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Two of my good friends recommended this anime to me and I was sold on the pitch \u201cIt\u2019s like Hetalia but with the human body.\u201d So started to watch it and I finished it in just a few days. It\u2019s such a cute educational anime! I\u2019ve found microbiology fascinating since high school so this was right up my alley.<\/p>\n
There are 37 trillion cells in the human body and all of them are working to keep you well. This anime focuses on Red Blood Cell and White a Blood Cell as they nourish the body and defend the body from germs respectively. This anime follows the adventures of these two cells while teaching you about the human body at the cellular level!<\/p>\n
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Each episode in Cells at Work!<\/em> has a plot that has something to do with the human body whether that be allergy season, the flu, or even cancer, and how the cells deal with it. Within the episode, the narrator will interject facts about the human body which allows the viewer to know what\u2019s going on and give them a crash course in microbiology. I\u2019m so impressed how things that seem so small to us like scrape creates an entire scenario as the cells work to repair the damage and fight off germs.<\/p>\n How this applies to writing:<\/strong> Education does not have to be boring! I feel like as a 90s kid I knew this best with PC games like Super Solvers<\/em>, Putt-Putt<\/em>, and Reader Rabbit<\/em> targeting elementary and middle schoolers, but Cells at Work targets high schoolers or even college students! I feel like if more people made learning science this fun we\u2019d have a lot more educated people. ?<\/p>\n Of course, cells don\u2019t actually have personalities or other human characteristics but the creators of this anime did such an amazing job with fusing the world of cells with relatable characters. Red Blood Cell wears red clothing and travels through the body delivering oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to the proper places. White Blood Cell is completely white, detects germs, can pass through cellular walls, and proceeds to scream DIE GERM as he slaughters any germs he come across. Natural Killer Cell is like an elite assassin who goes after cancer cells.<\/p>\n How this applies to writing:<\/strong> I find it so creative how shows like Cells at Work and Hetalia take non human things and personify them. Pixar\u2019s Inside Out comes to mind too as they gave emotions their own personification. There\u2019s so many characteristics taken from objects that can be given as clothing or hair colors or even abilities to personified characters!<\/p>\n Though the characters in Cells at Work! have many human-like characteristics, it\u2019s also important to remember that they\u2019re not human. They have supernatural abilities or limitations characteristic to what the truly are. White Blood Cell and Macrophage have the capabilities to kick germ butt, but Red Blood Cell and the Platelets can\u2019t do that. It\u2019s just not how cells work, so though it\u2019s common to want Red Blood Cell to turn into a germ fighting machine that\u2019s just not scientifically accurate.<\/p>\n Another example is there are instances where events happen to the body that are too strong for the body to handle like when they experience heat stroke or shock. Outside intervention has to save them. Or when the cells do really dumb things like the Mast Cell adding way too much histamine during an allergic which is hilarious but also just what the body does when they\u2019re allergic to something.<\/p>\n How this applies to writing:<\/strong> Cells at Work! Is so accurate and well researched that doctors actually are surprised. Keeping everything realistic to the show makes this story concept even more unique and special.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t an ovearching plot in this show but a bunch of events that happen to the body and how the cells handle it. But that doesn\u2019t mean character development can\u2019t happen. Red Blood Cell is basically the main character and she begins the show as a cell new to the job and is very directionally challenged. Over time she gets better at her job and she even gets another cell to take under her wing. Though the new cell is very composed and has a lot of knowledge about her job, she still learns from Red Blood Cell dedication doing her job no matter what is happening in the body. Red Blood Cell becomes someone to be admired not looked down upon.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victoriagracehowell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/MastCellBCell.gif?resize=407%2C229&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n2.) Personifying Objects<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n3.) Keeping Research Accurate<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n4.) An Arc Across Episodic Stories<\/h2>\n
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