Welcome to the inside of a Human Body, where a group of
fresh Red Blood Cells are ready to begin their ever important work. The only problem is, this isn’t a normal
Human body: it’s a body on the brink of total disaster. A lifetime of bad habits from excessive
smoking to sleep deprivation has degraded the interior so much that the
workflow is out of control and the Cells at work are barely holding it
together. It’s the most hostile of
environments for any new Red Blood Cell.
And when the alert goes out, when the Code Black is initiated…a lot more
than all Hell is about to break loose.
When I first saw the trailers for this Cells at Work spin
off, the most immediate take away was how dark it was.
And no it wasn’t just because of the clever
titling.
Boy oh boy, now that I’ve seen
the first episode of Cells at Work: Code Black, I can see the trailer wasn’t
skimping on or trying to hide anything.
This is a far cry from it’s parent series, much darker, much more grim
but with a very evident point: This is what the inside of your bodys going to
look like through multiple bad habits and your poor cells are gonna pay the
price…yeesh.
I applaud the change in scenery from Cells at Work.
Whereas the original has a nice little
hustling and bustling city scape that’s lively and friendly, even in times of
complete chaos, Code Black’s body is the exact opposite: dour, depressing and
low on hope.
The Cells in this body have
been trying desperately to keep the body healthy for an indeterminate amount of
time but the time clearly shows on everyones face.
Our Red Blood Cell protagonist is shown early
on a training video introducing all of the various Cells he’ll meet doing his
job.
Turns out hardly any of them are
happy or kind.
Theyre bitter, angry,
tired and take no nonsense from rookies.
Seeing the grouchy Red Blood Cells and the Platelets aged to Elementary
School mean kids was kind of disheartening.
Point is, the original body of Cells at Work had it's share of issues
but was a fun place to live.
This one is
on the brink of collapse and it’ll be a miracle if anyone survives.
Once again, another stand out change from the original
are the character designs and look of the body interior.
The cityscape reminded me of Blade Runner,
which is appropriate: a city choking itself from pollution and overpopulation
(maybe less of that latter bit in Code Black cause everyones super short
handed).
Lots of gas and fog, even the
apartment building look run down.
As I
mentioned with the Plateles, character designs feel much older and mature.
These are all Veterans at work save for our naieve Red Blood Cell…who by the
way is a guy this time.
Yep, the sexes
of the two main protagonists are swapped for Code Black.
RBC might share his counterparts penchant for
getting lost but is a bit more of a by the books nerd.
White Blood Cell, on the other hand,
Wow.
Gone is the guy with a bowie knife,
replaced with a tall, buxom girl carrying a full blown Katana…again how the
hell do they make Cells in a body look so freaking hot in Anime?
I have plans to review the original Cells at Work either
later this year or sometime in 2023.
Whether or not Cells at Work: Code Black will follow is up for
debate. It’s a scary new place to
explore but that’s the point. Maybe if
I’m in the right headspace I’ll continue on with it. For now, I prefer my Platelets adorably cute
and my Cells hilariously out of their depth…though a sexy female White Blood
Cell can pop up there any time.
And that does it for this latest season of First
Impression Friday. Once I’m back from
Otakon we’ll have a new feature taking over Fridays for the last part of
Summer. In the meantime, First
Impression Friday’s is signing off for now and will see you again in Early
2023.
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