this too much, and Code Black was a person who actively did damage to their body. In this case, Macrophage raises a prayer of gratitude every time the body does something to take care of itself, even if it's a small token like a hot bath. But having an anthropomorphized reminder that your body will thank you if you take care of yourself is kind of nice. As usual, there's plenty to learn, all packaged in a fun storytelling device. Fans of the series will enjoy this one too.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.