Hataraku Saibou: Kaze Shoukougun

Hataraku Saibou (Cells at work) is by far the most charming show this year. The characters, the world, the humor, it is all so charming. I am thankful for this OVA because it reminded me of that fact. Oh yeah, the OVA is great too.

The story is just cute. A normal Cell is bored and comes across an mysterious cell and together they do a ton of pranks. The interactions it brings with it are not only charming but also freaking hilarious, even if it sometimes seems a bit too mean (I won't forgive you for hurting my RBC. I won't). ... The animation is still the same (good animation but kinda rough artstyle) and that goes for the music and characters too.

Yeah.. this OVA is exactly what I expected of this anime. If you watched Cells at Work then I see no reason to not watch it.

I hate colds. It's been a long time since I've caught one but just to think about it makes my mind boggle.

Watching Hataraku Saibou (Cells at Work) once again brings in an experience that few can match this year. I'm talking about the exploration of the human body in the most creative ways. Returning to this franchise felt like yesterday despite the gap of a few months. My first impression is how the humor works so well when we see how the human body functions.

For this particular special, the common cold is the culprit. When we picture a cold, it's often about a runny nose, ... cough, sneezing, or a sore throat. This episode took that and made into a humorous gag with how cold operates in the body. It's creative enough to show how colds operate yet also keeps in pace with the effects. In response, Killer T cells make their reappearance and I'd describe them as a blend between badass and goofballs.

From this special, I also realized it never lost sense or touch compared to the original show. The characters still had the personalities of what I had expected and in no less than 24 minutes, we get to see how they react. However, I would definitely watch the original season first to get a better understanding of the franchise as a whole. In retrospect, it's important to realize what the creators wanted us to experience:

An ingenious anime with colorful creativity and realism with its own story.

A good special, we get to revisit a lot of the main cast, and the jokes were funny :)

something to note is that I had heard this episode was less accurate than the others in the series, I can see why someone would say that, however, I'm afraid I have to disagree. yes, in real life there isn't an exact parallel to a virus-infected cell and a normal cell playing pranks together, but I saw that as a metaphor for a friend that is a bad influence and ends up betraying his friend, which is a good way of showing how virus-infected cells act like ... a wolf in sheep clothing by disguising themselves as normal cells, and how many viruses infects other cells by tricking the cell into thinking it's something good/typical and letting the virus in, and although the previous depictions of the virus as zombies where cool and a good analogy, this episode was the first to expand on that and show how the deceptive side of a virus strategy.

For example,e the rhinovirus from this episode takes advantage of e ICAM-1 protein that is usually used to help white blood cells transmigrate into tissue, but instead of being helpful like an immune cell, the virus "betrays the cell" and starts recking havoc inside the poor cells home (ToT)

Being fair this is a bit more of a stretch than the usual metaphors in cells at work (even the more subtle ones like the fact that since B cells are part of the humoral immune system in real life, and since humoral means fluid, their guns are actually water guns in the format of an antibody)

But I can overlook that since I have a soft spot for the series that made me like immunology and helped me study for immunology during med-school, so I don't care if I am being biased, everyone is biased, art is subject, cells at work is the G.O.A.T, and death of the author is a thing ever since Ken from Fist of the North Star famously said to the author "Omae wa mou shindeiru" (to be honest I am not sure about the last one since I never watched Fist of the North Star, but my point about cells at work being peek fiction still stands)

So I just gave the Kaze Shoukougun OVA a watch—mainly out of curiosity—and honestly, it was pretty solid for what it is. It's a short special, so I wasn't expecting anything groundbreaking, but it still managed to do what Cells at Work does best: teach you something cool about the body in a fun, digestible way.

Even though it’s just an OVA, the educational value is still there. I actually appreciate that they didn’t phone it in just because it’s a side episode. It still walks you through the science of catching a cold (which we've all dealt with), and I found myself going, “Ohhh, so ... that’s what’s going on inside when I feel like trash.” That kind of stuff sticks with you.

What I also liked is that the accuracy didn’t drop. It’s still consistent with the main series, and you can tell they put in the same effort to explain biological processes in a way that’s easy to grasp—even if you’re just casually watching. Plus, it’s kind of comforting seeing the same characters again doing their thing, even if it's just a small-scale skirmish against viruses this time.

There’s nothing I particularly disliked about it, but if I’m being honest, it’s nothing you have to watch unless you’re already a fan of the series. It doesn't really add much to the overarching narrative or character development. It’s more like a bonus chapter—a decent one—but it won’t blow your mind.

Still, as a quick and informative watch, it holds up. If you’ve got 20 minutes and you’re into the Cells at Work universe, it’s worth a peek.

[color=green][size=130]Given this is a one off, I don't have a lot to say about it. After watching the original CAW, then Code Black and finally this, I can say it was nice seeing the OG characters again. I love how this still kept true to the original, being silly, fun and educational.

Even though we go to see WBC and RBC, they weren't the main characters this time, and I like that. Yes, the story was silly, yes it didn't really add much to the show itself, but it was a nice change of pace and garnered some laughs - especially with some ... of the stuff that happened.

Solid one off and a good way to end things.[/size][/color]