Cells at work code black vol 1 by Shigemitsu Harada

Illustrated by Issei Hatsuyoshiya

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. 

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If you want to feel bad about the choices you make living your adult life, read up! I’ve never smoked, but my heart hurt for all those poor Red Blood Cells basically dying from smoke inhalation. And the state they're in once they're sprayed with alcohol isn't much better! Even though it turned out alright for them in the end, the trials the red blood cells went through once they were doused with alcohol gave me pause. Although this is definitely for a mature audience, this is a great entry into the universe of Cells at Work!, where I've already learned so much about the body in general from the main series, and a lot about how babies survive in their infancy from Cells at Work!: Baby. Now, excuse me, while I go cut out artery-clogging foods and go take a walk.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Adult

Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: September 3, 2019
ISBN: 9781632368942 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Adult, Manga, Science, Humor, Educational, Action Adventure, Kodansha